SMALL BUSINESS

A Better Way To Encourage Customers To Visit Frequently

Prepaid Salon/Barber Services Don’t Work And Here Is Way

As a Salon Owner, I was constantly trying to figure out how to bring more people through the door Our franchise had been using prepaid formats like “Buy 5 get the 6th Free” . It was thought this would increase frequency, but it didn’t.

In an era where customers have very little extra cash, they treated this deal as a cost savings and the time between haircuts was getting longer every year.

Did you know that this type of deal appears as a liability on your books?

If you close your business unexpectedly, technically you owe all those outstanding haircuts people hadn’t used yet. In many states, there was no expiration date as well.

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF STRUCTURE TESTED IN SALONS.

While the dollar amounts and frequency need to be refined, the concept is this…

Charge a small amount every month (or quarterly). Maybe 20% of the cost of one service. Let the customer know that they can visit up to 12 times a year (could also be 4 times) and receive any of the following services (…). As long as it appears to be a savings over paying for 2–3 haircuts, then they may go for it.

The result will be more frequent visits in which other services are tried or products are purchased.

They feel comfortable because they can cancel anytime. You will see more of them and not be carrying the liability on your books.

Let me know if any of you try this what worked and what didn’t.