Salon marketing ideas to get more clients

Seven ideas, in order of cost. The first four are free.

1. 1Rebook every client before they leave the chair.
2. 2Ask every happy client to refer a friend, and thank them when they do.
3. 3Complete your Google Business Profile and turn on bookings.
4. 4Ask every client for a Google review, with a link or QR code.
5. 5Post your work on Instagram, consistently, with your location and booking link.
6. 6List on a booking marketplace if you need new clients faster, and know the fees.
7. 7Answer every call and message, including the ones that come in while you're with a client.

The last step decides whether the other six pay off. A new client who can't get through or doesn't hear back books somewhere else.

Book the next appointment before they leave, while they're happy with the result. It's the cheapest marketing a salon has, because the client already trusts you.

• Suggest the right interval for the service, such as six weeks for a cut or eight for color.
• Book it at checkout, not by text later.
• Send an automatic reminder a day or two before.
• Make it easy to change the booking, by phone, text or online, so a clash becomes a reschedule, not a no-show.

A clear cancellation policy protects those rebooked slots. Our guide to salon cancellation policies and no-shows has a sample policy.

Yes, when the reward is simple and the ask is personal. A client who loves their hair is your best advertising, and a small thank-you, such as credit toward their next service, gives them a reason to mention you.

Keep referral rewards separate from reviews. Rewarding a client for referring a friend is fine. Rewarding a client for leaving a review is not: Google removes incentivized reviews (Google), and the FTC's rule bars incentives conditioned on a review of a particular sentiment (16 CFR Part 465).

List every service and turn on bookings. Google says services may be highlighted when local customers search for them (Google Business Profile Help), and you can connect a booking provider or add your own booking link (Google Business Profile Help).

• Add each service separately: cuts, color, balayage, extensions, blowouts, nails, brows.
• Keep hours accurate, including late nights and holidays.
• Add photos of your work, the salon and the team, and keep adding new ones.
• Connect your booking system, so clients can book without calling.

Ask every client, at checkout, with a QR code at the desk and a link in your follow-up text, and never offer anything in return. You can create the link and QR code from your Business Profile on a computer: Read reviews, then Get more reviews (Google Business Profile Help).

Ask everyone, not just the clients who seem delighted: Google's policy bars selectively soliciting positive reviews (Google). Reply to reviews briefly, and thank people by name only if they used it.

As a portfolio that leads to a booking. People choose a stylist by the work they can see, so post your best results and make booking one tap away.

• Post finished work regularly, with good light and the service named in the caption.
• Tag your location, so local people find you.
• Put your booking link in your bio.
• Reply to comments and messages quickly; a message asking about price is a booking inquiry.

Messages are calls in another form. If a client asks for a price on Instagram and hears nothing for a day, they'll book with the stylist who replied.

If you send promotional texts to clients you meet on social media, get written consent first. The FCC says commercial texts require written consent (FCC).

They can be, if you need new clients faster and price in the marketplace fees. Each charges a monthly subscription, and two charge a one-time fee for new clients they send you.

Sources: Booksy pricing, Vagaro pricing and Fresha pricing. Booksy says it charges no commission on new clients when Boost is off, and Fresha says there's no fee for clients who find you through your own website or social profiles.

A one-time new-client fee can be worth it if the client keeps coming back. Run the sum: the fee, against what that client spends with you in a year.

Most of the best ones cost nothing but time.

• A rebooking habit at checkout.
• A referral thank-you, such as credit toward the next service.
• A Google review QR code at the front desk.
• Before-and-after photos, with the client's permission.
• Partnerships with local wedding planners, photographers and gyms.
• A waitlist for last-minute openings, so cancellations become bookings.
• Answering the phone when it rings.

Immediately on the phone, and within the hour for messages, during opening hours. A new client calling for an appointment is usually calling more than one salon.

• Calls during a service are the hardest; forward them to cover instead of letting them ring out.
• Evening calls from people who've just decided to book are easy wins if someone answers.
• Messages on Instagram and Google should get the same speed as calls.

Our guide to how to stop missing business calls covers the options, and missed-call text back covers one cheap fix.

Ringzel is an AI receptionist for salons that answers every call 24/7 from $99 a month, so the clients your marketing brings in reach someone while you're with a client.

It answers in your salon's name, answers questions about services and prices the way you've set them up, and takes the caller's details. On Professional and Premium, it can book appointments into your calendar and transfer calls to the front desk.

Plans are $99, $179 or $299 a month, with a 14-day free trial and no card to start.