The salon industry is said to be recession proof and linked closely to the fashion and celebrity world as well as general health and well being, which further cements our industry into the lifestyle of your clients.
However, this popularity has also led to increased competition, where multiple salons in close proximity compete for the same set of customers.
If you want to be competitive with other salons in your town or city, then you must have a unique marketing strategy to stand out from your competition.
To help you grow your salon faster, we have compiled a list of 20 ideas for marketing and promoting your salon to your target audience.
START A BLOG
Creating a blog and blogging is no doubt a powerful tool to represent your business and is one of the best ways to market your salon.
You can get in front of your preferred audience by creating content across fashion trends, hair tips, makeup etc. This can also be sprinkled with the prominent features of your salons and how it can help your customers improve their physical appearance.
This, in turn, keeps your targeted audience coming back to your website and ultimately becoming your loyal fans because of the value you are providing through your blog.
GET MORE TRAFFIC FROM GOOGLE
As we all know Google is considered the king of search engines and used by the majority of people to search for businesses and services in their area.
Optimizing your website for the search engine is an excellent technique to get in front of your targeted customers.
Some essential Local SEO tips for salons include;
- Adding your website to your local directory pages
- Verify and add your Google my business listing
- Post on local review and classified websites.
- Join local forums and participate in related discussions to earn backlinks as well as referral traffic.
KEEP YOUR WEBSITE UPDATED
Keeping your website updated is essential to keep your customers involved in your beauty salon. On the internet, your website is your first point of interaction with your potential customers.
If it’s outdated, not appealing enough and lacks contact information or online booking, chances are those visitors will never become your customer.
There are different and yet simple ways to update your website.
On top of the basic salon information, contact and booking info, you can add a quality piece of content in it such as a post on unique and brand worthy hairstyles, quick makeup ideas, latest images of your work and customer testimonials to demonstrate the quality of your work.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Social media is currently the key online promotion platform, no salon can miss out on.
From Facebook, Instagram to Pinterest and YouTube, they are all stacked with your potential customers. They have plenty of visitors to target and attract towards your salon’s social accounts, website and ultimately business.
The main objective here is to create a loyal fan base that can only be possible by engaging users with compelling post and fascinating images and videos of your artistry behind the chair, fashion styles, live video of an exclusive technique and just about anything that your potential customers will find useful.
GET MORE ONLINE REVIEWS
Reviews are significant for any salon business because they are given by the customers who have used your services. A nice 5-star review can add a lot to the reputation of your business.
There are various local business review websites such as Yelp, Google Business, and even Facebook page reviews. These sites play a crucial role to generate trust among the visitors and converting them to customers.
If potential customers find more positive reviews of your salon, then it helps them to select your services with confidence.
HERE’S HOW TO GET STARTED EASILY WITH REVIEWS:
- Make a list of review sites you want to target.
- Create your business page on each site.
- Have each member of your team leave a 5 star review.
- NOW set your team a target of just 5 reviews each for every site.
- Set a time limit and staff incentive for the most.
CONTRIBUTE TO TOP FASHION BLOGS
It is a highly likely that your customers read and follow some of the top fashion blogs online.
When you write and contribute to these fashion blogs, it not only helps you to benefit from the traffic that they already have on their website but also gain new customers.
Just do some research and find the top quality blogs in your industry to contribute to. Most blogs accept external contributors and guest authors.
The key here is to post the content that can really create a mark on the users and resonates with the overall audience of that blog.
CREATE A COMPETITION
Running a competition is a nice tactic to increase the buzz around your salon business and create brand awareness in a short time. Competitions are engaging because they not only help people by participating in something they like but also for the prize they will get in return.
There are various types of competitions that you can create to attract a large audience. You can ask them to share some unique beauty tips, an eye-catching hairstyle or any latest fashion trend.
Ideally, you want to set up a prize that brings those winners in your salon. So a free party makeover, complete hairstyling or similar deal will not only appeal the masses but will bring in potential customers in your salon.
SIGN UP FOR LOCAL BUSINESS LISTING DIRECTORIES
To improve your local visibility, it is important to add your salon business in local business listing directories.
These directories are very helpful for users to find any specific service in their local area.
You can list your salon’s details, services offered, and complete address so that users in your location and easily find you. Search engines also favor these listings and boost the ranking of websites that are listed in the top local business directories.
CREATE A FIRST-TIME VISIT SPECIAL
A first-time visit special strategy can help your Hair and beauty salon business get a lot of customers.
You can offer an upgraded service to the first time customers to grab their attention and take the first step towards building a relationship with your salon. It’s a very effective way to promote your brand and get new customers in your seats.
If they feel satisfied with your services at first, you can expect a lot of returning customers to your salon.
SHOW A LIVE BEAUTY SESSION
Showing a live beauty session can give a lot of value to your audience.
It actually helps them to get an idea about the creative and quality work done at your salon. Not only this, it can help your potential audience with ideas on their next styling.
A live hair styling session, party makeup, and quick tips are very popular and you can easily impart them within your promotional strategies.
OFFER REFERRALS DISCOUNTS
Referral discount can encourage your customers to refer your salon services among their friends and family. It is a vibrant tactic that is used by several successful businesses to get a massive customer base.
Create a discount offer that can really push your customers to refer your salon within their circles. For example, give a free service to someone who refers a client to your salon.
This can help you to have a chain of customers that work as your brand ambassadors, which can bring in lots of trusted customers to you because they are referred by those who have already used and are satisfied with your services.
CREATE MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS
Salon Memberships are the holy-grail of scaling a salon towards unimaginable growth. They serve as a brilliant resource to scale your salon as well as build a bond and a long relationship with your clients.
Salon Memberships helped our salon, Emma Hellier, grow 3 times larger in just less than a year and we continue to multiply our growth due to this.
You can use Salon Blocs to implement salon memberships in your salon. It’s 100% free to sign up and you will just have to pay a small fraction of the fee, and only when you start selling memberships.
SEND OUT A SURVEY
Although directly, surveys don’t have an impact on marketing or sales, if data extracted from the findings is used strategically, it can quickly turn the tables for any salon.
The survey is a simple solution for every hair and beauty salon to get closer to the thought process of their customers. They are very flexible and cost-effective to implement as well and if you keep it short and simple, you will get participation.
You can get an accurate idea regarding what your salon customers like the most and which areas you need to work on for better results.
For example, if customers appreciate the exclusive hairstyles which your experts are offering, then you should carry on with that. On the other hand, if they are not satisfied with the makeup styles, then you must add some variations or improve your techniques.
CREATE SIGNIFICANT EVENT CAMPAIGNS SUCH AS MOTHER’S DAY
Creating an event campaign such as a Mother Day promotion can be a powerful strategy to drive revenue for your salon as well as getting those specific audiences in your salons, which usually don’t have time to visit salons.
Offer a package which reflects amazing value on select services just for the mums. When they receive a good service on mother’s day, they are more likely to share it across their social network, providing a compounding effect on your offer and hence attracting more mums.
CREATE A RADIO CAMPAIGN
Radio campaign can have an influential effect on your beauty salon business with almost 85% of Americans still listen to the radio and a good number in the UK and Europe too.
What you really need to do here is to find out the exact time when your targeted audience is active on the radio and the top radio channels of your local area.
You must consider memorable content because writing a great script can highly increase the impact of your radio advertisement.
SMS MARKETING
SMS Marketing is one of the quickest ways to make your salon business visible. It is just a matter of a single click to reach your audience, directly in their mobile inbox.
With over 70% of people browsing the internet on their mobile and carry it with them at all times, SMS marketing is a great way to reach potential customers in your town.
SMS marketing is considered much more responsive than email marketing because emails can easily get lost in the spam folder.
BILLBOARD ADVERTISING
Billboard advertising is very effective to promote a hair and beauty salon brand. They are tactically placed along the busy roads so that a massive amount of people can see your ad.
Although they might be initially an expensive option for most salons, they are superior to many traditional forms of marketing for total impact and provide you with the flexibility to choose the desired location for your ad to get a maximum outcome from it.
A large number of big brands are doing this sort of advertising to make themselves visible in front of a huge crowd. A stunning ad on the billboard with attractive graphics can really have a long-lasting impression on the minds of people and helps with brand recall.
HAND OUT FLYERS
Flyers distribution is a tested formula to increase brand exposure and sales for beauty salons.
A flyer actually works as a first impression for your business that’s why you should try to make it look extremely stunning.
Handing flyers out can also add a personal touch to your message. You must add all the essential information in a concise manner because the attention span of a flyer is very short. Try to use a large font size on the flyer so that it would be easier to read your message quickly.
Some customer-intensive places to distribute hand out flyers are;
- On busy streets
- In front of popular shopping centers
- At public transport hubs
- At local restaurants and cafes
OFFER FREE HAIRCUTS AT PUBLIC EVENTS
It is quite challenging for hair and beauty salons to continuously generate revenue into the saturated salon market. That’s why coming up with innovative ideas is the only way to bring people to your salon.
Offering free haircuts at public events will let the people know your brand. It provides you with an opportunity to deliver quality services to them so that you would be remembered for your creativity.
OFFER A BIRTHDAY PACKAGE
Offering special package on a birthday can be a perfect treat that’s unique to your.
It shows how much your salon cares about them and also a very effective to maintain friendly relations with them.
You can give them an upgraded service, provide a mini birthday cake, a branded gift, card or even sing happy. And when they are being treated nicely on their birthday, chances are that they are more likely to share it on their social networks, which already is a center of attention on their birthday, hence giving you added exposure and new customers.
Do you have any salon marketing tip to add on? Let us know in your comment below.