Are you still handing out punch cards at your salon?
Stop. Right. Now.
Your salon loyalty program is costing you money and (probably) annoying your clients.
In this episode, I will shatter everything you thought you knew about keeping salon clients coming back. Forget points and free haircuts – I’ll show you what actually works to build lasting relationships that drive real growth.
Watch the short…
…or play the full video of episode 17 of our Marketing 100 series.
Next, check out our detailed guide with practical tips.
Why Traditional Salon Loyalty Programs Fail
Let’s be honest – when was the last time you rushed to a business just because you were one stamp away from a free soda? Or spent time calculating how many “points” you needed for a free travel-size product?
Whether it’s old-school punch cards or fancy digital point systems, salon loyalty programs just don’t deliver. As Daniel Lang, CEO of Mangomint, puts it in his article Salon and spa loyalty programs don’t work:
If delayed gratification worked so well, we would all be super healthy, eating our vegetables and putting 30% of our income every month into a 401k retirement account.
Here’s why loyalty programs are falling flat in the salon industry:
- They’re too complicated – Between “1 point per dollar” systems and “buy 9, get 1 free” punch cards, nobody has time to understand or remember the rules
- They devalue your services – High-end experiences shouldn’t feel like fast-food promotions
- They don’t drive real loyalty – Clients come back for amazing service, not points
- They eat into your profits – You’re giving discounts to clients who would return anyway
- They create frustration – Clients feel entitled to rewards they’ve “earned” rather than appreciating a genuine gesture
- They overwhelm your staff – Your front desk is already juggling appointments, phone calls, and check-outs. Adding point calculations to the mix? No thanks!
- They use ineffective reward structures – Many loyalty programs fail due to a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn’t cater to diverse client preferences. Clients may not see value in accumulating points for future discounts or services.
- They’re costly to implement and maintain – For small businesses like salons, the costs of setting up and running a loyalty program can outweigh the benefits, requiring significant investment in time, money, and resources.
Key Reasons Salon Loyalty Programs Underperform
For a loyalty program to actually work, three things must be true:
- Clients must know about it – Between busy front desks and cluttered email inboxes, many clients never even realize the program exists.
- Clients must remember it – When booking weeks or months later, who really remembers the details of a points system?
- Clients must value it – The promised reward needs to be compelling enough to change clients’ behavior.
If any of these three elements fails, the entire program is pointless.
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Effective Strategies to Replace Outdated Salon Loyalty Programs
Instead of predictable, transactional loyalty programs, what really works is the “surprise and delight” approach. Here’s how to do it right:
1. Make It Personal
Target specific clients based on their:
- Purchase history
- Visit frequency
- Preferred services
2. Time It Perfectly
- Send offers at strategic moments (Use salon automation software like Mangomint)
- Example: If a client typically buys a product every 6 months, reach out at 4-5 months with a special offer with that product as part of a bundle
3. Keep It Unexpected
- The psychology is simple – irregular, surprise rewards are more powerful than predictable ones (Psychology Today).
Pros of Personalized Client Appreciation
When you surprise clients with personalized, thoughtful gestures:
- It feels genuine rather than transactional
- It generates positive word-of-mouth
- It leads to better reviews and client testimonials
- It builds emotional connections instead of point-counting, transactional relationships
- It avoids the complexity that loyalty programs introduce to your salon
Cons of Salon Loyalty Programs
- Operational Headaches – Staff need constant retraining on program details
- Checkout Delays – Dealing with point redemptions and duplicate accounts slows everything down
- Customer Service Issues – Get ready for debates about lost points and forgotten email addresses
- Profit Erosion – You’re basically giving discounts to your already-loyal customers
Long-Term Strategies for Genuine Client Loyalty
If it was easy, everybody would do it.
There’s no quick fix for client loyalty. But by focusing on creating exceptional experiences and surprising clients with thoughtful, personalized connections, you’ll build a loyal client base that sticks around for the right reasons.
Simple Steps to Keep Clients Coming Back
- Phase out your current points-based loyalty program
- Identify your top clients and their buying patterns
- Create an internal timeline for surprise offers and gestures (this process is much easier with fast salon software like Mangomint)
- Train your team to focus on relationship-building over point-collecting
- Track the results of your personalized approach
The Bottom Line on Salon Loyalty Programs
Stop relying on outdated loyalty programs that nobody really cares about. Instead, invest in creating genuine connections and surprising your clients with value they didn’t expect.
Focus on what truly matters: delivering great service at a fair price and caring deeply about every aspect of the client experience, from booking to checkout.
Building loyalty is not a quick fix. We have a complete course on The Salon Business YouTube channel. Here is the first episode.
Are you ready to level up your salon’s marketing? Stay tuned for 83 more game-changing tips in Marketing 100, our Marketing Strategies series.
