Winning Back Lost Clients: Tips for Salon and Spa Businesses
When clients stop returning, it's easy to write it off as part of operating a salon or spa. However, re-engaging lost clients is one of the most cost-effective moves a business can make to win back salon clients, and it doesn't require a huge marketing budget.
Modern salon software makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to identify lapsed clients, reach out to them with the right message, and win back clients with incentives that optimize revenue. In this guide, we walk you through practical strategies to identify clients you risk losing, reach out the right way, and get them back in the chair.
To get started with an automated win-back campaign, book a demo to see how BookedBy fits your needs.
What Qualifies as a Lost or Lapsed Client?
A lost or lapsed client is someone who has reached the inactivity threshold for your location type and has no future appointment scheduled. Industry standards define these thresholds by business classification, so start by identifying whether your location operates as a salon, barbershop, kids salon, or spa.
Set Your Inactivity Threshold by Location Type
Use the following thresholds to identify when clients qualify for win-back outreach:
For businesses with multiple location types, apply the corresponding threshold to each location. For example, a salon and a barbershop would use different inactivity windows, even if they operate under the same brand.
How to Identify Lapsed Clients
Review appointment records using your location’s threshold:
- Select the appropriate inactivity window. Use the industry standard for your location type.
- Check the client’s last completed appointment. Identify clients who have reached that threshold without returning.
- Check for an upcoming booking. Exclude clients who already have a future appointment scheduled.
Example: Maria last visited your salon 13 weeks ago and has no upcoming appointment. She has passed the salon’s 12-week threshold and qualifies for win-back outreach.
Why Do Salon and Spa Clients Stop Returning?
Clients stop returning for many reasons, and it’s usually nothing to do with the quality of services they received. Regular clients who return like clockwork rarely go unnoticed when they’re not seen in a while. In most cases, they’ll reappear with a reason for their absence: maybe they had family commitments, had a busy period at work, or took a last-minute holiday.
Clients who quietly disappear are harder to catch. They miss their regular rebooking, and then just stop showing up. Common reasons clients quietly disappear include:
- Scheduling difficulties: Clients may be too busy to book, or find no availability at their preferred times.
- Forgetting to rebook: Life can get in the way, and clients may simply forget.
- Changing needs: Life shifts. Could be due to new life circumstances, like becoming a parent, a change in job, or changing style goals.
- Financial reasons: Clients may have found a cheaper alternative, or be cutting back on extra spending.
- Relocation: The location is no longer within easy reach or convenient.
- Poor experience: Clients may have been put off by their last experience.
Most reasons clients stop returning come down to friction or forgetting, which are problems you can solve.
Why Lapsed Clients Are Worth Fighting For
Winning back a lapsed client costs a fraction of what it costs to acquire a new client because you don't have to start from zero. They already know your business, team, and services. This existing groundwork has real value, and it doesn't go away after a few missed appointments.
Clients who have already shown a pattern of regular visits represent long-term revenue, and one lapse only puts that on hold. Re-engaging even a small percentage of inactive clients can have a noticeable impact on your monthly revenue.
Choose the Right Win-Back Approach
The goal of your win-back campaign should be to remind lapsed clients of your business and give them a real reason to come back. You don’t want to make clients feel guilty or come across as desperate. Warm and low-pressure with a personal touch wins.
The key to a successful win-back campaign is choosing the right outreach method for the situation:
Create an Email or SMS Win-Back Campaign
Email and SMS provide a direct line of communication to lapsed clients and, if your platform supports it, can include direct links to rebook. SMS is great for short, friendly nudges, whereas email gives you room to offer a more in-depth message.
Modern salon and spa scheduling platforms let you automate email and SMS messaging to any segment of your clients. This means you can create different win-back messages for each lapsed client situation.
- A “We’ve missed you” message SMS for recently lapsed clients.
- An email for those you suspect had a poor experience,
- A personalized email for formerly regular clients that references their usual service or stylist and includes a relevant rebooking offer.
And so on. You can set up the software to send them to the right clients automatically. You can also set up sequences so clients get a friendly reminder first, a follow-up with an incentive, and a final targeted offer. Using software means you don't have to manually track who is becoming lapsed and write out each message.
An Example Email and SMS Sequence
Here is a three-touch sequence for a regular client who has passed their lapsed point. Each message has a different job, and the offer only appears once a softer nudge hasn't worked.
- First outreach email. Goal: Remind and remove friction (no discount).
Subject: We've missed you, [client name]!
Hi [client name],
It's been a while since your last [service], and we've missed you! We've added more Thursday evening appointments if your schedule has changed.
You can pick a time in under a minute here: [booking link]
We look forward to seeing you.
The team at [business name]
- Follow-up SMS. Goal: A short, friendly nudge
Hi [client name], it's [your name] from [business name]. [service provider] has a few openings next week and would love to see you! Book here: [booking link]
- Final email. Goal: A targeted offer with a deadline
Subject: A little something for your next color, [client name]
Hi [client name],
We'd love to see you back, so we've set aside a complimentary gloss treatment with your next color service, valid until [date].
Book here: [booking link]
If now isn't the right time, no problem at all. We'll be here when you are.
How To Use Incentives Without Undermining Your Margins
Resist the urge to send a blanket discount to all lapsed clients. Anchoring incentives to added values rather than reduced rates protects your margins and frames the incentive as added value. Structure incentives to feel special, not desperate:
- Targeted discounts: For example, a saving on a service the client has booked before, sent only to the segment that needs it.
- Service add-ons: A complimentary treatment that feels generous without touching your base price.
- Limited-time offers: These create a sense of urgency and prevent offers from spiraling out of control.
- Loyalty rewards: Valuable incentives that reward repeat visits and encourage clients to keep coming back.
- Bring a friend: A referral offer that rewards existing clients for bringing in new clients.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When clients stop returning, it's easy to react with a rushed discount or a generic message. Knowing the most common mistakes and how to avoid them keeps your campaign effective.
Measure Your Win-Back Campaign Results
Sending the campaign is only half the job. Tracking the following key performance indicators (KPIs) shows how clients respond to each message and channel:
- Delivery rate: The percentage of messages that reached clients (email and SMS).
- Email open rate: The percentage of delivered emails that were opened.
- Click rate (email/SMS): The percentage of clients who followed links.
- Reactivation rate: The percentage of contacted lapsed clients who rebooked.
- Return on incentive: Whether offers paid for themselves: (revenue recovered − incentive cost) ÷ incentive cost.
- Retention after return: The percentage of reactivated clients who book again within their normal rebooking cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to avoid lapsed clients?
The most effective way to avoid lapsed clients is to make it easy for them to return. You can do this by scheduling next appointments at checkout, sending rebooking reminders, implementing customer reactivation campaigns, and maintaining communication.
What is the best way to contact a lapsed salon client?
Email or SMS is usually the best way to contact clients. It's low-pressure, and it's easy to personalize at scale with salon booking software.
Using email and SMS also gives you a talking point for a follow-up call:
“Hi, I’m calling to follow up on the offer we sent last week. Appointments are filling up, and I thought you might like to book in with [their favorite stylist] while we have them available.”
How many times should I follow up with a lapsed client?
Two to three touch-points over several weeks is usually enough to win back a client.
Send the first message, give it about 2 weeks, then follow up more with a slightly different angle. Use a stronger incentive or a different channel if you have one available. Any more-frequent outreach risks coming across as pushy and driving people away.
Use BookedBy to Build and Run Win-Back Campaigns
BookedBy is an all-in-one scheduling software that automates everything from online booking to targeted marketing and client reactivation campaigns. It can take the manual work out of win-back campaigns with tools that let you:
- Filter clients by inactivity period so clients don’t quietly disappear. BookedBy currently supports 60-day, 90-day, and custom inactivity thresholds.
- Run targeted email and SMS campaigns aimed at lapsed clients.
- Apply relevant promotions that won't undermine your margins.
- Provide tappable links to rebook.
- Track campaigns and provide actionable results.
If you’re ready to take the manual work out of tracking appointments and spotting clients who haven’t returned, schedule a demo to see how BookedBy can automate your win-back campaigns.