7. How to attract clients
You don’t need to spend a fortune to market your small business, but you need to work out an affordable strategy. Like any business, you should have a good, solid business plan.
The business plan should be a complete and detailed description of exactly how you intend to operate your proposed business. The plan should have a detailed marketing plan so that you have a clear understanding of the operations and goals of your business.
Strategise
Strategies that you can use are varied and before undertaking anything, decide who your target market is. Canvas the area and establish what services other salons offer and see where you can add value or a service they haven’t considered.
Partner with other health and wellbeing organisations
Collaborate with a nearby hairdresser by offering a discount to their clients. You can return the favour by referring your clients to the hairdresser. You can use this principal in many different ways.
Advertise
Take a small ad in the local community newspaper. Offer a discount or a free item so that you can measure if the ad has worked for you.
Trade your products
You can trade your product so that you can get a beauty editor to write an advertorial to get your business into the public eye. This kind of advertising can be very helpful when you have a tight budget.
Use SMS’s
Send an SMS to customers telling them about the business and inform them that upon booking any of your services they can take advantage of a discount or offer a small gift.
Network
Consider joining the South African Association of Health and Skincare Professionals SAAHSP offers a number of benefits to members, the most important being credibility and professionalism.
Members also receive updated and continual education; regional functions, seminars and workshops; professional support; pricing and costing of treatments; and salary structure advice and more. Attend networking events in your area as well. If you need to find out about events, your local Chambers of Commerce will point you in the right direction.
Start a database
As a Beauty Salon owner, your database is an asset worth its weight in gold. It is always cheaper to keep an existing client happy.
It costs anywhere from five to eight times more to gain a new clients as opposed to retaining clients. Happy clients will tell their friends and colleagues about you which in turn will become new business. There is no better form of advertising than “word-of-mouth”.
Promotional material
Send promotional material, thank you cards, birthday wishes and emails to clients on your database, even if the base is small. The personal touch works wonders.
Host an event
Hosting an event is a great way to gain “face time” with customers and prospects as well as to get your company name circulating and to get the information you need to build a database.
Other media options
Enclose your brochure, ad, flyer etc. in all your outgoing post. It doesn’t cost any additional postage and you’ll be surprised at who could use what you’re offering. Leave flyers at a friendly pharmacy or hairdresser and if you can, do a mail drop to homes and business in your area. You can employ students to walk through the neighbourhood to drop flyers into to post boxes.
Giveaways work well
Provide a free item to a client when she spends above a specified amount on beauty treatments or skin care products. The Gift with purchase could be anything from facial serum, a salon voucher, to a mini fragrance oil.
Staff incentives
Offer businesses in your area packages which they can offer as incentives to their staff.