Beauty -GiftVouchers& Loyalty Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FOE? Friend or
The solution?
One tried and tested method for making clients feel valued is to introduce a client loyalty scheme. Client reward programmes have been around in some form or another for several years, in fact many people consider the earliest form of reward schemes to be co-operatives, where each member receives a dividend for their loyalty to the business in question.
Frequent Flier Programmes such as Southwest Airlines’ ‘Sweetheart Stamps’ in the 70s and American Airlines’ ‘AAdvantage Programme’, which was launched in 1981, are also considered the forefathers of today’s modern loyalty schemes.
In addition to the typical ‘Rebate Schemes’ as described above where clients receive an award after they reach a certain level of spending, other types of loyalty schemes include ‘Refer a Friend’, where customers are rewarded for bringing in new business and ‘Partner Reward’ programmes, where partner services such as hairdressing could be awarded to clients who demonstrate their loyalty to your salon.
While, all of the above mentioned loyalty schemes carry their own set of merits and drawbacks depending on the success of their implementation, the basic rule of thumb behind any loyalty scheme is to ensure that the scheme works for you as much as it does your clients.
Make it work for
you... “Most loyalty systems revolve around the coffee shop idea of ‘Buy nine get the 10th free’. This does not work in the Beauty Industry. If somebody is happy to buy nine of the same service from you why would you give them a 10th free? With this mentality you are giving away something they would have paid for anyway,” comments Barry Quinn, Loyalty Development Manager at Phorest.
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“What appears to work better is to reward your clients with treatments they would not normally have. For example if you have a client who pops in every two weeks for a Spray Tan, when they reach enough points for a reward the system automatically offers them something which they have never tried before, a ‘Treat’. The idea is that they enjoy this ‘Treat’ so much that a percentage of the clients come back and pay for it again in future,” adds Barry.
A super idea...
When considering what type of loyalty system may work best for you and your clients, it is also worthwhile considering what type of schemes your clients may already be exposed to, as this will ensure that they are already familiar with the concept that you are trying to introduce.
For example, the earliest specific client loyalty scheme in Ireland was launched by Superquinn back in May 1993 when it first introduced the SuperClub.
Subsequently rebranded as Superquinn Rewards in 2007, the points-based programme offers customers the option to receive quarterly Superquinn vouchers, spend points using their Rewards Card or exchange their points for One4all® gift vouchers.
Although it is unlikely that you will be looking to launch a reward scheme on a similar scale to that of Superquinn’s there are still many aspects of the scheme which can translate to smaller scale operations.
According to Superquinn’s website, the key to their success is the infrastructure behind the Rewards scheme: “An additional major benefit carefully designed into this programme was the build-up of the database of individual customers’ shopping patterns. This offered Superquinn a totally new level of knowledge about its customers, even for a company that has always prided itself on being close to its customers.”
Once Superquinn had built-up this information about their customers, it enabled them to streamline their marketing to target specific customer groups with offers that may be of interest to them more than their fellow shoppers.
This idea could easily be integrated into the salon or Spa, and it is probably already in use although you may not realise it. For example, how many of you can categorise your clients into nails, tanning, waxing and skin care according to their preferred treatment selections?
If this is a fairly easy task for you, then you’re already half-way there, if not it may be time to improve your client record keeping skills or invest in some salon software that will do this for you. After your clients have been sorted into the relevant categories you can begin some targeted marketing campaigns in accordance to their spending patterns.
Make it accessible...
One of the other positives of the Superquinn Rewards Card is the ease of use for their customers, as the Superquinn website explains: “Registering of customer points is automatic via the till, and because the check-out receipt keeps the customer immediately up-to-date on how many points she has, the scheme is very simple from the customer’s point of view. When the balance of points is removed for the quarterly mailing that shows on the till receipt too so customers are kept informed every step of the way.”
Whatever type of loyalty scheme you choose to adopt, it’s important for customers to feel that the scheme is easily accessible to them, so make sure you explain clearly what they have to do to accrue their points and when they will start to reap the rewards.
In-salon posters and fliers promoting the scheme will help to create awareness as will encouraging your members of staff to chat to clients about the loyalty programme; and to ensure that your staff are supporting the new scheme why not set up a points-based reward programme for them also, based on the number of clients they get to sign up to the programme or simply in-line with the number of clients who specifically request their services.
So what’s the
downside? When executed successfully, loyalty schemes can bring a wealth of benefits to both you and your clients however some loyalty schemes don’t even make it off the ground because of a lack of
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