Kitomba blog

We all know that our industry thrives on relationships. One of the most important relationships is the one you have with your clients when they are not in the salon. Staying connected to them is crucial to promoting rebookings, encouraging repeat purchases and enhancing the overall client experience at your salon, spa or clinic.

When you prioritise following up with clients by sending personalised and helpful emails or SMS text messages you can increase your client retention rate, encourage repeat purchases and bookings, enhance your client experience and even attract new clients.

However, taking the time to send personalised messages to your clients can be time-consuming if you’re doing it all manually. What if we told you that you can tell Kitomba to automatically email and text a client for you, and even personalise it for each client?
Don’t believe us? Here are 10 examples of messages you can send to your clients automatically via Email or SMS. They only take a few minutes to set up and will save you time and maximise your sales and client loyalty.

1. Welcome new clients

When a new client visits your salon, spa or clinic, this is a huge opportunity to roll out the red carpet and make an incredible first impression. Their client experience begins when they make the appointment with you, followed by visiting your business and receiving their service, and it continues after they leave. A lot of businesses send a “thank you” message after the appointment, but have you thought about one before they arrive?

Set up an automatic email or text to send a day before their first appointment to let them know you’re looking forward to seeing them. This is different to an appointment reminder, but instead is a message to provide any information they might not know about when receiving a particular treatment at your salon, spa or clinic. Provide any relevant instructions such as where to park, asking them to arrive ten minutes before their appointment, or explaining what they can expect when they arrive. These little drops of information will make their visit as seamless as possible and also show them that you care about them.

2. Invite clients to review your salon, spa or clinic

Building your reviews on Facebook and Google can help you attract new clients. Increase the number of reviews you have by setting up an email or text message to send after each client’s first appointment. Your message should thank them for visiting, ask them to write a review and include a link to your review page.

If you want to encourage reviews from existing clients after each appointment, consider making your message more valuable for them by also including an update on their loyalty balance, for example.

Be cautious not to send messages asking for reviews to clients who have already reviewed your business, as this can become annoying if they’re a regular client. Instead, you could request feedback to the salon (covered in the next section), along with a review link option so those that haven’t yet left a review are able to easily do so.

3. Request feedback

Asking for feedback from your clients gives you the opportunity to improve their experience next time, resulting in increased client loyalty. While some clients will be happy to give you feedback face-to-face, others may prefer for their feedback to be anonymous, especially if it’s constructive feedback.

To automate your client feedback process, create a questionnaire using an online survey platform, such as Survey Monkey or Typeform, and set up an automated email or text message to send after each client appointment with a link to your survey asking them for their feedback.

You can also include a link to review your business on Google or Facebook to get the most from your feedback messages.

Expert tip: If you want to take your feedback process to the next level, set your survey to ask clients who give you positive feedback to leave you a review. Use question logic to display the review request when the score from an earlier question such as; “How likely are you to recommend [salon, spa or clinic name] to a friend?” is high.

4. Thank clients for referrals

Word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool, so make sure you thank clients who support you by recommending your salon to new clients. When a new client comes to your salon, ask them if they were referred by anyone, and add this information to their client card. Having this information allows you to automatically send a message to the referrer after your new client’s appointment.

The message should thank them for referring a friend, and if you offer referral rewards you should outline this in your message.

5. Share after-service care instructions

For services that have specific maintenance and care instructions, it’s important to give this information to your clients. Doing so during their visit is great, but supporting this with a follow-up message is even better.

Set up an email to automatically send a day after an appointment to remind your client of their home-care instructions, or to check in on how they’re going.

For example, remind clients who have had laser treatments they can start gently exfoliating two weeks after their appointment. If a service has a specific care plan that changes over time and is important they adhere to, you could set up a series of messages to send at the appropriate time reminding them to change their care to the next step.

6. Follow up on product purchases

If your salon, spa or clinic sells high-value products, add value to product purchases and get more repurchases by sending a follow-up message containing information on how they can get the most out of their product. This can be a text, email, or even a video if your product supplier has produced one.

Set up another follow-up message to send automatically a few months later to remind your client that they’re due to re-purchase. If you have an online store, include a link so they can buy the product directly from the email or ask them to come into the salon to purchase it.

This automation process will drastically improve your repurchase rates by providing a helpful reminder and making it as easy as possible for your client to repurchase.

7. Rebooking reminders

Some clients are less inclined to rebook than others. Encourage these clients to return by reminding them when it’s time to book their next appointment. To do this, you can set up an email or text message to send automatically five weeks after a non-rebooked appointment.

Include a link to your online booking page to make it as easy as possible for them to book their appointment. If your business doesn’t use online booking, find out about Kitomba online booking solutions for salons, spas and clinics by booking a free demo.

8. Contact clients that haven’t visited for a while

Re-engage lost clients with a friendly message a few months after their last non-rebooked appointment to let them know that you’ve missed them. Ask them if they’d like to book an appointment, and include a link to your online booking page to make it as easy as possible for them to book.

You could also include an incentive to sweeten the deal, like a discount that must be redeemed that month. A deadline creates a sense of urgency and encourages clients to act quickly.

Never forget to wish a client happy birthday. Collect birthday information from your clients and add their birthday to their client card so you don’t miss their special day. Create a fun email that incorporates a relevant image, a birthday greeting and your business logo, and if you offer a birthday gift, such as a discount on a service during their birthday month, be sure to include this too.

Once your email is ready, set up an automatic marketing email campaign that sends a personalised birthday message to each of your clients on or just before their birthday.

10. Delight clients following special occasions

Services that are specific to special occasions, such as bridal services or ball hair-ups, offer an additional opportunity for you to use automatic messages to show clients you care. For these types of services, consider setting up an automatic email to send to them the following day.

Thank them for choosing you for their special day, congratulate them on their wedding day, or let them know you hope their event was everything they imagined. Remind them you’re here to help them look and feel their best for their next big event.

When it comes to client experience, the little details can make a big difference.

How to set up automated emails and messages

Before you set up any new automated client messages, you may want to look at other messages you currently have set up and consider how they all work together. Some important things to remind yourself are who you are targeting, what information are you sharing and why, and when the best time to send is. 

Remember that the more targeted your messages are the better your results. Focus on extracting the right groups of people and then personalise those messages with things like a client’s name and key details of their client journey. And, don’t forget to be mindful of emailing or texting your clients too often as you don’t want them to get annoyed and cause them to opt out of receiving promotions.

Text messages sent using software like Kitomba, rather than just your personal phone, are generally considered premium messages, and replies sent to premium numbers are often charged at a premium rate. In New Zealand, the telecommunications industry requires senders of premium messages to inform recipients that charges will apply when they reply to these messages. So it’s a good idea to check the regulations in your area to be sure you’re in compliance. Please note, these charges are collected by the messaging service provider and not by Kitomba.

Sending targeted, personalised messages to your clients can add real value to your business and your client’s experience. So spend time now automating these important client touch points so you never miss an opportunity to nurture that client relationship.

Free automatic marketing e-book

Getting started with setting up your automatic marketing can be daunting. But it doesn’t need to be. Download our complete guide to automatic marketing, focus on your goals and choose one or two messages to start with. You’ll be saving time while engaging with your clients in meaningful, personalised ways.

This free automatic marketing e-book has everything you need to get started, which includes ready-to-use email and SMS templates, checklists, tips for building and managing your contact list, and ideas on how to track your success.

Use the right software

All the client messages included in this list, both for email and SMS text messages, can be automated easily using Kitomba Salon and Spa Software.

To start using automated messages to add value and delight your clients, book a personalised demo and a Kitomba expert will show you what Kitomba Salon and Spa Software can do for you.

For help on how to set up Everyday Marketing in Kitomba for your salon, spa or clinic, check out our support guide.

Want to learn more about email marketing and marketing automation? 

Read next:

• Salon Marketing – How to promote your salon, spa or clinic
• Email marketing for salons: 10 elements of successful emails 

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on 13 Sep 2018 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.