Marketing best practices

Good marketing isn't just blast-sending. Strategy, measurement, respect for customer's time.

The 5 base rules

1. Opt-in mandatory

Customer must give explicit consent for marketing email/SMS. Checkbox in booking flow or opt-in toggle in Customer Portal.

2. Only relevant offers

Don't send everyone everything. Use Customer Segments: targeted, the 20-30-year-old women's promo doesn't go to 60-year-old man.

3. Comfortable frequency

Newsletter: monthly 1 (max 2)
Promo campaign: monthly 1-2 (else unsubscribe rate climbs)
SMS: less frequent (pricier + more invasive)

4. Clear unsubscribe

Customer can unsubscribe with 1 click anytime. GDPR + customer trust.

5. Measure every campaign

Click rate, redeem rate, ROI. Learn from each.

Scheduling tips

Email best-time-to-send

Weekday morning 09-11: highest open rate
Thursday 14-16: good for B2C
Weekend not recommended (lower open)
Don't send 22:00-08:00 (annoying)

SMS best-time

Weekday 10-19: active hours
Sunday morning 10-12: leave 1-2 hours after waking

Local context

Christmas: Dec 1-23 main period (24-31 quiet)
Black Friday: last Friday of November
Easter, Mother's Day, Valentine's: location-specific promo

ROI measurement

Campaign ROI: (Revenue - Cost) / Cost × 100%

Where:

Revenue: redemptions of campaign code (customer invoice)
Cost: credits (SMS / email) + planning hours

Example

Black Friday SMS campaign: 200 SMS = 5,000 HUF credit
Hour: 1h (5,000 HUF)
Redemptions: 30 customers × avg 8,000 HUF = 240,000 HUF revenue

ROI = (240,000 - 10,000) / 10,000 = 2300%. Extraordinarily good.

Anatomy of a good campaign

1. Goal (single)

E.g., "Acquire new customer," "reactivate lapsed," "sell package."

2. Audience (specific)

Not "all customers." E.g., "30+ year-old woman, 60+ days inactive."

3. Offer (valuable)

Customer comes only if it's truly good. 5% low, 20%+ tempting.

4. Strong CTA

"Book now," "Today only," "Get this."

5. Time limit

"Only 24 hours" raises urgency. Conversion +50% possible.

6. Tracking

Mandatory campaign-stat review 3-7 days later.

Channel mix

New customer

Email for details (welcome, descriptions)
SMS for reminder (post-booking)

Active customer

Push for urgent (last-minute, slot freed)
Email for monthly newsletter

Lapsed customer

Email for "lost customer" reactivation
SMS only if truly important

VIP customer

Phone (non-scalable but strong)
SMS for exclusive promo
Email for details

Common mistakes

1. "Everyone same" strategy

100% audience = 0% relevant. Segment.

2. Too frequent sending

Weekly 5 campaigns = 80% unsubscribe in a month.

3. Only promo campaigns

Newsletter + content too, so customers don't only associate with prices.

4. Lack of measurement

"Sent Black Friday SMS" – but how many clicked? Without data, no learning.

5. Thoughtless subject line

"Newsletter" subject = 5% open. "Today only 30%" subject = 25% open.

6. Mobile-friendly neglected

70% read on mobile. Broken design = lost.

When to use it

Scenario 1, annual marketing planning Jan-Dec campaign calendar. Christmas, Mother's Day, Black Friday, summer season. Planned campaigns arrive on time.

Scenario 2, ROI analysis Month-end: review all campaign Stats. Which earned most? Which wasted? Next month strategy builds on this.

Scenario 3, campaign iteration Black Friday 2025: 25% open. Black Friday 2026: A/B subject test, result 32% open. Continuous improvement.

Scenario 4, customer feedback More unsubscribes after newsletter. Just ask: "Why did you leave?" Content relevance, frequency issues.

Tips

Marketing strategy ready before first campaign, don't improvise.
Audience segmentation is 80% of marketing strength.
Tracking data needs weekly hour review, not just month-end.
Best-time-to-send is industry-specific, test for your salon's audience.
Opt-in list is value, don't send unsolicited campaign.
Content marketing (newsletter, tips, customer reviews) is brand-building, not just promo.

Marketing best practices and common mistakes