business: your 2017 marketing strategy
social media
Social media is a marketing tool that every business should embrace. It completely opens your salon up to a wider audience, it’s easy to use, and what’s more? It’s free! If you’re not savvy in social media, then perhaps stick to one platform at first – Facebook is a great one-stop shop for you to share images of your work – particularly those ‘before and after’ pictures. It’s also the ideal place for letting your clients know about any special offers, and to share news about any events you may be hosting in your salon.
The key to social media is consistency – as long as you’re posting regularly, your users will stay engaged.
Ewa says: “Set aside time and resources to manage your social profile, both from a business and personal perspective. Keep an eye on what your competition is doing; what they post and what topics get the most shares and likes. See what works and follow their lead – but do it better!”
Online is also a great place to begin to form partnerships with brands, whether that be the brands that you’re currently working with, or someone new you’re thinking of bringing in to your salon in 2017 – even if that means simply ‘liking’ their page so that you’re kept up to date with their marketing activity. Compare this against your own, and share on your own pages so that your existing clients know that you have a close relationship with your brand and you support the message they share with their products.
“To raise your profile and not compete on price, but still really establish yourself as the expert in your local area – a strong PR strategy would be important; it can really change your business,” says Laura Steventon, Country Manager for Nimue Skincare. “The use of stories in any marketing activity that you do would probably be my number one tip – it is through stories that people self- identify and feel emotion. A story could be a fantastic result your client got after doing a course of treatments with you, or it could be how you performed massages on people who ran the London marathon. There are stories in every situation; create a blog, share them on social media, and if it’s big enough; your local press.”
Social Media is a marketing tool that every business should embrace. events
When it comes to events, Laura also suggests advertising through external websites such as
Eventbrite.com to appeal to a wider audience. “[The site] lists events in your local area, where people can self-select their interests. You can even embed your Eventbrite event onto your website so that people can book directly. It makes the buying process so much easier.”
Before hosting an event, think about what you wish to gain from it. If you want to host the event out of hours, you’ll need to think about paying your staff for their extra time. There will also be the cost of any refreshments you decide to offer, and of course, any treatment demonstrations you give. Taking all of this into consideration, think about what the outcome will be. Do you want to entice new customers? Do you want to encourage existing customers to pay more for a new treatment? Whatever you want the end result to be, make sure your event is taking the appropriate steps to help you along your way.
Ewa says: “Be seen and be heard, but be prepared. A badly delivered demonstration or Key Note speech can ruin a reputation. Ensure that your public persona is super professional. Try going to events where your customers might be rather than just your competition.”
Trade shows are a great way of experiencing professional seminars and demonstrations from industry professionals – share their knowledge with your clients back at the salon and
they will be pleased that you’ve gone the extra mile to discover more in- depth about a product or treatment.
offers
Rewarding your clients is a great way of giving your sales a boost, so when drawing up your marketing plan, keep a note of any key dates that you may want to introduce special offers. A mother- daughter treatment for Mother’s Day, or a Prom package in the Summer will attract that specific target audience, and hopefully gain you some new clients for the future.
If you haven’t already begun to think about how to maximise your Christmas sales, then look at December as your ‘trial period’ before the new year is upon us. Think about your retail displays, your special offers, and even adding those extra little touches such as offering a mince pie or hot beverage with treatments.
When taking on a new challenge, you may become too focused on bringing in new customers that you forget about existing ones. Although it’s important for your brand and business to grow, it’s equally important to maintain those special relationships you already have with your existing clientele. Trying out a referral service is a great way of rewarding them, but also gives you access to new clients too.
Working on the core of your business and making sure you and your staff are providing an exceptional service will ensure you keep on top of your marketing strategies for the New Year.
GUILD NEWS 97
Image ©
istock.com/BurcakYalaman
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