Time to have some fun with your business.
When we visit salons, Salon-help.co.uk focus on cost control, communication and business presentation before we develop your marketing plan. Our marketing plans are different for every salon because the opportunities are different in every salon. However, what we do with all salons is develop a combination of traditional, modern and often obscure tools to help drive your business.
Contact us: https://www.facebook.com/carlhindersrsb/
Marketing and advertising for your salon could be the most important tool that you have in creating a successful business. Whilst most businesses understand the need for this process, they also consider advertising and marketing to be the same thing, but they aren’t.
Think of them as different sides of the same coin.
Advertising is the message that you want to convey to your client
Marketing is the vehicle that you use to get the message to them.
When planning your marketing plan, look for an ROI (return on investment) as you would with everything else you do in your business, expect to be able to measure the effectiveness of the campaign, usually by an increase in financial reward (an increase in sales).
Have in mind that the purpose of your business is to generate a level of sales that exceeds the total amount of costs.
Having said that; when a campaign is more complicated or heavy in frequency, each component is more difficult to calculate. John Wanamaker is purported to have said “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half”. This is often true in our industry too, but if the “other half” delivers your goals then don’t worry too much.
The first rule that I want to pass on is that there isn’t one piece of marketing/advertising that will work sufficiently enough to keep your business at the top and keep profits growing. It’s like eating food; you need to eat a lot of different things to work and stay healthy.
So what works? The good news is that done properly, everything works to varying degrees.
So if you think that just putting out an A board by the front door will change your business world, it won’t! Unless it says “closing down soon”. But used properly it is another small piece of the very large puzzle.
We frequently get messages on our social media saying “my salon is quiet today; I’m a bit worried, what can I do?”
The fact is if you are only planning for the next few hours of your business life there’s not much you can do at all. What you really need to do is plan, plan a whole year, plan two years, write it down, week by week and month by month and stick to it. Link it to events and where you don’t have an event create one
Of course, there are things you can do on a “one-off” bad day if you have the tools ready, such as SMS messaging, social media boosts or delivering leaflets if you have planned ahead and got a box full handy for this event.
The second rule: that I want to pass on today is that the most important time to push your marketing is when you are busy!
Marketing your business only when you are quiet creates an uneven business pattern, with very busy periods and very quiet periods when what we really need is a much more even trading pattern. Everyone knows this, but most salon owners don’t take the correct steps to make it happen.
Constant marketing will result in a constant stream of clients.
When you are busy it’s the last thing on your mind, but planning SMS message campaigns, scheduling social media posts and getting non-skilled staff to deliver your leaflets while you and your team are busy at the salon are just a few small ways of keeping the buzz going.
So what can you do to market your business?
There are literally hundreds of marketing combinations which we would love to help you with; but let’s think about the approach that we need.
Above all else you need to out-think your competition: whilst there is always room for a well-placed leaflet, poster or banner, the things that your competition won’t think of or are not prepared to do can often be much more effective.
Contact us if you would like us to work with you on your own marketing plan
Doing FREE services (maybe haircuts) can increase your sales.
The problem that salon owners and staff respond with when I suggest this is “but that means I lose £10.00”; no way can I do that. Let’s give them 10% off and see how it goes.
Let me tell you why you are wrong.
First of all, if you are doing an offer may be as a leaflet, poster newspaper ad or social media post then offering a small percentage such as 10% off a £10 haircut or even 10% off a £30 cut and blow dry is likely to be ineffective. Think about what you are asking the client (new clients) to really do? You are asking, could you please come and try us, leave your regular salon that you probably have been going to for some time, which you have a loyalty to and even do a pretty good job. Then, take a chance that we are better, and in return, we will give you a discount that is the same value as half a cup of posh coffee. So when you give out a thousand leaflets and only a few come back to have a look at what you are asking the client to do.
The chances are not many will come in, and certainly not the amount that you need, so the extra sales add up to zero! (and you have spent a few bob on printing and someone to deliver them too!)
Now, let’s say we decide to give FREE haircuts away at the barbers or perhaps a blow dry at the salon. You may be using the same marketing materials (the same vehicle) , but this time the message is come and get £10/20/30 worth of FREE service, and the message you are implying is , “we are so good, that after you have tried us you won’t go anywhere else”. This time the client could be saving a couple of gallons of fuel, a pizza for two or half a day’s wages, they are more likely to give you a go.
Some will argue that this will make you look desperate , but in reality the only ones who will be complaining are your competition who can’t understand why you do it or how you do it, because these salons will be stuck in the “I will lose £10 ” category and mentality, when what they are really losing is customers to you.
They might get it when your shop is full of their clients!
You do it because, whilst on the first visit you might be down by £10 (although in a quiet salon or on a quiet day you might not have had a client anyway) . But, here’s the BIG business builder, you don’t lose £10 you gain £110. The other 11 visits that year are paid for in full. Ten new clients add £1100 to sales every year, a hundred of these FREE clients delivers £11000 a year and that’s without the extra products or services (shaves perhaps) on top.
If I came to your salon with cash in my hand and said ” I will give you £110 if you give me £10 first” would you do it?
The same works for almost any service in a Salon, Barbers or Spa.
Of course, this only works (go back to the first line of our blog) when your salon is well presented, which is why we work on this first.
Well presented means that everything is in order, from décor to staff training and from cleanliness to terrific haircuts. You have to give them every reason to come back for a second visit; you really have to impress them.
I’m not saying all salons should now go out and do FREE haircuts; most salons don’t need to do that. What I am saying is be BOLD, make your offer VERY ATTRACTIVE, make it too good to turn down.
The list of marketing opportunities is endless but here are some examples to get you thinking.
Leaflets v Social media or old v new
Which is the best? That relies entirely on who your customers are (if they even use social media) or what event you are targeting.
Social media is great, and I believe it is an essential piece of a marketing kit for most salons, but it relies on you building a client base first, which could take months or even years.
Leaflets are hard work to distribute and have a response rate of around 2%, but could you have anything better to take to the local rugby match if you are targeting gents’ cuts?
So the answer is: Both are useful, and both should be considered.
As I outlined earlier in the post, a singular piece of marketing material will not deliver the long term aspirations of most salons.
As to prove a point: just as we were going to press a salon posed the question on whether Groupon should be used. This method often comes in for a fair bit of criticism which is not always warranted. Taking our philosophy that all marketing has a use when used correctly this post was made :
“as with all marketing, it has its place and use. Notice that I consider it marketing and not an immediate sales boost (then not much marketing has an immediate impact on sales). Paul is correct, you won’t make much money out of the offer directly. I don’t buy into the theory that it cheapens your brand in all cases, it’s usually only other business’ that make that comment because they wouldn’t do it themselves. (they can’t see the bigger picture) It is not for everyone though I agree. But it is good for filling a salon very quickly indeed, maybe as a salon re-launch, or when staff return from maternity and you need to get them busy. It reduces your losses (damage limitation) on quiet days, makes your salon look full giving the impression to passers-by that you are busy and therefore successful. It can even help with your SEO for your website as the reciprocated links work well. (Getting other people to your website) Blake is correct though, most of these people will be off from you and on to the next bargain (not all) but that is why you should take the opportunity to sell them retail products, gifts and try and get them to rebook”. If you impress them, what’s the worst they can do? Not come back and tell everyone else how great you are?
It’s all about strategy and planning.
If you would like some help, try Salon-help.co.uk 07931 518642
