The bustling beauty industry shows no sign of stopping, with an estimated £16 billion being generated by the industry in 2016 alone. There is an abundance of beauty salons all vying for the attention of a captive audience, all hoping to stand out from the crowd. So how exactly do you go about it? Well, firstly it is important to define your market, and much of this starts with branding.
Establishing A Brand
Your immediate clientele should be those in the local area, say those in a five-mile radius from your shop. Target locally first and you’re likely to get a wider appeal simply through word of mouth and clever online marketing. But how do you decide how to target these people? Well, consider who your business is aimed at. If you’re a young, trendy salon then your brand should reflect that, with a bright color scheme and heavy online presence. If you’re aiming at an older generation then you may consider a gentle color palette and restful graphics so you don’t scare them off. Asking important questions before you begin the marketing of your business will make it easier to tailor to the right people. Use a site like coolors.co to come up with unique color schemes.
Offline Networking
Once you’ve decided who you are aiming at, it is a good idea to see what other businesses in the local area are also aimed at your target audience. If you’re a beauty salon you are likely to find that those in the wedding industry, for example, florists, hairdressers and wedding dress retailers are likely to have some crossover with your clientele if you are aiming at those in the 20+ age range. If you are aiming for a very young, trendy market, it may be that your clients also frequent contemporary clothing retailers in the local area.
The key here is to contact these local businesses that may have similar customers and try to create a mutually beneficial arrangement where you promote their business and they promote yours. This may be through the use of calling cards or special offer leaflets by the other party’s till. Or you may both have a huge following on Instagram, so creating a combined makeover with a local hairdresser and promoting the pictures online may be of huge benefit to both of you. It’s all about discovering what works well for your business.
Foursquare
Foursquare is an excellent way of seeing at a glance what people really think about your business. Here they can leave reviews and ratings for your beauty salon, as well as adding photos of your work. Because this is predominately a customer-to-customer forum, you will find that any comments on here are often much more honest than you would receive directly with your clients, meaning you can see easily where your business does well (and not so well) and address these issues where necessary. It goes without saying that understanding your customer’s needs will enable you to gain a better reputation online and this, in turn, will result in better ratings, leading more customers to come to your trusted brand.
Social Media
Social media is an essential marketing tool for a blossoming beauty business. Here you can communicate with your customers in real-time and gain a larger fanbase through cleverly planned social media campaigns. Here are the Social Media programs that are likely to benefit your business the most:
What is a quicker way of promoting your products and services than showing your customers what they can achieve by purchasing them? Do you offer eyelash extensions? Well stick a before and after picture of a client’s lashes online and show your potential customers what they’re missing out on. And how about injectibles? Show your potential clients your youthful treatments to have them scrambling to ring you.
Over 500 million people use Instagram on a monthly basis, and many of these visitors access Instagram on the go via their mobile phone. Ensure that your Instagram is regularly updated with exciting content so that visitors to the area or those just passing your salon can engage with you easily and get in touch to book an appointment.
Facebook is another key tool in your social media arsenal. There are billions of people online on Facebook, including your local customers. By setting up a Facebook page you allow your customers to review your business and find your opening hours and price list at a glance. Ensure that you update the page regularly just like your Instagram page to generate page likes and extra interest in your business. You should also make a song and dance about any special offers on here too to entice additional customers to your business through word of mouth.
An App
A speedy way of combining all the essential elements of business marketing is to use a reliable beauty salon app to gain and retain your customers and allow mobile sales through one channel. Through an app, you can create your own booking system which will allow your customers to quickly book their own appointments and add to their bookings to their calendar. The upside of this means that you can free up time in the salon away from the reception desk, enabling you to spend your time more effectively with clients.
You can also use the app to offer rewards and repeat discounts using a loyalty scheme, encouraging your customers to return for repeat visits and create your own coupons that are exclusive to your app users to encourage them to interact with you digitally.
But if the idea of setting up an app sounds too intimidating, don’t worry, a good app will allow you to simply put in your Facebook page and website address details and it will pull all of your business information and color scheme automatically across, making it child’s play to set up an app that is tailored to you.
Email Marketing
Congratulations on getting those customers through the door, but how do you ensure that they’ll come back? Well, continuous marketing plays a role here. Take a customer’s details such as name, allergies, type of treatments interested in and email address and phone number and use this information to send personalized email addresses to your customers, reminding them of special offers you have available and to recommend follow-up treatments. For example, if your client comes in for an eyebrow shape, email them about a lash and eyebrow tint to encourage further sales. This marketing scheme is particularly effective if you engage with your customers using social media and provide them before and after pictures that they can use on Instagram. They will likely tag you into these pics and their share will gain you free advertising to their followers.
Summary
So now you’ve got a few ideas on how to market your business to experience a boost in sales and brand awareness. From the importance of using emails to engage with your customers to streamlining your service using a customizable beauty salon app, there are lots of meaningful ways that you can adjust your marketing strategy to enhance your revenue. It’s important not to rest on your laurels, though. Ensuring that you keep an eye on your marketing strategy to make sure it works for your business as it grows is essential, taking into account new developments in the world of marketing to keep ahead of the game.
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