Overview
The most successful service businesses aren't just filling appointment slots — they're building relationships. Memberships are how you formalize that relationship: a recurring commitment that keeps clients coming back, deepens their connection to your brand, and creates the kind of predictable revenue that makes your business easier to run and plan around.
A Membership plan can help accomplish three things at once: it locks in future visits before clients drift away, it gives clients a reason to invest more deeply in their own care, and it gives your business a stable financial foundation that isn't dependent on new clients walking through the door every month.
A well-designed membership should:
Turn irregular visitors into reliable regulars
Reward client commitment with real, meaningful perks — not just a discount
Be easy to explain, easy to buy, and easy to use
Reflect the natural rhythm of the services it's built around
Unlike packages, memberships auto-renew each billing period. This is what makes them a retention tool, not just a sales tool. The goal isn't just to get a client to buy — it's to create a routine they don't want to give up.
For a broader look at how memberships and packages can complement each other, see Boulevard's blog post Building Loyalty Through Tailored Memberships & Packages.
Membership Types
Boulevard memberships are built around perks — the recurring benefits clients receive each billing term. Every membership plan can include one or more of the following perks:
Voucher Perks: A set number of service vouchers issued each billing term, redeemable for specific services
Account Credit Perks: A fixed dollar amount deposited into the client's account each billing term to spend on services or products
Discount Perks: Ongoing percentage or dollar-off discounts applied to services, products, or both
Most strong membership plans combine perk types — for example, a monthly facial voucher paired with a product discount. This layering is what makes a membership feel like genuine membership value rather than just a prepaid service.
Perk Type | How It Works | Best For | Why It Works |
Voucher Perks | Clients receive a set number of service vouchers each billing term, redeemable for specific services. | Maintenance-driven services, treatment programs, result-oriented care | Reinforces a consistent care routine and simplifies the booking decision — clients know exactly what they have and when to use it. |
Account Credit Perks | A fixed dollar amount is deposited into the client's account each term to spend on services or products. | Clients with varied needs, menus with multiple service categories, higher-spend clients | Keeps clients engaged even when their needs shift month to month, and encourages broader exploration of your service menu. |
Discount Perks | Clients receive an ongoing percentage or dollar-off discount on services, products, or both. | Add-on value for any tier, upsell encouragement, retail-heavy businesses | Lowers the barrier to spending more per visit and rewards membership commitment with visible, recurring savings. |
For a full breakdown of how to configure each type, see Creating a Membership Plan.
Do's and Don'ts
Do
Build memberships around services that improve with repetition: The strongest membership programs are anchored in services where consistency drives results — facials, massage therapy, hair color maintenance, IV therapy, and similar treatments where clients genuinely benefit from coming back regularly. When the membership is tied to an outcome clients can see and feel, the value is self-evident and retention takes care of itself.
Layer perks to build real value: A single voucher perk is a prepaid service. A voucher perk combined with a product discount and account credit is a membership experience. Use Boulevard's perk system to build plans that feel meaningfully different from just booking a service — the combination of structure (vouchers) and flexibility (credit, discounts) is what makes a membership worth committing to month after month. Think beyond core services too: service add-ons and referral rewards are ways to make membership feel like genuine exclusivity.
Set pricing that reflects the relationship, not just the transaction: Membership pricing should feel fair to the client and sustainable for your business. A useful rule of thumb: set the monthly fee close to the cost of the primary service included, then layer perks on top. This makes the value clear — clients feel like the membership pays for itself — while preserving your margin. Use Boulevard's free Profit & Loss Template and Goal Calculator to stress-test your numbers before you launch.
Equip your team to sell with confidence: A membership is a conversation, not a checkout prompt. Staff should know which memberships suit which clients, feel comfortable introducing them during consultations or treatment planning, and lead with the client benefit rather than the price. A client who understands how a membership fits their goals is far easier to enroll — and far less likely to cancel. For scenarios where a client buys and redeems on the same visit, see Selling and Redeeming a Membership In-Store on the Same Day.
Protect both sides with a clear membership agreement: Spell out your terms upfront — billing cadence, cancellation policy, voucher expiration, and what happens if a client wants to pause or downgrade. Clients who understand what they're signing up for have fewer surprises and fewer reasons to dispute charges. Use Boulevard's cancellation settings to reinforce your terms through the client portal. See Getting Ready for Click-to-Cancel for compliance guidance.
Track your retention numbers, not just your sales: Selling memberships is only half the equation. Use Boulevard's Membership Staff Retention Report to monitor where members are churning, which tiers are sticking, and which clients haven't visited recently. A proactive outreach to at-risk members almost always costs less than replacing them.
Don't
Don't let complexity kill the conversation: If your staff has to consult notes to explain what a membership includes, it's too complicated. Aim for benefit structures a client can understand in a single sentence per tier. Keep voucher perks focused — Boulevard uses "OR" logic, meaning clients can redeem any of the linked services. If you want to include multiple distinct services, create separate voucher perks rather than trying to cram everything into one.
Don't let member feedback go unheard: Cancellations rarely come out of nowhere. More often, a member has been mildly frustrated for weeks before they finally decide to leave. Build in regular moments to check in — a post-visit message, an occasional survey, a quick question at checkout. The feedback you gather from active members is the most useful signal you have for improving your program.
Don't make it hard to stay: Rigid cancellation policies, confusing upgrade paths, and inflexible terms don't prevent cancellations — they just make them more adversarial. Clients who feel trapped leave with a bad impression. Clients who feel respected, even when they do cancel, often come back. Give members genuine flexibility, and it will pay for itself in goodwill and referrals.
Membership Examples
Memberships are most effective when they create a rhythm — turning occasional clients into regulars, and regulars into long-term advocates. By anchoring programs around services that reward consistency, layering perks that reinforce value, and renewing automatically each billing cycle, you can turn memberships into a reliable engine for retention and recurring revenue within Boulevard.
The following examples show how memberships can be tailored to different business types. Use these as inspiration, adapt them to reflect your pricing, service menu, and client base:
Industry | Membership Examples | Description Examples |
Salon | Voucher + Discount
Account Credit
| Voucher + DiscountGlam Duo: Two professional blowouts a month, ready to book whenever you need them. The Glam Duo Membership keeps your look consistent without the planning — just book, come in, and leave looking great. Member discounts on everything else mean every visit goes a little further.
Account CreditBeauty Bank: Your Beauty Bank loads up every month with salon credit you can spend however you like — a color service, a treatment, a product to take home. No restrictions, no pressure. Just a standing balance ready when you are! |
Medspa | Voucher + Discount
Account Credit
| Voucher + DiscountHydrafacial Membership: Healthy skin isn't a one-time treatment — it's a practice. The Hydrafacial Membership makes that practice effortless: one Deluxe Hydrafacial every month, tailored to what your skin needs right now, with ongoing discounts to support your skincare routine between sessions.
Account CreditBeauty Bucks: Your skincare needs change. Beauty Bucks changes with them. Each month your account is topped up with clinic credit to spend on whatever makes sense — Botox this month, a laser treatment next, skincare to maintain your results in between. |
Spa | Voucher + Discount
Account Credit + Discount
| Voucher + DiscountRenew & Relax: A massage and a facial, every single month. The Renew & Relax Membership builds recovery into your calendar so it's not something you have to plan around — it's just part of how you take care of yourself. Member discounts make it easy to add more when you want to.
Account Credit + DiscountGlow Bank: The Glow Bank is your personal spa fund — it refills every month and you decide how to spend it. Use it on a massage, a body treatment, a skincare product, or save it up for something more indulgent. Member pricing applies to all spa retail products. |
Barbershop | Voucher + Discount
Account Credit
| Voucher + DiscountClean Cut Club: A fresh cut every month, locked in at a member rate. The Clean Cut Club takes the decision off the table — your monthly haircut is prepaid and ready to book, so there's no reason to let it slide. Discounts on everything else mean you can add a shave or grab a product without thinking twice.
Account CreditGrooming Bank: The Grooming Bank works like a tab at your favorite shop — it reloads every month and you spend it on whatever you need. A cut this week, a straight razor shave before an event, a new product when you're running low. |
Nails | Voucher
Account Credit
| VoucherVIP Mani-Pedi: Hands and feet, taken care of — every month. The VIP Mani & Pedi Membership gives you two luxury manicures and two pedicures at a preferred member rate, so you're always polished without thinking about the price.
Account CreditBeauty Bank: The Beauty Bank gives your nail budget a monthly refresh. Spend it on a gel set, a pedicure, a nail treatment, or whatever you're feeling that visit. It loads automatically each month and member pricing means every dollar stretches further. |
Wellness Facilities
| Voucher + Discount
Account Credit + Discount
| Voucher + DiscountWellness Club: Create your own health and maintenance routine with regular IV drips. The Wellness Club makes it easy to stay consistent: one signature drip every month, prepaid and ready to schedule around your life. Member discounts on add-ons make it easy to customize each session.
Account Credit + DiscountWellness Bank: Your wellness needs shift with your schedule, your goals, and your body. The VIP Wellness Bank gives you a monthly credit that shifts with you — spend it on an IV drip, a booster add-on, a wellness product, or save toward a bigger treatment down the line. VIP pricing applies to everything. Includes: $50 monthly credit deposited to your account, 10% off all add-ons and additional services. |
Explore Boulevard's Best - Membership Guide for expert tips on building and launching successful memberships. Download it now!