At some point, you’ve probably thought something along the lines of “what should I be doing for effective hair salon marketing?” And if you asked 10 different people, you would get 10 different answers. Mostly along the lines of social media, word of mouth, ads, referrals. And these are all great answers.
But what I’m seeing more and more often is salons and businesses marketing to the masses or the wrong audience. They spend all this time and money off and online marketing to anyone and everyone, when the salon business is actually a very specific market.
Focus Your Hair Salon Marketing Efforts
Look at it this way, if you put up a $1000 billboard on the highway for your salon, 90% of the people that see it won’t take a second glance (let alone convert into paying customers) because they aren’t interested nor involved in the industry. You could use that same money for 100 targeted Facebook ads over 3 years time, that only show up in the feed of people already known to frequent salons. (If you’re scratching your head at the mention of targeted Facebook Ads, checkout this info). The conversion rates will be much higher because 100% of people seeing your ads take interest in your area of business or are your ideal client. Thats your money working for you.
So even before you start thinking about hair salon marketing, you need to identify your target audience, more specifically your Ideal Client Avatar, or ICA. The more specific you define, the more productive your salon marketing will be.
Target Marketing is The Best Use of Marketing Dollars
As always, working with the Profit First Mindset to reach your ideal outcome is the best practice for success. We are in the industry of making people look and feel good, but we always need to be practicing to have the best return on your time and money. More return on your time is expressed by having a higher impact on the world! More on that here.
When I started Maxime Salon, I didn’t have a target market. I did all the cuts, colors, textures, lengths etc. At one point I decided I wanted to shrink my target and focus primarily on curly hair. This became our specialty, and because my salon was the answer to a problem, we had wild success.
How Important is Knowing Your Client Avatar?
For my salon business coaching program, Salon Cadence, I did the same. I identified my ideal client avatar: high-achieving salon, spa, barbershop owners and booth renters between 30-45 years old, looking to be in the top 5% of salons in the country. Their personality needs to be coachable, creative, resourceful, independent, problem-solving, and flexible while demonstrating self-care and reliability. Their goal should include coming out from behind the chair and becoming the CEO of their business, and only then will I move forward with them.
Here are 4 easy steps to finding your ideal client avatar for hair salon marketing:
Define the promise you are giving to your customers
- Is it the best color treatment?
- The best short hair cuts?
- Best haircuts for a professional career-oriented look?
- Are your consultations the best in the area?
- Is hair restoration your specialty?
Identify WHO they are
- How old are they?
- What gender?
- Where are they located?
- What products or services are they looking for?
Identify WHERE they are (physically and virtually
- Are they younger moms frequenting daycares, camps, schools?
- Are they young adults going to the gym, the mall, cafes, and bars?
- Which social media are they more apt to use?
- Younger audience is most involved in Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok
- Older audiences gravitate towards Facebook and email
Find the best marketing practices for these locations
- (Check out my Instagram for Salons blog!)
Only after achieving clarity on your ideal client avatar should you begin your hair salon marketing efforts. In the end, marketing only goes as far as the eyes it falls on. It’s better to have a handful of dedicated, loyal followers than thousands who aren’t the correct audience. Don’t market to or build a following of the wrong people.
TIP: Once you start bringing in new clients, ask them how they heard about you and this will give you insight into what practices are working best.
This strategy of finding ideal clients also works for recruiting employees in your salon. More on that here.
I hope you’ve learned enough to take the next step in your hair salon marketing strategy. If you have any further questions or comments, we urge you to connect with us through a discovery session or on IG at @RonitsCoaching.