Salon Marketing | SpaBoom

Strategic Marketing for Valentine’s Day

January 21, 2014

Valentine’s Day is one of the Big Three gifting holidays each year, which means you need to capitalize on every selling opportunity around the event. Your goals should be simple but focused on three key marketing goals:

Generating Revenue
Growing Your Client Base
Retaining Your Clientele

It’s that simple. None of these stand alone, but are, in fact part of an overall strategy that you need to employ.

How should that work?

You’ll need to design well-timed, finely-targeted promotions and compelling packages that garner the interest of gift buyers. Once you have the attention of that audience, you’ll want to deliver gift options that fit their needs perfectly.

Simple, right? Of course! The good news is all the hard work you do designing great promotions and packages will help you prepare for and succeed with the next upcoming event, Mother’s Day!

Keep in mind the following things as you move forward:

Who is your audience?
What exactly are you wanting to sell?

A solid understanding of these key items will go a long way to shaping your messaging and offers, and will keep you focused and clear as you do it!

Resourcefulness – A Success Secret

January 15, 2014

Resourcefulness is the ability to find quick and innovative ways to overcome challenges. As a small business owner, finding creative ways to meet the needs of your business, your staff, and your clients is a necessity, but also the number one way to promote growth and success for your business. Being resourceful in all of your business decisions and practices, will lead to better, more streamlined processes, allowing you to save time and money.

Here are a few key components that resourceful owners use to promote growth and stay in touch with their business needs.

Be Open to Change

First and foremost, you need to be open to change. Having an open mind and being open to new and innovative ways of thinking about a routine process or situation is what will make a better solution possible. Cultivating the idea that a better solution is out there can make it much easier to go out there and make the changes that you need in order to run a more streamlined business.

Analyze – And be realistic

Next up, you need to be able to objectively assess the situations or processes of your business in order to determine where a change needs to be made. The first step in thinking outside the box is to determine what you want to change and what you have to work with. Developing a detailed objective list and then pairing resources that you have to make the change a reality creates a roadmap for easy execution.

Optimize What You Have – Be creative

This is where thinking outside the box really comes into play. Coming up with solutions for doing more with less in a stream-lined way could be as simple as asking, “if we didn’t have this resource or process, how would we get along without it?” Maybe a system you already have in place can be expanded or adapted to handle other processes. Or maybe a shuffling of duties, or scheduled tasks, could lead to a more eloquent solution.

Stay Focused

Finally, when you decide to implement change, be sure to stay focused. You can’t change or improve everything all at once, so be purposeful when selecting and implementing changes. Focusing time and effort on the change and following it through to the end can mean the difference between the intended outcome or having to return to the drawing board.

As a small business owner, you are in the unique position of being flexible enough to make improvements regularly and to implement them quickly. Doing more with less because you have created an innovative and clever solution is a savvy and smart way to continually develop your business strategy.

Happy New Year! Now What’s Your Plan?

January 6, 2014

A new year brings an opportunity to renew and strengthen your business. With that opportunity comes the need to plan and focus your energy on business activities that will bear fruit in terms of generating business as well as nurturing those most precious treasures you’ve already worked so hard to gain – your existing clientele.

Visibility is key

Your clientele need gentle reminders that you are around and eager to make them look and feel fabulous, at their convenience. Why not establish a simple email marketing strategy and schedule right now that will help you stay on track? Emails need not be cumbersome epic novels. A paragraph or two, perhaps from a blog article you’ve already written, is all you need to send. Be sure to mention the ease with which they can book services with you, and include a link to your Booking page. Always include a mention of and link to your Instant Gift Certificates page as well. Many milions of dollars are spent every year by email recipients just clicking on those links when they’re reminded of a gift need or are encouraged to book a service!

How often should you send emails? One every couple of weeks will inform and educate your recipients without annoying them. You want people to open your missives, not automatically delete them. That line is a fine one, and we tend to err to the conservative. After all, if your readers want to hear more from you, they can pop into your blog, too!

Visibility across all media is now your goal. That means your Social Media needs to be a place of give and take. Images that connect directly to your message du jour will really help catch the eye and reinforce your message. Are you offering up a great new non-drying color technique in your salon? Cool! Be sure to include an image of a client having their hair colored/conditioned to support a headline of Come in for a Deep Nourishing Color Treatment! for example. You get my point..don’t just include random images that look anonymous and aren’t really tied to your message. The social media audience just responds well to concise copy and clearly tied images.

Wherever you are, be there on a regular basis. And always be sure your website is showcasing any new services or products. That will be a default location for your audience to learn more about what you’re up to at any given point.

Consistency is key, too.

Starting out with a bang and ending with a fizzle isn’t an optimal marketing strategy. At a time when information flows at the speed of light, if you only send out one email campaign every quarter or write one blog article every couple of months, or are less than regular with your Facebook or Twitter posts, you’ll be doing your business a disservice.

Again, length of message isn’t really what’s important, it’s the regular reception of that message by your audience that ensures you’re presenting an organized and professional marketing effort. Your clients and prospects will appreciate your efforts with visits and word of mouth referrals.

Keeping your brand clear and maintaining that clarity everywhere your message is distributed? Also key.

Yes, there are lots of keys to marketing, but they’re all related. If you write consistent blog articles about your areas of expertise, generate emails, then create social media posts based upon those blog posts, you’re meeting the key criteria with a minimum of effort. Maybe we should have called this post Your Blog Posts – Keys to Your Entire Marketing Strategy?

Clarity, though, that’s important in a whole different way. If you are clear about what your business represents, what you’re doing, what you bring to the spa or salon or massage experience, etc., then that will flow through into every bit of content you produce. Knowing what you want to be known for is huge, and keeping that front and center on your website, (with imagery as well as content, of course), in your blog posts, in your emails, and out in the social media realm will ensure you’re drawing the clientele that fits your sweet spot and will set the stage for building long-term relationships that net consistent business over time.

Simple tricks like posting your mission statement, or a similar reminder of just who you are and what you’re trying to be to your audience, right above wherever you go to write content are helpful. Who doesn’t get carried away by the Muse of Random Tangents from time to time? Stay on track, and always depict the true essence of your business as you write.

Maintaining clarity isn’t easy in a time when many businesses are trying new things to garner business. Know your true self and stick with that. Doing otherwise can alienate your audience and confuse in general, which usually makes people just go somewhere else. Nobody likes to try to figure you out. Your job is to be so clear, so consistent, and so visible that the natural decision for them to make when seeking spa or salon services is your business.

Laying a simple but comprehensive marketing foundation sooner rather than later will put you ahead of the game, and the work you do now will serve you well for the entire year to come!

Social Media Trends for 2014: Focus On The Visual

December 16, 2013

As we wrap up 2013 and look ahead to the new year, now is a good time to start thinking about your social media marketing strategy for 2014. One of the biggest trends we expect to see is a continued shift towards shorter, more frequent communications, with a focus on visual, rather than text-based, content. Here are a few highlights of other trends to watch as we approach the new year.

The Continued Rise of Visual

Consumers are becoming more and more visual, and studies show they gravitate to marketing which is image driven. With the continued popularity of sites such as Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Snapchat, it is going to become increasingly important to come up with ways to visually promote your business and your brand. Whether it is utilizing more photos in email communications or interacting with your clients on photo sharing sites like Instagram, bringing more images to your interactions with clients means you can more effectively meet their marketing wants by communicating with them where and how they want you to.

The Importance of Micro-Video

Micro-video is a new trend that emerged in 2013 and revolutionized the video sharing business, with sites like Vine leading the way. Vine allows users to upload 6 second videos and share them with friends, filling the consumer desire for short bursts of visual communication. Industry giant Instagram soon jumped on board, allowing its users to share 3-15 second videos with their followers.

In this time where people want short visual bits of information shared more regularly and rapidly, micro-video is a new and powerful tool for marketing. A series of micro-videos could be used to tell the story of your brand, promote new offerings, or set you up as an expert in your field.

Social Media is Still King

Facebook and Twitter will continue to dominate in the social media market, with the highest number of regular users. But they are showing a shift towards more visual communications as well. Picture-dominated posts consistently get the most interactions on both platforms and both sites have made improvements to enable quicker and easier sharing of photos and videos. Both are poised to continue strongly in 2014.

Google+ will be the social media site to watch in 2014, as it continues to grow and link its social media site to all the other Google brands. It automatically opts in all users of any of its brands to Google+, which made it the fastest growing social media site in 2013. Recently, it linked YouTube comments to Google+ accounts as well, helping to drive consumers to its platform. With long term experience in visual communications, it will only continue to grow in importance throughout 2014.

2014 will be an exciting year for social media marketing. As the visual side of things continues to grow and consumers continue to demand rapid, to the point, image-based communications, it is more important than ever to adjust your marketing strategies to embrace the visual. In an industry where visual images have always been important, this is an easy and effective marketing change which can produce huge results.

What to Say, What to Say

November 19, 2013

White page syndrome can strike even the most seasoned wordsmiths, and when it does, it paralyzes. Suddenly creative minds draw blanks, the cursor flashes incessantly at the top of what should be an easy-peasy piece of content and ideas simply refuse to materialize.

It’s no fun when this happens, we know this. And if you’re a person who would rather have small shards of glass removed from the bottom of their feet than actually write a blog post, this happens a lot. In fact, most people just don’t enjoy writing at all, they only do it if they’re forced to.

But you can do this, and all you need to do is break it all down to smaller parts and to remember that you are the expert on your subject. You may not consider the fact that nobody knows as much about skin care, or taming tresses, or the wonders of massage and its therapeutic benefits as you do, but you do.

You are trained to know your stuff. Your salon or spa or massage practice is what you do, which gives you limitless insight and a deep well of material from which to pull article ideas.

Think ‘small pieces’, and then let your brain go to town. Blog posts are a way to share snippets of information with your audience in digestible (read ‘NOT huge’) chunks. Think ‘Preventing Flyaway Winter Hair’ vs ‘The History of Hairstyles in the 20th Century’ when it comes to topics. Think ‘Three Tips for Cool Weather Skin Care’ vs ‘The Importance of Balanced Nutrition In the Ongoing Pursuit of Gorgeous Skin’. Think ‘The Power of the Breath’ vs ‘A Treatise on Massage Modalities, 1717-2013’.

You get my point.

A targeted, concise (which I could use practice with, right?) paragraph or two will go a long way. You’ll have crafted a helpful article that your blog readers will want to read. The good news is once you’ve established your groove, you’ll enjoy visitors who come back again and again to see what you have to say.

Another bonus of writing blog articles? They help your ranking when it comes to being found on the web. Search engines love regular, fresh content, so you’ll be rewarded over time with ranking as well.

So, have fun with this, and know if you ever get stuck for ideas or just a little nudge in the right direction, we’re right here to help!

Cultivating Customer Loyalty

November 6, 2013

Loyal clients are the most important part of your business. On average, repeat clientele spend 33% more per visit than a new client and are also easier (and cheaper) to market to, allowing you to grow your business faster and with less marketing dollars. But how do you cultivate that loyalty and build a relationship with your clients that will keep them coming back time and time again? Let’s talk about some of the more important ways to build a positive relationship with your client.

Deliver Great Customer Service Experiences
Every bit of contact you have with a client is an opportunity to create good experiences and build a positive relationship. From the moment they visit your website, pick up the phone, or walk through the door of your spa or salon, you have the opportunity to provide the best possible experience for them. Making sure things are easy to find on your website and that all contact is friendly, helpful and professional can go a long way. A client who always leaves any interaction with your spa or salon happy and satisfied is one who will not only return, but who will tell friends about your business as well.

Communicate Regularly
Communication is always key when building a relationship. Find out where and how often your clients want to hear from you. And then communicate with them regularly in the form that works best for them. Email marketing or posting to social media is a powerful way to keep your business in the front of your client’s mind and a good way to build rapport. Making sure that not all of your communications are sales based is a good way to demonstrate that the relationship you have with your clients (& not just their money) is important to you. Sharing valuable information on a blog or in an email newsletter can help establish you as an expert in your field and turn your business into a trusted resource for your clients. Regular communication can mean the difference between your client thinking about your business the next time they need a service – or going someplace else. Good communication not only helps build a great relationship, but also a healthy business as well.

Listen to Your Clients
If you have satisfied a client once, you can more than likely do so again. But you need to know what they liked and what you could do better. So ask your clients for feedback and then act on it. Really listening to what they have to say and then involving them in improving your processes can not only help you improve your business, but also help it grow over time. So ask them, in both informal and formal ways, and then show an interest in meeting their needs.

Treat Your Loyal Clients Like You Would a Best Friend
Treating your most loyal return clients like best friends can help create an even stronger relationship and really cultivate the loyalty you are hoping for. So do the same things for them that you would do for your best friend. Keep them in the loop on what is going on with your business, either through email, social media posts, or your blog. Share insider information with them through special preview deals and announcements. Involve them in sneak peeks for new products or services before they are available to your entire client base. Ask for their feedback on how you are doing and what they think you could be doing better. Show them that you truly care about them and not only will they keep coming back, they’ll refer their friends and family to you as well.

Cultivating a positive relationship with your clients, both new and existing, is the most powerful way to build a successful business. Every interaction a client has with your business is an opportunity to create an authentic relationship with them which will keep them returning over and over.

Catering to the Male Client

November 1, 2013

Men are enjoying spa more than ever before, which means opportunity for growth if you’re considering reaching out to that group. Per ISPA’s annual spa survey, men’s visits have risen from 33% of visits in 2011 to 47% of visits in 2012 – a significant increase considering the number had hovered in the low 30’s for several years running.

So what’s different about marketing to men? Not as much as you might think, as it turns out.

Scentsibility

Aromatherapy is the practice of using natural oils to enhance psychological and physical well-being. There is nothing more fabulous than enjoying a treatment incorporating delicious scents that soothes and calms. Men prefer citrus, sandalwood, green tea and cleaner scents over subtler floral fragrances when it comes to their essential oils.

Surroundings

Spas who’ve created male-centric waiting and treatment areas have chosen rustic over elegant, with rough sawn wood paneling and stone floors to surround their male clients. And reading materials in waiting areas are also tailored for the male audience, which has been well received.

Services

Scrubs and deeper massage, as well as facials, back and feet treatments seem to resonate well with the male group, and clever names for services are key – this audience likes to feel they’re special, just with a rugged twist. The lead foot softening service on your menu could go from Pamper My Precious Peds (for women) to Modern Gent’s Pad Tamer… for example.

But names aren’t everything. Providing the male audience with relaxing and rejuvenating services means you recognize and respect their needs, and cater to a burgeoning market.

Marketing

As you expand your reach into the male market, be sure to use your female data base as a way to reach them. Your existing clientele is a perfect place to start when it comes to telling the world that you’re offering up male-focused treatments. Sometimes the best way to discover you love something is to receive a gift for just that something! Women love to give the men in their lives gifts that soothe and relax; once you’ve shown those gift recipients the joy of a service designed with men in mind you’ll be in a perfect place to bring them back for more.

Have You Lined Your Holiday Ducks Up?

October 11, 2013

Yes, we know it’s not yet Halloween, the day after which we’ll see a sudden sprouting of Christmas decorations, aisles in big box stores devoted to the upcoming commercial opportunity, and that annoying music, which, in my opinion, shouldn’t happen until after Thanksgiving, but that might be my upbringing speaking here. Regardless, it’s time for you guys to get your holiday plans laid out, well, in order to take full advantage of the next couple of months.

What should you be doing?

You should be promoting your businesses like there’s no tomorrow. I’ll repeat myself here – promote yourself. On your website, on your blog, via social media, and in emails. Now is the time to get the communication machine oiled and busy.

Packages

If you haven’t already created a few super special packages for the holidays, you should do so. Now. Give people three options – a high end, a mid-level indulgence, and a more moderately priced offering. You’ll sell the most of the mid-level offering, some of the moderately priced option, and a few of the premium options. That’s just how it works. You know this.

Events

Plan an Open House. People love to come see what you’re about, the smell of cinnamon and apple potpourri wafting through the air, the prospect of ‘invitee only’ specials to be had, the opportunity to see your place nicely decorated. Appetizers and beverages help. Partnering up with a nearby restaurant of choice will create a cross-promotion opportunity that you can enjoy as the restaurant promotes your spa, salon, or practice during the holidays as well. Next time they have a special event, provide a free hair consult, executive mani or shoulder massage and see how many new clients you get!

Blog Articles

Now is the time to write about what you know – how to make people look and feel terrific! An article about great holiday hair, massages for managing the chaos of the holidays, the newest colors for manis and pedis, you name it, they love to hear what’s hip, new and trendy. A casual mention at the bottom of a post that you happen to have some wonderful holiday specials cooked up for gift giving ease and convenience will go a long way to converting your readers to gift givers. The statistics definitely support adding that link to your gift choices this time of year!

Communicate, communicate communicate

Let your clientele know your services offer up not only a great gift giving choice, but that you’re happy to make them look and feel great during this insane and pressure filled time of year. Who doesn’t need a spruce up or massage or highlight this time of year? We can all use some TLC, and if we’re crossing names off of our gift list as we fit some pampering in, all the better.

Target your email list with special messages about what you’re up to, and distribute your message on social media as well. Oh, and images help. We are all intensely visual, and appreciate a well-chosen graphic to accompany a message.

Spruce up your space

Spring isn’t the only time to make your business sparkle. The holidays mean you can add some pretty clear twinkly lights around the edges, make sure your retail is alluring and ‘gift ready’, and that the smell of the holidays (the good smell- cinnamon or lovely lavender or spicy blends of essential fragrances that enrich the environment and soothe the senses) is all around as your clients meander.

So, ready to line up those holiday ducks? Great! Go get ’em!

SEO – Do your shoes match your belt? They need to.

September 10, 2013

There are many other aspects of SEO, including the checklist we served up in A Personal SEO Checklist which focuses on the things that you can do to improve to your search engine rankings. When we build a site we review all of all of these things with our clients as a matter of course. We believe it’s always a good thing to double check your setup. Your business is not an unchanging stone monolith of Spa Awesomeness, so it’s good to review your website periodically and make sure that the information provided in all of your online listings is current and accurate.

Front Page Content

Including Important Keywords

Search engines use the following logic when ranking your site:

If it’s not on the front page, it must not be that important

And that makes sense right? You wouldn’t talk about oil changes on your front page as a Spa; you’re going to talk about what YOU do. That’s the heart of SEO – talking about yourself in a comprehensive and informative manner. Nowhere is this more important than on your front page.

Okay, so what should you talk about then? The basics of course:

Who are you?
What do you do?
When do people need you?
Where are you and which areas do you serve?
Why should people choose you over the competition?
(optional) How can I pay?

Most of that is probably pretty straight forward and self-explanatory, but we’re going to go over a few of those just to be sure we’re all on the same page.

What do you do?

If you want people to find you for specific services, they better be on your front page. If you can fit them in twice, thrice, or whatever four is in that word schema, that’s even better. If you’ve got a keyword in a headline that will also help, since that means that you’re putting more emphasis on that keyword. For instance if you are a massage therapist you might have a headline “Massage Modalities Offered,” and then detail your modalities (Hot Stone Massage, Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage) with a short description of each. Since broad keywords are going to always be the most competitive, this allows you to repeat those broad words over and over without throwing up flags in the search engine. See how many times we got “massage” in there while still providing useful information? You can repeat it again in your description as well:

This type of massage will totally blow your mind and leave you in a deep serene pool of liquid relaxation

Speaking of pools… one thing to keep in mind is that you’re not just competing against your obvious competitor down the street, but also businesses in completely different sectors. My wife went to get a massage a few days ago and this particularly skilled therapist was able to make some serious progress on an issue that had an orthopedic surgeon referring her to physical therapy. When writing your content it’s important to keep in mind that to build your business you should target people with problems you can address, not just people looking for the names of your services. So what does that have to do with Pools? Nothing. But let’s talk about a common complaint: back pain.

A potential customer wakes up in the morning and their back hurts. They wonder: “Is it time to get a new mattress? Should I visit a Chiropractor? Since I’ve had surgery should I consult my doctor about Physical Therapy?”

This is where your website content makes a huge difference in attracting a new customer. Optimizing your front page content for both keywords and broad information gives people not only a strong sense of what it is that you do, but also:

When Do People Need You?

Answering when/why people need your services is your opportunity to extend your reach from your core market of people who already love what you do, to people that hadn’t considered it. Even if you’re not in direct competition with a business, that doesn’t mean that consumers aren’t faced with a choice when they choose you over buying a new mattress or seeing a physical therapist. In some cases you may want to encourage people to do both. Many Chiropractors and Physical Therapists suggest massage as complementary services to their own. By doing the same you help to widen your target audience. If you are an aesthetician you might target words associated with salons to offer a complementary service. After all, if someone is updating their look, why should they start and stop with their hair?

Keep your mind open and try to think of the questions someone asks right before they search. Go ask a friend too, they’ll search differently than you. One of the biggest myths about SEO is that you can always come up first, but that’s just not true unless you’re paying the search engines every cent you have. What you have decide is WHEN you want to show up and for WHOM, and work to make sure that you do. Everyone is working hard to show up for their own terms so you have to make sure that you identify who is finding you and how (more on that later), and thus what you should do to expand your reach.

Where Are You and What Areas Do You Serve?

You’ve got your address on your page, that should be enough right? No. Sure, search engines are going to find that, and if you have completed your listings they’ll have a good sense of where you are and help people close to you find you more easily. Of course, not everyone is close to you when they search. Some people are looking for you on their lunch break, others are looking for you from home to visit you on their lunch break. The important thing is that you should include additional info about your location in terms what people will search for. Freeway names, exits, parks, clubs, historic buildings, intersections, neighborhoods and malls are all great landmarks that people might search for when looking for a business. If you’re in the suburbs you might mention your suburb, the neighboring suburbs, the metropolitan area, your local park and your proximity to major commuting routes. Remember that you’re trying to provide helpful content that answers the questions people might ask. Your address isn’t an answer, it’s a location that is one part of the puzzle.

Why Should People Choose You Over The Competition?

This one is trickier and gets more into branding. Ideally you have a target market that successfully generates steady revenue for you. Hopefully your branding already reflects this to some extent. Is your business comfy, clean, inviting, relaxed, or a complex fusion of modernist sensibilities wrapped luxuriously draped in eco-friendly up-cycled sophistication (i.e. you couldn’t decide)? However you think of your business, it’s important that you differentiate your style from everyone else’s. SpaBoom is a young cheeky underdog and we like to have fun. You get that right? Make your style your own as well and don’t lose your tone of voice.

Oh right, I suppose you might also talk about unique features. You’ve got the only albino Yak in all the Sudatenland? That’s fantastic. You won an award for “Best Stylist with a tri-hawk?” Brilliant! Just remember that these distinctions do you no good if you just plop an image on your page. They need to be written in content and/or put into your site’s description. (We’ll discuss this more in an upcoming article.)

Unless you’re a Medi-spa, you don’t want to come off as clean and clinical. If you are a Medi-spa, keep up the clean and clinical thing. No one is going to believe you when you talk about warm welcoming and relaxing Botox injections, so stick to your strengths and embrace what you are.