How to market a business i have taken over

[smilekyle]

Hello Everyone

I have just found this site and I hope you guys can help me? I took over a tanning salon in October 09 ( I bought it right in a middle of a recession! crazy?) It is a small shop with 5 really good stand up sunbeds. I am trying to change it into a tanning and beauty salon. I already have a girl who does the nails, I have introduced spray tanning and now I am trying to get the beauty side up and running. I employ a beautician on a Friday and Saturday, but I am finding it hard to pay her wages as I am not making the money to cover the stock and the beautician. I am finding it harder than I thought to market the salon as everything costs money and I am on a really tight budget. The local newspaper costs a fortune. I really want to put my salon out there as a great tanning and beauty salon. Does anyone have any good marketing ideas that they have done for their own salon and it works? The girl I have taken on is great at threading and I am trying to market this, but it's educating people on what threading is and I think people read it and get scared!
Any help would be much appreciated. Does anyone also know where I can get a new sign for outside the shop on a tight budget. The one I have is naff. It looks very 80's!
Thanks everyone
Joanne

 

[PaulaJay]

I opened up my salon in September and I had flyers made up, got on my walking boots and delivered them. I also put on offers like all full body massages half price this worked really well, 25% off facials, spray tan discounts and other stuff. I t has worked well to get a clientell in as i was starting from nothing. Now it's January and I'm at a bit of a loss myself. So I'll have to come up with something else.

 

[smilekyle]

Hello

thanks for the ideas. I done a one day promotion at a local shopping centre which did cost a small fortune. I did get alot of people interested, but only around 1% of people come from the promotion I done. I think the hardest thing is trying to get your name out there!! You see all these fab advertisments in the local newspapers but I don't know how they afford it as it cost a fortune! but It does work coz I notice it and the name of the salon seems to stick in your mind because you see it time and time again. I hate standing handing out leaflets as some people are really horrible and rude! I have a full time job to get the salon up and running and finding it blinking hard, but I am hoping it pays off!

 

[honeymummy]

we did lots of leaflet drops and you are right, ppl can be rude!!
we got nothing from this.

When we offered a small freebie, like eg free mini manicure with every back neck shoulder massage you book... that worked, cos it was something free,it not gonna cost you much either.

i found when i was looking for models, i put some flyers through ppls doors on a sat n sunday morning, thats when they are mostly in, and they dont get gathered up along with the junk mail and free local papers during the week. that worked because i was offering them something for free.

Another idea is an open day.. yes it envolves spending a bit, for an advert.
you only need very few nibbles and drinks, also ask local crafts jewerly shops etc if they want to do the open day with you at the salon, they prob feeling the pinch too
do you have a local town magazine? local radio station?? to advertise the open day.

on the day you could spay tan someone's lower legs for example, and if they want the whole body done, you add on the extra, the same for all the other beauty sisde too.

also have you thoought of getting a self employed beauty therapist in?
there ight be therapist out there who are mobile who dont want to be mobile anymore!!
hth and wish you all the luck in the world xx

 

[Sapna Tankaria]

I train students in threading and if you are in an area where threading is fairly new then the potential is huge. Clients are very intrigued with the technique and in order to get existing clients to try it out you could offer first treatment for free with a facial or waxing etc. The only cost in that is your time but the results are so good that you'll have them hooked. Finding new business in threading is a little harder. A lot of my freelance mobile students tend to do school indulgence evenings and that gets them started. How about putting yourself on the notice board for Netmums Homepage - Netmums. The site logs you in to your area only and so you target local clients. It is free to put your message onto the site and you could offer their members a discount etc. Hope that helps.