How to Market Your Beauty Salon

There’s a strong sense of community and connection within the beauty industry, and it’s important that you convey this throughout your marketing initiatives. Social media, websites, webinars, trade shows and events are incredibly effective ways to establish brand recognition and customer loyalty, especially when they are used in conjunction with each another.

Effective marketing consists of a combination of traditional strategies and innovative methods, through which you and your business can leap from strength to strength.

1. Marketing Your Brand
2. Specialise In One Area
3. Connect With The Community
4. Hosting Events
5. The Importance Of Insurance

Marketing Your Brand

Social media thrives on community, interaction and creating conversations around relevant and interesting topics. By posting on social media and responding to comments, you can ensure that your brand is always on people’s minds.

Of course, having a website is just as important. This will be a space that is dedicated exclusively to listing your beauty services and products as well as demonstrating what distinguishes your brand. Effective and powerful content will attract and retain customers by providing them with engaging and valuable insights into your beauty salon. By creating and publishing relevant and consistent content on your website, your business can encourage the type of positive customer actions which will generate traffic, leads and sales.

If you’re part of the beauty industry, there is a good chance you’re a creative person who is inspired by visuals. Instagram is a fantastic platform to show off your hair and skin care skills, and link in with your audience. Video can show off your nail painting techniques and designs, as well as give a face to the business and set-up customer expectations.

There is no denying the power of customer testimonials as well. Word of mouth may be one of the most traditional ways for you to market your brand and is an incredibly effective tactic. By offering an exemplary salon service and incentives, you can encourage your existing customers to bring their family, friends and acquaintances to your beauty salon. Yes, your treatments and the products you sell make up the bulk of your business, but it’s important to focus on other areas too. Create an environment and experience that can’t be found anywhere else and you’ll be the talk of the town. Offering tea and coffee is a good start when clients arrive, but what else can you offer while they wait to be seen? And how do you want your clients to feel when they leave? A customer who has just had their hair styled will be excited to show it off. Take their picture and create a collage of clients in the waiting area. Customers waiting for treatment will get a taste of your skills, and those who have paid for your services will be a permanent part of your community.

Specialise In One Area

A successful brand will usually have at least one product or service that defines its core mission and purpose. So, if you are known for a particular makeup technique that isn’t available anywhere else in your town or city, exploit this to your audience. Or, your salon may have a partnership with a product your competitors don’t offer. Again, word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing. If you can offer an exclusive service, your clients will share their experience with family and friends.

What’s more, by demonstrating that you have a certain specialism you are more likely to be regarded as trustworthy and reliable by customers. Customers will purchase a product or service that they believe will not only fulfil but also exceed their expectations, and when it comes to your specialism you want to convey that it is something only you can deliver to that particular standard.

Connect With The Community

The power of social media breaks down the physical barriers, which traditionally exist between a customer and a brand. In the digital era, you can communicate directly with potential as well as existing customers. By engaging with them on a personal level, you can really express the personality and ethos of your business. To do this, upload pictures or videos of your salon work and respond to comments left on your social media feeds. Share your knowledge and answer any questions you audience may have. This builds transparency and gives your salon an edge over your competitors. Yes, other salons may be offering similar service to yours, but if they are not sharing what they know, their community won’t be informed. If you’ve recently learnt a new hair colouring technique or are trying out a new product, share this online! Become the authority in your area, and clients will come to you when they want beauty advice.

Webinars are another brilliant way for you to demonstrate your expertise and professionalism.

It’s a good idea to plan what topic you want to cover in your webinar. It’s tempting to cover a lot of ground in an hour, but your audience will find more value in a small topic presented well. And remember to leave enough time at the end of your webinar to answer questions your audience may have.

One of the main advantages is their accessibility and convenience, and virtually anyone with an Internet connection can attend one of your webinars. For even more reach, you can later publish the webinar onto your social media platforms or website, building an inventory of content that is unique to your brand.

Hosting Events

By hosting an event at your salon, you can interact with the beauty community and establish your presence in the industry. An event is a brilliant way for you to not only engage with your clients and customers, but also increase your brand’s visibility to potential investors and business partners as well.

This is essentially a face-to-face webinar. However the advantage of holding an event in your beauty salon is that your customers will be with you at every step of your demonstration. And if you really want to establish a rapport, encourage participants to try products and techniques for themselves. Have a live a model in the chair, and talk the crowd through your process. You’ll have no problem finding volunteers for a free hair cut or makeover. And you never know who you will inspire to train to work in the beauty industry, too. You might even be asked to become a mentor to students entering the sector.

You can advertise launches, demonstrate how your products and services work, or even hold a question and answer session where you can talk about yourself, your journey and your passion for beauty.

When people can connect a face with a brand, they are more likely to build a long-term relationship with you and your beauty salon. It is also advised to host a ticketed event, so that you know how many people are attending and so that you can adjust the seating and catering arrangements accordingly. Remember to announce the upcoming event on your social media platforms and your website, perhaps even beginning a countdown in order to create anticipation and excitement.

As a business you can really use the Internet to your advantage, first and foremost by launching campaigns and generating a buzz that extends far beyond your current customer base. By ensuring that a photographer or videographer is at the event, you can later publish the pictures and videos online, further associating your beauty salon’s name with professionalism and ensuring that as many people as possible recognise your brand.

The Importance Of Insurance

An element of risk is inherent within every business venture, and owning a beauty salon is no exception. Even with the necessary precautions and due diligence, unforeseen circumstances can have potentially devastating consequences for the running of your business. Investing in a comprehensive beauty salon insurance policy is incredibly important, because if something happens to your business you can be confident that you won’t have to bear the financial burden.

You can tailor your insurance policy to reflect the unique requirements and expectations of your business, so that the business that you have worked so hard for is not threatened by adverse events. An effective policy should cover buildings insurance, employer’s liability insurance, public liability insurance, fixtures and fittings insurance and contents insurance, to name a few. With this assurance, you can focus on marketing and advertising your beauty salon, and be confident that it will continue to flourish and thrive even when faced with uncertainty. Are you prepared for unexpected disruptions to your business operations? Explore our business insurance options at Brisco Business to mitigate potential risks.

Maria Hickey

For more than 20 years, Maria has worked in the insurance sector and has extensive underwriting and customer service expertise. Maria is an experienced Senior Underwriter with a particular specialism for shop, office and surgery related insurance.

All articles by Maria Hickey