Why is it crucial to master how to build clientele as a new beauty business in Nigeria? 

Here’s your answer: 

No matter the age, size, expertise, or resources, your business won’t amount to much without a list of loyal customers. Also, your competitors already have existing customers and you need to get yours quickly if you hope to survive the market. 

As a new business, once you’ve decided on a beauty business idea you want to start and have gotten around to launching it, one thing is left: managing it to achieve success. And a big part of successful salon or spa management is the customers. 

You must get new clients and retain as many of them as possible to build a solid customer base that’ll sustain your business now and in the future. 

While achieving this at the beginning of your business can be difficult, it’s possible and this guide will show you exactly how to build clientele as a new business in Nigeria. 

First things first: Have you defined your salon or spa clients?

You don’t want to spend all that time and money to attract potential customers who don’t want your services or bring in new clients who aren’t likely to return for their next visit. Your goal should be to focus on people who’ll become loyal customers. To do this, you must answer two questions. 

Question 1: What’s your niche?

At launch, be clear on the nature of your beauty business and what it offers. 

For example, is it just a nail studio or a beauty salon that offers hair and nail services?  

Question 2: Who is your ideal customer? 

Next, you must identify the kind of people looking for the services your salon or spa offers. Outline their relevant demographic information like age, gender, income, location, and education.

For example, if you have your hair salon near the University of Lagos campus, your ideal customer could be: educated middle-class female students aged 16 to 30.

Splice tip: Highlight their specific needs and market your salon or salon to your target customers as a business that can meet those needs. 

How to get new customers to your salon or spa

You don’t have to be a marketing expert to land new beauty clients. However, you can apply multiple marketing strategies to attract new salon visitors. 

Here are a few for you to begin with: 

Strategy 1: Start with family & friends

One useful skill in the beauty business is utilising what you have to get what you want. 

If you’re launching a new salon or spa, chances are you already have some people, however few, to whom you offer your services. Most of them will become your first few loyal customers. As you look for new customers, don’t forget these existing ones. They’ll sustain your business in the beginning. 

Keep them. Nurture them with excellent customer service and periodic discounts. Encourage them to spread the word about your salon or spa to others.  

Strategy 2: Make it easy to book your service

Many potential customers will engage with your business if you make it simple enough to do so. 

A salon and spa appointment booking software offers you a way to enable potential clients a simple, quick, and convenient way to book appointments anytime, anywhere. For many, it can be the difference between choosing your business and going elsewhere. 

Splice can simplify appointment bookings for potential customers, increasing the chances of repeat business.

In addition to managing appointments, an all-in-one management tool like Splice will help you streamline staff schedules, process payments, simplify customer management, oversee loyalty programs, and provide business insights for data-driven decision-making.

Strategy 3: Promote your salon or spa on multiple channels

With your customer base of family and friends to kick off your beauty business, promote your salon or spa across all available marketing channels to acquire more customers. 

Here are some things you can do: 

I. Do local promotion

Install a signboard in front of your establishment and put up banners around strategic spots to let your potential customers know you’re open. 

Print and distribute eye-catching flyers and leave some at busy centres such as business complexes, malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc. 

II. Utilise social media 

In today’s world, social media is one of the most effective ways to build clientele as a new beauty business. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are free online tools that salon or spa owners and managers like you can use to promote their businesses through content. It will help you get followers and generate online engagement, which you can convert to loyal customers. 

See our comprehensive guide to learn more about using social media to promote your beauty business.  

III. Set up a Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free marketing tool by Google that allows businesses like salons and spas to manage how they appear in Google Search and Google Maps. Many people rely on it to find local beauty businesses. 

For example, when potential clients make location-based searches like, “Hair salons near me” or “Medical Spas in Gwagwalada, Abuja,” relevant business profiles listed on Google will be offered up. You want your business profile to pop up when potential clients search for keywords relevant to your salon or spa. 

Read our step-by-step guide on how to set up and optimise a Google Business Profile for your salon or spa. 

IV. Attend local events

Participate in events in and around your area. Trade fairs and exhibitions can be a great way to showcase your beauty business to potential customers and boost your brand presence. 

Strategy 4: Invest in paid advertising

The previous strategy explains how to use organic efforts to promote your salon or spa to attract new customers and build a clientele for your beauty business. However, they might be insufficient for a new business. Running paid ads online and offline is a great way to supplement your organic efforts. 

I. Advertise online

If you’re reading this, I can only assume your business has been online or you just started creating an online presence.

Do the following: 

• Run social media ads. Instagram Ads and Facebook Ads, among others, are on-platform tools to promote your content and business to reach new users. 
• Try Google ads. When a potential customer searches Google for beauty businesses, the search engine offers organic and paid results. Taking advantage of paid results alongside organic ones can improve traffic to your website, which you can potentially convert to customers.
• Influencer marketing. Partner with local beauty influencers (or any influencer with a decent following). You can pay them to recommend your business to their followers, offer them a free or discounted service in return for their recommendations, or both. 

II. Advertise locally

Your business is both online and offline. So, remember also to advertise offline. Promote your salon or spa in local newspapers, and on the local radio and television stations. 

Strategy 5: Ask existing customers to leave reviews

A business saying how excellent their services are is expected, and potential customers often receive this with suspicion. But satisfied customers giving glowing feedback on your service is effective for convincing undecided people to take a chance on your business. 

Once you’re sure a customer’s needs have been adequately met, encourage them to leave a review across your marketing channels, including social media comments, blog posts, and Google Business Profile. 

Here are a few things you can try: 

• Start by asking loyal customers, who are more likely to help out, to leave reviews. Most of them will leave a review if you ask.
• Reward customers for leaving reviews. It could be a one-time 10℅ discount on their next appointment or a free low-end product. 
• Make it easy for them by including a review link in your appointment reminders, or follow-up texts or emails. Splice appointment scheduling tool can help you achieve this. 

• Reply to ALL reviews as 88% of consumers would patronise a business that responds to all of its reviews.
• Share the best reviews on social media. It can be through regular “customer spotlight” posts or on Facebook and Instagram Stories. 

Tip: Create a review HighlIght on Instagram to showcase customers’ testimonials. 

Strategy 6: Offer first-time discounts

Discounts can be an effective technique to grab the attention of potential customers who might be hesitant to try a new service at full price. It serves as an incentive for them to take the first step and patronise you. Additionally, it increases your chance of landing customers who may be comparing options. 

Your potential customers, like all clients, will welcome getting more for less. Offering special discounts, such as 15% off for the first makeup session, can begin the process of turning them into loyal customers. 

Splice will help you create and automate the discounts for new customers.

As a new business, aim to provide discounted services for a set period, say your first three to six months after launch. Importantly, ensure your new customers know you’ll have to raise your prices after the promotion ends. 

Strategy 7: Run a customer referral program

Beauty businesses run largely on referrals. Given the personal nature of such services, many people tend to rely on the recommendations of their family and friends to try a salon or spa as confirmed by the 2024 Beyond Beauty Report. Take advantage of this opportunity by creating a referral program. 

The reward could be as simple as a 10% cashback or discount on the next session for every successful referral or 10 points for each referral, which the customer can later convert to a free service, product, discounts, or cash. 

You can use Splice to create a salon or spa referral-based loyalty program and automate the reward system.

The primary goal of a referral program is to drive word-of-mouth marketing among existing clients to bring in new customers. By extension, it’ll also improve customer retention. 

Strategy 8: Partner with local brands 

Working with other business owners in your area as a new salon or spa is an effective way to build clientele as a new beauty business.

For instance, photographers and event planners often have clients who need whatever beauty service you offer. The same applies to your business. A partnership will allow both businesses to reach an agreement to refer customers both ways. 

Partner with other beauty businesses

You can either keep seeing them as your competition or partner with them to grow your business. If you opt for the latter, target beauty businesses that complement yours, rather than ones that offer the same services. 

For example, you can collaborate with makeup studios or nail bars if you run a hair salon. This way, you can provide hair services they don’t offer their customers in exchange for a percentage of the revenue you make from their referrals, and vice versa. 

Now that you’re equipped with practical strategies for getting new customers, let’s see how to turn new customers into loyal clients. 

How to retain existing salon or spa customers

Getting customers to your salon or spa is one-half of the job. The other half entails turning them into loyal customers.  

You want to keep as many new customers as possible because: 

1. It’ll cost your beauty business a lot more money to acquire new customers than to retain old ones. 
2. Even a small 5% increase in customer retention can increase your revenue by up to 95%. 
3. On average, returning clients spend significantly more money than first-time customers.  

Any salon or spa that plans to remain in business for long must develop a comprehensive customer retention strategy. It’s okay if you don’t have one yet; that’s why you’re reading this guide. 

Here are some tips for developing one for your business: 

• Tip 1: Conduct effective consultations to discover what your customers want and ensure you give it to them. 
• Tip 2: Provide outstanding customer service and maintain a clean and cosy environment to make a memorable first impression. 
• Tip 3: Set up a loyalty program to reward customers for doing business with you, incentivising them to stay loyal to your brand. E.g., a 20% discount on a session after spending a set amount, a free service or product after a certain number of visits, or 5% cashback for every successful referral. 
• Tip 4: Encourage your customers to book appointments at the end of their visits. 
• Tip 5: Motivate your employees to do better and give customers the best experience. 

To learn more about retaining customers, see this detailed article. 

Conclusion

Customers are the backbone of any business, including your salon or spa. Therefore, you must prioritise customer acquisition and subsequent retention. The practical strategies in the guide will equip you with what you need to build a clientele for your new beauty business and improve customer loyalty. 

Let Splice help you automate your business operations as you embark on your beauty business journey.