hi guys, i am a self employed beauty therapist who has worked from a treatment room within a very small health club for the last year. the owner of the club told me the other day that she wants to put the rates up on the room by 10%, which i am definatley not willing to pay as works abit thin on the ground ( very rural location ) . my only other alternative at this point is to go mobile........i've not done this before, so totally new to me.! even though i have built up regular clients that im sure will stay with me, i obviously still need new business coming in........please, please please can someone advise me on the best way to firstly set up my mobile service and secondly how to market this service.xx:cry:
help!! need advice on marketing my business
- Thread starter gudginda
- Start date
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thinkpink2008
Well-Known Member
never worked mobile so not sure how to go about setting up, however marketing wise you could do a leaflet drop in your local area,either design the leaflets yourself or go to
www.vistaprint.co.uk
they offer almost everything you could need and its really cheap but good quality.
hth xx
www.vistaprint.co.uk
they offer almost everything you could need and its really cheap but good quality.
hth xx
StudioTracker
Well-Known Member
Hi Gudginda,
Sorry to hear that you're having problems.
Below is an article I wrote recently to give salon professionals ideas about how minimise their marketing spend. Please have a read, let me knoe what you think and if you need any more advice I'd be happy to help.
Spring is a perfect time to inject your salon with some new energy and life. It is especially important during these turbulent economic conditions to look at which areas could do with some improvement. Looking to successful businesses in other sectors can provide inspiration for how you can improve. I have identified several business practices adopted by established companies businesses during recessions and made recommendations on how you can adapt these to your business. In addition, I have included suggestions on how you promote your business at little cost and stretch your budget as far as possible:
 Less paid-for advertising
In times of recession companies will look to find cheaper ways to advertise. Think less: paid-for advertising (e.g. radio, print ads), think more: flyering, leaving business cards in other local businesses, encouraging your existing customers to recruit new clients for you by incentivising them with recommend-a-friend promotions.
 Cheap and Easy Advertising
Postcards are cheap and easy to produce, especially if you use colour on one side only. They can be mailed to prospects, stacked in help-yourself dispensers, left at other local businesses or given to your current clients to distribute at their workplace. And you can use them for a variety of marketing messages – information about new products, short-term cut-price promotions or seasonal offers.
 Little and often
Research has shown that the effects of advertising are short lived. Therefore, in order to optimise your budget, it makes sense to spend smaller amounts very regularly. This will ensure that your business is consistently at the forefront of customer’s minds.
 Developing alliances
During a recession, big businesses will pile on the pressure to the sales force to ensure their products are available in as many different outlets as possible. Unlike product-based businesses, salons rely on the customer coming to them and requesting a service. However, there are ways of advertising your availability to people who are likely to be interested in your services at no cost. Do some business networking in your local area and introduce yourself to other business owners. Discuss how you could help each other, possibly by recommending each others services. Supplement this with business cards and introductory discount vouchers and you could be on to a winner!
 Regaining contact with customers
It generally accepted that 5-7 times more of marketing budget has to be allocated to acquiring a new customer, compared to retaining an existing customer. Therefore, during slower times, companies will often try to contact clients who haven’t spent in a while or regain contact with those who they no longer do business with. Keeping a record of your clients purchase history is vital as it will enable you to separate those who need to be contacted and then tailor your promotional offer based on their known preferences.
 Competitions
Run competitions. They are an excellent way to garner mailing list names while sending branding messages: the kind of contest your run sends out messages about the values of your business. A chance of winning hamper full of lovely products, chocolates and a bottle of Chardonnay could prove irresistible to customers for the mere exchange of their phone number and address.
 Being committed
You need to be aware that marketing efforts require careful planning and, in order to you assess your return on investment and effectively plan future marketing, you must keep a record of the sales generated as a result of your campaigns. Try and set some time aside each week for brainstorming new ideas or calculating your business growth.
Sorry to hear that you're having problems.
Below is an article I wrote recently to give salon professionals ideas about how minimise their marketing spend. Please have a read, let me knoe what you think and if you need any more advice I'd be happy to help.
Spring is a perfect time to inject your salon with some new energy and life. It is especially important during these turbulent economic conditions to look at which areas could do with some improvement. Looking to successful businesses in other sectors can provide inspiration for how you can improve. I have identified several business practices adopted by established companies businesses during recessions and made recommendations on how you can adapt these to your business. In addition, I have included suggestions on how you promote your business at little cost and stretch your budget as far as possible:
 Less paid-for advertising
In times of recession companies will look to find cheaper ways to advertise. Think less: paid-for advertising (e.g. radio, print ads), think more: flyering, leaving business cards in other local businesses, encouraging your existing customers to recruit new clients for you by incentivising them with recommend-a-friend promotions.
 Cheap and Easy Advertising
Postcards are cheap and easy to produce, especially if you use colour on one side only. They can be mailed to prospects, stacked in help-yourself dispensers, left at other local businesses or given to your current clients to distribute at their workplace. And you can use them for a variety of marketing messages – information about new products, short-term cut-price promotions or seasonal offers.
 Little and often
Research has shown that the effects of advertising are short lived. Therefore, in order to optimise your budget, it makes sense to spend smaller amounts very regularly. This will ensure that your business is consistently at the forefront of customer’s minds.
 Developing alliances
During a recession, big businesses will pile on the pressure to the sales force to ensure their products are available in as many different outlets as possible. Unlike product-based businesses, salons rely on the customer coming to them and requesting a service. However, there are ways of advertising your availability to people who are likely to be interested in your services at no cost. Do some business networking in your local area and introduce yourself to other business owners. Discuss how you could help each other, possibly by recommending each others services. Supplement this with business cards and introductory discount vouchers and you could be on to a winner!
 Regaining contact with customers
It generally accepted that 5-7 times more of marketing budget has to be allocated to acquiring a new customer, compared to retaining an existing customer. Therefore, during slower times, companies will often try to contact clients who haven’t spent in a while or regain contact with those who they no longer do business with. Keeping a record of your clients purchase history is vital as it will enable you to separate those who need to be contacted and then tailor your promotional offer based on their known preferences.
 Competitions
Run competitions. They are an excellent way to garner mailing list names while sending branding messages: the kind of contest your run sends out messages about the values of your business. A chance of winning hamper full of lovely products, chocolates and a bottle of Chardonnay could prove irresistible to customers for the mere exchange of their phone number and address.
 Being committed
You need to be aware that marketing efforts require careful planning and, in order to you assess your return on investment and effectively plan future marketing, you must keep a record of the sales generated as a result of your campaigns. Try and set some time aside each week for brainstorming new ideas or calculating your business growth.
