Nails Magazine Supplements

The Big Book 2016/2017

Magazine for the professional nail industry.

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84 | NAILS MAGAZINE | 2016-2017 THE BIG BOOK HOW TO DO EVERYTHING BETTER GUIDE: ... EVEN BETTER raffle away anything from services to salon products." While prebooking isn't for everyone, many clients will find that making the commitment is a valuable service your salon offers. It eases the burden of their hectic schedules — a phone call to the salon each month is now one less item on their to-do lists. And, they never have to worry that their nails are less than lovely. How to Drive More Traffic to Your Website With SEO Search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo! scour the web to produce results for a query as fast as possible. These engines then rank the results in order of perceived usefulness. The term SEO stands for "search engine optimization," meaning improving the relevance and importance of your site's searchability. Think of search engines as the new Yellow Pages. Bryan Durocher of Durocher Enter- prises (www.durocherenterprises. com) explains why it is so vital to understand SEO. "It's always a good idea for business owners to at least understand the basics of marketing— and that includes SEO. They know their business better than anyone and if they have basic knowledge of SEO, they are able to work in partner- ship with the site manager to ensure want to take time up on your book and then cancel," "I prefer to call," and "I don't have my date book on me." When a client offers one of these excuses, you should stress that the appointment isn't written in indel- ible ink. Explain that, even with standing appointments, you are flex- ible and understand she may need to reschedule. Buchanan says letting the guest know it's a convenience and that they can cancel if things change goes a long way in convincing uncommitted clients to reserve future time slots. "They will get a confirmation call two days before and if they need to cancel, they can reschedule then." Confirmation calls, emails, or texts are a good idea with standing appointments. Depending on your scheduling software, you may be able to automate these. Plan to take care of the confirmation far enough in advance that you can fill the slot with another client in the case of a cancellation. If you own a salon that's not in the habit of prebooking clients, begin by introducing incentives for both staff and clients. Buchanan says, "To jump-start it, you can hold a contest for your front desk staff to see who gets the most prebookings in a week and then give them a Starbucks card. For guests, you can hold a 'prebook raffle.' If they book their next two appointments in advance, they will be entered into a client raffle. You can How to Make Your Clients More Likely to Prebook How much money are you losing every time a client leaves without prebooking her next appointment? Standing appointments increase the frequency of your clients visits and ensure a more stable income for you. So how do you turn intermittent clients into regulars? There are many reasons clients don't rebook. It could simply be that you're not bringing up the option with them. Or perhaps you mentioned standing appointments right before a client's business trip or summer vacation but never broached the subject again. Scott Buchanan, owner of Scott J Salons & Spas in New York City, likes to launch into the conversation about standing appointments right away. "I like to start it in the consul- tation piece and listen for small hints," Buchanan says. "Also when talking about what we are going to do, we will discuss the maintenance/ upkeep of whatever we are talking about, and I will mention that we can prebook you for X weeks later." He adds that when clients check out, the front desk staff should ask if they want to prebook. Common reasons clients cite for being noncommittal include, "I don't know my schedule that far in advance," "I am too busy," "I don't CONNECT >>>

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