As a member of BABTAC, you already know that you’ve got a huge range of benefits available to your business. But when it comes to saving money for your business, do you know how to use these benefits to the greatest effect?
Missed appointments are the biggest source of lost revenue to beauty salons around the country, with even regular clients getting their dates confused or simply forgetting that they even made an appointment. Every missed appointment is a lost opportunity for revenue that you will never get back, so it’s important that you have a strategy in place to stop them from happening.
Appointment cards are a great, physical confirmation of booked appointments, but obviously these aren’t an option when your customer has booked over the phone or online. Plus, they’re easy to lose, and only work as a reminder if the customer already has the card in their hands.
Emails are another option - they’re fast, free, and can be sent a day before the appointment so they arrive at the right time. The downside is that people don’t tend to check their emails on a daily basis, and you run the risk of ending up in their junk folder, so your message won’t even be seen.
Phoning gives you the opportunity to speak to your customer directly and means that if they need to cancel, they can tell you then and there, potentially giving you enough time to fill the empty slot. On the other hand, phoning takes valuable time out of your day, especially if you have a lot of customers, and you run the risk of calling while your client is at work or busy – meaning you either irritate them or get their voicemail.
The clear solution to these problems is to send a text message – it’s a physical reminder, like an appointment card, it’s fast, it’s definitely going to be read, and your customers can reply if they need to rearrange. You don’t have to send your messages from your personal phone either; as part of your BABTAC benefits you get reduced rates with an award winning SMS provider.
Salons around the country have reported great results with SMS appointment reminders – whether it’s 100% decrease in people missing appointments, or one salon saving £112 in what would have been forgotten bookings in just 4 days. If you’d like to start saving your bookings, take advantage of your exclusive discounted text message rate with BABTAC partner Textlocal and open your free account now. Just visit www.textlocal.com/babtac and you can get started with no hassle and no contracts.