Why Salon Owners Look at Marketing Exactly WRONG.

Most businesses fail.  In fact, 50% of small businesses fail within the first year and 95% of businesses fail…within the first five years.  Those are pretty staggering numbers when you think about it. 

Now for the salon industry, the numbers are definitely better…and I think the reason is because most salons are “owner-operated” service businesses.  In other words, the main “bread winner” in the business is the salon owner working behind the chair.  And when push comes to shove…they can always make enough money to pay the rent. 

But here’s the thing… 

Most salon businesses are terribly “under-capitalized” when they first start out and it takes them literally years to get some financial breathing room.  And why is that?  Well, it’s pretty simple.  Nobody ever really factors in what it will cost to “build the business”. 

Look, when you built your salon, were you more interested in the fixtures, décor, color, and layout of the salon – or were you thinking about how much money you were going to spend in marketing and advertising?  I’m betting it was the former. 

By the time most salons open for business…they’re bleeding red ink.  And the only thing that keeps them open is the cash flow generated by the salon owner’s take from behind the chair.  There is no pool of $20,000 allocated for marketing.  So, right off the bat…marketing is thought of as an expense rather than what it is…an investment in the business. 

So, what is marketing anyway?

Marketing is the process of teaching consumers why they should choose your service over your competitors.  If you’re not doing that…you’re not marketing.   And here is a big key… 

You need to find the right method and come up with the right message to influence potential clients.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking that marketing is just “one thing” either.  Marketing is not your website or your sign or your brochure.  It is everything that a client encounters – when they come to your salon. 

It is the advertising, to what they hear, to the customer service that they receive at your front desk, to the follow-up care that your salon provides.  It’s all marketing – that ultimately creates the decision within the client – whether or not to choose you initially or for repeat business. 

The activities of marketing are often confused with advertising.  Most people think that marketing is JUST advertising…its not.   Advertising is a component of marketing.

Marketing is the message that you’re trying to deliver to existing clients and potential clients.   It is tells the client what makes you different.  One of the methods of delivering the message…is advertising.

Other things that constitute marketing within your salon would be pricing strategy, client support (at the front desk and at the shampoo bowls), retail products carried, your sales strategy, how you up-sell and cross-sell, services that your salon will offer, public relations, etc.  All of these things should be congruent in the mind of the client.

Think of marketing as everything that your salon does to facilitate an exchange between a client (or potential client) and your business.  It’s really that simple.

I will be teaching you a multitude of tactics to make that happen very easily.  But you have to think about what your “message” will be to the end consumer – first.  What makes your salon truly different?  Maybe that will be a great question to ask your staff at the next staff meeting.

Best Regards, Steve Sampson

HairMax Salon Software is a product designed to be the best investment your salon has ever made.  It is not only the easiest and most powerful salon software on the market.  It is from a company dedicated to becoming the ultimate VALUE source to the industry.