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BRAND AWARENESS
With the ever-emerging technologies out there, people have literally been swept off their feet. But while the likes of pop queen Lily Allen have jumped on the band wagon of self-promotion, those in the hair world have been a little more reluctant. Until now. Stuart Holmes, who owns Stuart
Holmes Salon and Spa, is at the forefront of everything innovative. “It’s about building client confidence.
A first time visitor can look at our website and see everything we’re doing; it gives a message about the kind of salon we are.” Over the years there is little technology
Social networking sites and new technologies offer a wealth of opportunities for you to compete against your peers, but how do you make it work for you? Jo Charlton finds out.
Stuart hasn’t delved into, from e-marketing and online booking to having a presence on social networking sites and finally launching his own iPhone application, but he’s never complacent. He says: “We’re a fashion industry
focusing on new, innovative things, so if you don’t keep up with new technologies – and it’s very easy not to as a hairdresser – you’ll get left behind.” Russell Eaton won’t be one of those
left behind though, as the salon group launched a Facebook page at the end of last year and already has over a thousand members. Creative Director Robert Eaton says:
“It’s a tool to advertise what we’re doing and it’s free. I put shows and events on there and images from collections; we update it a couple of times a day.” There’s so much technology available
that every salon should be looking into some degree of self-promotion, whether
it’s putting training videos on YouTube, or developing a website. Toby Dicker, co-owner of The Chapel
salons, developed a website about 10 years ago – with a major re-haul in 2006 – and is always keen to adopt new technologies. “We see social networking as the
most important thing to build our business,” he says. “It’s about finding what our customers want to use to interact. Only five percent of our clients hear about us by walking past, so it’s imperative we utilise online because we’re not in a high street location.” Aside from bringing in new customers
– which Toby estimates to be around 40 per month without even trying – you can also use it to recruit staff. Robert says: “I’ve had three join who
contacted me through Facebook; you can suss out what people are like a lot easier. “I also use it to get models for hair
shows. I always advertise on Facebook first because it doesn’t cost anything.” But it’s not just salon owners who
should be standing up and paying attention. Danya Brown is the website manager at Capital Hair & Beauty and he’s been e-marketing for years, before launching a Facebook page in January. “We wanted to create this community
for our customers,” he says. “It’s another avenue to communicate through and is ideal for information that isn’t necessarily important enough for us to put in an email but means it’s there for people to access if they’re interested; it’s not being forced onto them.” >>
HAIR-POD
If you haven’t got an iPhone, you’re just not cool (apparently!), so it’s no surprise salon owners are latching onto the brand and its multitude of apps. And now Stuart Holmes has launched Hair-Pod, which gives users the chance to see how they might look with over 30 up-to-date looks, before they even enter the salon. “It adds more to the client experience by offering a snapshot of how
they’ll look before they even see a pair of scissors. It also helps the stylist to know what new clients like best,” says Stuart. So how does the app actually work? The hairstyles are overlayed
onto an image uploaded by the user and then they can flip the style, move the parting around, and even change colours. But the fun doesn’t end there. The app acts like a micro-website with a service menu, meet the staff page, online booking facility and the salon’s location – which links to Google Maps for help with directions, distances and travelling times from any location. Stuart says: “They can get the whole experience from looking up
our name to deciding their style, seeing our prices, and then booking their appointment – all from their iPhone.”
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