How to choose the right tools to reach new customers, engage existing ones, and boost your spa or salon’s business

There are more than 21,000 spa locations across the United States. If you want yours to stand out, you’re going to need more than an “Open” sign hanging in your window. Luckily, one of the most efficient tools for bringing clients in your door is also one of the most widely available: salon marketing software.

Of course, not all salon marketing software is created equal. Each has its own set of features, from robust reporting to time-saving automations. So how do you know which one is right for your business? This guide will help you determine what your business needs are, and how to find the software that fits you best.

What do you need from salon marketing software?

Before making any business decision, it’s always best to first understand your business needs.

Obviously, the needs of an independent salon owner just getting off the ground, a manager at an established salon looking to expand, or a franchised group of salons are going to be vastly different. Are you trying to bring new clients in the door, or do you need a way to maximize revenue from loyal customers? Do you need turn-key solutions to get essential functions up and running, or do you need customized solutions to optimize complex workflows?

Look at your own medium and long-term objectives, then figure out what you need to take your business to the next level. Once you have your specifics clearly defined, you can move on to the next step.

Here are some key features that almost any salon marketing software should include:

Email marketing

As social media sites rise and fall, email remains the king of marketing ROI. Every dollar out brings $53 back in. Why? There are several reasons, but two stand out: personalization and targeting. 

When you personalize messages for your clients, you help them feel understood and cared for. This approach also lets you suggest products and services that they’ll love, but that they haven't even thought to try yet. That's a killer sales combo.

Email also provides tons of feedback that you can use to refine your marketing efforts. Open rates, clickthrough rates, and successful bookings are clear indications of where your marketing is connecting with clients. That can help you experiment as you pursue the perfect marketing strategy.

Customizable templates

Running a salon takes enough work as is; finding time to craft a steady stream of bespoke emails on top of that is a big ask. That's exactly why the best salon marketing software includes pre-built templates.

Templates can take you 90% of the way to completed marketing materials with a minimum of effort. These templates are already optimized to draw attention, so all you need to do is slot in your branding and watch the good numbers go up. If your templates are customizable, that’s even better. You learn what works, then tweak your marketing to double down on success.

Automations

Now that we’ve established that saving time is good (if you needed convincing), we can talk about the superstar of time-saving: automations.

With automations, you can build out a pre-determined set of emails, designed to achieve specific business goals. Personalizing every email with the client's name and preferences? Check. Nurturing lapsed clients until they can't resist returning? Check. Tantalizing deal-hound clients with limited-time offers? Check.

If you can dream it up, automations can make it happen. And when they do, you'll save time, cut down on human error, and build deeper connections with your clients.

Robust metrics and reporting

To push your salon to new heights, you need to set goals. And the only way to know if you've reached those goals is to measure your progress. When it comes to marketing, there are tons of metrics that can tell you whether your efforts are bearing fruit.

Your salon marketing software should do more than simply track data. It should empower you to create reports that clearly show you what's working, what isn't, and how to improve.

Flexible integrations

Marketing is just one part of the puzzle. If your marketing plan doesn’t fit in with the rest of your tech stack, you’ll never see the full picture. When your salon marketing software can communicate with your booking, scheduling, client profile and e-commerce solutions, you can create automations that save time and raise the bar for service.

For instance: With access to booking data, your marketing software can sort clients who book the same services again and again, and create tailor-made campaigns for them. Data from client profiles can inform targeting in a similar way, powering your marketing with deep insight about each client you're trying to reach.

Why choose an all-in-one platform meant specifically for salon marketing?

Then, of course, there’s Boulevard, an all-in-one solution built specifically by and for salon professionals that can handle both your in-house salon management as well as your outbound salon email marketing.

An option like Boulevard’s Marketing Suite Add-on allows you to keep everything in one system and one place, and its automated salon marketing solutions are customized for salon clients. Our intelligent AI is built to create automated campaigns that work with your client database to nudge old clients to come back, send friendly reminders to those clients that like to book in advance, or fill slow days at the salon with promotions and alerts.

Having an easy integration between your scheduling tools and your customer database is essential — so why not use one tool for both? Boulevard Marketing Suite was carefully crafted by Boulevard, just for YOU — with the needs of appointment-based, self-care businesses like yours in mind. We understand that developing a successful email marketing strategy is a full-time job in itself. It’s tedious, stressful, and takes time away from running your business. So, we’ve de-mystified email marketing and made it simple and straightforward to engage clients, increase retention, and ultimately drive revenue.

At Boulevard, we do more than just talk the talk. We get results. Just look at what we did for Fellow Barber. In the first two months with our Marketing Suite, appointments from email marketing spiked to more than 1,000 appointments per month.

No matter what size business you are, we offer solutions tailored to your business needs, whether that’s at the salon professional, franchise, or enterprise level.