discovery call

Kéo & Lược

Loyal customers, kept on paper stamp cards that kept getting lost.

location
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
service
App & loyalty
result
6.2 to 4.1 weeks between visits

Quân trained in Melbourne and came home to open Kéo & Lược: two shops, one in District 1 and one in Thảo Điền, with 11 barbers. Clients liked the cut, but there was nothing to bring them back:

  • Paper stamp cards: “10th cut free”. Most went through the wash in a jeans pocket.
  • Bookings: by Zalo messages, Facebook and walk-ins. Nearly one in five bookings didn’t show up.
  • No contact list: Quân had no idea who his best clients were, or when someone had quietly gone to the cheaper shop down the street.
  • Leaving barbers: took clients with them, because each barber’s regulars only had that barber’s Zalo.
  • Slow weekdays: busy weekends and quiet Tuesdays, with no way to move people between the two.
“I get a haircut every three weeks. Well, whenever I remember.”

Clients didn’t leave because they were unhappy. They forgot, and drifted from three weeks to six or seven between cuts. Getting the next booking in on time would matter more than a free tenth cut.

Day 22

Tuấn, a 34-year-old banker in District 1, used to get a cut every six or seven weeks, whenever his wife pointed it out. Twenty-two days after his last cut, a Zalo message arrived: “Your fade’s growing out. Tuesday 7pm with Long?” He tapped yes. That Tuesday he earned double points and moved to Gold. Now he never books on a Saturday.

What we built

Zalo Mini AppThe loyalty app lives inside Zalo, which most clients in Vietnam already use every day. No download, and one tap to join from a QR code at the chair.
Book in 15 secondsChoose a shop, a barber and a time. Confirmed instantly, with reminders the day before and two hours before.
Rebooking at the right timeThe app learns each client’s cycle. Three weeks after a cut it sends “Your fade’s growing out. Tuesday 7pm with Long?” with one-tap rebooking.
Points and tiersPoints on every cut, product and referral. Silver, Gold and Black tiers unlock a free beard trim, priority weekend slots and a hot-towel upgrade.
Weekday boostDouble points from Monday to Thursday, 11am to 4pm, which moves regulars off the weekend rush.
Bring a friendEach member has a referral link. The friend’s first cut earns both of them points.
PaymentPay through MoMo, ZaloPay or VNPay QR at the counter, with points added automatically.
The owner’s dashboardWho’s due, who’s slipping, each barber’s rebooking rate, and revenue from members versus walk-ins.

Quân’s time: a scoping session, two prototype reviews and a two-week trial at the District 1 shop. We designed, built and launched it, and trained the barbers to sign clients up at the chair.

The team it replaced

Product and app designerAtlas: loyalty structure, booking flow, interface
DeveloperAtlas: Zalo Mini App, booking system, payments
CRM and marketing automationAtlas: rebooking messages, tier rules, weekday campaigns
Data and reportingAtlas: owner dashboard
6.2 → 4.1 wks
average time between visits
18% → 4%
no-show rate
9,400
members in 8 months

Eight months later

  • Time between visits went from 6.2 to 4.1 weeks. That’s about four extra cuts a year from every regular.
  • No-shows fell from 18% to 4%.
  • 9,400 members across both shops.
  • Weekday afternoon bookings rose 2.2×, driven by double points.
  • 27% of new clients came through member referrals.
  • When two barbers left in month six, the shop kept 91% of their regular clients.
“I used to lose clients and not even know it. Now the app tells me who’s due, and books them before they forget.”

Quân

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