can anyone give me some ideas on how to build up a client base?

[talontastic]

I tend to make sure my nails get noticed, sparkly at christmas, red and hearts at valentine etc. Make them a talking point to give out your card at every opportunity. :idea:

Make sure you have a good web site with lots of pictures of your work. Also make sure your existing clients have your cards so that when theirs get noticed your card if given out!

Word of mouth is definitely how I have got most of my clients. I have never really needed to advertise much.

Hth Julie

 

[essentia]

Hi I have been reading these posts with interest and just wanted to add my bit!! I am going back to beauty (I was a therapist for 12 years) and gained a business degree as well. First I thought it might be a good idea to put some of your work on your site as this will give added confidence to potential customers. Have you also thought about adding a newsletter to your site to keep people informed about offers/ treatments. We do not like to think of ourselves as sales people but I think you need to be a bit more business like. Never leave the final word to the client - if they say they loved the pedi/mani and are going to give out your price lists etc - phone them up and say you would love to see them again and they will get a reduced treatment if a friend books. However do not constantly offer discounts as it is detrimental to your professional standards but I believe giving a bit as one thread suggests to get more back is a great idea. Advertising - keeping your name out there is great also - you can cut back when the bookings are more forthcoming. Lastly get a client to be totally honest about your service - find out what the competition offers and believe in yourself. It takes time to build. Good luck :lol:

 

[hippy-chick]

However do not constantly offer discounts as it is detrimental to your professional standards but I believe giving a bit as one thread suggests to get more back is a great idea. Advertising - keeping your name out there is great also - you can cut back when the bookings are more forthcoming. :lol:

I read this comment earlier, and its been on my mind all night. I agree about the discounts. A few people before have commented on adding value to a treatment eg a luxury treatment for the price of normal, etc. instead of discounting. Also, some geeks don't like the word 'discount'.

With this in mind, I have been putting packages together rather than discounts. Or taster treatments. but at the end of the day, i still charge my normal rate, perhaps add something different so that it is more bespoke than straight off the treatment menu.

 

[BROOPS100]

Some great advice here... Shame I put my Bio Gel order in today and didnt buy a red. What with Valentines day coming up, what was I thinking of !!! Like everyone else, I need to think ahead a little more dont I - Perhaps try as the maintstream shops do and maybe charge £40 as a BOGOFS! (Buy One Get One Free special?!) Or maybe make every customer think i've turned them into a mate and tell them I'll charge them mates rate?! :lol:

-~-

I too took the plunge in october 07 and am home and mobile I automatically assumed that coming up to xmas I would be busy but it didn't work that way and I was thinking maybe its me and I'm not as good as I thought I was and I still kept putting out my leaflets and had 2 ads in my local papers and still I only had 4 bookings between oct and xmas but luckily I have family I practice on just so I am not forgetting about all the training I have done. so the new year came and I sat and wrote down all my goals for this year and where I want to be come october this year,one of those goals is to get new clients and the other is to change my gels to creative so I am now just waiting for a date for my conversion and all last week I spent making my leaflets as I got no response whatsoever from my paper ads ,I done these up with word put 1 pic of nail on it and offered 10% off any treatment booked before valentines day and I also have my own nails done for valentines(red tips with white heart sticker)and guess what I have loads admiring nails but even better I got 3 bookings yesterday so I am over the moon so anyone that is losing faith like I was you just gotta keep plugging away and you will get there -I know 3 clients won't make me a fortune but is the start so I am happy with that for now:lol:

 

[essentia]

Hi When you read my thread I do stress that over discounting is a bad idea but for a short term strategy can work. It can pull people in but I feel not to be used as a continual method of attracting clients. Offering a reduction if a friend books gives you two clients the discount is therefore divided by 2 people and not so bad! It also gives another client which can recommend to other friends and so on. Ideal for short term client building.

For example I will never discount my Nimue facials but I am prepared to offer discounted threading as it is a new service to get clients in - but only for a limited period! I also think adding more value to packages is also a great idea. I guess everyone has to decide on a strategy best for them and their situation.

 

[minime1]

a great marketing idea for valentines day would be:

find a local hotel or restaurant close to your salon and give the restaurant 50 letters to put on each table, this is a present for all the ladies who attend the valentines meal.

you could put..

£5.00 gift voucher and a price list.

or a special offer why not treat yourself and have a facial & back massage for .....

what you put in the letter is up to you, but make it worth while,

all you need is some red paper and your computer....

i did this last year and i had 4 ladies from it, the restaurant owner thought it was a great idea.

cheers
Natasha

 

[IllumeGirl]

You've identified two problems:

1. Not enough new clients.

2. Your business is not retaining your existing clients effectively.

I hope you have a list of everyone who has been to you in the past. Send them all an email (or maybe a letter if you don't have their email addresses) something like this (it worked well for me in another service industry business I owned and might work for you).

Dear Michelle,

I've messed up! We stupidly missed renewing our advertising contract last month (you know how busy it can be around Christmas) and as a result my appointment book for the next week is rather sparse.

My mistake is your gain. Call me today on xxx-xxxx-xxxx and make an appointment to have your [insert service/treatment here] done and just this once I'll do it for [insert your special offer here].

You know we don't normally discount our services but we're doing it because we messed up.

I'm giving this away on a first come first serve basis so if you're interested please give me a call on xxxx xxxx xxx now before someone else takes these bookings (I've sent this note to all my clients).

Kind regards


[your name]

You might also want to take a look at setting up some kind of a system to automatically do the marketing for you all the time rather than when you are desperate for work.

We'd previously developed such a tool for another industry but when my sister (she's a top stylist in South Africa) saw it she insisted that I make one specifically for salons and mobile operators - it does the reminding, selling and other useful things in the background leaving you free to concentrate on doing the work. If that's of interest you could take a look at the salon sales repeater

Hope this helps

Cheers

Pete

this is a great letter, BUT, I would not say "we stupidly missed"..this IMO sends the wrong message ie. that you are not on the ball and rather disorganised. Maybe more along the lines of something personal, eg. we are missing you, to entice you back etc etc.
Us women like to be needed and missed..we like being special! (as you would know full well!)

 

[alialy]

I think if you read the threads you will see that there is a pattern..... advertising doesn't really work! It's expensive and you don't have control over who's going to see it.

I think if you are going to put an advert anywhere, put it in your local free mag, or programmes for local events such as school xmas/spring/summer fayres. This means it's people near to you who are going to see it, and more importantly, people tend to keep them lying around - newspapers get thrown away.

I have been doing nails for 7 years ( part-time from home for 3yrs - then in my own 'salon'). I have never done leaflet drops, offers, discounts or any advertising (other than in our town carnival programme), and i'm proud of that!! My diary is chokka - most of the time -and at busy times of the year I have a waiting list.

My rules are:
1. BE GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO! - practise, practise, practise - be better than your competition.

2.CHARGE A DECENT PRICE FOR YOUR SERVICE - I put my prices up (only by £2) when a new salon opened up next door to me last year, offering 'packages' and introductory offers. I just promote myself as being more experienced/more highly qualified/competition winner etc. Do people want cheap nails - or the best nails?

3.USE PR NOT ADVERTISING - Do an event and get it in the newspaper - a 'sponsored' something. Enter a nail competition and write a bit of 'editorial'- take a photo and go see the local womens-page journalists - offer to do their nails, ( for free but only if they give you a write-up). I'm currently drumming up loads of support for the 'race for life' event in May. I'm entering, and am getting a team together to do it with me.

4.ATTEND LOCAL EVENTS - Such as PTA things. Our local schools often put on 'ladies evenings'. Get a stand there, it might cost you £10, you can do demos and freenail art or sample nails. You will then be 'putting yourself about', being seen, having the chance to talk to people and make a friendly connection and be able to give them your card/service/price list.

5.BE A GOOD ADVERT FOR YOURSELF - always have nice nails - put someting unusual on them to get them noticed, give your card out.

6.Use the '3 FOOT RULE OF SELLING' - if someone comes within 3 foot of you - tell them what you do!!!

7.CONSIDER GETTING A PART-TIME JOB - this isn't a daft as it might seem. I got a job working on a make-up counter in our local department store when I first started to do nails. I didn't have enough customers to pay my way, so the money was necessary. I learn't loads about skincare/fragrance/make-up and SELLING! (the training is good). I made loads of friends .....and contacts.......and aquired customers ( from my colleagues, and from customers asking me 'where do you get your nails done?'). In the end I couldn't cope with the up-turn in my nails business and working 3 days a week in Debenhams, so I took the plunge and went full-time self employed.

8.CONSIDER RENTING A ROOM. I'm above a florist in our high street. The rent is cheap, so if i'm not too busy I don't panic about it. I didn't have big outlay for shopfitting, decorating etc. It's a related business - florists do weddings, brides want nails done....!

Well, thats been my experience. I am just about to expand and take on new premises - still not a shopfront position though. It keeps the rent down, and I have a good enough client base- they'll just transfer to my new place.

I hope that some of this will be of help to you.. You've got to be confident in your ability and enjoy what you do.

Best of luck

 

[hippy-chick]

excellent comments made.

I always think that Rome wasn't built in a day, so why should a business be!

I send out newsletters every 3 months to tell people what I'm up too. Clients do read them, cos they make little comments about things that I've put into it.

Also, websites are fab too. I'm getting people willing to travel to me because of my website.

 

[CarlaC]

ALIALY Seems to have covered it really well (Will be printing that advice)

My advice is to have a think of any of your mates that work locally in public facing job's (For example in shops or reception, bar works etc etc)

then ask them if they would mind doing you a favour & having their nails done (offer it as a free one off) then take your time & make sure they are perfect & have eyecatching paint finnish on them

then give your friends your business cards for when people comment on their nails.

& Ask them to say something along the lines of
Oh my friend does them she's fantastic she does them mobile (so can come to your house) or you can have them done at her house which is just round the corner so easy to get to.

If you can't think of anyone then why not think of some local businesses who have female staff who deal with the public & then offer them 1/2 price nails in return for giving out your card.

So maybe a popular local clothes shop or ladies that run a local play group. or receptionist at the local sport's centre. the girl from the paper shop round the corner to your house.

That way people are saying how lovely your work is & then wanting to come to you.... rather than a price list dropping through their door and going straight in their bin.

Also our local shopping centre has stalls in the middle sometimes why not find out about how much this costs & have a promotional day (rope in friends & do their nails) then offer something like a file & polish & have lots of photo's of nails you have done for people to look at.

As it is coming up to Valentines why not get a couple of mates together & again do all their nails & your own for valentines & make up some special offer valentines leaflets or discount vouchers & go to the local train station (be there early morning - to catch the early morning commuters & then again in the evening from about 4pm to 7pm) Make sure you are dressed in your whites or your uniform (all dressed the same) & looking fresh & professional & hand out the leaflets. This way you are targeting people you know have the money to have them done & you are giving the Business Men a wonderful soloution to the WHAT SHALL I GET HER FOR VALENTINES? problem.
& The women to have their nails done for valentines or to ask their partners for your vouchers for Valentines.

Also another idea it to take before & after photo's of your clients & start up a book (they feel you are really pleased with your work & are showing them off & new clients can see your work & it's a great way of showcasing nail art & polish finnishes you do.

I hope some of this helps & Good Luck.

CarlaC

 

[collin]

Gigi once told me,allthough being mobile can be sucessfull,being in a salon means more exposure to the general public which can only be a good thing

Obviously she worded it much better

Now theres a thought for you..why not pick up on it and use it to your own advantage..ok so your mobile..then get mobile..get the Feista out and visit all the salons within 20 miles of you...obviously not salons that do nails hit all the sunbed ,haidresser,spas even small hotels and offer them your mobile service..you will come into them once per ???? or be on call to come in or visit their customer direct.

You will of course have to offer them a cut but this will get your customer base up and give you the confidence to move forward and rock....once you start getting a few regular customers you will be maze at how quickly others will come along..once you get a small customer base its even easier to grow that by offering promotions like introduce a freind to me nd I will give you £XXX of your own nails
Keep going as your buisness wil develope..Christmas spend is over..Spring is nearly here ..then its Summer and everyone is going to be feeling better and willing to spend.
Good luck

 

[*sarah*]

wow lots of input exactly what I was looking for some really great ideas, I'll let you all know how I get on, and what works the best.

Many thanks xxxx

 

[Joannesnails]

Now theres a thought for you..why not pick up on it and use it to your own advantage..ok so your mobile..then get mobile..get the Feista out and visit all the salons within 20 miles of you...obviously not salons that do nails hit all the sunbed ,haidresser,spas even small hotels and offer them your mobile service..you will come into them once per ???? or be on call to come in or visit their customer direct.

Hmmm I don't really get it? Could someone explain for me please? x

 

[minniemilk]

I sent a message about help with room renting and found this link which is really interesting. I'm looking to set up at the end of this year and have found that the suggestions made are really helpful. I know it sounds silly but I didn't realise HOW MUCH hard work is needed. Personally I too believe that set up part time in a salon will be a good idea too.

Hope it works out. x