by Greg Milner | Mar 20, 2013 | Featured, The Smell of Success
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!
by Greg Milner | Mar 17, 2013 | Beating the Competition, Blog, Email marketing, Featured, Packaging Salon Services, Salon Events
Ashleigh Mills of Ashleigh Renea Hair & Beauty in Katanning, WA; $3,000 in gift voucher sales in two hours
Most business owners simply leave everything too LATE to capitalize on marketing opportunities in the hair & beauty business. And you don’t have to be a genius to identify many of these opportunities, they’re scheduled in the calendar years in advance. For example, Mothers Day. (In most of the world, the second Sunday in May)
But great rewards come to those who plan well in advance. For example, long-time WSM member Ashleigh Mills of Ashleigh Renea Hair & Beauty in regional Western Australia.
With Mothers Day approaching, Ashleigh decided she needed military-style planning and precision to make the most of this major ‘salon marketing trigger’ event in any salon’s annual calendar.
From the WSM Members Only ‘sealed section’ resources website, Ashleigh downloaded a series of templates for email marketing, planned her campaign several weeks out, and drew up a schedule of out-bound marketing pieces to her database of clients.
On the appointed date, she pulled the trigger. On Saturday, the day before Mother’s Day, Ashleigh arrived at work early. Just as well. Before she’d even opened for business, the phone started ringing, and didn’t stop for two hours.
And that’s in a little country town of just a few thousand people. Here’s how Ashleigh describes that morning, and the lead-up to it.
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Ashleigh and hundreds of other smart salon owners around the world have 24/7 access to the huge library of resources in the Members Only ‘sealed section’ website, plus the world’s best online marketing tools, templates and systems in the ‘done-for-you’ My Social Salon marketing program, ONLY for salons & spas.
LIVE now on the Members Only website
All NEW Mothers Day advertising, posters, fliers – instant downloads for Members
We’re adding dozens of new salon advertising and marketing templates to the Members only ‘sealed section’ website site every month – in March, a completely new series of templates for one of the BIGGEST salon marketing events of the year.
Mothers Day is a big day for salons & spa marketing all over the world. It’s when thousands of salons make (or should make!) a large part of their annual revenue.
But so many face the thought of marketing with a shudder – all that work!
Not for Worldwide Salon Marketing members. As always, we provide our members with fresh direct response marketing templates – for all the major Marketing Trigger Events – throughout the year.
You’ll find them in various sizes and formats, both US and A4, postcards, posters etc.
Never stare at a blank computer screen again!
(STOP PRESS: new Mother’s Day Marketing & Advertising Templates here)
The new templates join literally hundreds of done-for-you advertising only for salons & spas, in the world’s biggest specialist library for salon & spa marketing.
All you do is simply download them from the website, edit them to suit your own salon’s offers and specialties, enter your own business name and address, and bingo – instant advertising! Never again stare at a blank computer screen, not knowing what to write or how to lay it out.
These templates are being continually produced by our copywriting and graphics team, adding to our vast library every month.
The Members website is a storehouse containing literally years of proven, done-for-you direct response marketing templates. They’ve been downloaded, tested and proven to grab salon clients fast, all over the world.
Online marketing, email, SMS, newspaper ads, radio ads, salon posters, client letters – you’ll find them all on the Members Only website.
Not yet a member?
Still sitting in front of a computer screen, tearing your hair out, not knowing what to put in your ads?
Go here to find out how you can get 24/7 access to the world’s largest Marketing Resources Library just for salons & spas
by Greg Milner | Mar 14, 2013 | Blog, Featured
The three ‘MUST HAVES’ to build a strong beauty business
Five years ago, Amy Mitchell was a struggling massage therapist with a new-born baby. Working 6 days a week just to pay the bills, she knew she’d run herself ragged if she didn’t take decisive action. Amy joined Worldwide Salon Marketing, and immediately began implementing changes. (Key word: implementing).
The biggest change was deciding which kind of customers she wanted. Today, Amy has a nationally-branded chain of day spas catering specifically to pregnant women, with plans for more locations in every capital city, and expansion overseas. All this while giving birth to her second child, and living more than two hours drive from her head office!
This is a brief cut from a detailed 45 minute video interview with Amy about exactly how she did it, while juggling a busy family life…
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ATTENTION WSM MEMBERS: Log into the Members Only ‘Sealed Section’ here for the full interview, including Amy’s Big Three tips for salon owners wanting the kind of business success she’s enjoying.
by Greg Milner | Mar 4, 2013 | Blog, New Zealand
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!
by Greg Milner | Nov 23, 2012 | Featured
If you’re anything like me, the tiny details behind how technology works probably send you into a coma too. BUT…I have to face facts, and the facts are that local businesses – like salons and spas – which fail to embrace what their customers and prospects are now doing with technology are doomed to fail.
The world has changed dramatically just in the past couple of years. Your customers and prospects are now doing something – every single day – that would have been considered unthinkable just a few years ago.
They’re using their smartphones to search for products and services.
Right now, as you’re reading this, somebody is Googling on their cell phone, or using an App, to look for a hair or beauty service near you.
Pull your head out of the sand and take a look at the graphic on this page. If that’s not enough to change the way you think about how you reach your customers, nothing will.
Which is precisely why more and more salons are coming to us to build them websites and mobile phone apps that get their business in front of the eyeballs of clients and prospects – on their mobile devices.
Here’s an example of a mobile app we’ve just built for one of our salons (it happens to be in Robina, Queensland.)
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