Who is responsible for getting in clients?

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riva

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I thought/think that as a salon owner, its my responsibility mostly to bring in the clients. Then hope that the therapist is good enough to upsell/keep them coming back. This is an employed, salaried therapist.

I've recently been told by a salon manager (of other salons) that its as much the responsibility of the therapist ie coming up with deals (that will be approved), calling clients pro-actively to rebook them (is this not annoying or is it standard practice?), basically doing the needful to get clients in.

So far, I have done 98% of the marketing effort and find it frustrating that repeats for higher value services is not as good as I hoped for (for therapist's services). I feel constantly under pressure to figure out more and more marketing efforts, bringing in more services etc to fill my therapist's time. Its been suggested to me that getting a self employed therapist may be a better idea as they have the opportunity to earn more and are usually highly motivated.

Sound advice or would you disagree?
 
Hi. If I was employed I would expect the salon to do the advertising and marketing with some input from myself on deals offers etc. if it was self employed basis I would expect the therapist to get her own clients through her own marketing? hth
 
How long have you been open?

I totally don't think it's the responsibility of the therapist, it's down to you. I think the therapist should do everything to make the experience great, to retail and to rebook but I think it's down to you to get them through the door, to come up with packages and deals. Great if your staff have ideas and input and you listen but def not their job.

I think you need to be the one with an overview of where your business is going. This isn't always something staff are aware of .

Finally, I would never have self employed staff. What if they're rubbish and are really bad at getting clients in? You'll have a share of bugger all!

The reason I ask how long you have been open is because I don't actually think is that long.

From memory, you do botox, fillers etc. You really need to become the go to place for this. Look at how and where you're marketing. I think nothing is worse than "cut price" botox. Our usp is that we don't offer these treatments and never will. Yours is that you do, but make sure people know you do it exceptionally well. That you have sourced the best in the business and so on.

Just some thoughts.

Vic x

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Oh and I would never ever call clients to rebook them. I think it smacks of desperation x

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Whilst I don't think your therapist should be aggressively ringing people to book them in, I actually think marketing is a shared responsibility of all staff. The degree of responsibility just differs.

Absolutely it's your responsibility to lead and develop your marketing strategy. At the same time, it's your therapists responsibility to help you deliver and monitor it. She can help you understand 'what works'.

I also think there's real benefit in encouraging her to suggest ideas. You never know just what or who she knows!

If staff are involved, the greater the likelihood of them having a sense of ownership. Having everyone working towards the same goal means you'll have a better chance of succeeding.

It might only be small things like making her an administrator for your social media accounts but she'd be producing fresh, new content which in turn helps generate interest and increase/maintain your Google ranking.

HTH :)
 
Just to add, what works for one salon won't necessarily work for another. There are too many influencing factors involved.

Have you considered getting a mentor? Having someone impartial might help you to take a step back and look at your business in different ways. They will never tell you or advise you what to do, just get you to think about how, why, what etc

If you're interested, have a look at
http://www.mentorsme.co.uk
 
Very interesting responses- more confused now : )
I have a good return rate for my services and now working in getting pics, videos etc.

So far, therapist's return clientele is quite poor. For past 2 months, she has not covered her costs. We are doing ok, mostly because of my side of the business growing. I'm in a situation of changeover of staff and considering a manager as I feel I'm out of my depth. Efforts to involve therapist in marketing has not worked ie her only experience is leafleting but struggles to come up with what could sell for the leaflets. This is someone with a good 10y under her belt. I've even bought a new laptop to help so that some marketing can perhaps be done.

I have also implemented 2 of her suggestions- to introduce waxing as an add on service- we're doing well here. And mani/pedi for which we bombed- 2-3 bookings in past 4 months incl a not great review. We've even gone to offices around the area with staff deals- just no go. Facials don't have a great rebook rate, not sure why as results are excellent.

Not sure if its quiet times or some other reason but I've now decided to do customer satisfaction surveys and some mystery shops. I asked the question as I was sooo surprised at what that one manager told me, esp the follow up call (which I would find intrusive but she claims that people like). Also, had a recent client who said that he was contacted for his 3 month botox top-up and that they were very upset with him as he decided to come to me instead- they even asked him who I was etc- crazy!!
 
I think you should have a outline of what you intend to do.

Make a list of everything ie marketing/offers/reward cards/loyalty every little niggle thing that you wish to promote. Then incorporate a system on how effectively you would entertain/implement these on a daily basis. ie in conversation, informing clients on new offers, oh do you want to try this, its fabulous etc. im soooo busy lets book you in for your next one, when are you free next I'll squeeze you in somewhere!

These are conversation starters and they do wonders for self promoting without the use of flyers or online activity, which helps a great deal, but nothing is better than word of mouth!

I think you need to stop self doubting yourself, stick to what you planned out to do, try to get everyone on the same page and most importantly plan ahead. good luck xoxo
 

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