Advertising and marketing for a salon can be very tasking, especially if it is new in town. Regardless of this factor, salons require proper marketing strategies to increase the number of customers in a short period. Which is why, marketing techniques such as Email Marketing, Text Message Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Local SEO and Loyalty Programs are used to make a salon successful. Gaining the customer’s loyalty is the most important thing hence it is necessary to provide them with the right service and incentives for them to visit the salon more often.
Email Marketing
Even though most people think salon marketing through Emails is now an old school method for marketing and advertising, it is one of the best ways to attract people’s attention. Regular Emails sent to customers are not counted as spam and they also help in promoting the salon. Emails keep customers updated about new offers and discounts, while also providing them with new information about the salon. The main idea behind Email Marketing for salons is to send them regularly and keep them short. Moreover, sending customized and personalized emails to customers wins them over. Every customer wants to feel special and a salon can achieve that with the help of Emails. Keeping track of all customers and their activities helps in increasing their loyalty with the salon. Birthday discounts through Email Campaigns are the perfect way to increase clientele. Sending out an Email on a customer’s birthday provides them with an incentive to use the salon’s offers. A salon can send an email to a customer on their birthday by offering them a 20% discount on their special day or by sending them a small token such as flip flops as a gift. With this marketing strategy, the customer feels valued by the salon and remains loyal to it.
Text Message Marketing
When looking for a cheap and effective marketing technique, mass text messages or bulk messages are the answer. Salons can easily keep their old and potential customers updated about offers and promotions through text messages. Personalized text messages make customers feel special and increases their loyalty towards the salon. SMS marketing or Salon Texting is the best method to reach out to a large number of people at the same time without spending a lot of money. Daily offers can be sent out to both old and potential clients to gain their attention. A salon can send out mass text messages offering a free manicure with a haircut on Friday. This helps in increasing clientele by providing customers with an incentive to gain offers and services. These daily deals can be sent out on a large scale with the help of text message marketing.
Customer Feedback
With the help of text messaging, a salon can also get customer feedback. This is also a part of salon marketing where a customer feels that their opinion matters, it encourages them to have constant relationship with the salon. A salon can send out mass text message to its customers asking them to rate their services by sending a number between 1 and 10. While improving the marketing strategy of the salon, it also helps in improving the services and products of the salon. Customer Feedback is an important aspect of salon marketing like in any other business. Moreover, customer feedback need not necessarily be through text messaging but can also be provided through Emails or on social media pages.
Customer Loyalty Programs
For any business, customer loyalty is very important which is determined by the incentives provided by it. For a salon, customer loyalty is equally important, if not more since the sales depend on the services and offers provided by it. Hence, it is highly necessary for salons to increase customer loyalty by improving services and offering special discounts to customers. A salon can initiate its customer loyalty program through subscription. A customer can then avail various discounts and free services depending on their number of visits. Such programs ensure that customers are attracted to the salon services and remain loyal to it. Moreover, to make sure that customers opt for loyalty programs, a salon can attract them by increasing benefits for those customers who are members of the loyalty program for over a year. Customers wish to be rewarded for their loyalty towards a business, in this case a salon, hence it is necessary to provide them with it.
Social Media Marketing
With internet and technology taking over, social media has become the perfect platform for businesses such as salons to advertise and promote themselves. With social media pages such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat, salon marketing has become easier. Customers can be targeted and reached quickly and easily in a short amount of time.
Most businesses choose to create a Facebook page right at the start of the business. Such a page on social media website gains attention from the public and increases the number of followers. Moreover, using a social media website to target a large audience becomes easier and cheaper. With the help of such a page, a salon can update its followers regularly while posting new services and offers at the same time. For Christmas, a salon can post a 25% discount to those followers who share the salon’s posts and page. Not only does this help in gaining more attention, it also attracts the old clients who are now more willing to avail the discount and get the services offered. Furthermore, Facebook page allows direct interaction with the followers and helps in getting genuine feedbacks from clients who use the salon frequently.
YouTube
Videos and video blogs or Vlogs as they are popularly called have become a very common thing in today’s time. These videos are posted regularly on the salon’s official website or on their YouTube channel. People are now more into following businesses through videos which provide a detailed account of all events and information. Similarly, salon marketing can also be achieved through videos posted on a salon’s YouTube channel. Followers can subscribe to the channel and see the highlights of special events, makeup and hair tutorials, behind the scenes of a photo-shoot and so on.
Official Website
Before launching itself, a salon should create and launch its official website which is
Local SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is no new term in the realm of marketing. This method has been used by both small and large businesses to promote themselves on the internet. A salon can use the help of professional writers and post blogs online or on its own official website to attract the customers’ attention. However, certain keywords can be shortlisted which are then used in these blogs. Therefore, whenever a person searches for the word ‘hairstyle’ or ‘makeup’ the blog will show up in the top 3 choices. This increases the chances of gaining followers and clientele and boosts sales quickly.
Word of Mouth
When looking at salon marketing, many forget the importance of word of mouth. People believe and listen to the experiences of others before making their own choices. This is why a salon should always promote itself through its customers. A salon can launch a deal where a customer can get a 20% discount on hair services if they bring a friend along. Even though this technique sounds old fashioned, it works because word travels fast and people tend to go to places that are popular amongst their social circle.
In conclusion, a successful marketing campaign defines the direction of a business and it is also the case for salon marketing. The main aim of salons is to increase clientele and standout in the market when compared to other competitors. Which is why, marketing techniques such as; Text Message Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Local SEO and Word of Mouth hold so much importance. The most important method to increase customers is to interact with them on a regular basis either through text messaging or through Emails. Clients prefer to remain updated about new events, services and discounts. For new salons in the market it is important in order to remain in the limelight and increase their customers. With such a high competition in the market, most salons use text message marketing provided by SMS platforms like Express Texts to promote themselves. It is cost effective, quick and can target a large audience in a short time.