Developing a strategy, diversifying your offering and focusing on word of mouth are essential to increasing your client base.
“Salons are busy places and finding time to think about marketing often isn’t easy,” says Stefano Scoponi, marketing director at Treatwel, in an article written by Sian Jones for hji.co.uk. “With today’s customer being more digitally focused than ever, the first rule of marketing is knowing your customers and target audience. Ask yourself, what social media platforms are they using the most? How do they decide which salon or treatment is best for them? Where do they get inspiration from? Once you have these answers, you will know where and how to reach them.”
Elizabeth Olveda, senior communications manager at Vagaro, suggests creating a marketing strategy. “Learn what your competitors are doing well, what they could improve and how your business fits into the local market. It’s possible to create marketing materials from before and after photos, videos, testimonials and social media, which is a great way to build rapport with existing and potential clients.
“My pro tip is to share updates about your business and industry-specific tips & tricks, run polls and giveaways, or repost user-generated content from loyal clients.”
Hayley Tait, marketing manager at Shortcuts, advises diversifying your services to make them more inclusive. She continues: “Incorporating services for everyone isn’t so much of a ‘trend’, but a must-have for all salons.”
Tait believes it is important to invest in diverse services through the correct education and training. “Gender neutral pricing is a simple change you make to market your salon positively to existing clients as well as new ones, as gender-based pricing can cause stress and anxiety for many people. Ninety-three-percent of people who identify as trans or non-binary have been misgendered at a salon. The bottom line is that there is a real need for inclusivity in hair salons, and this is the year to actively make that change.”
Don’t forget that word of mouth speaks volumes. “Google is a great way to be found by new clients. It takes time but you can build up lots of five star Google reviews which will help your salon stand out,” says Rob Smith, founder and chief operating officer at Slick.
“Consumers frequently use online search to find businesses, which makes reviews a critical strategy for new guest acquisition.” says Sarah Simonelli, director of customer success at Zenoti. “Adopting a salon software that sends automated review requests to guests post-visit can help maximise reviews with minimum effort. Additionally, many salons don’t focus enough on referrals. A more efficient alternative for you (and your clients) is smartphone referrals.” These provide a much more convenient way for guests to refer your salon to their family and friends, and Simonelli advises that these can easily be rewarded with referral codes and incentives.
Comments