New Survey Reveals the Shocking Cost of ‘No-Shows’
Hair & Beauty salons are losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year because of no-shows, and the lack of deposit-taking policies for fear of upsetting clients.
In a new survey conducted by Worldwide Salon Marketing, the vast majority of 130 salon owners questioned revealed they had no policy of taking deposits to secure appointments, and even it they did have a cancellation policy in place, it lacked ‘teeth’.
Telling figures that show most salons are letting clients get away with murder
According to WSM founder & CEO Greg Milner, the results are a wake-up call to the industry. “If salons want to be taken seriously by their clients and stop hemorrhaging money, they have to take the lead from industries like travel, hospitality and entertainment, which simply refuse to take bookings without payment,” he says. “Customers accept those policies completely. Try booking a concert ticket and telling them you’ll pay when you get there. It just doesn’t happen.”
The survey of 125 salons reveals
88% do not take deposits.
The average annual loss through no-shows is a whopping $10,000 per salon, with one salon reporting a staggering $52,000 – even though fully 80% of salons claimed they sent appointment reminders by text message.
Extrapolated across Australia’s approx. 25,000 hair & beauty businesses, the losses represent $250 million annually.
Of the 12% of salons who insist on deposits for appointments, the average annual losses dropped to less than $2,000
Asked ‘How many times must a client ‘no-show’ before you no longer take bookings from them?’, 31.5% said three times, while another 32% said “I always let them book another appointment because I’m too scared to lose the potential business.”
It appears the industry is beset by fear. According to one respondent,
“We do have a cancellation policy, but rarely enforce payment, as so few other beauty clinics do so. Clients will not come back.”
And this from a salon in Melbourne:
“I would like to put a cancellation thing in place but I don’t have credit card facility nor any way of safely storing peoples numbers. And yip I am scared of scaring people away.”
But that fear appears largely unfounded. Said another salon owner,
“We started taking credit cards or a cash deposit on February 1st this year, for the first time. It works a charm, no more no shows, the clients now know we’re serious.”
The survey shows that among those salons which insist on deposits or pre-payments, the rate of no-shows drops dramatically across the board. “It also positions the salon as a business to be respected,” says Mr Milner. “It’s just plain rude to book a one or two-hour appointment and simply not turn up. You wouldn’t dare do that to your doctor or dentist because you respect them too much. It’s about time hair & beauty professionals swallowed a small teaspoon of cement, and hardened up,” he said.
Those who have ‘hardened up’ and imposed a strict cancellation policy backed up with deposits report dramatically-improved results.
“We’ve had a 100% Cancellation Policy in place for almost 6 years. It has virtually eliminated no-shows and forces clients to respect our business. EVERYONE in this industry should do the same – it will educate clients that they are visiting professionals whose time is valuable,”
says a Sydney salon owner. And a West Australian salon owner agrees, with impeccable logic:
“It should become common practice in all salons to take deposits, like the hotel and holiday industry, people will just accept it as common practice. Nothing is gained from those who are scared, and just end up hurting the industry with their fear. Even Spreets and other common daily deal sites do it, so why not the salon itself?”
Here’s how veteran WSM member Marnie Kallmeyer describes her deposit-taking and cancellation policy:
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BONUS GIFT for salon owners who want to eliminate ‘no-shows’ forever!
Want to stop no-shows? Join the Lite marketing program and get this proven client letter FREE – a Bonus Gift valued at $297 – but PRICELESS!
This is the first page of a 2-page, proven client letter that stops no-shows dead. Carefully setting out what your client can expect of you, and importantly, what you expect of your client, this letter has been used successfully by hundreds of WSM member salons around the world – and you can easily edit it to suit your own salon.
Join the Lite program FREE for the first 14 days – and you’ll get to download this letter as a Bonus Gift worth $297 – but priceless when you consider how much no-shows are already costing your business every year!
Would you like to hold a hugely successful VIP night in your Salon?
Would you like to be part of one of the most unique Salon Events ever?
How would you like free media and publicity that you simply couldn’t pay for, let alone afford?
How would you like a salon FULL of happy customers and a till bursting with sales?
And how would you like ALL the marketing of this event designed and done-for-you?
It seems some salons are struggling to excite and attract new customers. In a world where most of your clients spend time on social media how do you ‘sell’ to them if all they want to do is be social? After long thought and brainstorming we realized that the trick is to get other people talking about you. LOTS of them! In this day and age PR (Public Relations) has just as much place in a small business as does traditional marketing.
So I came up with an idea…
The month of May just happens to be ‘NZ Music Month’ the time when we celebrate everything kiwi about music. So here’s my idea to get some good publicity for your salon.
You may or may not know that in my ‘other life’ outside of being director of Worldwide Salon Marketing I am a professional musician. I have played in excess of 1600 performances throughout NZ and have supported some NZ greats like Tim Finn (Crowded House), Dave Dobbyn, Anika Moa, Evermore and even had a single released on a NZ on Air Hit Disc with the likes of Neil Finn and the Top Twins!
But you don’t have to take my word for it, here’s what long time WSM member Lisa Van Dyk of Gloss Beauty Boutique in Matamata had to say… “What a great and fun idea to help salons get some positive publicity. Chris is a truly great performer, has an amazing voice and very talented on the guitar – in fact I got him to play at one of my events in the past, the crowd just loved him. When he told me about the salon tour I immediately said, book me in!!!”
So, in May I will embark on what some may call the MOST unique music tour ever!
And I’d like your salon to be part of that. A venue, no less!
The uniqueness of such an event – a ‘Salon Tour’ with a musician turned mentor and actress turned staff coach (yes, Rachael has another life too…) would in itself draw media attention. And the local/national media are screaming out for stories like this!
The event will be run as a VIP night (or day) in your salon and here’s what you will get:
45 min – 1hr acoustic set from Chris Sanders. The music will be a mixture or NZ classic songs and some of my own originals (non invasive easy listening music).
Your choice of 45 minute makeup demo, 30 minute hair-up demo or 30 minute ‘Advances in Anti-aging’ presentation from re-knowned industry guru Rachael D’Aguiar (If you stock a makeup range then Rachael can use this range and help you make sales).
We will also assist to MC the night.
To book or find out more details simply call us NOW on 0800 029 668 or email chris@worldwidesalonmarketing.com
You’ll get designed and written for you VIP night invites, tickets, mailer campaigns, posters, email campaigns, PR and media releases to local and national media and potentially (we hope) radio/TV interviews. What’s more we will create a video diary/documentary to be released after the tour and give your salon even more coverage!
And we will help you develop packages that you can sell on the night to make lots of money too!!!
If you are interested in being involved with the most unique tour ever then there are 2 package options available:
Package 1:
Includes performance from Chris Sanders, your choice of demo from Rachael D’Aguiar and assistance with MC at the event.
Investment: Base fee of $450 + gst
Ticket Fee: $30 per person ($15 to Us, $15 to your salon).
Package 2:
Includes performance from Chris Sanders and assistance with MC at the event.
Investment: Base fee of $300 + gst
Ticket Fee: $30 per person ($15 to Us, $15 to your salon).
To book or find out more details simply call us NOW on 0800 029 668 or email chris@worldwidesalonmarketing.com
This is a fantastic opportunity for you to not only get some publicity for your salon, but also to make some money through sales of packages and products at the VIP event, get some help from industry experts AND let your hair down a bit too!
AND AS A SPECIAL BONUS you will get a 1 hour one-on-one training session the next day from either myself or Rachael (marketing or staff coaching, your choice) to help you maximise the success from your event.
If you are interested then get back to us quickly to discuss dates. We have already booked in some dates with salons so would hate for you to miss out – we are only offering maximum 15 dates throughout May.
Here is a Calendar of when we will be in your area and what is still available.
May 1: Auckland (Opening Night Venue TBC)
May 2: Gloss Beauty Boutique, Matamata (BOOKED)
May 3-4: Tauranga & Bay of Plenty (Still available)
May 8-11: Central North Island, Hawkes Bay & Taranaki (Still available)
May 15-18: Wellington & Nelson (Still available)
May 22-25: Christchurch, Dunedin and Otago (Still available)
May 28-29: Auckland (Still available)
May 30: Xpertise Hairdressers, Kaikohe (BOOKED)
May 31: Body Divine, Kerikeri (Closing Night BOOKED!)
To book or find out more details simply call us NOW on 0800 029 668 or email chris@worldwidesalonmarketing.com
Looking forward to holding a a hugely successful VIP night in your salon soon!
Its fair to say that many people, especially in the beauty industry, will have either heard of, or know, Margaret Walsh.
She’s the kind of salon owner with a very successful business that many of us aspire to and wish our salon could be ‘just like Marg’s.
She’ll probably kill me for saying this, but she’s been around a wee while and has helped many a budding young therapist and hair stylist to fulfill their dreams.
Last week I caught up with Marg and I saw first hand just how she supports her team, above and beyond what most people would see as ‘the call of duty’.
She had her staff gathered at her house for a team meeting and brought in a financial planning expert to help give advice to her team on how to manage their finances better. I made me think, if I were a therapist or stylist, I’d want Marg to be my boss!
And while Marg is busy concentrating on creating a 5 Star team and industry leaders of the future, as well as a highly successful hair and beauty salon in the Auckland suburb of Titirangi, she takes a lot of comfort in knowing that her salon marketing both online and offline is taken care off for her.
Margaret, who has been with Worldwide Salon Marketing for almost 3 years now, is a forward thinking salon owner who likes to stay a few steps ahead of her competitors. If something becomes available that Margaret sees as a good opportunity to market her business, she jumps at it!
Through Worldwide Salon Marketing, Margaret has access to some of the best marketing tools available to salons anywhere in the world, from done-for-you ads and templates (so she never has to stare at a blank computer screen wondering what to write), mentoring and support to help her plan her marketing in advance, websites and SEO so she completely dominates in Google searches in her area and an iPhone and Android app to keep those mobile savvy customers connected with her business.
Check out this video to hear what Margaret has to say about her experiences with Worldwide Salon Marketing, and some advice to salon owners looking to be the BEST in their town!
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If watching this video has made you think ‘I could do with some support like that’ give us a call (numbers at the top of this page) or click here to apply to join our My Social Salon program and we can help you become the best salon in your town…guaranteed! Just like Marg!
It is with great excitement and pleasure that I announce Worldwide Salon Marketing NZ will be a principle sponsor of the NZ Beauty Awards on July 6 and more specifically of the newly created ‘Marketing Excellence’ Award. The Awards will be held at the Pullman Hotel & Resort, Auckland.
We believe that this new marketing award is a great addition to the current set of awards and brings focus to the importance of the business and marketing aspect in our industry, which is just as important as the service and technical side.
We love to support our industry and we very much view the Beauty Industry (both hair & beauty) as the ‘People’s Industry’. Helping our salons become stronger, in turn makes our communities become stronger – after-all, a salon is a place where people go to feel better about themselves and become part of a community.
The Marketing Excellence Award will be judged by an independent panel and is open to every Clinic, Spa, Day Spa, Resort Spa, Medi Spa and Salon in New Zealand (regardless of size, location or the number of staff) operating for two years or more with a fully qualified professional Therapist/s.
The winner of the Marketing Excellence Award will win a marketing package with a value of over $5,500 – more details to be announced in the next few weeks!
Worldwide Salon Marketing NZ will also be at the NZ Beauty Expo & Business Summit, being held the same weekend as the awards. We’d love to see you there!
If you have ever thought that marketing won’t work for your salon because you are in a small town then you should watch this video.
In this short clip, Suzy Poole owner of Body Divine in Kerikeri shares how she has taken her salon from a pretty dire state of affairs to a busy, profitable business in under a year, with big plans for expansion.
I was visiting Kerikeri for a couple of days this week and decided to pop in for a cuppa with Suzy and check out her salon. And I was really impressed with what I saw.
Suzy has created her own economy, while others around her continue to struggle on. In fact, Suzy’s business is growing so fast that she is in the process of expanding her existing salon and building a hair salon out the back.
What stood out the most on my visit to Suzy’s salon was the energy that she puts in to marketing her business, it’s clear that she has a great attitude, is incredibly passionate about it and a real ‘massive action’ taker.
And while I was in the salon clients were walking in and asking to buy one of her mini memberships that she had just released that morning. And as you’ll hear in the video, one customer even left a cheque in her mailbox with strict instructions so she didn’t miss out on one of only 10 memberships released!
Check out the video here….
For those of you who are not familiar with Kerikeri it’s a fairly small town in the Bay of Islands, population a few thousand.
Thanks for the grand tour of the salon Suzy and keep up the excellent wor
New Survey Reveals the Shocking Cost of ‘No-Shows’
