THOUGHT PROCESS:
Have you ever wondered why your marketing and advertising works better with one group of clients than another? There are currently six generations, each with distinct preferences and general behavioral tendencies living side by side.
 
ACTION STEPS:
Gain a better understanding of how generations are defined in order to improve client attraction among your desired target audience.
 
1. The Greatest Generation
 
Also known as the G.I. Generation, born between 1901 and 1926, its members lived through World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, two Gulf Wars. This generation saw the world change from one where women couldn’t vote to one where a woman may become president, from one without household electronics to one where technology dominates the daily landscape.
 
When marketing your Salon Suite's service to members of The Greatest Generation, appeal to their can-do and can-make-do attitudes. Stress practicality and value and help them take advantage of the low price-maximum value options. This is an extremely civic-minded generation, so talk about the ways your Salon Suite participates within the local community.
 
2. Mature (or Silent) Generation
 
Sometimes grouped together with The Greatest Generation, members of this generation were born between 1927 and 1945. They experienced the Great Depression as very young children and were adolescents during World War II. Mature/Silents tend to be “lifers" who spent their whole life married to the same person and their whole careers working at one company. This was the first generation for whom retirement income became a reward for doing so.
 
As a result of being more financially able than previous generations, Matures/Silents tend to be less cost and value-conscious than their older counterparts. They spend more than preceding generations but they are also disciplined and self-sacrificing, so you may need to persuade them it’s ok to indulge once in a while.  Although members of this generation tend to be loyal, don’t take their loyalty for granted.
 
3. Baby Boomers
 
Much has been written about the spending power of Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 beginning just after World War II. Members of this generation saw – and drove – social change in society. They were the first generation to grow up with TV and members of this generation pioneered computer and modern technology development.
 
This is the first generation for which retirement meant freedom and the ability to do more, not less. When marketing to this generation, appeal to their belief that age is just a number, and that they can remain vibrant and youthful at any age. Though they launched the digital age, mastering new technology still presents a learning curve, so its members may prefer to book appointments by phone and shop in person rather than online.
 
4. Generation X
 
Born between 1965 and 1980, members of this generation were the first whose “normal” was a household with two working parents, so much so that they are also referred to as “latch-key kids.” Members of Generation X are more individualistic and entrepreneurial than preceding generations. While they don’t have the same reputation for job-hopping as those in younger generations who personify the gig economy, members of this generation average 7 career changes during their professional careers. They are comfortable with (or without) technology, since for many the digital age emerged after they were already in their teens or twenties.
 
Members of Generation X are still working; in fact, many are just beginning to come into their prime in the workplace. In your marketing, show this generation how your Salon Suite’s services can help them look and feel their best. If Baby Boomers started the idea that money is power, Generation X perfected it. Loyalty with this generation must be earned and nurtured.
 
Appeal to their independent nature and help them cultivate looks that can become uniquely theirs. Less constrained by social norms than preceding generations, don’t assume that they won’t be open to experimentation or even extremes when it comes to hair and makeup.
 
5. Millennials (or Generation Y)
 
Millennials, it seems, are everywhere. Born between 1981 and the year 2000, they are quickly becoming the largest generation of working Americans. Perhaps due to their activity-heavy upbringing, Millennials tend to schedule everything. They take school very seriously, however, when it comes to the workplace, many see work as a means to an end (vs. previous generations whose career moves were the end-goal). Many Millennials have struggled to find work after college in the jobless recovery while others have made “best under 40” lists, launched businesses and amassed millions when those companies were acquired. Viewing work as the means to enjoy their home and social lives, this generation loves the “gig economy” which allows them to work for a while, travel for a while, work for a while again, and so on.
 
The Millennial’s world is seamless. Technology allows them to be virtually anywhere, at any time, with anyone. Appeal to their need for schedule control by pre-booking them 6 or even 12 months at a time with a standing Salon Suite appointment block. This generation is extremely concerned with building savings and retirement for the future, so its members are likely to be more price and value conscious than those of Gen X; Millennials want great hair and makeup looks, but they want those looks to fit within their budgets.
Pay attention to their social media updates and propose looks, products and tools that can help them prepare for their next work, travel or family “gig.” Be prepared to interact with them across multiple devices (and especially via mobile devices) and channels (email, text, social media, etc.) according to their individual preferences.
 
6. Generation Z (or Boomlets)
 
Members of Generation Z were born after 2001 and as such represent the children of your Generation X and (older) Millennials. This generation will be the most multi-cultural ever. They don’t remember a time when “everyone” didn’t have a mobile device. They are vocal and their preferences and ideas influence their parents in ways that children of preceding generations wouldn’t have imagined.
 
Generation Z might not be on your horizon yet, but it’s a market worth understanding since they will be entering their college and professional years very soon. They’ve been immersed in technology and exposed to more ads and brand messages than youth in any preceding generation. Millennials by and large say they don’t trust (or respond to) traditional advertising, expect this to be even more true for Boomlets.
 
By understanding the general characteristics that may motivate and drive client behavior you can better tailor your Salon Suite’s marketing, especially as it pertains to those who fit within your ideal client type or buyer personas. 

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​THOUGHT PROCESS:
Word of mouth and online search are the two primary conduits for new client attraction.
 
ACTION STEPS:
Improve your knowledge of basic search-optimization and update your website and social media pages to attract new clients who want to find a salon online.
 
Along with word of mouth referrals, getting found in online search tops the list of the most common ways people discover local hairdressers and salons. Here are five things you can do if you can make it more likely that your web pages and social profiles will come up first when local consumers want to find a salon online. 
 
The debate is long over. When people want to find just about any type of local business, they search for options online. Even when a friend or colleague makes a personal recommendation, they go online to look for reviews, find out more about the salon, products carried, pricing, services and get contact information.
 
The only real question is: If people who live near you search to find a salon online, how can you make sure they find your services there?
 
1. Update your web pages.
 
You’ve probably heard about SEO (search engine optimization) before and maybe you’ve even been told that your website needed to be optimized for search. It might sound technical, but many SEO tactics come down to making sure your website actually includes the keywords and phrases that “real people” would be likely to use when they search online for a salon. 
 
In other words, if someone were going to search for a salon like yours online, they might type in a phrase like “best salons in (your city).”  So if you include the same phrase on one of your website’s pages or blog articles, you’ve just increased the chance that your salon will pop up first when someone tries to find a salon online using that key phrase. Salon website optimization should be done with the same guidelines that pertain to what is referred to as local search optimization. When you update your web pages based on local SEO, you make it more likely they’ll be found when someone tries to find a salon online in your city or neighborhood.
 
2. Update your social media profile.
 
 Don’t skip when it comes to setting up your social media profiles – you know, that “About” tab? It’s another place where you can use the same key phrases that people in your city would use if they were looking for a salon like yours.
 
3. Use social media updates.
 
You can also use keywords people would use to find a salon online in your social media status updates. When you do, your salon’s updates can show up right alongside web pages in online search results. Plus, when web traffic goes from your status updates to your web pages, it tells Google that your salon should rank higher in search results than other sites that have the same keywords. This is what’s known as “social proof,” and it’s one of the things search engines use to determine which web pages to show in search results.
 
4. Submit local listings.
 
If you join a local Chamber of Commerce, business owner networking group or some other local organization, your salon will often get a listing in their directory. These local listings give your website another SEO boost, because search engines see a backlink to your web pages from a site that is trusted and relevant (like a Chamber of Commerce business directory).
 
5. Get online reviews.
 
Getting more online reviews should be a top priority for every hairdresser and salon owner. Online reviews are one of the most powerful word of mouth referral engines and they are trusted just as much as personal recommendations by most consumers. In fact, star rating is the number one factor consumers use to judge a business (brightlocal.com) and only about half say they would try a business that only had 3 (out of 5) stars or less.
 
Generating client reviews should be a top priority for your salon. In addition, make sure you monitor your brand’s reputation on review sites and respond immediately, with a goal of making things right, if you find that someone has left a negative review about your salon online.
 
People who live in your city or work in your neighborhood will search for a salon online, even if only to get more information about a personal recommendation. If you do these five things, your salon will get found in more online searches, leading to better client attraction and salon brand awareness. 

​THOUGHT PROCESS:
Sole proprietors and single-employee business owners are often referred to as solo-preneurs. Salon suite owners are the ultimate solo-pros with years of education, incredible skills and a business owner mindset together into one potential-packed package.

To reach this potential, salon suite members need to own the responsibility of marketing their business effectively, and these are the ten salon marketing tactics every beauty industry solo-PRO-neur needs to understand.

ACTION STEPS:
Ensure that these 10 core salon marketing tactics are part of your overall marketing plan. 

 1. Point of Difference

Unless you’re the only stylist in a 30-mile radius, you have competitors. Your brand’s point of difference is the one thing that your client’s can’t get in any other salon experience.  If you don’t have a point of difference, which could be something unique to your salon’s menu, client experience or some other facet of your business, clients may view it as a commodity.  

 2. Owned Digital Real Estate

Many salon owners forego website development, thinking that social networks give them sufficient web presence. Without some type of owned digital real estate you lack the type of web content that is needed to help your salon get found in online search. Examples of owned digital real estate include business web sites as well as My Salon Suite and Salon Plaza’s member pages.  

 3. Social Media

Effective social media marketing is more than having a Facebook page or Instagram account and posting now and then. Like every other marketing channel, your social networking will only be as effective in so much as you develop a strategy, optimize your pages for each network’s best practices, systematically post updates to engage your target market, get your clients to like, comment and share your updates, and add local followers.  

 4. Email  

Dollar for dollar, email is listed as the best marketing for return on investment. Email marketing can help you in many ways, including client attraction, engagement, retention, referrals, reviews, events and more. Your return on investment will depend on your ability to build a contact list that includes clients and prospective clients, which in turn will depend on the value contained in your email newsletters and offers.  

In addition, it’s worth noting that owned digital real estate, social media and email marketing all give you the ability to teach clients about the retail products you sell in your salon. Using these marketing channels to educate clients and create intrigue in retail products, add-ons and introduce new services and products can be invaluable, giving you the ability to pre-sell these items without ever “selling” anything.  

 5. Appointment Confirmation

No one needs to tell you this: You can only sell your time once. Every no-show is a working hour of lost revenue (or more) that can never be recovered. Reminders and appointment confirmation texts and emails are your last line of defense against missed appointments and lost revenue.  

 6. In-Salon Visuals

By the time a client sits in your chair they may have already visited your website, followed you on social media and received email communications that contained information about your salon’s current promotions, popular add-ons and retail products. Use in-salon visuals to continue the client’s buying journey and put the spotlight on the products and services you want them to choose using signage at the point of entry, in shelf and mirror talkers and at the point of sale.  

 7. Reviews

Thanks to technology and Wi-Fi, you don’t have to wait and hope that your client goes on their way and remembers to leave a review for your salon on Yelp, Facebook, your website or some other platform. Before your happy client even leaves the salon, you can invite them to leave a review for your business online and place an iPad in their hands to do so. If you prefer, you can email them at the end of the day with a thank you message and an invitation to leave a review for your business online along with a link that takes them right to the review site.  

 8. Retention

Rebooking is one of the most powerful retention strategies, and should be a priority for every salon suite owner. A rebooked client has no need to panic (and find another salon) when five weeks have passed and their hair color is fading, their precision cut isn’t falling quite right or the length of their fringe is out of control, only to call and find out that you’re booked solid.  

While rebooking should be at the core of your salon’s retention strategy, it should be accompanied by additional tactics which might include rewards, thank you notes and emails, events, social media engagement, email newsletters and other marketing touchpoints which remind them why they want to do business with you over anyone else.  

 9. Referrals  

Nothing is a more powerful referral engine than a happy client who tells their friends, colleagues and loved ones about your salon. Whether you incentivize word of mouth referrals with some type of reward or simply actively invite your clients to refer people to your salon, make sure that you are actively soliciting word of mouth referrals.  

 10. Goals and Measures
​
“What gets measured gets done.” Each of the salon marketing tactics you put to work to grow your book of business should have corresponding goals and measures. Setting specific goals and deciding which tactics you will use to meet them is a great way to take your marketing from “hope” to purposeful action!  
​
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 Are You Making These 8 Deadly Marketing Mistakes?

THOUGHT PROCESS: 
If you're not earning the revenues you want - If you see too few clients in a week -
If your average sale hasn't increased in a while - If you're not generating enough referrals...
It's probably because you're making one or more of these "8 Deadly Marketing Mistakes":
 

1. Not having a clear mission statement
2. Not knowing your USP
3. Having anything less than a 100% client perspective
4. Not understanding the lifetime value of a client
5. Not focusing your marketing on a target audience
6. Not testing different approaches
7. Failing to offer additional services and products
8. Not developing any business alliances

 
Think a minute. Every future client of yours has someone else doing their hair right now. A marketing crusade is an all-out effort to convert your preferred prospects to choose you. You can launch a marketing crusade that changes everything - more referrals, more sales, more clients, and more revenues!
 
Let's flip these 8 Deadly Mistakes around and give you a brief explanation of WHAT TO DO, with live links to a fuller explanation, in our fresh-off-the-press -

"Salon Owner's Guide To 8 Little-Known Marketing Secrets That Work"

1. Have a clear mission statement for your salon. 
As a salon owner or independent stylist, you must know the WHY for your business - are you in the business of creating that smart professional look? Of repairing damaged hair? Of empowering clients to take control of the beauty of their own hair?
 
What will clients ACHIEVE by coming to you? With the right mission statement, you can constantly, daily, moment-by-moment measure all of your activities according to the mission of your salon - your reason for being.
 
If you haven't written down your clear mission statement, stop now and craft one for your business. What are you REALLY GOOD at? Start by listing the actual benefits your clients receive. Compare these benefits to your mission - they should be the same.
 
2. Know your USP 
Your Unique Selling Promise is that one distinctly appealing difference that sets you apart from every other salon professional. What positive qualities distinguish you from all others?
 
Once you know your unique difference - you must use it. Communicate it in all of your printed materials, on your blog and Facebook page, and with each and every contact with your clients.
 
If you need extra help finding what sets you apart from all the rest, check out how to craft your own powerful Unique Selling Promise.
 
3. Have a 100% client perspective 
Instead of focusing on personal needs or making money, continually think of  what you can do for your clients. What benefits and advantages can you pile onto your service to make it irresistible?
 
In a service business, you’ll spend less time taking on more and more new clients if you simply treat existing ones as if they mean everything, because THEY DO! Treat them all as VIPs and they'll build your business for you.
 
Take out a piece of paper and write down the words, "I can offer my clients more of..."
"I can offer my clients less of..." "I can offer my clients better..." "I can offer my clients greater..."
Make a list of anything you can think of to offer your clients.
 
Your clients only come in your door one at a time. Each thinks of him or herself as a special individual, and you should too.
 
4. Know the lifetime value of your clients
One of the worst mistakes you could make is letting clients come and go without thought as to how valuable they really are to the future security of your business. The answer to that question is called the "lifetime value" of your client.
 
You need to know that number!
 
How many times does your typical client come in a month? In a year? How long do they stay with you? How much do they typically spend when they come in? How often do they refer you? If you don't figure out these numbers, you really aren't in business because you won't know how to value your assets. Your business might have cash flow, but it could be fleeting and short term.
 
Also, you won't know how much you can spend in time and money to acquire a new client or to build a loyal client base. Not all of your resources need to be spent on acquiring customers - What can you do to build relationships and show appreciation to your current clients?
 
That way, they'll keep coming back!
 
5. Focus your marketing on specific audiences 
Who are your best clients, and where you can find more of them? Put your marketing resources there. In other words, you must have a clear understanding of who you want to attract, and go after them.
 
It may be specific neighborhoods, businesses, interests, your church or other affiliations. Consider another group of purchasers similar to yours, such as people getting married or with specific health issues that impact their hair.
 
Remember, you can SERVE anyone. You spend your money and time MARKETING to those who are most likely to want, need, and value your services, and have the ability to pay your fees.
 
6. Test different approaches to fine-tune your message 
Let's say you tried sending out postcards once and it failed. Does that mean postcards don't work? Of course not. Sending messages by mail work for a lot of salons.
 
Many business owners try something once, and if it doesn't work, they quit. This is unfortunate. If you only tried to drive a car once, you'd never learn to drive!
Each experience informs the next one. It's a learning curve, as in any activity or sport.
Test everything you do. Try different headlines, messages, offers and incentives. How about adding a guarantee? Test everything, one change at a time. (Otherwise, you'll never know for sure WHICH change caused the improvement!)
 
7. Offer additional services and products to your clients 
This is called "up-selling." You've spent your time, money, energy, and passion getting your salon career off the ground. Is that all there is?
 
Ask yourself, what additional client needs can you meet? How will they keep their look just right in between appointments? Do they want a deep moisturizer while sitting in your chair?
 
If you only make one sale per client, you'll have a tremendously tough road ahead. If you're always going after the first sale, you're going to be continually working to overcome the hardest thing in business - gaining a new client.
 
8. Develop business avatars
Want more referrals? The fastest way is to build alliances with local businesses and turn them into your Avatars!
 
An Avatar is someone who knows and influences many others. Trusted experts in their field, their contacts consistently ask them to recommend providers of services they seek.
 
An Avatar isn’t necessarily your client, but someone your prospects respect and trust. These well-connected members of your local community can increase your clientele in a matter of a few conversations. Your business Avatars will change your future, if you develop them.
 
Avatars help you create your "Suite Success".