8 practical ways AI can boost salon and spa revenue

The financial future is bright for personal care service businesses. The category's global market value is $439 billion and is expected to reach $648 billion by 2027. How can your business claim a bigger share of that pie?

There are a variety of obvious ways to actively pursue revenue growth. For instance, you could expand your customer base by adding locations (a heavy lift) or appeal to a wider audience by enhancing your service menu (relatively easier to implement).

However, there's low-hanging fruit you may not be considering. To generate more revenue, tap into an existing asset – your own business data.

Artificial Intelligence has permeated almost all industries, and it’s become impossible to imagine a world without it. AI solutions power our everyday functions, from booking a taxi and personalized shopping to detecting credit card fraud and finding tailored recommendations on Netflix. 

When it comes to work, several ecosystems face the impact of AI integration. AI development is crucial for enhancing various business processes, including content generation, whether text, design, or video. These advancements are now quick and cutting-edge with the support of AI tools. 

But here’s the real question for you – how is AI in beauty making a difference in your spa or salon?

Client relationship management is one of the most essential tasks that AI technology can manage for you. Salon and spa businesses are largely built on guest relationships and interactions across conversations on the floor and over the phone, email, and social media. It can be challenging to manage them all with equal dexterity. Missing messages on online platforms or phone calls can be a common problem, leading to loss of business. In fact, 75% of customers seek a consistent experience, regardless of how they engage with a company. 

AI in beauty seamlessly integrates into your customer relationship management platform, ensuring you never miss an email, a phone call, or a message on social media.

Machine learning algorithms can be game-changing in marketing and customer acquisition, analyzing customer data and sending personalized marketing campaigns through a myriad of channels. 

AI solutions also help improve operations with efficient inventory management,  ironing out supply chain bottlenecks, and optimizing workflows. 

You will find a range of AI tools that assist with appointment scheduling, staff allocation, customer feedback analysis, data security, predictive equipment maintenance, staff training, and more. The list is endless, and the platform is trainable and customizable to suit your salon or spa’s specific needs. 

AI in beauty spas and salons is a revolution you can't afford to ignore. These AI tools are empowering salon and spa owners to expand and enhance their services, reach customers effectively, and boost their revenues. 

Your guests drive your business. With AI integration in your salon or spa, your primary goal of reaching and satisfying your customers can be managed effortlessly. Take appointment scheduling software powered by AI, for instance. 60% of people in the U.S. prefer scheduling appointments online. When the software sends appointment reminders to these clients, it reduces no-show rates by 90%.

With appointment management out of the way and guests walking in through your doors, the next step is to ensure a mind-blowing customer experience. With AI-powered salon and spa management software, this is taken care of. When data analyses deliver relevant recommendations and personalized experiences, what’s left for you to do is to provide great one-on-one customer interactions and amazing service delivery on the floor. 

Platforms like Zenoti have AI-driven features focused on making customer data work for you, automating tasks, smoothing any issues that might leave a dent in customer experience and operations, and boosting your business’s revenue. 

Let’s look at 8 AI features that drive more revenue for salons, spas, and medspas.

40% of appointments are booked after hours. How do you expect to do that when your salon or spa is closed for the day? 

An online booking system such as Zenoti Appointment Book works throughout the day and even after hours, ensuring your customers get through to your business no matter what time of the day or night. 

But what streamlines the appointment system is its efficient scheduling feature, driven by AI that fills up empty slots automatically, so you never have unanticipated or unplanned ‘free time,’ improving your staff’s productivity. 

In addition to managing and scheduling appointments, Zenoti delivers unmatched convenience by sending out reminders about memberships, loyalty points, transaction history, and more to manage two-way interactions seamlessly. 

Another plus point of the platform is the integration with your branded webstore, allowing guests to purchase gift cards, memberships, packages, and products, boosting sales, and promoting the latest services, products, and offers. 

Imagine having to keep track of appointment schedules and waitlists of a busy salon or spa, 7 days a week, throughout its working hours. It can be a tedious job with chances of human error leading to missed opportunities. 

With Zenoti’s automated waitlist management feature, powered by artificial intelligence, guests get added to an automated waitlist that self-adjusts when guests cancel appointments. 

A guest waiting for the same slot that is now available gets an email notification asking for booking confirmation. If they confirm within a stipulated time, the appointment is confirmed. If not, the next guest on the waitlist is notified. 

Easy, quick, and stress-free – the ideal way to manage your salon or spa’s waitlist, with every opportunity being addressed smoothly and without human effort!

Powered by AI, a chatbot complements your front desk, providing backup around the clock. During the workday, this intelligent bot initiates a conversation when your front desk misses a call, making it easy for clients to book, reschedule, and cancel appointments on their own. When your front desk goes home for the day, a virtual assistant keeps working. It answers questions and helps clients make and manage bookings, at any time, day or night – you cater to guests whenever they choose to connect with your business.

SmartBot with Zenoti works via text messaging or your business's website. With guest profile data and service menu listings integrated into SmartBot, clients get helpful, personalized replies.

Here's how SmartBot looks on a mobile device and via the web.

If the idea of a bot makes you think of, well, robotic responses, think again. Online bot technology, like much of AI, has the capacity for responses that feel and sound human. A virtual assistant can be trained to respond in your brand's voice and tone, sounding like your front desk might.

AI-powered marketing platforms like Zenoti track customer data and create personalized marketing campaigns that help convert a casual visitor into a frequent customer. 

Automated email campaigns simplify the process of reaching out to customers, based on where they are in the sales funnel – whether they are repeat customers or new ones. The platform tailors email communication with promotions, recommended services, and more to connect with customers based on their data and previous engagement with your brand. 

An advanced marketing platform gives you business-critical data at your fingertips, empowering you to apply key benchmarks like leads, sales, conversions, campaign results, etc., to create better campaigns and drive value from every single lead. In fact, Zenoti’s marketing and sales platform increases your average booking price by 33%.

Upsell and cross-sell opportunities are key drivers of consistent revenue growth. An intelligent recommendation engine can provide the right upsell and cross-sell suggestions to staff across your POS and online store.

Here’s how it works: Imagine a customer visits your salon for a color treatment. The system might automatically recommend a detangling serum or a blowout smoothing service, which the stylist can discuss with the client to increase ticket size during their visit.

Did you know that almost 1 in 4 salon and spa guests (37%) will usually or always purchase products recommended by beauty and wellness professionals? And 82% trust the service providers they see regularly. Leveraging this trust is an effective way to enhance per-visit revenue with service upsells and retail add-ons.

Guests booking online can also receive tailored recommendations as part of the booking process, before their visit. This approach feels more like a thoughtful concierge service than a pushy sales pitch. Clients often value the opportunity to enhance their results with an add-on service or home-care product for just a little extra.

To drive future sales, the system also learns customer preferences from their purchase history, allowing for smarter, more personalized recommendations.

All guests want the best service and a memorable experience. As a salon or spa business owner, you want what your guests want. Plus, more revenue. For this to work, you need your finger on the pulse of how your guests feel when they are at your salon or spa. 

The first step is, of course, to encourage your guests to give you their feedback. Then, empowered by an automated feedback and review system, you can have instant access to the feedback, which allows you to swiftly identify issues and resolve them on the go! 

With instant notification on ratings, you get the power to measure feedback and improve services or build on your strengths. Actionable feedback allows you to exceed expectations the next time your guests choose you. 

However, if you worry that there may be no ‘next time’ with a particular guest, fix it right away with your software partner. You can follow up on negative feedback and offer solutions that can improve guest relations. 

All these efficient features on just one platform not only enable you to manage and resolve issues but also publicize genuine reviews and boost your brand credibility.

When a guest wants an unavailable slot, software like Zenoti automatically suggests available appointments at your nearby locations. The system tracks available slots across your centers in real time to offer such suggestions.

This AI-driven feature helps guests with time-sensitive needs. A college senior with an afternoon graduation ceremony can stay with your brand for her morning blowout. If you offer the convenience of nearby slots, you help her get the service she wants when she wants it; if you don't, you might lose her business to a competing salon.

The feature also serves people with tight schedules due to their jobs or family lives. Nearby location booking helps them stay loyal to your brand, protecting the revenue they bring to your business.

The value of nearby location booking goes beyond satisfying your regulars. Guests booking online for the first time get their desired appointment time and date, preventing friction in their buying journey. They don't have to keep looking for another business, and you may have just acquired a new loyal customer.

It pays to anticipate guest needs with nearby location booking, one more avenue to drive new and repeat visits that add to your bottom line.

An international make-up brand garnered a 150% increase in virtual try-ons by offering the experience of real-world immersion during online shopping. The salon industry, where guests wish to experiment with new hairstyles and colors, can greatly benefit from exploring mixed-reality technologies. 

For example, a guest with long, dark hair may want to try a lighter shade of hair color or crave a short bob to celebrate a major life event. When you offer virtual reality or augmented reality tech where your guest can have a quick look at what their post-transformation look would be like, it may encourage them to try those looks without apprehension. What’s more, they may also recommend these services to their friends and family, boosting your business revenue and brand acceptance.

With AI-driven tools, you can realize more revenue for your salon or spa.

Rooted in your business data, these solutions help your brand become more profitable while allowing you and your staff to provide warm, personalized service that keeps your guests coming back for more.

Explore Zenoti AI solutions for your business.