Create Your Annual Marketing Calendar: You really must now quickly lock in your plans for successfully marketing your salon in the New Year. It’s time to create your annual resolutions that will really help your business grow through a strategic investment into seasonal and annual advertising, promotions and PR programs. Sit down with your staff and your professional beauty supply distributors, so you may effectively map out your plans for the next year.
Set Strategic Marketing Objectives & Goals: First, list your top 5 to 10 'Business Objectives' and then an equal number of financially based 'Goals' for the upcoming year. Here are a few examples:
Bi-Monthly Marketing Campaigns: Create an annual calendar or paper with 6 columns across the top for January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October and November/December. Then across the left hand margin write down the primary salon service categories you feature, with Hair, Skin/Spa, Nails and Retail. Create at least one to two promotions for each of your strongest and weakest service categories per year.
Think in terms of 'bi-monthly' promotions. Today, many of your clients only come into the salon about every eight weeks. Most professional beautycare manufacturers and distributors plan their seasonal specials, promotions and educational offerings on a bi-monthly basis. This truly is the most effective way to successfully market your salon with seasonal promotions. Start to chart a course of marketing, advertising, PR and promotional actions for the next 12 months. If haircolor, hair extensions or any special service is critically important to you, then plan to promote each one at least twice or three times per year. Create a secondary set of notes to include your planned marketing budget investments for each bi-monthly promotion. Note any planned special advertisements, events, printed materials and point-of-purchase merchandising.
Start to show your clients and staff the path to success, by creating an annual marketing strategy, rather than by working one day at a time. You will ea new respect, credibility, namebrand awareness and success that everyone will enjoy!
Promotional Strategies: You can certainly promote salon services, products and special beautycare trends at full price. Promoting any salon or spa service does not mean that you need to offer dramatic discounts. You really just need to first determine what services you and your team will focus your energies on. You can certainly offer special incentives, discounts, packages, retail gifts with services and purchase with purchase options to your clients. Your entire staff needs to be educated that if you do offer discounts to increase sales volume, to introduce new services or to promote your business, it is their responsibility to share in the financial responsibilities. If needed, they should experience each service before the promotions, so they can all talk about them with first-hand knowledge. Together, you will be investing in marketing, advertising and printing to help build your full salon and day spa business as well as their individual business potential.
Editorial Note: Larry H. Oskin is president of Marketing Solutions, Inc., a full-service marketing, advertising, graphic design and PR agency specializing in the professional beauty industry. Clients include salons, spas, medical spas, associations, distributors and manufacturers from across North America. Headquartered in Fairfax, VA. For more information call 703-359-6000, Email mailto:LOskin@MktgSols.com or visit www.MktgSols.com
Comments (1) 
Print this Article
Email to Friend
