Text message marketing salon: 4 text message marketing strategies that will solve the No-Show problem

Losing so much money on no-shows can be downright frustrating because it’s not something you have total control over. You’re probably expecting to have a full schedule today but in the next few hours, only 30% of the 80% scheduled appointment showed up. What a bummer, right? No matter what the reason is, there are strategies like text marketing for your salon that you can implement to reduce no-shows.

How do you get to the root cause of the problem? Is it your front desk’s fault? Or is it you for not encouraging your clients enough to actually bother to visit?

1. Rethink your way of approaching your clients

Is your salon getting boring? People change, and so do their taste for finer things in life. For example, think of how you can perhaps redesign your website and redecorate your salon to appeal more to your growing urban chic clients. The more they feel like they connect to your brand, the more likely they will book future appointments.

2. Educate your clients about scheduling appointments

 There’s always a first-time for those who haven’t done phone or online reservations before. Okay, big deal, but the solution is simple. During your clients’ first visit, hand over a booklet that explains how they can book an appointment with you for their next visit.

Prepare your staff to have an answer to possible questions those first-time clients may have. It’s important to give emphasis on your no-show policy in order to avoid incurring losses in your revenue.

3. Put an organized scheduling system in place

From booking to confirmation, you must be able to do this systematically and consistently.

• Front desk receives a client’s booking details
• Send out an electronic confirmation by email or text message to the client 3 days before the scheduled appointment
• Call up clients who have yet to confirm their attendance 2 days before their visit
• Send a text reminder 2 hours before their visit
• Document every client’s visit and take note of the times they missed their appointment. If one has had 5 no-shows, you may want to tag him as a “walk-in only” client.
• Use text message marketing to encourage clients to take advantage of your special offer

4. Require a no-show fee, if you must, but don’t be too confrontational about it

Everybody uses this collecting technique. It’s understandable, but make sure to not sound confrontational about it. Before clients can finalize an appointment, hold out a certain amount of money against their credit/debit card, then give them an option to pay their outstanding balance in full at the front desk.

With these strategies, you will be able to gain some control over what you can afford to lose on no-shows and eventually identify clients who only do damage to your business.