Top tips on launching a marketing campaign
Published
11th Dec 2014
by bathamm
Shaun Nicholas, director of Maximum FX, winner of the Marketing Award in HJ’s British Hairdressing Business Awards offers his top six tips on launching a marketing campaign.
1 You have to start with your business and figure out what your business objectives are - you may have huge growth ambitions and want to bring in more staff and more customers quickly, on the other hand you may want to keep your salon size the same but iron out any peaks and troughs in income over certain months of the year or days of the week; you may see business opportunities in offering additional services or branching into new areas. If you don't have clear objectives you are likely to invest in the wrong type of marketing activity and you won’t get the results you need.
2 Think about your customers - what they like and don't like, where they live, what they spend their money on, what their interests are. Also think about who you want to attract to your salon. There is no point investing in local publications if your customers are spread over a wide geographical area for example. Similarly you don't want to invest in marketing to a female audience if what you really need is more male customers.
3 Stop and look at your salon and your brand - does it truly reflect who you are and will it allow you to attract the right customers to meet your business objectives.
4 Do some research into the competition - are your prices competitive, do they offer extras that you don't, is there something about them that makes them more appealing to your target market? Don't just copy what they do but think about what would make your salon more attractive to a potential customer.
5 Once you know what your business is trying to achieve, what your customers want, what your brand says to them and what your competitors are up to then, and only then, should you start investing in a marketing campaign.
6 Be creative in your thinking - too many salons fall for easy marketing campaigns offering things like money off vouchers or are seduced by local magazine sales people. At Maximum FX our approach was completely different - our marketing budget was next to nothing but our business results have been incredible.
