Have you ever built a relationship with a customer and feel
really good about them coming back? You did an incredible service, built
rapport and yet after they left the salon they never came back? Well, one of
the most preventative measures a salon can take to reassure a return of the
client is Pre-Booking! Pre-Booking not only keeps your clients coming in but
financially keeps the salon revenue UP!
The term pre-booking is usually defined as
booking a future appointment before the client leaves or pays for the current service they are receiving on that day. It is a strong business strategy that helps you achieve better
retention of clients and a fuller schedule day in and day out.
As you continue to grow in your salon and the use of
Envision it is important that you (or the front desk) is always asking for a
Pre-Book. There are a few things you may be able to do to maximize the client’s
eagerness to pre-book. For instance, maybe giving them a bonus of loyalty
points every time they pre-book! People love getting things for free and
just for agreeing to pick a date for the next visit they get MORE loyalty
points that will help them get a discount in the future! SCORE!
As if not having their calendar full is enough incentive, a bonus of some sort or goal may get your employee more excited to ask for a Pre-Book. You decide the goal, and you can track the Pre-book percentage in Envision ensuring the accuracy of the goal! They will appreciate the fuller book and they will love when they get rewarded for the work!
As another incentive to bring up in the next meeting, we are right around the corner for the BUSIEST time of the year -the HOLIDAY season! It's the time when everyone is coming in to get that special look, cut, color, up-do, etc. before the Holiday Festivities. Bringing this up to the clients before they leave may spark the urgency to Pre-book in this key time to fill their desired slot! So they aren’t in a “holiday rush” to try and set a time, they will already have one set.
Finally, when you do get the client to commit to an upcoming appointment why stop at one? Create standing appointments for this individual and get them on a routine to come in every 4-6 weeks! They will love the frequency of looking good and your stylists will love the frequency of these recurring appointments.
Did I mention that standing appointments are just as easy to setup in Envision as pre-books? Also, to make sure the front desk never forgets to ask for the Pre-book an *ALERT* is available in the options setting to prompt the front desk before they check-out! The benefits are a’plenty and to implement this option in your salon is easy! Call our tech team today if you need any help adding these functions to your Envision software!
