When you graduate from cosmetology school, your professors made sure that you knew everything you need to know about styling hair. You were taught how to cut, color, wash, blow dry, flat iron, and style hair in addition to learning about sanitation and more. However, what most schools don't teach you is how to run a salon business, and more importantly how to get a clientele and grow it. The key to having a successful salon business is a good clientele base, and here are 3 ideas for how to get one.
Direct Mail & Email - With Promotional Offer
Who have you told that you are now in business? If your answer is no one then here is your first idea: tell all of your friends and family. Use the names and email addresses or physical mail addresses of everyone you know and send them a flyer letting them know that you are now in the hair styling business and currently taking clients. Include your location and contact information as well as pictures of the work that you have done.
To really entice them to give you a try, offer them their first appointment free. After all, if they try you and like you, they are going to keep coming, so giving away a free appointment will be worth it to you in the long run.
You can also send out a physical mailer to homes in the neighborhood surrounding your salon. While these might not be people you know, there might be several people in that list that could utilize your services.
Community Periodical Ad - Church Bulletins, School Flyers,
Advertising can be extremely expensive and unaffordable, especially for a hair salon. However, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done; it should just be done in a more thoughtful way. Placing an ad in a church bulletin near your salon or in school flyers that kids bring home to their parents is a great way to advertise. Many times churches and schools offer sponsorship opportunities in their circulars or periodicals that can be a great resource for neighborhood and community businesses. They are also usually very inexpensive. You can also test an ad in churches and school in communities just outside the location of your salon to help increase your reach.
The Beauty of Referrals
The most effective of all marketing campaigns is the referral. Nothing brings in more customers to any business than referral. There is something about one person recommending to another person a product or service that they have used. Most of the time when someone recommends something to you, you try it. This is why you need referrals in your hair salon business.
A great way to get referrals is to offer your current customers a discount on their bill every time they refer a friend to your salon. When a woman has a great hair style, she is complimented by other people all day long, which the best time for her to share where she got such a great hair style. Just imagine the number of people she might tell about you when she leaves your salon! And that's the power of the referral.
Another referral program you might try is to have "bring a friend" week where you invite your customers to bring a friend with them to their next appointment and let them both get 50% off their bill. These are just ideas that you can try, but they are worth trying if it means more customers.
Marketing your business is important if you want to be successful. So take these 3 ideas, construct a plan for your business, and take action!