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Effectively promoting your salon is crucial. This is not just advertising, it is face-to-face selling too. It makes a world of difference when you stay in touch with your clients. Send out periodic promotions to your top clients to quickly get more bookings. You need to create the perception of offering the newest and most advanced techniques, treatments and results driven formulations.
Market Your Salon locally. Keep your marketing efforts within a 20-minute drive of your salon. Advertise in local newsletters, local newspaper (press release), church bulletins, shopping centre notice boards, civic club and other business bulletins, nearby hotels and public places which will allow brochures such as your local library. Seek out local resources.
Smart marketing is about enticing current clients to return and get potential clients to try your salon. Have special offers, discounts and enticing treatments to attract attention. Include a dead line in any offer to prevent procrastination. Ensure all marketing material is stylish and provides a meaningful and compelling message. Your message needs to grab attention and get the phone ringing. You communication must always focus on the potential client who wants to know, “What’s in it for me?” Revamp your marketing message – Are your selling from a value perspective.
Differentiation makes your business memorable and credible. You want a prospect to be able to quickly and clearly understand what you do and what sets you apart from your competitors. Know who your competitors are. Know what you are up against. Know what they are offering. And know their strengths. Salons who will thrive are dedicated to creating unique and memorable experiences, rather than the simple, basic service and products.
Superior Quality. Ensure you always offer your clients the best service and quality. Nothing kills business quicker than a beauty therapist, who squeezes in another booking, keeps the client waiting, rushes the treatment and chases them out the door.
Dedicated Team. A difficult aspect of running a salon is there could be limited holidays and no sick days. You need to be in control with focus and energy, even if you are having an “off day”. Having a dedicated team makes your life easier and ensures client satisfaction. Make sure everyone on your team is armed with knowledge. They need all the tricks and tips to work efficiently. Everyone should have a process and procedure manual to ensure consistent standards and client satisfaction. Everyone should be able to recommend and sell retail products. Invest time and energy in your employees. They are not just beauty therapists, they are your client service team. Support and motivate your team to give an exceptional salon experience.
Potential Business Hazards
• Making assumptions about what clients want.
• Ignoring the competition.
• Trying to compete on price alone.
• Relying on too few customers.
• Trying to grow too quickly.
• Not having sales targets.
• Becoming complacent about what you offer and failing to innovate.
Focus on Retail Sales. Monitor your sales results and regularly provide sales training. Beauty Therapist and Aestheticians must understand the necessity of recommending and selling products. Ask questions to find out which products your clients need at home. They will appreciate that you asked about their needs, rather than trying to sell them a range of products or multiple add-ons. It is not enough to simply recommend a product. Offer clients useful and helpful information so that they can understand what makes your product better than other options. IF you can’t communicate why your product is better, you will not make the sale. Without a differentiator they client will assume it is the same or similar to other skin care products. Do you homework; know exactly why she needs your product. Be well versed in the advantages and benefits of your skin care products.
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