THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SALON MARKETING

Here at iSalon, we’re always talking about the important role salon management software plays in facilitating and improving salon marketing initiatives. That’s why we regularly share tips on the use of Facebook and Twitter for social media marketing and how to get the most out of SMS marketing.

While these hints and tips are extremely helpful for many salons, we’d like to use this blog post to look at the bigger picture.

Before You Start

Kick-starting a marketing campaign is an exciting time, but first you need to make sure that you have something valuable to sell.

While a small amount of marketing in the build-up to your salon’s opening, new service launching or team member joining may be worthwhile, remember that consumers have short memories and are likely to forget about your campaign before your product is truly ready to buy if you begin your promotion too early.

In addition, your salon must have a strong visual brand before you can begin marketing. Have a logo designed, decide on the typefaces your company will use in all communications, and decide on the general theme or colour scheme that your salon will use.

Changing your visual identity or failing to establish one at all will weaken the appeal of your salon and make you look unprofessional.

Finally, ensure that you have established your exact marketing budget before starting to spend it. Setting a strict budget ensures that every marketing decision you make is a tough one, so you won’t start spending money unless you can be sure of the ROI you’ll receive.

You must also be aware of the ongoing cost of marketing, not just the amount that you spend each week on marketing, but also the time investment. Which employees will be responsible for social media accounts? Who will order the next print run of your brochures?

Offline Platforms

While digital marketing is all the rage these days, offline methods of marketing shouldn’t be ignored. Here are a few forms of offline marketing you might wish to consider as part of your salon’s marketing strategy:

• Printed marketing materials. Business cards, brochures, posters, etc. These are great for spreading brand awareness, even in the long-term, but print costs can escalate rapidly.
• Signage and window displays. A drab window or old-fashioned signage will put customers off. Brightening up your salon exterior is a fantastic way to grab the attention of passing pedestrians. However, clearly this won’t attract customers who don’t happen to walk past your salon.
• SMS marketing. Targeted marketing texts can be sent to clients through salon management software. These texts are great for reducing no-shows and filling up your appointment book, but overuse of them reflects badly on your salon.

Online Platforms

Online marketing is an increasingly important element of salon marketing strategies. Of course, online marketing is a broad term. We’ll break it down into different platforms:

• Website. Some salons have their own websites. While this is an effective way to attract new clients, it must be updated regularly, which can be an expensive and time-consuming process.
• Social media. Using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to promote your salon will immediately provide more of a connection with your clients and costs very little to maintain. However, it is vital to keep these channels regularly updated and you must have time designated to this task.
• Salon Spy. Salon Spy is the Trip Advisor of the salon world. Sign up to Salon Spy to automatically prompt customers to review their trip to your salon. Salon Spy is great for improving your salon’s reputation and for spreading your recommend-a-friend scheme via your clients’ Facebook friends.
• Adapt ID. Ensure that your salon contact details and loyalty cards are saved directly into your customers smartphone, allowing customers to quickly and easily contact you. Consider NFC business cards rather than traditional paper cards which may just end up in the bin or lost.
• Email marketing. Marketing emails are only effective when used sparingly. Salon management software allows you to send emails that are targeted to specific groups of clients. Ensure that the emails are filled with valuable content, or else they’ll just end up in the spam folder.

Your salon marketing strategy should consist of a number of these marketing platforms. The platforms you choose will depend on your target market, your budget and whether or not you have salon management software like iSalon at your disposal.

If you’d like to find out more about how iSalon software can help you market your hair, beauty or tanning salon, spa, clinic or barber shop, please get in touch to book a free, no-obligation demo today.