KEY #10: Guerilla Marketing Techniques To Attract Clients Like Crazy
Thought Process: Get maximum impact with minimum resources – by design.
Important Message To All Beauty Professionals: With these Suite Success Secrets, you’ve taken a step toward becoming an independent salon owner. To be as successful as you want to be, you must begin to think differently now. You must learn to think like a salon owner.
“It’s Surprising But True! You’re in Two Businesses: The Business of Providing Your Services and
The Business of Marketing Your Services.”
What I often hear new salon owners say, and even some who have been owners for a while, is that – except from word-of-mouth and walk-ins – there aren’t any good ways to get new clients. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The most successful salons have learned what marketing steps to take and which ones to avoid. They grow their clientele without spending a lot for little return. Effective marketing doesn’t have to be aggressive, difficult or expensive. But it does require careful planning and smart use of resources–your energy, time and money.
If you’ve been following these suite secrets to salon business success, you have what you need to create powerful messages. “Guerrilla Marketing” simply means you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get results.
Guerrilla marketers focus on creative strategies that rely on their time, energy and imagination – not on a big marketing budget. The purpose of guerrilla marketing is to create unique, engaging and memorable messages that generate buzz and go viral — meaning, those who hear and see your messages share it with other potential clients.
Marketing which is unexpected and unconventional gets better results with fewer resources.
Examples of guerrilla marketing include encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, and PR stunts. Try interacting with your target market in unexpected places such as at grocery and department stores. Some salon owners have caught on to powerful, low-cost mobile marketing techniques to engage their target market.
Follow-up effectively.
Did you know that more than 80% of all sales are made on or after 7 contacts with the prospect? Yet most salon owners give up after one attempt to attract the client. Why? They don’t know how to consistently stay in touch with their prospects, referral sources and most importantly, their existing clients.
Repetition keeps you top of mind. That means, when they are ready to make an appointment, they think first and only of you.
For the greatest impact, focus your marketing efforts on keeping your existing customers rather than trying to acquire new ones. It’s a lot easier to get repeat business with someone who you have already served than to attract someone new. Your real goldmine is with your existing clients.
Action Steps:
These 5 Guerilla Marketing Tips are designed to give you maximum impact using minimum resources:
1. Qualify Your Prospects: Spend your money and time marketing to potential clients who have the financial ability to pay full price for your services. If you are wasting your efforts on people who can’t afford your services—STOP! Ask yourself, who are the people who can appreciate and afford you, and where can you find them? It takes the same amount of effort to approach qualified prospects as those who aren’t ready for what you offer.
2. Develop An “Audio Logo:” Also called an “Elevator Speech,” this 30-second self-introduction captures your future client’s interest in what you do. Instead of introducing yourself as a hairstylist, nail tech, or esthetician, explain to listeners the benefit of your product or service. Review your notes from Success Secrets 6, 7, and 8. The questions asked there will help you discover an Audio Logo that reflects the real benefits you provide your clients.
3. Use Email Signatures: Create signatures for your various products, services, offers, promotions or anything else you want to let potential clients know about. Use one of your signatures at the end of all your email correspondence. Be sure to include at least your name, salon, Audio Logo, contact information along with email and web address.
4. Put An Informative Message on Your Voice Mail: Use your Audio Logo to introduce yourself on your voice mail. This is an excellent opportunity to share your benefits and connect with your callers. Make better use of this chance to connect than saying – “Your call is very important to me…” or something ordinary and overused like that. Make it memorable – Make it stick.
5. Use Business Cards Differently: Think of these as inexpensive billboards for your salon. Of course, your salon cards should have your name, salon name and contact information, including your email and web address on them. Make sure to include the unique benefits you provide to your target market. This is known as your “Unique Selling Proposition”, your USP. The secret about business cards— they are two sided. Use the reverse side to print your Audio Logo or an irresistible offer.
For help with personalizing your cards with your message, visit our blog post on how to create compelling Business Cards.
HOLD ON!
If you’ve read this far, you’ve invested your most precious gift to these secrets, your TIME. Stop right now and pick out ONE Guerilla Tactic to do right now – is it your Audio Logo? Is it to present a special offer to your existing clients?
What separates people who succeed in life from those who just get by is the ability to take action toward a worthwhile goal: How about YOU?