The Biggest Marketing Tool
The Biggest MarketingTool.
I hear it so often from salon and spa owners, I need or want more clients, where would you spend your marketing money, what works? Should I use social media, magazines, website, flyers or offers, discounts?
Where do I put my money?
But often the simplest method of getting more clients is right in front of them and far too often under used and under valued!
I’m Caroline Turner founder of The Salon Money Maker and in this series of articles I’m going to share with you how to get more new clients and start to increase spend with very little investment but a little knowledge of how to market your shop front.
Did you know you should change your window / public presence every 6-8 weeks to get the benefit?
Every business premises uses a system to decide the rent. The system splits premises into zones and the bigger the shop front the more you pay.
Why…..? Because a shop front is a valuable marketing tool and should be generating money.
If you have some form of presence, an entrance / window seen by people, “potential clients”, you’re paying for that space.
The largest marketing investment most salons or spas ARE paying for each year is the shop front…so USE IT!
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It’s potential client’s first impression of how good you are!
So the shop front must be Inspected frequently
The front of the salon or spa is setting the impression of what you’re like, how professional, it sets the expectations of quality – and you have seconds if your lucky to set that impression!
Sadly I see too often salon shop fronts with peeling paint on the window frame, A4 paper stuck to windows, faded posters or posters with small print that has no impact or just TOO much “stuff” in the window, and don’t get me started on dead flies! And none of the above shouts quality.
So first thing – (and I know you know this). Make sure it’s clean, neat and tidy outside and looking in, it’s critical. A recent study in the service industry found that 95% of consumer questioned rated cleanliness being MORE important then customer care. The shop must be Clean, Neat and Tidy.
So if your window is going to generate serious revenue from the signage, to the paint, the posters or displays, to the pavement / sidewalk make sure it’s clean, neat and tidy.
And please remember LESS IS MORE so don’t over fill the window with irrelevant stuff.
Did you know… and this is extrememly SERIOUS if your shop front is 16 feet, around 5 meters in width or less, you’re as good as
INVISIBLE to passing potential clients!
This is especially true if you’re in a location where potential client walk at a fast pace, not a slow stroll, and even more so if they're driving past.
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Ever had that new client sit in your salon and ask how long have you been open and when they're told X years they looked surprised?
If you take nothing else from this article, understanding that your window MUST POP or all those people walking past will never see you, you will be invisible.
If your shop front is 16 feet / 5 meters across or less, no one will see you unless the window POP'S - Stands out!
Potential clients are looking where they’re going, so their visual field is very narrow. It's like they walk with blinkers on, the brain shuts out what they don't need to see, unless you catch their attention.
Think of it like this OR go and do this yourself, it may inspire you to really get that window working!
How many people pass, lets say to make it simple, it's just 10 people per minute.
10 people x 60 minutes = 60 people per hour x $800 *average annual spend on hair and beauty = $48,000 walking past the salon each hour! How many hours are you open a week? If a salon was open 40 hours a week... that would be $1,920,000 walking past in potential clients. If only they could see you!
Lets not split hairs! *Average annual spend on hair and beauty is subjective, depending on location, city to rural, wealthy, middle or low income.
The point of the exercise is just to get you thinking.
When people ask me where would you invest in marketing, the answer is often simple, if you have a flow of people passing your business invest in the window.
The window, it should have a budget and a plan.
Is your window like a megaphone that’s grabbing potential clients’ attention?
.
What would I do next?
I'd get out there and look with fresh eyes, can it be improved? As you review the shop front put into action or plan anything that needs to be changed / removed / updated - but don't paint anything till you've read the article about colors.
I've often taken the salon or spa owner for a walk or even a drive, and then asked them when do you see the salon / spa? How far away can it be seen? Does it blend in or stand out? If you walk with pace past the business does it catch your eye as you move past? Then we start planning the window marketing.
So, go on get out there and take a good look, now because of the potential growth a salon can get from planning a window I've broken down window marketing into a series of articles.
In the next article we'll start looking at who we want through the door and how to get attention.
