Hair Salon Marketing: Attract New Clients & Fill Empty Chairs with Groupon

Summary:

Salons and stylists can get more hair clients and grow their business with a promotion on Groupon, which has no startup costs and only charges a fee after each successful sale. For the best results marketing your hair salon on Groupon, here are three strategies for you to consider:

1. Acquire New Customers: Use Groupon's marketplace to attract first-time local customers, expanding your salon’s reach and increasing brand awareness in the community.

2. Optimize Scheduling: Strategically set campaign hours and voucher limits to fill empty chairs and manage capacity during traditionally slow days or off-peak times.

3. Boost Client Lifetime Value: Structure introductory offers to encourage add-on services and retail purchases, converting new clients into loyal, full-price regulars who return consistently.

If you own a hair salon, you are constantly juggling two key business goals: attracting a steady stream of new clients and making sure your stylists' chairs are always full. Traditional salon marketing like social media ads or flyers can be costly, and it’s hard to know if they actually lead to bookings.

Groupon offers a different approach, acting as a powerful tool to acquire new clients and fill appointment gaps, where you only pay a marketing fee after a customer makes a purchase. This “pay-for-performance” model means you invest in results, not just promises.

On average, a hair services offer on Groupon in the US gets:

2,200+ impressions
/ month

2 sales
/ month

$150+ revenue
/ month

Here is how hair salon owners can use Groupon strategically to grow their business and build long-term client relationships.

1. Reach New Clients, Not Just Existing Customers

When you offer an in-house discount and only promote it through your own marketing channels, you mostly just reach your existing base who would otherwise pay full price, instead of attracting new customers who hadn't heard of you. In contrast, the primary goal of a Groupon campaign is to introduce your salon to a new local audience, helping you solve the challenge of how to get more clients as a hairstylist.

• Acquire First-Time Buyers: Groupon’s customers are often first-time buyers who are motivated to try a new business because they are looking for a deal. For hair salons, this is an investment in long-term relationships, as new clients can become regulars who pay full price later.
• Showcase Your Brand: Even if customers don't buy your offer, seeing your brand in the high-traffic Groupon marketplace increases your salon advertisement and brand awareness in your community.
• Access Valuable Data: After each transaction, you can see data about customer demographics, purchase behavior, and reviews, which you often don't get from other online or traditional advertising.

2. Fill Empty Appointments and Manage Capacity 

A successful salon operation relies on steady, predictable business flow. Groupon allows you to use campaigns as a capacity management tool.

• Target Slow Times: You can strategically run a campaign during slower seasons or off-peak hours (like weekday mornings or mid-day) to make sure every chair is utilized. This helps smooth out the highs and lows of your weekly schedule.
• Set a Voucher Cap: Control the flow of new customers by setting a monthly voucher limit, which helps prevent staff from getting overwhelmed and ensures a high-quality experience for every client.
• Integrate Booking: Groupon campaigns can be made instantly bookable, helping new clients seamlessly find and reserve an opening that works for both them and your salon. This helps you avoid the risk of a new promotion driving customers to during your busiest hours.

Case Study: Cultivating a Client Base with Groupon

Karen Vito, Marketing Director of Cactus Salon and Spa in NYC, used a Groupon offer to stand out in a crowded market and created a pipeline for new customers to become loyal regulars.

The Problem: "One of the biggest challenges we face is that there's so much competition here on Long Island. There are salons all over."

The Result: "We have added over 65,000 new customers thanks to Groupon, and a lot of them became returning customers. In fact, today 33% of the clients we service started as Groupon customers."

3. Maximize Value from the First Visit Onward

Smart hair salons use the initial Groupon offer as an introduction to their full suite of services, rather than a stand-alone profit center. Your long-term success will depend on using the first visit as an entry point, and then maximizing the client's overall value by offering additional services.

• Structure Your Deal for Upselling: Instead of discounting a high-cost service like a full balayage, offer a popular introductory service, such as a haircut and deep-conditioning treatment, or partial color highlights. This brings the customer into your salon so your stylist can recommend premium add-ons (like Olaplex or glossing treatments) or retail products once they are there. This incremental spend significantly improves your overall revenue from the client's first visit.
• Convert to Full-Price Loyalty: The ultimate goal is to convert the new client into a loyal, full-price customer. Provide an exceptional service experience and offer an in-house incentive (like a small discount on their next full-price visit) to book their follow-up appointment before they leave.

By leveraging Groupon’s reach and flexibility, hair salon owners can strategically turn empty chairs into revenue, ensuring a steady stream of first-time visitors who are ready to become loyal, full-price clients.

Ready to join the 1 million+ merchants who've worked with Groupon?