You are advertising a price, not a result
A client is about to let a stranger cut or colour her hair, which is a genuinely high-risk decision — a bad result lasts months. What she needs before booking is evidence that you are good, and a discount graphic provides none of it.
Lead with the work. A clear before-and-after, a colour correction, a finish that looks like the thing she wants. The offer can be in the ad, but it should not be the ad. Salons that switch from price-led to proof-led creative usually see enquiry quality improve immediately, even when volume falls.
Discount-led ads build a discount-led client base
A heavy introductory offer fills chairs quickly and teaches a specific lesson: this salon is a place you visit when there is a deal. Those clients do not rebook at full price, and the campaign that looked successful in month one produces nothing in month three.
If you use an introductory offer, attach it to a rebooking condition — a discounted first visit with the second appointment booked before leaving. That converts a promotion into a relationship rather than a one-off transaction, which is the entire difference between salon marketing that compounds and salon marketing that leaks.
The booking message went unanswered
Salon enquiries arrive in the evening and at weekends, when the salon is busy and nobody is watching the inbox. The client messages three salons, books with whoever confirms a time first, and your ad paid for someone else's appointment.
Fix the process before the campaign: someone responsible for messages during opening hours, saved replies with your availability, and a way to confirm a slot in one exchange. A salon with average work and a ten-minute reply time will out-book a better salon that answers tomorrow.