Fostering Loyalty from Retail Services Customers

Retail service marketers—well, all marketers, really—are looking for meaningful growth. Revenue for the hair and nail salon industry grew just 2% last year. A few more percentage points would be reason to celebrate.

Opening more stores, offering new services and improving customer service are all keys to acquiring new customers and growing the bottom line. Product and service customization can also make a difference. A 2017 survey by Boston Retail Partners found that 70% of U.S. retailers plan to focus on personalization of the customer experience.

To help health and beauty retail service companies better understand consumer preferences about marketing messages, LAVIDGE commissioned a study of consumers throughout the Southwest. We looked at what marketing messages consumers favored, and we also compared the data to customer frequency. Here’s a fascinating insight that can help businesses increase customer usage and loyalty.

Increasing loyalty with customization

Retail service marketers wishing to convert occasional customers into regulars for their business should focus on the same messages that appeal to medium and heavy users, including “Our staff is well trained and knowledgeable” and the statements highlighting wellness.

But personalized marketing for retail service franchise brands, made possible by such mediums as email content marketing and programmatic advertising, can also deliver messages that particularly resonate with light users of retail  services. For example, low/occasional respondents—those who have patronized a  retail service business three times or less during the past 12 months—show a pronounced preference for “We will provide you with a pleasant experience,” 36% compared to medium users (24%) and heavy users (23%). “Your aches and pains will also disappear” is similarly favored by light users. These are aspirational statements that an advertising agency can leverage in marketing strategy to promise an inviting environment and miraculous outcomes.

Similarly, the survey data can also help marketers for retail service franchise owners craft messages designed to speak directly to heavy users (those who have bought at least 10 health and beauty products or services over the past year). These loyal customers, who are already among the most deeply converted, are responsive to the most popular marketing campaigns and messages. And more than light or medium users, frequent buyers also respond positively to low-ranked statements, such as “Your friends recommend us,” “We are the highest rated” and “You deserve to be pampered.” 

The greatest customer disparity of any statement concerns “We will customize your experience and products.” Moderate customers—those who have made 4–10 annual health and beauty retail purchases—ranked that message highly 51% of the time, compared to heavy (44%) and light users (33%). 

Delivering tailored marketing messages about your brand's customized services would hit the sweet spot. A survey by Bain & Company found that while less than 10% of shoppers have “tried customized options, 25% to 30% are interested in doing so.”