Hey Fiona, I found this online whilst worrying about the same thing. Hope it helps!xx
Salon Survival: Beating the Credit Crunch
Are you concerned about the survival and growth of your salon in the current economic climate? It is no wonder given the gloomy news reports we are bombarded with on a daily basis.
Despite the over-hyped negative media attention, small/cost effective efforts can be integrated into the day to day running of your business to maintain stable weekly incomes and growth of business with existing customers.
How well do you know your customers?
Understanding customers’ needs and wants is paramount to valuable product offering. Whilst consumer spend is in decline, there is still a demand for certain product offerings, especially in the beauty industry which is forecast to be the fastest growing retail sector this year (Verdict’s Research “UK Health and Beauty” Marketing Week, 23rd May, 2008).
The key to those product offerings is value. One simple technique of understanding your customers is capturing as much data about them as possible and using this data to target them with product offerings that are of value to them.
1. Capture customer contact data when acquiring a new client or when an existing client calls to make an appointment. The more methods of communication tools you have for your customers, the easier it will be to get your message across to them.
2. Monitor what products and services your clients are buying, run reports and analyse the data for up-sell of their favourite products or even take advantage of an opportunity to cross sell other retail products or services to them.
3. Think of your product and services range as a solution as opposed to a ‘product’. Understanding your customers’ purchasing behaviour can prove invaluable when designing and executing marketing campaigns. For example, there is an obvious fundamental reason why people go to the hairdresser’s for a haircut, however what other reasons could there be? Perhaps they enjoy the pampering experience of such a service? Perhaps it makes them feel better about themselves? Consider the wider reasoning behind your consumer’s decisions prior to developing your marketing communications strategy.
Are beauty products the loophole of downward consumer spending?
With the rising inflation costs in food, petrol and utilities’ it would be unrealistic to say that people aren’t spending less. Consumer spending is being rationalised and justified scrupulously by the general public . In previous years, many would change their car after a few years or take 1-2 holidays a year, it is these large luxuries that are being cut whereas small indulgences like beauty treatments which make people feel better are more likely to increase in place of the more extravagant purchases.
Focus on existing customers
Given the economic climate, it will be far more resourceful to market to your existing customers than it will be to acquire new ones. Some believe that it is as much as five to six times more expensive to sell to new customers than it is to existing ones.
If you are a start up business and need to build up a client base, then spending time and money on acquisition of new clientele will be essential, however begin rewarding your customers as soon as they come onto your system. Refer a friend campaigns are a fantastic way to reward existing customers and double your client base almost instantly.
Measure ! Measure ! Measure !
These are risky times and you can therefore not afford to take any large risks. Ensure you monitor all marketing spend within a realistic budget and track each campaign through website visits or booking sales reports.
What tools are there available to me?
If your salon does not use an electronic booking system currently, consider investing in one. There are so many expensive software products on the market which often contain functionalities that will never be used. A simple, cost effective software program could be a worthwhile investment.
