How can I reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations?
Oliver Cahill, chief commercial officer of Premier Software Solutions, shares how to counteract no-shows.
No-shows and cancellations are some of the biggest reasons for beauty businesses losing revenue. Luckily, there are easy ways you can prevent these! All it takes are some simple tweaks and the right settings in your salon software…
Implement a cancellation policy
We totally understand – sometimes plans change, but it’s those last-minute cancellations that harm beauty businesses. That’s where a clear cancellation policy comes in. This could be used to outline terms and conditions for cancelling, such as there being a charge if an appointment is cancelled within 48 hours. You could even add that repeated cancellations may lead to booking refusals. Make sure this is shown clearly on your website and in booking confirmations so that clients are well aware of your terms in advance.
Take a deposit
We’ve mentioned cancellation charges, but how do you enforce them? We recommend taking a percentage of the treatment cost at the point of booking. This non-refundable deposit will act as a deterrent for clients cancelling last-minute or not showing. For clients that arrive as planned, this can simply be deducted from their treatment cost. This helps protect you against any lost revenue, no matter what.
Send booking reminders
With the booking placed, why not prompt clients of their appointment through the use of confirmations and reminders? The confirmation will outline details of their booking, alongside your cancellation policy, ensuring clients understand their appointment obligations in advance. Better yet, you can prompt clients of their appointments via SMS reminders three days before their booking (ahead of that 48 hour cancellation charge period). Given that SMS has a 97% open rate, according to leading SMS provider TextAnywhere, clients are much more likely to read their message and act accordingly.
Set alerts for repeat offenders
If you’re struggling with clients that don’t show or repeatedly cancel last minute, all is not lost. You can help prevent this by making a log when it happens, to help alert staff in future. You can then take the necessary measures at that point, such as taking a deposit before booking or reiterating your cancellation policy. A system such as Salon by Premier Software® will even automatically note a client’s non-arrival on their record card following an end-of-day procedure. The system will then show an appropriate icon upon the client’s next booking to alert your team.
To find out how Salon can help your business further, visit www.premiersalon.co.u