Guys any advice would be much appreciated.I just moved to a whole new area and have taken on the challenge of renting a beauty room within a busy hair salon.I knew it wasn't going to be easy starting from scratch and being a nobody but im just finding it harder than I thought.I have been in a month now and im barely getting anything.I feel I have tried everything in my budget but im now sitting here with thousands of pounds worth of stock and not using it.I advertised on Yell,i promoted my business facebook page,i delivered pricelists round doors and im even giving out little goody bags with a free 30 min facial to the hair clients to get them in but im still not getting much.Im now so worried and stressed out about it.Is there something im missing out?
Any advice please
Firstly check the sticky in regards to marketing this may help. Have you done flyers? Emailed local businesses, ?
It depends who your target market is, please specify where you are the treatments you offer , how many staff, staff turnover e.t.c These are generic marketing ideas and really depends on your brand- what is your brand???;
Never trusts groupon or deal sites to get you loyal custom, they attract people out for a deal and can damage a brand.
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pend a couple of hours sending emails to all the local golf clubs, day nurseries and independent schools offering a gift voucher for their Christmas Fayres/Raffles/Draws.
Given that of the several hundred pounds worth of gift vouchers sold only few will be redeemed, its was worth a gamble. It gets your name into even more local venues ( shall drop off a load of flyers when you drop off the gift voucher) and puts you in a good light in the eyes of the local businesses.
local wedding dress shop drop in and have a little chat with the owner . Get them to take some of your flyers and invite them for a free treatment so she/he can see what you do, and work together to provide brides/prom queens with the whole package. Hair and beauty packages for the bride will most likely be a winner.
Add a listing within your county-
If you type in something like beauty salon
your town in the search engine a lot of directory sites will come up. Makes it easier to find where to get listed. Try People per hour if stuck with this although listings are free to make people charge like £30 and you could be put on 1000 different places not just yell.
Have a high SEO.
Low Cost Marketing
Little and Often: 1000 leaflets every week then do those same houses again 4 times. (It takes 1 day to deliver 1000 leaflets. )
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 thoughts. Having leaflets in front of the hairdressers will help also. So outside so people can take when you are not there , you can buy holders and leaflets. try doing something generic but still stands out / offer an upgrade instead of a reduction in your services. Penguin pages makes great leaflets and is online within forum.
Word Of Mouth (offer deals for recommend a friend)
Be Committed
Capture Data
Build a mailing list. This will enable you to target your campaigns more effectively. Collecting the names is the hard part, so give your prospects a reason for them to provide you with their name and address competitions, an emailed newsletter, the promise of advance information and discounts, maybe even a loyalty card. Work at keeping your list accurate and up to date. Try to get hold of email addresses as well as (or even in preference to) land mail contact details: email is cheaper and more versatile than postage.
Maintaining customer relationships
It is estimated to be up to four times more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to maintain an existing customer. So be personal. Remember birthdays and anniversaries. Say "thank you"
Selling new treatments
Invite your regulars to check out new products or services: they appreciate being treated as special, and you will lower barriers to purchase because the risk associated with trial is lower and they will therefore be more likely to purchase the treatment in the future. Look at their past purchase history if possible, and tailor special promotions to them. For example someone always has massage maybe a taster indian head massage for reduced price or add on complementary.
cheap and Easy Marketing
Postcards are cheap and easy to produce, especially if you use colour on one side only. They can be mailed to prospects and stacked in help-yourself dispensers. And you can use them for a variety of marketing messages
Competitions
Run competitions, however remember the prize and the type of competition you run will reflect on your business. Having a raffle with poundland chocolates may not get the same clientale as a bottle of reasonably priced chardonnay. ASK for contact information
Rewarding Loyalty
The customer gets a good deal, you get a keen customer (and their contact numbers correctly)
RETAIL is key. Retail should make up 25% of your takings minimum. A client who buys retail is 10 % more likely to return. Especially if their are not many stockists. That way even if you do not have clients you have a second revenue in an e-commerce shop.
Go to a service industry type companies and call centres. These companies run sales incentives and just general morale boosting competitions and are looking for prizes,a way of promoting ourselves to literally hundreds of people for the sake of a few vouchers...i.e a back neck and shoulder massage.
I had the same situation, and was in a hair salon. You really need to check target market , facials are great but many hair clients want waxing,make up threading and nails services so I suggest really promoting those, but even then you must be realistic some shops will NEVER work for example mine stayed 3 months and found out shop had been active for over 14 years and some days especially Saturday's they would only have 2 clients.
hope all made sense good luck.
