A stylist on a harley, with a frappucino in one hand......
Next time a customer walks into the salon, ask yourself, what is it that you actually do for them? Sounds obvious- colour, treatments, styling, etc- but take a step back and think about it.
Harley Davidson sell motorbikes, right? Well yes, but listen to their marketing director:
"What we ACTUALLY sell is the ability for a 43-year-old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him!"
In other words, its what's behind the product/service- the real customer experience- that counts. So what do you really sell?
Well, have you noticed your customers looking a little tired lately? A little frazzled? It wouldn't be suprising. Your customers, being British, already work the longest hours in Europe; are officially the most stressed out (cost of living, debt, health); are subjected to, on average, 3,000 advertising messages per day, and have more information (TV, magazines, internet) blasted at them in a week than a 17th century person would have consumed in a lifetime!!!!! And then they come into your Salon, and just for an hour or two, escape all that. An oasis of calm in a frenzied world. A chat, a coffee, and the supremely therepeautic experience of having someone taking care of them.
Hey, maybe that's what you provide: One of the most vauable commodities in today's world- PERSONAL SPACE.
This personal space is at the heart of the precious relationship between the stylist and the customer. At HJI we often hear suppliers complaining that hairdressers don't use this relationship to sell enough retail product. Sure, you need to commercialise it, but personal space is so rare, it requires caution. Starbucks have made personal space a big theme in their branding- pitching their coffee bars as retreats from a hectic lifestyle. Create the space and people will spend time there- if they spend time they'll spend money.
And hairdressers have one major advantage over coffee bars: You can make a 43 year-old librarian feel like Kelly Brock, and go out of your salon believing the world fancies them.
Get your motor runnin'.............
