For small and boutique salon owners, regular clients are often the heart of the business. From driving sales to influencing by word of mouth, customers are critical for any beauty business.
However, growth is both important and inevitable for a new beauty business. The goal soon becomes maintaining your regular customers while constantly growing the brand.
So, how is a salon owner supposed to make it work?
Turn to salon marketing!
Ensuring outreach and retention happens through targeted marketing and market-focused thinking. Finding the best way to extend that focus is often a major hurdle for business owners. Fortunately, salon owners have plenty of tricks at their disposal.
Here are four of the most impactful marketing techniques for beauty business owners.
Social Media is Key
In today’s hyper-connected world, a business without a strong social media presence is missing out on growth. Most customers use several forms of social media throughout their day.
For success, make your presence known across those social media channels.
Your business must have a Facebook page. It creates a centralized hub of connectivity for your customers. Plus, Facebook Ads help put the salon’s name directly in front of new customers.
Be sure to target your specific audience. Younger customers are more likely to use Instagram and TikTok rather than Facebook. Consider going the extra step and collaborating with local influencers. Doing so allows:
- A known name to represent your brand and products.
- The salon to connect with hundreds of potential customers.
- The public to see the skills of the stylists.
- An “inside look” into the business, which boosts connections with new and existing customers.
If social media isn’t a forte within the salon, consider hiring a social media manager.
Specialized channels like Instagram and TikTok benefit from a dedicated manager. They film and edit videos and pictures, and they interact with your customers online.
Think of a social media manager as the public mouthpiece of the salon. Their expertise and marketing knowledge helps ensure the salon has an impactful online presence.
Focus on Your Customers
Salon marketing is all about showing the business to more and more people. However, that doesn’t mean advertising without a strategy.
Today’s customers are savvy when it comes to marketing. Daily email notices or stale Facebook ads are now a detriment, not a marketing tool.
Today’s consumers want personalized, relevant communication. After all, nearly 80% of customers desire personally-appropriate marketing from a business.
Some key ways to keep the salon customer-centered include:
- Send emails or texts after appointments asking for reviews and feedback. This provides an endless list of what your customers expect.
- Use birthdays and sign-up days for specialized discounts. This is a perfect way to deliver personalized marketing.
- Delete your generic email blasts. Instead, ensure the emails contain quality, pertinent information that your customers want.
For your in-store customers, gently encourage them to sign up for email and text alerts. It allows your customers to have to-the-minute information, in addition to advanced knowledge on specials, pricing, and even appointment reminders.
Loyalty Programs Build Retention
Social media marketing ensures the salon reaches the masses. Your stylists keep your customers happy through their expertise.
So, how do you get them to stay happy and continue generating positive word-of-mouth marketing?
Provide them with a loyalty program.
Nearly 85% of all customers choose businesses that offer loyalty programs, and a majority feel that those programs are beneficial.
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Points-based programs or accumulated tier models encourage customers to continue visiting. Meanwhile, referral programs help grow your customer base. And since these referrals come from trusted sources, those referred are more likely to remain customers.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to loyalty programs. For example, reward people for their repeat business by providing a free 10th service.
Or, encourage new product discovery through discounts at checkout. Checkout purchasing is already incentivized. Thus, with discounts applied, the customer is more likely to purchase.
As well, don’t feel locked to one style of loyalty program. A referral system and a points system are perfect in the same store.
Consider, too, combining services for different tiers of customers. This creates an even more personalized program with a higher emphasis on loyalty.
Focus on Local Communication and Outreach
A great way to advertise a salon is to simply “be there” when relevant. Specifically, work to tie the salon to local beauty events.
A prime place to start is to host open house events. For instance:
- Provide meet-and-greets with stylists for increased customer connection.
- Host product demonstrations (and give those attending discounts or free items).
- Hold charitable events at the salon, such as hair donations or toiletry donations for women’s shelters.
Charity, in particular, is a solid way to build connections with the community. Match donated items or amounts. Sponsor local events, like charity races or community festivals.
As a sponsor for community events, the salon is always at the forefront of the public’s mind.
Sponsorship also creates new leads and partnership opportunities, not to mention boosting your salon throughout all available channels at the same time.
Becoming a known name within the community is an excellent way to connect with customers. Highlight the salon’s goodwill through charity and community outreach. Customers love a business that proves it cares about them.
Final Thoughts
Marketing for your salon is all about connecting with the customer. From a strong social media presence to a meaningful loyalty program, customers want the experience to be about them. The best way to achieve that is to cater your marketing to the individual.
Use personalized emails to deliver birthday discounts. Or, focus on customer history to provide specialized sales.
Sponsor community events to highlight the expertise of your stylists. And always ask for feedback from your customers. Understanding what the customer wants is best heard directly from the source.
