Marketing and reviews: 8 salon and spa tools

Most new salon clients look at reviews and photos before they book. A salon with recent, honest reviews and a social feed that shows real work will usually get more calls than a better salon nobody can see. The tools here help with that work: asking happy clients for reviews, answering reviews, sending email and texts to past clients, planning social posts and making the graphics for them.

Review tools such as Birdeye, NiceJob and Grade.us send a review request after a visit, watch new reviews on sites like Google and Facebook, and help you answer them. Social planners such as Later and Planoly schedule posts and reels and keep a visual grid of what is coming. Canva covers the design work, from price menus to holiday promotions. Mailchimp and Constant Contact handle email campaigns and simple automations, such as a birthday offer or a note to clients who have not booked in a while.

AI features in this category mostly help with writing and design. Tools draft review replies, suggest captions and hashtags, write email subject lines, or turn a photo into a post. These save time on a busy day. Read every draft before it goes out. A reply to an unhappy review needs your own voice and your own facts, and a caption should say what you actually did, such as the real color and technique.

Follow each review site's rules. Google and other sites do not allow paying for reviews, offering discounts for them, or asking only happy clients in a way that hides the rest. A simple request to every client after their visit is the safe approach. Answer negative reviews calmly and briefly, and take the details offline.

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8 salon and spa tools in marketing and reviews

Birdeye

Review and reputation platform for local businesses, with review requests, AI-drafted replies, listings and messaging.

Text messaging or text reminders

NiceJob

Review requests and referral campaigns for small businesses, with reminders, review widgets for your site and social posts of new reviews.

Grade.us

Review management for agencies and local businesses, with review requests, monitoring and white-label reports.

Later

Social media scheduling for Instagram, TikTok and other networks, with a visual planner, link in bio page and AI caption help.

Mobile app

Planoly

Visual planner for Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest posts, with scheduling, a link in bio page and AI caption ideas.

Mobile app

Canva

Design tool with templates for social posts, price menus, flyers and gift cards, plus AI image and text features.

Mobile app
Free plan or free tier

Mailchimp

by Intuit

Email marketing with templates, audience segments, automations and AI help writing subject lines and copy.

Developer API

Constant Contact

Email and text marketing for small businesses, with templates, event tools, automations and an AI content helper.

Check where your client data comes from. A review request or a win-back email works best when it is triggered by your booking system, so it goes out after the right appointment. Ask each tool which salon systems it connects to, or whether you will need to export and upload lists by hand.

Keep a simple record of what each campaign brought in, such as bookings from a promotion code or new clients who mention a post. Even a rough count tells you which habits to keep.

Start small. One steady habit, such as asking every client for a review and posting a few photos of real work each week, does more than a large campaign you cannot keep up. Add more tools when the first habit is running on its own.

Questions about marketing and reviews

How should a salon ask for reviews?

Ask every client the same way, usually with a short text or email after the visit and a direct link to your review page. Do not offer discounts or gifts for reviews, and do not filter out clients you think might be unhappy. Review sites ban both.

Should I let AI reply to reviews?

AI drafts are a good start, especially for short thank-you replies. Edit each one before posting, and write replies to negative reviews yourself. A personal, specific reply reads better to future clients than a generic one.

Do I need a separate email tool if my salon software sends marketing?

Not always. Many salon systems include basic email and text campaigns tied to client history. A separate tool makes sense if you want more design control, larger lists, or automations your salon software does not offer.

Can I post client photos on social media?

Ask the client first, and keep a record of their permission. Some salons add a photo consent line to their intake form. Never post a client's face or name without clear agreement.

Marketing and reviews