Free Hair Salon Business Plan Template: NZ Salon Superstar, Terra Evans – The Membership Campaign that created a Storm!
Free Hair Salon Business Plan Template: NZ Salon Superstar, Terra Evans – The Membership Campaign that created a Storm!
If I said to you that every dollar you spent on marketing would give you $2 back, you would probably be very happy. Well Inner Circle member Terra Evans of Skin Deep Face and Body in the little seaside town of Browns Bay on Auckland’s North Shore recently launched her Mini Memberships program and made an astounding return for every $1 she spent on marketing these memberships….WOW!
But before I let Terra explain to you how she did it, I want to tell you some of the benefits of having memberships in your salon….
Memberships are a great way to get a huge chunk of cash up front from your clients or regular cash flow depending on the membership type. If cash flow is a bit tight and you have a GST bill coming up then memberships give you that much need boost. Or perhaps you want to go on a holiday or buy a new car then memberships give you more financial freedom so you don’t have to go grovelling to the bank for a loan!
Memberships are also a great way to guarantee your clients stay loyal to your salon for a long time and if a staff member leaves and starts working at a salon down the road it also stops clients going with that person.
You will often find that people on memberships will try out other services that they have never had before which opens up more opportunities to sell lots of product. Remember these people have paid their money upfront, so they are going to feel like they have got money to burn when they come in for their treatments….so SELL, SELL, SELL like crazy!
But enough from me, here is what Terra has to say about memberships and being a part of the Inner Circle Program…..
“I have been a member of the Inner Circle program for 2 months now. I decided to join because even though my salon is already doing well I knew it wasn’t working it to its full potential. So when I saw the ad for a free DVD on how to make more $ and do fab marketing it intrigued me and I phoned Chris to find out more. The first thing I felt when I spoke to Chris was that I wasn’t being sold to, I was just being told the facts and I could also see how genuine and enthusiastic Chris was about the whole thing. I asked Chris to give me some people to ring who are already members which he did and everyone gave rave reviews so I asked him if he could ring me in 2 months, when I felt I would be ready and I would give it a go, I really didn’t have anything to lose as there is the free trial period and I told Chris that if it didn’t work for me within that time I wouldn’t continue, but he was very confident that that would not be the case and that I would love it, and he was right!
I have implemented lots of new ideas but also things like new client letters which I knew I needed to do before I joined but didn’t know where to start. Well not anymore, with all the templates and ideas that are in the manuals I finally feel like I am taking control of my business! So far I have done New client letters 1,2 and 3, birthday letters, raise the dead letters, Queen of referrals, Valentines day specials, newsletters (mail and email), changed my messages, implemented the Happy form and testimonial form, cross over promotions, top client rewards, about to send out a school holiday special, ordered a new A frame for the sidewalk, increased my prices and am now using the Staff finder service to look for a new therapist so we have more spaces to fill so I can do some more marketing.
The Best success I have had so far is with the Mini Memberships. I did like the Manual said (why try and fight it) and offered $350 worth of treatments for $200 I had 20 up for grabs and they had a 6 month expiry. .I sent out 672 texts @ 22 cents each = $147.84 and 252 emails @ 5 cents = $12.60 total cost $160.44 all to my existing clients. The response from the texts was amazing within 24 hours of sending the message we had sold all 20 and had many more on a waiting list for next time. So all up it cost me $160.44 to market and I had a Membershiop campaign that created a STORM! Oh what a feeling!
What was interesting about the whole thing is that it actually has encouraged the mini members to try different treatments that they have been thinking about trying, already I have 2 clients starting a course of IPL (which of course will end up costing them more than $350) another client is going to use hers towards microdermabrasion course (again more than $350) and 3 of the members have only visited us a few times so after they have used up there credit I am sure they will be addicted! The rest of the members I am going to test and measure at the end of the 6 months and see how many different treatments they have tried and how much extra retail they have purchased.
So if you are nervous about trying mini memberships don’t be they work!! You can always try selling 10 and then when you see how well it works give it another go. Oh and by the way the clients love it and love you for it. It creates such a buzz and good energy which I feel is so important for true success.
Thanks so much Chris, I look forward to our next meeting and getting started on more great ideas!”
As you can see from what Terra has written she is a HUGELY motivated person that takes massive action. The memberships are just one of many strategies, systems and promotions that she has implemented since joining the Inner Circle program in January. Great results Terra, well done and I am so happy for you!