Top 7 Smart Ways To Attract More Clients To Your Salon And Spa

What can you learn from the Marketing giants and Stealth Marketers to build a bold, beautiful and wildly successful business that increases your visibility to attract more clients and profits?

1. Gain the Leading Edge

Getting out and making a name for yourself is important. It’s not enough to place a sign out front and run an advertisement in the paper and wait for the phone to ring. You are more likely to get business from people who have made contact with you or know you. Networking and Connecting within your community is important to get the word out about your salon and spa and bring in new clients. Get out, meet people and increase your business visibility.

2. Stealth Marketing

Use Viral Marketing to build your brand awareness and enhance your marketing efforts. By using pre-existing social networks like facebook, youtube and twitter you can get the word out and create buzz for your salon and spa. Stealth marketing can encompass social networks, text messages, blogs and blog posting all with the purpose of gaining visibility and increasing your marketing objectives.

3. Praise from Raving Clients

The marketing giants use celebrity endorsements (testimonials) to expose their products and give their products credibility and appeal. You too can get testimonials from your happy clients. Identify people who can influence your target market and get them to endorse your treatments and techniques. Get key leaders within your community to try your products and treatments for free and get their feedback in writing. Get their permission to use their feedback, comments and photos in your promotional material. Endorsements can come from friends; the most powerful endorsement is when friends and clients recommend your product or service to another friend. This is powerful word of mouth advertising and more believable than any other form of endorsement.

4. The Power of Free!

We all like getting a little bonus, a gift, a little something extra. Your clients do, too. The acronym "GWP" stands for "Gift with Purchase". As the name suggests, a GWP is an item that is given to your client when she spends above a specified amount on beauty treatments, hairdressing or skin care products. The Gift with purchase (free item) could be anything from cosmetics, skin care products, hair care products, salon voucher, product samples, etc. Free offers for example Buy 10, Get One free, Buy a Facial and Pedicure and Get a Free Manicure adds transactional value and enhances allure. Free introductory offers entice clients to trial a product. Free offers help with the buying decision and increase sales.

5. Referral Programs

Getting clients through referrals is one of the best ways to build your business. Have a referral incentive program in place to encourage clients to refer business to you. Having a specific referral program gets people thinking about who they can refer to you. A referral program encourages word of mouth advertising. Make it a habit to ask your clients for referrals. Tell them you would really appreciate it if they could recommend you to anyone who would be interested in a cut/colour/any service you provide." And of course tell them about your referral incentive program – let them know what’s in for them.

6. A Niche Strategy to Focus your Marketing efforts

Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Focus on your specific niche. Know what makes you different from your competitors. Analyse your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses. Offer more value by differentiating your specific treatments and results. One of the biggest niche strategy advantages is the ability to quickly become a dominant player your specific area of expertise. There are salons that cater specifically for rejuvenation, slimming, tanning, hair design, waxing and massage. Niche marketing can be a focused strategy at a niche group such as pregnant women, teenagers, couples, men. A massage and relaxation niche may encompass Yoga, Shiatsu, Meditation and an array of Massage techniques such as deep tissue, Swedish, aromatherapy and Thai massage. Spas are increasingly offering unique services and products to differentiate themselves from the usual facials and body treatments. A new spa niche may be carved out with Asian healing practices and rituals.

7. Build a Bold & Beautiful Business.

Who gets the attention? Attractive men and women, the loud mouth and the exceptional offer. Start attracting attention to your salon and spa. Have attractive staff with flawless skin, well groomed with full make-up. You think I’m joking, but its fact that good looking people attract more business. And as a salon and spa, you are in the health and beauty business, so your people need to look the part. Would you go to an overweight personal fitness trainer, or would you want the lean muscular trainer? Who gets the attention? The budget salon with posters on the wall or the salon with a gorgeous reception, water feature, glossy magazines, top notch furnishing and finishes. We know that packaging is everything; clients pay big money for professional skin care because the marketing messages tell us its special and the packaging supports the message. Is your salon and spa supporting your marketing message? Attractive people, places and objects are attractive because they literally attract attention and interest. Is your salon and spa attractive and attracting attention? Attractive refers to everything: your marketing messages, the way you answer the phone, answer questions, the way you present yourself, your advertising. It all needs to be bold, beautiful, attractive and appealing to draw people in.

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How to Take the Stress Out of Holiday Travel

Let's face it, even while the Thanksgiving and December holiday season is the favorite time of year for many of us, traveling during this period can be more stressful than ever. There are a few steps you can take before and during your journey, however, that might reduce some anxiety and tension.

Instructions
1. 1
Make any air travel and lodging arrangements as far in advance as possible. While this might seem like obvious advice, it's amazing how many people end up making last-second plans every year.
2. 2
Put together a checklist of anything that might need to be taken care of at your residency while you're gone and make sure everything is covered. Realizing your houseplants are going unwatered halfway through a 3-week trip is anything but calming.
3. 3
Realize that there are typically going to be some delays and bumps in the road on any journey and try to prepare yourself to roll with the punches. No point in getting stressed over minor things that are out of your hands, anyway, like someone running late to pick you up at the airport.
4. 4
Try to "wrap up" (no pun intended) your holiday shopping as early as you can. An already slightly stressful travel itinerary can become even more overwhelming if you're running around scrambling for Christmas gifts on December 24.
5. 5
Eat a good, healthy meal before a long journey, and make sure to avoid foods that might upset your stomach. Heartburn or an ailing stomach will only, of course, add to your travel stresses.
6. 6
Get to the airport a good 3 hours before your scheduled flight. Some of the worst holiday travel stress can come from waiting in the security line, not even knowing if you're going to catch your flight. Better to have to waste an hour at check-in awaiting boarding than undergo undue anxiety about boarding your plane before it takes off.
7. 7
Bring along a relaxing book to read and/or an iPod/MP3 player. Create a "soothing" playlist of songs to mellow out to while in transit; classic holiday tunes, Simon & Garfunkel hits and Jack Johnson songs are three good possibilities, but it all depends on your taste of course.

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