by Greg Milner | Jan 12, 2012 | New Zealand
Whenever putting together any marketing campaign it’s not just as simple as printing a few flyers or emailing a handful of clients and all of a sudden being bombarded with calls from them wanting to buy what your advertising – sure that would be nice but with the increasing competition out there all vying for your customers dollar or pound (not just from rival salons) then you have to think smart about how you are going to get your clients so excited and worked up about a package or product you are about to release, that they are already pre-disposed to buying it from you when it finally does go on offer. You have to build the hype in advance.
Michael Hill Was Creating A Buzz!
Last week I walked past a local jewelry shop and noticed a long queue of customers eagerly waiting outside. There was a rope fence separating them from the entrance and a red velvet curtain blocking customers from seeing inside the store. The customers were standing on tippy toes trying to see what was going on inside…they were REALLY excited!
The blackboard outside the store said…
‘TODAY ONLY – Make Me An offer on All Jewelry in Store’
They had created a buzz, excitement and mystery with their customers and passers by, and put a time limit on it to add to that – TODAY ONLY! People are naturally inquisitive and if they see people flocking like sheep then they don’t want to feel left out…they want to be in the know too!
As salon owners we need to be creating this type of hype with our clients, planning and executing our marketing with thought and not just being impulsive or reactionary. That’s how so many salons waste money – as they say ‘you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’
And planning is exactly what Louise Gray of Louise Gray Skin Care in Ponsonby, Auckland did in order to sell over $6000 of Christmas 2 for 1 vouchers.
Louise Gray and her Team in Auckland, NZ
In a coaching call early in November last year I talked through with Louise the importance of building hype especially when doing a promotion such as this or similarly memberships. I helped her to construct a 3-step email campaign and planned what dates to send out the emails.
The initial email called for her clients to register to get early bird notification when these vouchers went on sale – just 15 minutes more notice than non-registered clients. The email also limited the number of 2 for 1 vouchers going on sale to create urgency and get people to register.
Email 2 reminded her clients to register and also let them know how many had registered so far. This increased the urgency as it showed the demand for the 2 for 1 vouchers was HOT!
The 3rd email was to pre registered clients announcing the vouchers where ON SALE NOW and created urgency for these clients to call and get their voucher before the email was sent out to all 2136 clients on her database 15 minutes later.
The sequence of emails created a buzz and subsequently sold $6000 worth of vouchers. And of course that means there is going to be an influx of new clients in the salon over the next few months as the ‘free’ voucher had to be given to a new client and had an expiry of 3 months to get these people in the door fast!
And the best thing of all…email is FREE!
So next time you are planning any marketing campaign, think about how you are going to deliver that campaign to your target audience to get the best results.
by Greg Milner | Nov 9, 2010 | Marketing Superstars, The Right Mindset, The Smell of Success
IC member Clare Cockell of The Reef in Kent, UK. Excitement breeds excitement…
Yet more evidence – if any were needed – that losers whine about the economy, while winners create their own economy.
Almost every UK salon owner who applies for Membership of the Inner Circle Premium program complains bitterly about how they ‘can’t afford it because the UK economy is so bad…’
Well, don’t tell Inner Circle Premium member (4 years) Clare Cockell that. Clare, who owns The Reef in Maidstone, Kent, is living proof that there really is truth in the old saying about ‘shaking the tree and seeing what falls out…’
Read Clare’s email from last week, and watch the video below…
Hi Greg,
I hope you’re well?
Just thought I’d let you know about my recent marketing responses. We’ve just had the ‘Winter Warmer’ and a BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) early bird Christmas gift voucher day…
The Winter Warmer was sent out in an email to our database of 2500 clients (approximately 500 people opened the email), sent by post to our top 200 clients and put on our website – so far we have had 56 bookings and I’m sure there will be more as it’s available until the end of November. So far that is £2,184 that we wouldn’t have taken!
Quite a few of the bookings were also from new people, or current clients bringing friends who hadn’t visited before, and a couple even rebooked to have it again a week later! All in all very good and we will definitely repeat it next year! the team is also buzzing as it’s keeping them busy and giving them something new to do and focus on.
We advertised our buy one get one free Xmas voucher day in the local paper, again sent it to out top 200 clients, put a poster and balloons in the window, gave out approx 500 leaflets in town and sent out 2 emails to our database of clients (with approximately 500 people opening the first email, 394 opening the second with 170 people clicking through to our website to see what vouchers would be available).
On the day there was a great atmosphere! We sold approximately £9,000 worth of BOGOF vouchers online and in salon (I don’t know exact numbers as it only ended 17 hours ago and I haven’t added it all up to the exact amount yet).
We had some new customers bought vouchers, lots bought for people who have never been to us, a couple of people popped in for treatments from us being out leafleting, the salon was busy so more people stopped to look while passing or came in, and word of mouth was great (one guy came in and said I hear you’ve got buy on get one free vouchers today, I want to get some for my mums birthday in December, when he found out they weren’t valid until after Christmas he paid for 2 at full price!). Again the team loved helping organize and it kept everyone motivated and excited!
We’ve also noticed because of these two promotions that our general normal priced bookings have increased, obviously because we got people talking and our name out there again. If you want to look at the emails sent, let me know.
Thank you for the regular emails, for keeping me motivated and my mind ticking!
Have a great weekend (I know I will!)
Clare
Clare Cockell
Spa Manager
The Reef
22 Gabriels Hill
Maidstone
Kent ME15 6JG
www.thereefsalonandspa.com
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by Greg Milner | Oct 5, 2010 | New Zealand, The Smell of Success
I’m a firm believer in attitude playing a big part in the success or downfall of your business, whatever industry you are in. Winston Churchill once said “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference” and when it comes to Inner Circle member Heidi Morton of Bodyscape in Wellington, NZ, her positive, massive action taking attitude has made a world of difference to her business.
Heidi joined the Inner Circle program in the midst of a global recession (July 2009), but this didn’t stop her from growing her salon by over 40% and being so busy that she had to move to a new premises that was double the size of her previous spa!
Here’s an email I got from Heidi just yesterday….
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“After a full year of being involved in Worldwide Salon Marketing the results for our business speak for themselves. Whilst I had a good grasp of business and marketing options prior to becoming involved, Chris, Rachael and the team certainly made sure that I didn’t forget how important it is to ensure MASSIVE ACTION means MASSIVE RESULTS. I am now a firm believer in all wheels of the spoke.
Just over a year ago I had a profitable business that was making ends meet but certainly not a retirement plan. Being a busy Mum and a non beautician partner in the business I often neglected the marketing aspect of our business, focusing too much on the numbers at the other end. We had no trouble attracting and keeping clients but I knew we could do better, a lot better.
12 months later we have a brand new spa on Lambton Quay in Wellington, double the size of our previous spa, all paid for out of the increased turnover in our business. I would not have the courage to do this if I didn’t know of all the tools we could use that could generate us money.
We try everything and anything that WSM throws our way or we think can think of. Our Queen of Referrals competition run during 2010 (a version of the Queen of Referral program, but our Queens are competing for $1,000 of prizes by referring the most new clients and the most spend) has so far bought in over 200 new clients in 8 months whose first visits have spent over $10,000 let alone what they have spent after that. This doesn’t count referrals outside the Queens competition we run.
We have a monthly package deal that normally sells over 30 packages a month with add ons not discounts! We regularly do the Wellington Women’s package (our version of Hollywood women’s ? yes I like to put my own touch on everything!) and bring in 20 or so new clients when we do it. We sold over 100 of the packages on a voucher site when we ran it. 100 new clients in a day, $10,000 in a day – fantastic.
We put our karma cards on car window wipers outside the shop a free 30 minute service. The recipients of this love it and rave about how we have made their day. They refer their friends and we get more new clients. We use the yellow pages to advertise a package, not how pretty we look. Over the last 12 months we have had over 500 phone calls from our yellow pages ad (last year about 100). We display our packages everywhere , have a montly newsletter, weekly e-specials (always with add ons now not discounts). The only time I discount now is with our txt-a-deal days, whereby we may have a quiet day once in a while and then it is a discount to get them in the door today. Of course we don’t forget the basics, new client letters, raise the dead postcards, birthday vouchers, referral thank yous. These basics keep your current clients happy. Funny enough we recently moved from a $10 to a $20 birthday voucher and doubled the number we are getting back in the month, and a larger percentage of these back were clients we have not seen for a long time. At Christmas we wanted to up our retail sales so packaged together the retail products with free gift vouchers for treatments, this went down a treat. From December to February we always offer a deal for rebooking a free ad on service or product. We find if we can get the client 3 times monthly in a row then they won’t shop around elsewhere for a while.
Numbers wise, our turnover is up over 40% year on year, month on month. I have employed more staff and we are still growing. We have not gone backwards in over 15 months. I want to double over two years and we are on track for this to happen. Our staff love that they are more busy and have more $’s in their pay packets.
WSM is not an easy fix, it takes time and effort. I love the way it prompts me to think outside the square, I have some great ideas to implement in 2011 (2010’s move took up too much of my time!) and can’t wait to see what happens with my business.
By the way, this year I have had two overseas holidays, won another trip overseas (karma coming back to get me!), spent more quality time with my kids and have felt a lot happier about where I and the business is heading. However I never lose sight of the customer, our most important asset and whilst I know I can get new clients easily I still look after our current clients with quality, friendly service with value added services for them as well. They love it and complain to us if they are not getting enough deals or promotions like last month, which was our best ever and contained no promotions other than our monthly special as we were too busy all our rooms busy all the time. Now if only I could find some quality staff to expand!!”
Cheers, Heidi
by Greg Milner | Mar 25, 2010 | Marketing Superstars, New Zealand
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…..
Terra Evans, Owner of Skin Deep Face & Body, Auckland
“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!
by Greg Milner | Jan 14, 2010 | The Smell of Success
Hair Salon Flyers Template And The Salon Business – it’s not ALL about making money
I absolutely LOVE doing deals and creating value. Value = making money. After all, there’s zero point to being in business and making no profit. And I’ll happily admit that financially, this business has been very lucrative.
I often wake early, and lie there for a few minutes, thinking about business and all the wonderful benefits it’s brought me. A substantial income, for sure. Equity in an increasingly-valuable business asset, no doubt. And within the constraints of the law, almost complete freedom to do as I please, when I please. And – as far as I can ascertain – a reputation for decent human values, honesty in business, and being a straight-shooter.
Sure, there’s been grief along the way. Snot-‘n-tears here and there. Frustration, yes. (I’ve never been known for unlimited patience.) By and large though, getting into business after 25 years of mostly working for other people has been the best decision I’ve ever made. Even if I was well past 40 when I finally made it.
But I often lie there in the small hours, convinced that the very BIGGEST benefit I enjoy as a result of success is… the frequent, unsolicited, heartfelt ‘THANKS’ from salon & spa business owners all over the world.
They come from surprising places. We have salon & spa members of the Inner Circle program in all sorts of places…. the backblocks of the USA, outback Australia, little towns in Ireland, windswept southern New Zealand, and BIG cities like Tokyo, Sydney, London and New York.
But…Samoa? From this tiny speck in the Pacific Ocean, a delightful email this week from Inner Circle member Hellen Lavale, owner of Nezian Hair Design:
Samoan salon owner Hellen Levale reveals how ‘my’ style of marketing works just the same on a tiny Pacific Island as it does in London, Sydney or New York.
“Hi Greg,
Hellen here in Samoa.
Well, I have started on the Toolkit (Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit®) and it is exciting…I had to go away during the first week of Xmas to Sydney and had 2 new staff members start who had been away in other countries on training. The salon HAD TO MAKE MONEY while I was away and it did.. So I took massive action and ran a TV ad, a radio ad and sent flyers to 50 random selected PO BOX numbers (in Samoa there are no physical letter boxes…this little exercise cost 2463. tala ( approx $AUD1200).
We had awesome response with staff working 10-12 hours per day, and sold 50 packages at 99.00 tala for services worth 250.00. The best part of this was it created confidence on my part that my salon could generate cash while I was away. I have stopped them but the whole exercise has given the salon name a great exposure. Clients have been given the Happy Form (from the kit) also and our membership form which is free right now…..Staff members have been given excellent with every tick …..great for me knowing clients are happy…..
This week I have had a floor manager start our email listing so that we can send out our newsletter and our monthly offers and our birthday gift vouchers. We also start the New Clients re booking letter system as well this week.
We did a $16,400 month in December 2008 and December 2009 was almost $20,000!”
From time to time, doubters question me on whether ‘my kind of salon marketing’ would ‘work in my town/city/country’…. well, I can’t tell you. But it works in…Samoa!
