Spending too much on advertising and not enough return

[Olive]

I have paid for advertising using Facebook, two local papers, improving website and leaflet dropping. I've only had one client back from it.
Does anyone have any suggestions what else I could do? Maybe the market is just too saturated...:-(
Has anyone used Yell.com? I was quoted £500 for a year. Is it really worth it? Should I maybe apply for a new business grant?
HELP! :-/

 

[ilovespmu]

I have paid for advertising using Facebook, two local papers, improving website and leaflet dropping. I've only had one client back from it.
Does anyone have any suggestions what else I could do? Maybe the market is just too saturated...:-(
Has anyone used Yell.com? I was quoted £500 for a year. Is it really worth it? Should I maybe apply for a new business grant?
HELP! :-/

Have you tried running a competition on your Facebook business page whereby people like and share your page for their chance to win a free treatment?

I use yell/wahanda but only for the free listing not the paid stuff.

How is your search engine optimisation with Google? Do you come up on the first page in your area?

X

 

[Fayeful1]

Following

 

[daydreams01]

I have paid for advertising using Facebook, two local papers, improving website and leaflet dropping. I've only had one client back from it.
Does anyone have any suggestions what else I could do? Maybe the market is just too saturated...:-(
Has anyone used Yell.com? I was quoted £500 for a year. Is it really worth it? Should I maybe apply for a new business grant?
HELP! :-/

You can get yell down a bit if you negotiate. I pay around £15 a month and come out high in local listings. I think in my first year I paid more and came up on more area searches but I told them in 2 no year I wasn't doing it and they came back to me with a lower amount but less areas. I still get work from it and have some good reviews on there so it's been worth it.

 

[FlawlessBeauty]

I've just started up too. My leaflets only went out today, but i've had a few calls/texts/facebook messages which is great. When did you start up? How long have you given it for your advertising to work?

If your profile pic is the leaflet then i think it looks lovely. Did the reverse have your contact details?

How about linking your website and facebook page so we can give you some ideas on it?

One thing i did the other day which got me some interest was to use my personal account to like some local pages, such as selling pages or whats going on in my area, then i put up a message with a link to my facebook page. I got 4 new views and an enquiry within a few hours.

Cross promotion with other businesses? Hairdressers, party shops, bridal or special occassion dresses, florist...the list goes on.

Have you read Lynne's thread on marketing? It has some incredible ideas that i would never have thought of on my own. I feel your pain, it is so tough starting up again and i'm in Essex which is heavily saturated with beauty salons, but i'm determined to try everything and i know i'm good.

Hope this helps x

 

[Olive]

I've just started up too. My leaflets only went out today, but i've had a few calls/texts/facebook messages which is great. When did you start up? How long have you given it for your advertising to work?

If your profile pic is the leaflet then i think it looks lovely. Did the reverse have your contact details?

How about linking your website and facebook page so we can give you some ideas on it?

One thing i did the other day which got me some interest was to use my personal account to like some local pages, such as selling pages or whats going on in my area, then i put up a message with a link to my facebook page. I got 4 new views and an enquiry within a few hours.

Cross promotion with other businesses? Hairdressers, party shops, bridal or special occassion dresses, florist...the list goes on.

Have you read Lynne's thread on marketing? It has some incredible ideas that i would never have thought of on my own. I feel your pain, it is so tough starting up again and i'm in Essex which is heavily saturated with beauty salons, but i'm determined to try everything and i know i'm good.

Hope this helps x

Thank you. My website is www.olivebeautybrighton.com It has a link to facebook and twitter. Verve are currently designing my facebook page

 

[Olive]

Have you tried running a competition on your Facebook business page whereby people like and share your page for their chance to win a free treatment?

I use yell/wahanda but only for the free listing not the paid stuff.

How is your search engine optimisation with Google? Do you come up on the first page in your area?

X

That's a great idea. The Facebook page isn't reaching anyone in Brighton, that's the problem. I've had lots of calls from people nowhere near.
How do I do the Google thing? ( I am soooo no longer a techie)

 

[FlawlessBeauty]

Great, you can't go wrong with Verve!

I love the bit about your Grandmother, that's so sweet and unique. I like your website, i think it's clear and easy to read. I would add descriptions to your manicures and pedicures so that people can see the difference between a basic and luxury treatment.

The only other thing i would say is perhaps make your contact phone number and email a little clearer due to the explanation beneath. Maybe you could put them in bold or otherwise make your explanation a slightly smaller font size.

P.S. Add your details to every free listing site you can find x

 

[squidgernetball]

The problem with advertising is you just have to keep doing it over and over again. Our first successes were with leaflet drops. Many will say they had no success with leaflet drops but they have to be a great leaflet. You have to target your area and often a 'call to action' helps, with a deadline - so for example buy one get one half price if you book before the end of April and so on.

When I ask clients how they heard about us (it's a question on our consultation form) they usually know quite specifically. But my client the other day said "I don't know. Everywhere! " which is great. We pop up with a regular (very expensive) ad in a local mag, reinforced by a leaflet drop, reinforced by a Facebook ad, all leading people (hopefully) to our website with a 'book now' button.

There are loads of ideas on Lynnes thread, but advertising is just never ending.

Vic x

 

[KHS]

100's here...
http://www.salongeek.com/threads/more-ways-to-promote-your-business.83160/

 

[surf girl]

You can get yell down a bit if you negotiate. I pay around £15 a month and come out high in local listings. I think in my first year I paid more and came up on more area searches but I told them in 2 no year I wasn't doing it and they came back to me with a lower amount but less areas. I still get work from it and have some good reviews on there so it's been worth it.

How much work have you gotten from it?

 

[blossom]

I don't do any paid advertising, but if you google nails/acrylics/gel etc and my area, I come up on the first page several times

If you google "free online business listings" you'll find lots of sites to put your details, I'm on lots of them.

Btw if you work from home or are mobile, you are entitled to free lineage ad with yell.com and Thomson directory.

Good luck x

 

[missbexxy]

I'm
Just starting out so this is a very interesting thread xx

 

[Irani]

your best bet to get a little traffic through using marketing giants like groupon. they do take 50% but worth building a client base through them and dont forget to negotiate for them to pay you for the unredeemed vouchers once they expiry. once clients recieve impeccable service through you they will come back directly to you the following times which is the way it usually works and lastly strive for differentiation or low cost in you salon to get an edge over others. hope this little suggestion helps

 

[jiff!22]

Thank you. My website is www.olivebeautybrighton.com It has a link to facebook and twitter. Verve are currently designing my facebook page

Just thought I'd say, I think your website is lovely

 

[Minkeybox]

Can I ask if you all paid someone to do your leafleting and if so, how much on average is it? I moved to a new area and have been doing leaflet drops which have worked really well, but I have been trundling around doing them myself.

Would that save a few quid if you did them yourself instead, or is the cost quite small? I thought about having someone deliver them for me but mine would have been shoved in a pile of other menus/leaflets and I didn't like the idea of that so never looked into it further. 90% of my business has come from my flyers & in many cases I've had calls the same day I've posted it. Mind you, it was lovely delivering them in the sunshine, I'm not so sure I'm going to be a keen in the winter! xx

 

[Verve Designs]

Vic is absolutely right. Advertising rarely works in isolation. Success is often a cumulative effect.

Do lots of different stuff that "links" - for example don't put out a leaflet that doesn't mention your FB page or website and vice versa).

It's a bit of a cop out answer but your best bet is to try lots of things (at a low a cost a possible to mitigate risk) and then TRACK what works (if you can't measure, you can't manage it), rarely - at our size of business- is there a "one size fits all" approach. Different things work for different people depending on your location, your competition etc etc.

Simply repeat the stuff that works- and try new stuff to replace the things that don't (after a reasonable amount of time)

Build your brand, be VERY good at your job and be patient, there's not a person in business who's filled those three criteria and not made a living.

Build it- and they shall come!

** Google Verve Designs- have a mooch around the photo galleries of our page and there's dozens of ideas you can be "inspired" by.

 

[Verve Designs]

Sorry! Forgot the reason I actually logged in to answer! (got sidetracked by marketing speak)

If I had a £500 budget for marketing, I certainly would NOT be spending it on Yell.....

 

[squidgernetball]

I'm on Yell with a free listing which works very well for me, but agree with Verve - there are a lot better ways of spending a marketing budget!

 

[daydreams01]

How much work have you gotten from it?

I get an email once a month with how many calls have generated from the ad, not sure how they monitor it, I Think they use a different number or something but the last statement was 43 calls in 3 months which were either enquiries or bookings and there is another report with links to clicks to your website etc but I haven't checked that one in a while but for less than £200 a year I am happy to pay that. Whenever I get new clients quite a few say they have seen me on line but not sure if that's linked through yell or they just came across me anyway but I think it all helps!