When it comes to growing sales, many businesses are so focused on gaining new clients, that they tend to neglect the ones they already have!
But existing customers should not be taken for granted. Did you know that it costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to an existing one?
Why should you focus more on customer retention, not acquisition?
Because a business spends more time and money on acquisition as opposed to retention. The most common acquisition cost centres focus on:
- Traditional marketing;
- Digital marketing;
- Business development; and
- Event marketing.
The bottom line is that businesses should put as much effort (if not more) to retain their existing clients as they do in finding new ones. It goes without saying that the service you offer must match your customers’ expectations. There is no point in going above and beyond if the simple service your customers are asking for is not correctly delivered. Offering a free product or service will only make your customer more happy and more loyal if their initial demand was fulfilled in a way that matched their expectations.
Your customer’s loyalty is the most importance force you can unleash to grow your business. So, the basics rules worth understanding is that you need to deliver an excellent quality of service and smooth omni-channel experience.
Sound intimidating? Don’t worry, we have got you covered! Here are some best practices to build up customer loyalty.
Start with customer experience basics to build a client-brand relationship
It doesn’t matter how great your website looks if the in-spa experience is dire! Your guests come to you for a relaxing experience: ensuring thoughtful treatment to each guest, no matter how big your business becomes, is the core of good customer loyalty.
Don’t underestimate the power of personal gestures such as offering a welcome drink or remembering clients’ preferred therapists or payment method.
To help turn your spa into a loved brand, use storytelling to help build relationships with spa guests. By creating different types of content to tell your story, you help customers connect with you and your values – and encourage them to keep booking treatments with you, over and over again.
Give out loyalty cards to new spa customers so they immediately start collecting points
Offer them a membership card that allows them to collect stamps that they can redeem in exchange for a free or exclusive service. This is also a great opportunity to cross-sell by suggesting new products or treatments that your guests have not tried before.
Reward spending with points to encourage repeat bookings
Similarly, you can also offer points to your customers to reward them for spending. Points are a good way to encourage repeat bookings, package purchases and achieve higher loyalty rates.
Points are also a smart way to manage your spa’s cash flows or introduce new products for sale. For example:
- Award double or even triple points during low periods to fill up available slots.
- Award bonus points for all purchases on new products you introduce in your spa to increase product sales.
These reward campaigns encourage visitors to come back more often to accumulate additional points and benefit from offers/discounts and rewards.
Example:
You can offer 1 point every 1$ spent or a certain amount of points every treatment or product bought for example, the treatment 1 would allow your clients to gain 30 points and the treatment 2, 45 points.
Once you have set the values of your points you can also use them for customer referrals, spa gift cards and much more!
When your customer has obtained 1000 points, she or he would be eligible for a free treatment or free product! Let them choose between different options so your clients have the power to decid
Set up multi-tier loyalty programmes to reward your most important spa guests
Your core fans, the ones who regularly book treatments and have the highest Customer Lifetime Value, are also those who can be the biggest advocates for your brand. These VIP guests should be shown extra appreciation with special treatment, generous redemption options and exclusive offers to keep your best customers by your side!
Always reward your most frequent and loyal clients and reserve your highest loyalty status for them. As they are likely to be your most vocal advocates, you should take advantage by giving them access beyond promotions or deals. For example, use them to promote your brand by inviting them to special events like spa openings, offering them new product releases or letting them try out new treatments before other clients.
In a nut shell, build your levels so the VIP status really gives your customers a different experience, your best customer absolutely wants to feel different.
Automate email campaigns so every brand-client communication feels personalise
Your customers are unique, your email campaigns should be too! Segment your audiences into different mailing lists that allow you to send promotions, offers, or news that are relevant and of interest.
Your VIP guests also deserve special treatment. For instance, when it comes to emails, you should build a specific list which only include your exclusive clients. The emails you send out to them must have a more premium look and feel and really tailored to suit them.
Use social media to build your online image
Stay connected with your clients thought your social media platforms! Today, adapting your content to local or target audiences on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, is the best way to post inspiring and engaging content!
Remember that being on a social platform for the sake of showing your brand is not enough anymore. Use these tools to their full potential!
Instagram updates their features often so make sure you stay updated! For example, one of the latest trends is “Ask me a question” – a perfect way to show off your spa’s expertise and knowledge on wellness and skincare.
On Instagram, for example, posting lovely pictures of your spa and products is not enough. Instead, engage communities using inspirational content, offering useful tips, and not trying too hard to sell your business. Make sure you take full advantage of the platform’s full functionality:
- Use permanent stories to show all the treatments you have to offer and use the daily stories to repost your customers’ posts.
- Ask them to tag you in their own stories to be able to repost their experience.
You can also use social platforms to take customer service to the next level
By using the Facebook Messenger function, you can answer clients’ questions, advise on best treatments, respond to business questions such as opening hours, and even take bookings. It’s also a great place to manage reviews and thank customers for their custom. Just like Instagram, stay updated with the latest features so you never miss a trend which can be a fun way to engage your customers.
Facebook is a great way to provide rapid, convenient and helpful customer service.
Use your spa software features to their full potential
Make the most of your spa software to engage and service existing clients. Whether that’s training therapists to look up client details (so that they can make personalised recommendations based on client history) or build an effective loyalty programme.
Use your spa software to automate and simplify your loyalty programme. Implement all the necessary data and leave the tool do the rest! You will be able to rely on it to keep track of your customers’ points, treatments, preferences and always be on the ball when it comes to engaging and proposing the best treatments to your customers!
Key Takeaways
If you are ready to invest in finding new customers, why not invest in retaining your existing ones
- Ensuring customer loyalty is the best investment in the long run. The more satisfied they are, the more your business will benefit from word of mouth. Before you know it, you will not even need to invest in expensive marketing campaigns because your clients will have become your best advocates.
- Take extra care of your VIP spa guests with tiered loyalty programmes and dedicated email campaigns.
- Approach your social media strategy with defined business goals, such as building a stronger brand image or improving customer service to convert more enquiries into bookings.
- Using a state-of-the-art spa tool will help you maintain and grow your customer loyalty without worrying about forgetting your client’s preferences or when they last visited your spa! Take advantage of a highly customizable tool that will fit your business-like cucumbers fit on the eyes of your satisfied customers!
