I received a call from a potential client yesterday. She told me that her salon marketing wasn’t attracting enough clients, and her beauty salon was down 33% for the year. (Yikes!)
To make a long story short, I asked her what she was doing to acquire clients, she told me that she had an ad running in her local newspaper, a web site, and she relied on referrals.
So I began with some diagnostic questions like…
- How much money did you plan to make this year?
- How many clients do you need each month to reach your goals?
- How much money do you have budgeted for marketing your salon?
- What contact information are you collecting from your current clients?
Fortunately Debbie contacted me before her salon went into an acute comma never to be resuscitated.
First, you have to know your numbers (yearly gross, monthly break evens, number of clients needed, salon marketing budget, etc.)
Second, you cannot expect to catch a boat load of fish with one or two poles. Meaning, you have to have a minimum of 8 ways to attract clients depending upon your specific goals, and needs. Ask yourself this question…Where would my potential clients go to look for my services? (newspaper, yellow pages, website, mailbox, online, etc.)
Then you want to make sure that you have as many salon marketing strategies that YOU need (poles in the water) that will put you in front of your perfect prospects consistently and cost effectively.
Here are just a few salon marketing tactics that will help you get your message in front of your perfect prospects.
- Direct Mail: (postcards, sales letters, and fliers.)
- Newspaper: (make sure it’s your “local” paper.)
- In Store Fliers: (promotional programs, etc.)
- Web Site: (make sure your web site is optimized for your local area, you should dominate page “one” on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask.)
- Social Media: (you can find professionals and potential clients in your local market using Facebook & Twitter.)
- Text Messaging: (keep in contact with current clients.)
- Email Marketing: (another way to inform your clients about up coming promotions.)
- Salon Newsletter: (position yourself as the “expert,” and offer your tips, products, and services.)
- Salon Referral Program: (get your happy clients referring friends, family, and colleagues.)
- Yellow pages: (more people are looking on the internet, but still a viable media.)
- Val-Pak: (this is a good place to do one of your “value added” marketing promotions. If you’re not sure check out http://andrewssalonmarketing.com/2009/10/22/spooktacular-salon-marketing-promotion-hallowen/
- Radio & TV: (this is expensive and it’s a “shot gun” method.) If you use this method wait until your salon is thriving, and test small before you spend thousands of dollars.
If you have several poles in the water “simultaneously” I guarantee that you’ll attract more clients. AND the 11 (minus radio & TV) salon marketing strategies mentioned above are all “cost” effective. These are just a few salon marketing poles that you can implement immediately to attract a consistent flow of new clients.
When you know your numbers you can set up a salon marketing “system” to attract enough clients so that your salon doesn’t end up in the emergency room.
Contact me if you need further assistance, AND let me know what you thought of this article by leaving me a comment below. Good, bad, or ugly, your feedback is important and welcome.
Helping you increase your salon sales,
Glen Andrews
http://www.AndrewsSalonMarketing.com
P. S. If you haven’t taken the FREE salon marketing video series, you’re missing out on some simple, yet highly effective, salon marketing strategies that will enable you to attract more clients, and increase sales.
