How to get more clients reviews for your salon
Pop quiz, beauty pro…
What’s just as effective as a paid ad…
But it’s totally free…
And created by other people while bringing you bookings and a great reputation?
Any idea?
CLIENT REVIEWS!
Excellent client reviews are ✨marketing gold✨.
You know you’ve hit the jackpot when you’ve got a Facebook page with glowing reviews, a Google My Business account with a 4.9-star rating and 100+ positive client feedback, and an Instagram account with a ton of engagement and bookings.
Why’s that?
Because 92% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase…
…And 72% of consumers will take action only after reading a positive review.
You don’t even have to pay for them, and they stand out as a free ad for your business that people actually read and consider.
Today’s video + blog is all about building up your salon or spa’s reputation with client testimonials.
And plus, we’ll talk about how you can make money off your existing reviews and testimonials.
This is crucial stuff to act on, no matter your type of beauty biz - hairstylist, esthetician, medspa physician, or spray tanner.
Let’s go fishing for some tasty reviews!
Gathering all the reviews you didn’t even know you had (often in surprising places!)
Nobody likes to work from a place of scarcity. You feel unmotivated, behind the crowd, left in the dust.
So your first step is to go find those testimonials that you’ve already got - sometimes in the places you’d least think they’d be.
Go back through your emails, text messages, Facebook page, Instagram comments, Instagram Stories, and your Google My Business page.
You’ll find that glowing reviews are actually everywhere (if you’re doing your job right.)
A good starting point is to think more broadly about what ‘reviews’ really are.
They’re not always formally submitted reviews in the Reviews section of your pages, about how happy your client is with their hair or nails or spray tan or wax.
They could come in the form of a short email about how well you listened, a text about how nice your studio smelled, or an Instagram comment about how relaxed your client felt during their treatment.
They don’t have to be testimonials about skin texture improving or the best lashes ever.
Learn to recognize compliments and kind words for what they are: selling points in the words of someone else.
And here’s why:
The people checking out your business want to know more about your personality, ambiance, experience, and listening skills.
So messages from existing clients about this kind of stuff are more powerful than you’ve probably given them credit for.
Think about how many times you’ve pored through reviews for beauty businesses to check out how clients were treated before you’ve made a decision.
Everyone else is doing the same thing…and they’re doing it for your business!
So the next time you get kind words about your business (any kind words!), make a habit of collecting them.
I have a folder on my computer called “Wins” where I screenshot posts and comments from students in our student group (The Ad Lab).
Whenever my students share a win or something nice about their experience in the program, I keep it for future use.
I also screenshot emails, Instagram comments, webinar comments, etc.
The only thing to keep in mind with collecting private feedback from clients is that you must get permission first.
Now that you’ve collected all the reviews you already snagged, it’s time to generate some more!
How to encourage your clients to leave reviews for your salon or spa
Even if your clients are wild about your salon or spa, their first thought won’t be to leave you a review. Once in a while, someone will - but that’s the exception, not the rule.
So what you need to do is get into the habit of encouraging clients to share their thoughts and experiences in your salon.
There are lots of ways you can go about this.
Here are some ideas for encouraging your clients to leave reviews:
Set up automated emails to clients after their first appointment telling them that you loved meeting them. Ask for their feedback to help you grow your business. Include a link to leave a review on your Google, Facebook, or Yelp page.
Follow up manually after a particularly positive appointment with your clients, asking them to respond with a review. This one will work really well if they left absolutely raving about their treatment, hair, nails, etc.
If one of your clients follows you on Instagram, send them a DM asking if they can post a photo of their brows, hair, makeup, etc on Stories and tag you. Be sure to share it to your Stories and save it in your Stories Highlights.
At the end of the appointment, when you’re taking a bit of time to take photos of clients “after” shots, ask them if you can record a 30-second video testimonial of them. You can get them to answer questions like, “What do you love about your new lashes/hair?” or “How was your experience today with your esthetician?”
Alternatively, or in addition to the last suggestion, ask your clients in person to leave you a review on one of your pages. personally, I try to send clients to my Google My Business page, as when they Google me, the reviews come up right away.
Run a contest once a month for your clients. Email them to say that anyone who leaves you a review on Google this month will be entered to win a $50 gift card (or some sort of fun product giveaway). Select one winner per month. Run this promotion for a few months and then wait a while before you run it again - promo fatigue is real!
Now here’s the thing about asking for reviews.
You’re putting yourself out there, which means you could get shot down.
If you’re sensitive to rejection (but I mean, who among us isn't, right?!), this next bit is for you.
Sometimes when you ask someone for a review, they’ll say no.
Sometimes they’ll say yes, but then they won’t do it.
Sometimes, they’ll just ignore your request.
Don’t get discouraged!
As with forming any healthy habit, you just have to keep doing it.
Keep asking clients for reviews. Look at it this way: if you ask 50 clients and only 20% of them follow through, at the end of the month you’ll still have 10 new reviews.
In one year, you could have 120 new reviews.
Just imagine the rankings boost that would give to your Google business profile.
So don’t give up. It will be worth it, and you will get reviews.
Alright, so you’ve collected past reviews, and got a bunch of new ones…now what to do with all this beautiful, glowing feedback?
How to use testimonials to boost your reputation, bookings, and more (the easy way)
Look how far you’ve come!
You’ve set up a system for asking for reviews…
…You’ve made asking for reviews a comfortable habit (and you no longer get discouraged when you don’t get them!)...
…You’ve even got a folder on your phone, your computer, or your Google Drive/Dropbox for screenshotting and saving all reviews and testimonials from clients in any format!
The final step is to use all these reviews to get more bookings and get your salon or spa’s name out there!
Here are 5 ways you can use these reviews to your benefit:
Have a “client love” page on your website, updated once a month to include new client testimonials. Make it rea visible on your website - with a big button on your homepage and Menu screens - so that people will be more likely to check it out. They’ll be blown away by all the amazing things people are saying about you. And don’t forget to include a link to ‘Book Now’ on the testimonials page!
Include screenshots of reviews on your booking page.
Share screenshots of reviews, testimonials, or testimonial videos on your Instagram Stories whenever you get them. Then, create a Stories Highlight called “Client love” and save all the testimonials/reviews there.
Share reviews in the emails that you send to your list regularly. For example, you could write something like, “Speaking of clients, here are some recent kind words from my amazing client Jess. Thank you, Jess!” Include a screenshot of the feedback. You are sending emails to your list, right?
When you run Facebook and Instagram ads, include some of your favorite written reviews in your ad captions. To make your reviews really work for you, try putting together a video mashup of all your beautiful clients and their video testimonials! For more on creating beautifully irresistible social media ads, check out my free class right here.
Reviews, client testimonials, compliments, whatever you want to call them - they all have the potential to powerfully sway your ideal clients toward your business…but only if you SHARE them!
When it comes to reviews, just remember one thing: don’t leave it to chance.
That means don’t just wait for people to leave you reviews - ask for them!
Don’t wait for people to stumble across your good reviews - show them off!
Glowing reviews are like free advertisements for your salon or spa. You wouldn’t want to waste that kind of money-making potential, right?
So get out there and get yourself some great reviews, and start bringing in more of your new favorite clients with them.