Today get out your calendar and mark out a 30 minute block of your time each work week. Refuse to do anything during that time slot but work ON marketing your business. Take control of the future direction of your business. Working smarter, making more money and working less. Who wouldn't want that? There are challenges yes. You must continually market for new clients. 1 I know that you are already busy and may not have the time to get new clients. 2 Your skills are as a technician, not a marketing person and 3, marketing costs money, money you have spent in the past that did not get you new clients. This can make you hesitant to spend any more money on marketing. You must have multiple ways to generate new clients. Do the easiest things first, that cost the least amount of money. You have current clients, past clients and new clients. AS for current clients, you must do everything in your power to retain them. Understand the lifetime value of a client. We have discussed this before. This is calculated by the number of visits per year by the amount they spend by the number of years they are your client. 26 visits X amount they spend $40 X years they are a client 9 = $9360. Remember, these are averages. Changes your belief about the value of each person in your chair doesn't it? How do we put an invisible cage around them so they never leave you? Stay engaged. Do you send a monthly newsletter? Why? You stay top of mind. Let your clients be your best marketing strategy. Once they trust you they refer friends and family. Make it fun and interesting, about more than just nails. Maybe fashion tips, great recipes etc. It doesn't have to be fancy, keep it authentic. Have a hard copy in your salon, email it to clients, have a download on your website. Do you have a system to keep current clients on time and reduce no shows? Did you realize even 5 no shows per week cost an average of $10,000 per year? You must implement a system to send out Text reminders, mobile text promotions and email promotions. Free up your time, make more money and have your business run more efficiently. Start implementing these strategies in your business this week and you will soon reap the rewards.
Monday, July 29, 2013
The Truth About Salon Marketing
Today get out your calendar and mark out a 30 minute block of your time each work week. Refuse to do anything during that time slot but work ON marketing your business. Take control of the future direction of your business. Working smarter, making more money and working less. Who wouldn't want that? There are challenges yes. You must continually market for new clients. 1 I know that you are already busy and may not have the time to get new clients. 2 Your skills are as a technician, not a marketing person and 3, marketing costs money, money you have spent in the past that did not get you new clients. This can make you hesitant to spend any more money on marketing. You must have multiple ways to generate new clients. Do the easiest things first, that cost the least amount of money. You have current clients, past clients and new clients. AS for current clients, you must do everything in your power to retain them. Understand the lifetime value of a client. We have discussed this before. This is calculated by the number of visits per year by the amount they spend by the number of years they are your client. 26 visits X amount they spend $40 X years they are a client 9 = $9360. Remember, these are averages. Changes your belief about the value of each person in your chair doesn't it? How do we put an invisible cage around them so they never leave you? Stay engaged. Do you send a monthly newsletter? Why? You stay top of mind. Let your clients be your best marketing strategy. Once they trust you they refer friends and family. Make it fun and interesting, about more than just nails. Maybe fashion tips, great recipes etc. It doesn't have to be fancy, keep it authentic. Have a hard copy in your salon, email it to clients, have a download on your website. Do you have a system to keep current clients on time and reduce no shows? Did you realize even 5 no shows per week cost an average of $10,000 per year? You must implement a system to send out Text reminders, mobile text promotions and email promotions. Free up your time, make more money and have your business run more efficiently. Start implementing these strategies in your business this week and you will soon reap the rewards.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Amazing event
Gerard Long
Take That Chance
This week I want to talk about taking chances. I began my beauty
training in high school, took my state board, was handed my license and was thrown into this wild
world of beauty. A bit ill prepared I might add. The industry back then, did
just not have the same tools for newbie's it has today. I
stumbled along for about 10 years, taking classes here and there and built a
pretty decent clientele. When I took a break to have a family I went to part
time work but was still missing something. While attending a class with Vicki Peters she
relit a fire in me. A fire that had been
reduced to a smolder. I took a chance and gathered my courage to speak to her
after the class. I was intimidated I must admit, she after all even back then
was an industry guru. But I took that chance. Vicki was quite different than
her classroom persona. She got very real, very quick, looked me square in the
eye and said" You need to be an educator". We walked down to the show
floor where she introduced me to several regional managers and told them I
would be following up with a letter. Just like that, in 10 minutes the
direction of my life was altered forever. Vicki took a chance on me that day
too, one I would not take for granted. And I certainly was not about to
disappoint her, even if she didn't know me from Adam. I did follow up with the manufacturers, got
hired by one and while working at the following show in the fall, I
reintroduced myself to Vicki as an educator for one of the manufacturers I met
that fateful day. Can I take credit for this chance, this change? Did I believe
in myself? Not completely. But others did, many others took a chance on me, on
the potential they saw in me. Way before I recognized it in myself. I still
pinch myself today wondering do I really have this segment on Nail Talk Radio
reaching thousands of listeners? Me?
Over the years my confidence has grown. I studied hard, worked
with mentors, crafted my skills to carve out a niche for myself. There is a philosophy
called stretch and secure. Every time we try something new, take a risk, we reach outside our comfort zone. Sort of
dangling over the edge of that cliff. It takes time for knowledge to build a
bridge under us and secure that growth. It is uncomfortable, sometimes scary.
But necessary. It is the cycle of growth, stretch and secure, stretch and
secure. Was everything I did successful? Heck no. I had my share of crash and
burn moments, the learning, growing, grunting moments. But each time I was
humbled I had the opportunity to begin again. With the new knowledge, well that
didn't work. Did I get discouraged? Absolutely. Did I have a few pity parties? You
bet! I'm pretty sure a few of you have been to them. But through all this
stretching and growing, crashing and burning, I know I have a gift. A God given
talent that I am supposed to share with the world. We all do. Maybe my journey
is my gift. To share with others my triumphs and tragedies. To share that if I
can so can you. What is your gift? What is it you are supposed to be sharing
with the world? Have you grown complacent where you are? Settling for good
enough? So take that chance, stretch yourself to discover your true purpose,
your gift. I guarantee.. you will Amaze yourself. Once you start walking and
working in your purpose nothing can stop
you. I've mentioned this quote before but it bears repeating. John Wesley, an
eighteenth century theologian said, “When you set yourself on fire, people love
to come and see you burn.”
Monday, July 15, 2013
Rock Your Retail
"Where can I get handbags and jewelry to retail? I'm short a stylist and would love to increase my income."
Well. The first hurdle is already overcome understanding this is a great way to increase your income. I absolutely love retail. It shows up every day, ready for work with a great attitude. Needs a little tending, rearranging and promoting but no training, coddling or maternity leave. After giving my friend a few trusted websites I added a few marketing ideas to make sure she sells through the inventory.
First off put a retail rewards program in place. I use a point system. Many salon software programs are equipped to track retail sales, if you don't have a program don't sweat it. Rewards programs are easy enough to keep track of with a good old fashioned ledger. Every dollar spent is worth one point. You can have clients get points for other things as well like 5-10 points for every client referred, 5-10 points for every gift card purchased over 100 dollars. You get the idea. Every January tally up the retail points and reward with gift cards. You can set up your system however you want. I do ten dollars for every 100 spent in retail capping at thirty dollars. Put together a special Retail Rewards event to give out your gift cards or certificates . Invite all your loyal retail buyers and put together an evening of mini services, wine and cheese and special incentives to use them that night towards retail, gift cards or services.
Location is everything. Where is your retail area? Make sure you place the items in a high traffic area. Make up signs with prices, on your computer, not on post-its. Keep it classy. Many people won't ask the price if there is not one on the item. They figure it is out of their range. If you get an exceptional deal on an item think about offering an extra percentage off for your retail rewards members. Put the offer right by the item so new clients that may not be aware of your program can ask about it. Have shelf talkers on every table and station, heck even on the wall of the bathroom. Things like have you seen our hot new bags? Also put signs around the salon that say Learn how to get free products or services. When clients ask how explain your retail rewards program and make sure to sign them up. Each member of your team needs to learn the question have you seen our new?...fill in the blank. One of my former staffers sold like crazy with this simple Oh my gosh have you seen this? We all love something new. Share your enthusiasm with your clients. Having a strong retail area alleviates the daily struggle for numbers. Think outside the bottle, don't just carry oil and polish. Your clients are buying boutique items, they need to be buying them from you. Plus when their friends see their new trendy items it gets you more word of mouth traffic. So consider becoming the go to place for the latest trends, because that's smart marketing.
Monday, July 8, 2013
What Gets Rewarded Gets What?
For my current clients I have a loyalty program for them. After 10 stamps they receive $30 to be used towards any service. I also send them a $5 "D" dollars for their birthday and for their anniversary date with me. I think that's plenty! What are your thoughts? I messaged back I think that's plenty too..but I can see how they might feel left out of the "Tammy" gifts. Maybe your current clients can go in a pool and pick a winner once a quarter for a free fill...until you run out of product. So this conversation got me thinking about loyalty programs again. I know I have shared my thoughts about them before but they are worth revisiting with new data and research.
According to Belly, a national loyalty program,
88% Of businesses with loyalty programs are more profitable than competitors who do not.
65% Of customers say they would recommend a business because of a rewards program.
73% Of customers want a universal loyalty solution where they shop.
46% Of customers have increased frequency of visits for a business with a rewards program.
Many solo nail businesses don't have the means to afford a high end loyalty rewards program or the technology to track it. So Keep It Simple Sweetie. A punch card works great and it's easy peasy. 10 punches gets a free polish change. or something like that. Never give away your bread and butter, to those that are already on board. Make the reward for a service you are trying to promote, or a person you are trying to build. Be on purpose with your rewards. Remember though the average margin for profit hovers around 10% when all is said and done and paid so make sure you are not giving away all your profits. If you are in a plaza you can have loyalty cards printed up and sold in each business. Try and get 100% participation from each business to encourage your clients to shop there more often.
This Chicago based company called Belly is building huge loyalty program that you can earn points to other businesses as well. They provide all the technology, an Ipad for your business as well as a mobile app and have plans that range from 79-149 dollars per month to have a turn key mobile rewards program. It's kind of fourquare on shopping steroids. Check it our online and check out more about rewards programs on my blog, Adventures of a probeauty girl and of course my books now on Amazon.com because that's smart marketing!
Labels:
customer loyalty,
marketing,
rewards programs
Monday, July 1, 2013
Get Your Marketing Moving....Seriously Moving
Video marketing is on the rise. It has been on my radar for quite some time now. But I always look to how effective any trend might be before I jump on the bandwagon teetering out of control. Looking at the research from Stephanie Frasco on Social Media Today, here's why I think we should pay more attention to video marketing now than ever before.
- About 46% of people say they’d be more likely to seek out information about a product or service after seeing it in an online video. (Source: Eloqua)
- The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video. (Source: Mist Media)
- Video and e-mail marketing can increase click-through rates by more than 90%.(Source: Mist Media)
- Video equals higher viewer retention. The information retained in one minute of online video is equal to about 1.8 million written words. (Source: Brainshark)
- Video attracts two to three times as many monthly visitors, doubles their time spent on the site and has a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engines. (Source: MarketingSherpa)
- Of the 80% of internet users who watched a video ad, 46% took some sort of action after viewing the ad. (Source: Video Brewery)
With Facebook acquiring Instagram many in the social media game wondered if they could maintain the edge Instagram built in their rise to the top. Adding the Instagram video feature again added concern that Facebook would ruin the features that made Instagram so unique. Well the critics have been silenced with what the social media savvy are calling this video feature an out of the park hit for Facebook and its millions of users. How are the Instagram savvy using this new feature to promote their business? Let's take a peek behind the scenes, Instagram style.
- Use Instagram to humanize your business....Our business lends itself particularly well to this. Good news is if you already have an Instagram account, you're good to go. If you don't..what the heck are you waiting for. This medium lends itself especially well to our industry, it is so very visual.
- Introduce new products, services or specials. These short burst videos are perfect for introducing a new service including a few seconds of each step with a beautiful finished result. A quick how to use a new product demo can entice clients or visitors for that matter, to check them out in person.
- Testimonials are a great way to use the new Instagram video feature. Put a face with all those nails. Of course clear it with your clients, but what a better way to build your brand and loyal following than to feature some of your nail stars.
Maisie Dunbar of Maise Dunbar Spa Lounge posted several Instavideos from an event she hosted at her salon. Perfect use of this new social media app.
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