FROM BEHIND THE CHAIR TO ONLINE

Salon Marketing is A Salon’s Lifeline

Salons and spas are highly competitive, and marketing will make the difference in whether you succeed or fail in the business. This even applies to long-time established companies, because when stylists move or the business changes hands, many people may follow a stylist, and some people change salons. You need a constant supply of walk-in and attracted traffic to keep your salon profitable and the chairs full. There are a few basic marketing tools that are a must in today’s digital world, and those include a company website, a social media presence, and being present in Google My Business.  Over 70% of all clients start their hunt for a service online, and 83% rely on what Google tells them are the top salons in an area with the services they are seeking. The percentage that do it on a mobile device rather than a laptop is even higher.

You have to have a website that will come to the top, as well as a GMB listing that does the same so you can be found. It is important that your website be user friendly, easy to navigate, and states basic information about your salon such as hours of operation, services provided, and if possible (and your staff is stable enough), some “about” information about your stylists, nail technician, esthetician, massage therapist, makeup artist, and others who provide services at your location. People like to see a map so you are easier to find, and being able to click to call or even better, the ability to be able to schedule online, are big pluses.
Different demographic groups use different platforms. While Google has the lion’s share of all searches, millennials tend to cross check Yelp and elsewhere for reviews and star ratings. Reviews on all platforms are scrutinized a lot more than they were, and often reviews have to be validated as an actual customer before being posted. Over 90% of clients look at the reviews before deciding whom to contact for an appointment or quote.  Reviews do more, though, than just tell customers about their own experience. Your review rankings make a difference in your positioning in the Google map functions, how your ads come up on Google and Facebook, and other things. Social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are also very important, especially for services with visual impact. If your makeup artist is an eyebrow threading or microblading expert, you want pictures of those posted on your accounts so clients know not only that the salon or spa has those available, but the quality and look of the work. 


Your Salon Management Needs to Know Salon Marketing Strategies

In most salons and spas, the manager has to take an active role in the marketing of the location. It is very helpful to have a professional marketing agency to assist with the tasks, especially in the digital world. What creates an ad or posting that attracts attention and gets interaction is a finely tuned process, and can be time consuming to learn. A good digital marketing company that can generate warm leads can make a big impact on your bottom line. 
Often, though, especially in smaller salons some of the tasks fall to the salon manager. You need a salon manager that understands what marketing works and what does not, how to read and understand basic analytics for how your marketing is working, and how to take advantage of local directories, opportunities for free or low cost local advertising, high impact community involvement, and promotion of the skills and talents of your existing staff. Part of that marketing strategy also needs to be taught to the stylists, so they can increase their own income as well as that of the shop. The overall impact of hair salon marketing strategies should be cost effective with a good return on investment. Being able to track specials, coupons, discounts, and other efforts allows the store manager to make accurate assessments about what is working, what needs tweaked, and what simply does not provide a good return for the money spent. That information also needs to be kept for tax filing time.
 

​Salon Marketing Strategy Should Include Cutting Edge Professionals

Modern marketing has a new face, and it is not all old school print media. While salons are one the few businesses that can get a bit of traction from local coupon books, there are other methods of utilizing local connections and outlets to help generate business for your location. Your salon marketing strategies need to include professionals that can get you seen by the kind of people who match up to your clientele, and the preferred medium is digital in nature. Digital marketing is where you must be now to get the best impact and to draw new clientele that you can retain. Coupon books are great, but you have to have an offer worth the client taking advantage of a new place, overcoming the familiarity of where they have been going through price. That alone can be a tough sell due to the psychological barriers you have to overcome. Reaching out to potential customers through social media, digital advertising, and well written copy and offers that make your Google My Business listing jump off the page and get clients to stop scrolling and read your copy is best done by a professional who knows your industry. The person does not have to be local to be able to handle digital work targeted at your specific market and demographic. 


“Fresh” Hair Salon Marketing Ideas Might Not Always Be Effective

One of the most important reasons to use a digital marketing professional that has experience in the salon and spa industry is they already have tried and true methods that are wide reaching to get to your potential new customers. Print media, from billboards (expensive to maintain and high monthly rent, low impact, limited message) to coupon books (shotgun distribution, large volume, tends to be expensive, always needs some sort of hook to get customers to be baited to try your company) are all dying. They also tend to have salespeople who can come up with some “creative” ideas that are not tried, unproven, and might look kind of cool, but very well may not have one thing to offer your potential clients or really get their attention. You have nearly zero control over where your advertising budget sends a postcard, or hopes a coupon book gets picked up, and maybe if you are lucky someone might be interested in what you are offering There is no control and no guarantee for any return on investment with nearly any print media.
Digital advertising, though, relies on data from what customers are searching for already, and places they want to spend money. Right from the start you have warm leads, because they are already interested in what you offer. The searched terms are dovetailed into your web page copy, the citations and backlinks on your website that get you noticed in the online directories you can appear in, and the social media that is utilized. Social media advertising can be extremely effective for spas, especially if the appropriate targeting is done with even a basic, good offer for visiting the first time. Both on the web and on social media, customer reviews are extremely important, both to share information and hopefully good referrals for your business, but they also affect the position your listing occupies after a search. A good, industry knowledgeable digital marketing firm knows what potential customers are looking for, how to specifically reach them, what offers work, and what graphics, photos, and information makes them stop and take advantage of being able to contact you. The best hair salon marketing strategy has your marketing campaigns cross reference each other, creating credibility and coverage at a cost effective rate. You know who you are reaching, how many take action, and what it is both costing you and providing for return on investment. That makes for good salon and spa management. 


How to Drive Traffic With the Best Marketing Strategies For Hair Salon Increases

Retention is very important to a salon, and all beauty salon marketing should be attentive to utilizing ideas and programs that provide the highest return and retention. Creating a bonus program, loyalty program, or some means of accruing value for return visits and purchase are popular, and help you keep customers coming back so they can complete and gain their “reward”.  The repeated behavior leads to a habit, and retention. Becoming involved in community events, giving back programs, and keeping focused on well written and placed digital marketing all provide platforms for your salon or spa to be recognized and appreciated for what you do locally, and creates a sense of value and position of credibility in your community. Beauty salon marketing ideas might include providing free haircuts to needy school children before the school year starts, or offering services at the local clinic that serves the poor and homeless, registering for a day at the spa during the holidays to promote holiday sales, or offering a gift card with the purchase of “x” amount of gift cards to your facility.  All can help create new clients along with retention of your current ones. 
 

​Learning How Hair Salon Marketing Works
 
Beauty salon marketing ideas can be like Greek to you if marketing and advertising are not part of your wheelhouse. Learning about them is critical to the success of any salon or spa, though, especially in highly competitive parts of the industry like hair styling and nail work. There are some great courses available to teach basics on salon marketing and spa advertising, and taking some of those will help give a salon manager an edge in this highly competitive industry. Online classes especially tend to be inexpensive, up-to-date, and targeted at a more digital (and more current) marketing model. There are many ways to reach out to customers besides the flimsy coupon books or local paper. Grow into thinking about how your potential customers look for services, like digital searches, and you will find a much bigger pool of potential new business. ​