When the owners of a funky hair salon in Melbourne decided it was time to move to larger premises with more passing foot traffic, they knew they had to grow their existing strong and loyal client base first.
The following low cost small business marketing ideas were developed after analysing their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), and helped get them on their way. Might similar strategies work in your business?
Re-connect with lapsed clients
As the salon had a CRM database, it was easy to identify clients who hadn’t visited the salon for over six months and create an email campaign offering them an incentive (a free hair treatment) to make an appointment. This campaign also created an opportunity to introduce these clients to a new senior hairdresser on the team.
The emails were personalised with the first name of the recipient and date of their last visit, and resulted in several new appointments from lapsed clients.
Promote business to local residents
A direct mail flyer was distributed to several hundred households within walking distance of the salon, and included a special offer that was only valid for hairdressing appointments with a junior (apprentice) team member.
This campaign resulted in several new clients making appointments. These sales were incremental to the existing business, as the apprentice had not previously been handling her own clients. She now works with a small, but growing, group of regulars and will no doubt be the recipient of word of mouth referrals as time goes by.
Develop gift with purchase strategy
The salon sells premium hair care products, and over several months the team collected a number of offers and sample packs from their suppliers. These were packaged together in bundles worth approximately $40, and offered to clients as a free gift when two or more retail products were purchased. Again, this strategy resulted in new and incremental sales.
Make client appointments in advance
The owner of the salon was approaching maternity leave, and was concerned that her loyal clients would find a new hairdresser while she was away from the business.
To reduce this risk, a concerted effort was made to encourage clients to book their next appointments in advance. Additionally, the CRM system allowed the team to phone all existing clients who hadn’t re-booked and incentivise them to make appointments over the following 2-3 months.
Switch on some free Google tools
The salon had a website, but had never reviewed or tracked its traffic or analysed which keywords were sending it visitors.
While they didn’t have the budget to completely overhaul their web presence immediately, they were able to make use of Google Analytics and Google Places (previously known as the Google Local Business Centre). These free services are now providing them with valuable information that will help drive future growth strategies and the Local Business Centre is also putting the salon in front of potential clients on a regular basis.
The combined results of all these small business marketing ideas have put the salon in a good position for its upcoming expansion, but none of these campaigns were very expensive. It just goes to show that you don’t need to have a big advertising budget to market effectively!
We’re always on the lookout for low-cost marketing ideas. What works for you?
“ When the owners of a funky hair salon in Melbourne decided it was time to move to larger premises with more passing foot traffic, they knew they had to grow their existing strong and loyal client base first. ”
Jo Macdermott from Next Marketing works with Business Owners in Melbourne who require ongoing Marketing support. If you are a Business Owner with a Marketing budget who is too busy to ‘get around to marketing’ then Jo Macdermott is here to help. Jo specialises in tactical Marketing plans that are pragmatic and make a lot of business sense.
