Category: Salon Business

Seven ways to fill your schedule

On March 24, 2017

In Articles, Beauty Salon, Business, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Salon Business, Salon Marketing, Spa, Spa Marketing, Wellness

By Chris Parker

If your appointment schedule is full for the next three years and you have no plans to expand to more branches or more stations in your salon and you are happy with your current turnover then the following information will not be that useful to you.

However, if you still have space in your appointment book that you would like to fill then perhaps some of these tips may come in handy.

Book their next appointment before they leave

This practice is nothing new but very often is not used. When a client walks out make sure it is with some sort of retention plan in place. Try and not ask a closed end question like “Would you like to book your next appointment?” to which a client can simply answer no and close down the discussion. Rather ask “When would you like to book your next appointment for?” If the client says they will get hold of you when ready then ask if its ok for you to send them a follow up reminder, just keep the door open.

Remind them of their appointments

A client who does not show up for their appointment means empty slots that will be harder to fill on the day. Two SMS notifications should go out, one when their appointment is first made that confirms the fact that you have in fact scheduled them and secondly a reminder the day before. Ideally this should be automated so that its not up to staff members to remember to do it.

Work harder to find an opening

If you are fully booked don’t let the conversation end there. If it’s a new client then work hard to make a plan because the cost of acquiring new clients is very high and may be worth your while to offer an incentive to come at a different time. If it is a regular client then work just as hard to make a plan as regulars are your bread and butter throughout the year. Encourage staff members to check a clients profile while they are on the phone to give them a sense that they know the client and make them feel important to the salon. If you are anticipating a busy time ahead and perhaps a lot of tourists then a good practise would be to send out an SMS to your regulars to encourage them to book early to avoid disappointment during busy times.

Find out what their goals are

The consultation with your clients is the focus area here. Finding out what their desired outcomes and goals are regarding their hair implies a journey rather than a once off stop. A journey implies future visits and the question “What are we doing today?” starts to feel a little bit out of place because it has no greater context and it’s almost like you are surprised they came back to see you for another haircut.

Flag first time visitors

Take special note of first time visitors. These are your most expensive to acquire and so you want to make especially sure that they come back again. All of the other points in this article are especially true for first time visitors and you want to get some sort of sense of how many first time visitors you are retaining.

Give them a chance to complain

I recall getting my car serviced recently. When I collected the car I asked the service advisor if all the headlight bulbs had been checked as I recalled that one was faulty. He advised that it is a standard check and that they were all fine. I asked him to double check as I was sure there was a problem. A technician from the workshop re-assured him that the bulbs had been checked and were all fine. However, we all went over to my car to check and it was confirmed that there was actually a problem with one of my bulbs. The concern for me was, if such a simple problem had been overlooked what else had they missed. Nevertheless the service advisor was very apologetic and advised me they would order the bulb and call me to bring the car back when the bulb arrived. I left without kicking up much of a fuss.

A few days later I received a machine generated follow up SMS to find out if I was happy with the service received. At that point, when I was not face to face with the service advisor I felt the need to say something, and I did. I then received a follow up call to further understand my dissatisfaction and take further measures.

Now, the point here is that they found out about two things, one the fact that poor service had been offered, which they could address internally and two, that I was actually an unhappy client even though I didn’t say anything at first.

It takes very little to get a follow up SMS going out to your clients each day and in most cases your clients will not respond to them if they were happy. However, if they were unhappy it gives them a safe way to complain and gives you an opportunity to save a client. 25 cents for an SMS versus the cost of losing a client..? It seems like a no-brainer to me.

And one more thing … if a client complains then give them something as an incentive to come back. Start with a “sorry” but finish with something enticing like a freebie or a discount of some sort. Nothing tells them you actually mean it like when you put your money where your mouth is.

Contact them if they don’t come back

Follow up with clients who do not come back to your salon. Your methods should be slightly different for different types of clients. For example, in one process you want to know of any of your top spending clients who have not come back and then follow with them with one particular message. Then, in another process you want to know which of your first-time visitors have not been back and then follow with a different message. Then for the general population of your clients who have not been back you may follow up with a more generic bulk message.

Conclusion

A full appointment book is not the only way to generate revenue but it plays a large roll and very often we have more control over this than we think. Some of the requirements can be automated with technology but others rely on the efforts of your staff members. Therefore it is critical that your staff are trained on what is required of them in order to play a deliberate roll in your salons successful retention of clients.

What makes me SO special? THE DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY

By Karl

On November 14, 2016

In Articles, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Salon Business, Salon Marketing

By Rina Mc Kellar for SA Hairdressers Journal
It is a really simple question…. and the answer should be just as simple. It should roll off the tongue. It should be second nature. It should be easy. But it’s often one that causes most of us to stop dead in our tracks. It’s a question that makes many squirm on both a personal and professional level. On an individual level this type of conversation is reserved mainly for interviews at boardroom tables or perhaps flirted with on a first date. But more than that, I doubt it gets much more airtime.

In the business world it should be a much more comfortable topic. Surprisingly it often isn’t. For many a business owner it only leads to ummn’s and aah’s or perhaps a spout of clichéd slogans like “because we are fantastic” or “we deliver the best service”. But is this really enough? Is this kind of answer enough to set your business apart from the many other salons out there?

The deeper question is: What makes you unique? What makes you different to your competitor? What puts you in your own league? What sets you apart? And how would your answer differ from that of everyone else?

One of the most common differentiation strategies used in the retail industry is PRICE. An easy example to illustrate this and where It is clear to see is in our country’s home furnishing or decor industry – in years gone by, this segment was earmarked only for the rich. Cheaper furniture brands existed but certainly not with the same design flair as for the upper echelons of society. Enter companies like Mr Price Home in the late nineties and suddenly this sector saw an explosion and a big-bang-boom. Interior design was no longer just for the opulent. Beautiful contemporary products were made affordable through a strong differentiation strategy: price. Suddenly everyone had access to a previously elite offering at affordable prices. Other brands evolved and today there is no shortage of pretty linens, funky desks and quirky prints at any price level. Pricing formed a part of their marketing ethos and is an integral part of their brand. Mr Price is so unashamedly proud of this differentiation pillar that it is gloriously displayed in their name. CLEVER. Very Clever.

Obviously with each strategy, there are pros and cons. For example, lower pricing is almost always associated with poorer quality, so brands have had to factor how to turn this to their advantage. So words like “low cost” creep in instead of “cheap” to make it more palatable and marketable and less crass; think low cost housing, low cost airlines etc. There is now an entire category of “low cost” anythings. And yet, while everyone is always looking for a good deal, if something is too cheap, a great deal of scepticism usually lurks not far behind. The old adage “you get what you pay for” has been doing the rounds for decades and will continue long into the future. There is still a deep ingrained belief that marries expensive with supreme quality, service and delivery.

Another downside is that cheaper pricing is also not always defendable. There will always be a competitor willing to do it for less. Lower pricing is therefore not the only differentiation pillar to build an entire strategy on. It can indeed form part of a formular, but it cannot be the sole distinction factor. It is too easily attacked and a good strategy should be able to stand through many a storm.

While a pricing strategy may not be completely common to the hair industry in this country, it does highlight the clear distinction between retailers operating in the same area. And perhaps this clarity of a separate industry can be applied. Saying that however, it is also very clear that with brands like Supercuts in the UK there is room for everyone at the table and their differentiation through price is neatly and appetizingly defined as “no frills”. Posters in shop windows display apt slogans like “on trend on budget”. They are defining their difference and owning their space.

The truth is if you asked the custodians of brands like Mr Price or Supercuts about what makes them special or different, they will know without a doubt. They operate this ethos throughout their branches and divisions. It is core to their brand. It’s what sets them apart. It’s what makes them special and different. They will not ummn and aah. They know their answer.
So…. What makes YOU different?

For many creatives (and not just those involved with hair) their answer quite simply lies in their own individual creativity and uniqueness and personality. But here is the conundrum: how does that creativity get translated into solid business practices and marketing activities. How does it become a business pillar or ethos?

For the above mentioned brands the differentiation chosen is not merely to be different, it is how they operate. It becomes ingrained in business practice. It is how they market themselves and how they communicate their offering. It forms part of advertising campaigns. It forms part of their day to day lives.

The real challenge is to build your business on more than just the differentiation of only your creativity and artistic style. Like with pricing, we saw it is not the only thing. So what else can you do that sets you apart and that gives you a guaranteed place at the table for the long run?

Perhaps take some time to jot down a few ideas that make you different. Think about the things that makes your brand/ your salon stand out and what makes it successful. But then answer the following questions:

1. Is it defendable? i.e. can it be easily copied? e.g. a new service offering like head massages
2. Is it dependable? i.e. Are you reliant on ONE thing or ONE person?
3. Is it sustainable? i.e. Is it a winning formula that can still be around in 20 years?

It may not all fall into place at the right time, but for majority of business owners the answers are in their heads. They intrinsically know but aren’t able to articulate it succinctly. Once you’ve grappled with a few ideas and come to some acceptable solutions ask yourself the following questions:

1. How does your differentiation form part of your business and marketing strategy?
2. How does it help you get new clients or retain your old ones?
3. How does it help to grow your business?
4. How do you use your difference to get ahead of your competitor?

It’s one thing knowing your difference and your uniqueness but it is another to use it to propel your business to the next level.

Looking at all of these things in isolation can be daunting, but think about it like puzzle pieces. Nice big puzzle pieces or building blocks that come together to form a picture. In this series on marketing we will look at those different pieces and how putting them together can help formulate your marketing and business picture or strategy so that you can set objectives, achieve your goals and be what you dreamt of being when you first started out. Here’s to unlocking the magic of marketing.

The difference between Strategy, Tactics and Magic Bullets

By Karl

On November 14, 2016

In Articles, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Salon Business, Salon Marketing

By Rina Mc Kellar for SA Hairdressers Journal
The mighty Holy Grail – for centuries people have searched and yearned and even killed for it. Legend claims it to be the chalice used at the last supper, but we all know this is far more than just a mere golden goblet. Its contents are believed to be magical, mythical … even super natural and the very elixir of life is said to be contained within.

Today’s Holy Grail seems to have morphed into many shapes and forms. Each person has their own interpretation and their own secret desires – some for potions, concoctions and magical methods. Some for eternal youth, fame, fortune and deep abundant happiness. Whatever. Everybody is looking. Everybody is searching for something (some even for Sugarman).

And business is no different. Every CEO, every director and owner is wishing for that winning formula or magic bullet that will take their business to the promised land of success. We can all relate. We’ve all been sold or told something that was going to deliver unbeatable unbelievable results and yet more often than not there was nothing more than disappointment and disillusionment. We have all been suckers for someone else’s promises at one point. More often than not however, we’ve just been suckers of our own high hopes and unrealistic expectations. Don’t get me wrong please, I strongly believe in the mythical and the magical. I also just believe in a little bit of planning, preparation and structure. After all, that magical mythical grail was still just a beautiful cup of gold that someone had to design and mould and form. Someone planned and someone spent hours making and casting it. Until it ended up at the infamous table, it was however just a chalice. But put that chalice on the right table with the right people with the right wine and voila …. MAGIC happened.

Strategy really is no different. For many this is a daunting word. “oh it is too complicated” they cry. And, defining a marketing strategy is a rarity for many a small business. But strategy is no more than planning and designing what your “vessel” is to become and allowing the opportunity for the magic to occur. It is you designing your cup. What would you like your cup to look like? Will it be a chalice, a shot glass or a chunky mug? There is no right or wrong. It’s about defining who you are and what you’d like to do and be in the world.

If strategy is the vessel design, then think of tactics as the many things that can be held in that cup – tea, soda, vodka or even bleach, it can contain any one of the million forms of liquids out there. For marketing this translates into things like an ad in a magazine or a newsletter or a brochure or a website or the million other promotional-type options out there. And here is often where it gets confusing. What liquid belongs in my cup and when and why!

A campaign strategy is no more than marrying the right vessel to the right liquid at the right time. We like tea in cups and brandy in snifters. Yes, we can mix and match when desperate, but nothing comes close to that magical moment of sipping ice-cold Veuve Clicquot from a tall crystal stemmed flute. It’s just not the same in a polystyrene cup! Find your vessel and fill it with the right liquid and the magic will unfold.

There are endless definitions of marketing and a quick google search will spit out impressive sounding phrases like “the science and art of exploring, creating and delivering value….” blah blah. And yet, my favourite and most basic version is simply this: Marketing is getting more people to buy/use more stuff. BAM. DONE.

In essence there really are only two streams to increase your business and they both relate to the above. 1) get more feet through your door or 2) get the same feet to come in more often. All campaign strategies will boil down to one of the above or a combination thereof. It is important however to separate them because each will require a different set of tactics. They are different looking cups. Sometimes you can kill two birds with one stone, but it is important that you have a clear map in your head of how it all relates. So, decide which you’d like to focus on. There is an endless amount of expensive very enticing tactics out there and an army of agents ready to sell you the magic of their service. But until your tactic has a cup or a vessel to fall into you’ll just be pouring it on the ground and breeding more room for disappointment. Before you embark on any marketing tactic it is critical you get the right container in place.

Try thinking about what you’d like to achieve? And how does your tactic help you achieve that? Get specific by setting a business target. Choose one of the categories above as a starter. Perhaps you want to embark on a drive to attract new business. So set something specific like “I want to get 25 new clients per month over the next 3 months”. It is important you give yourself something that you can do a check list against to see if you have achieved your goal. Perhaps you’d like to set a revenue target or a retail target. It doesn’t really matter what you set but make sure that it is done with the SMART approach.

S – specific. M – measurable. A – attainable. R – realistic. T – time based.

After you’ve decided your goal, think about what tactics you need to do to make this work. So let’s flesh out the new clients’ objective. There are endless marketing tactics you could explore to achieve this. You could draw on anything ranging from a referral campaign to a discounted introductory offer to flyer drops in your neighbourhood to an emailer and countless other ideas. It could be all of the above and more. The idea however would be to evaluate each from a cost and relevancy point of view and see what potential they could deliver. You may have valuable resources at your disposal that cost little to extract extra value from e.g. a strong loyal client base you could tap into by offering a referral incentive or you could have access to a designer who could help you with banners for your store entrance or develop a simple classy flyer to distribute in the mall. You may even try something daring and creative like show casing your work just outside your salon. In isolation or as one offs there is a greater risk of it not working. It’s too much of a shot in the dark. Occasionally you get lucky, but it’s more like logs on a fire -together as a targeted and timed approach, the momentum builds and the magic begins to burn. It is important to keep records of what works and what didn’t. Don’t be hasty. Practise a bit of patience. Find out from new clients why they came to you. Don’t just look at it as a one off, look at the timing of it all. You’ll soon start to see where your silver bullets are hidden. And don’t forget to enjoy the journey – magical carpet rides, enchanted cups and all.

Communicating to your clients

By Karl

On November 14, 2016

In Articles, Beauty Salon, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Professional Beauty, Salon Business, Salon Marketing

By Rina McKellar for SA Hairdressers Journal

We’re bombarded by marketing and advertising messages every day. 10 years ago, The Guardian in the UK estimated that Londoners were exposed to over 3500 ads in just one day. I remember when I lived there – my 30 min commute into the city was littered with glamorous faces on large billboards and quirky video ads in taxis and posters plucked in every conceivable corner of the tube station. They all told me about upcoming theatre events, some miracle beauty cream or the new holiday destination I should be trying. My favourite was always the one that told a little story up those L-O-N-G escalator rides. They made the smelly tube stations lightly more bearable and put a little smile on my face for about 2-3 mornings until they lost their lustre and stayed up way too long. They all wanted the commuter’s attention and were all offering me and every other poor London creature something more promising.

We have seen advertising get more clever, more entertaining and more engaging over the years. Mass advertising has its benefits and appeal and there will always be some commonalities that people share. e.g. a tropical beach scene complete with colourful cocktail, palm trees and soft white sand will for sure capture the attention of every London-living individual wanting to escape the sombre greyness of a cold English February.

Fast forward to 2016 and now we have the added luxury of super smart technology, coupled with endless personal data. Ever wondered just how Facebook knew you were in the market for a new car? Try changing your status from “in a relationship” to “single” and you’ll suddenly be bombarded by dating sites galore. I loved the story from a close friend who managed to change her age from 40 to 75 (with great difficulty might I add) – she stopped getting ads about “mature dating sites” and ads for wheel chairs popped up instead. We laughed out loud at that one!

Actually most apps these days require you to log on using either Google or Facebook or something similar and it’s actually just downright scary the amount of info that can be collected on you, your connections and links. It so often feels like big brother is watching our every move. Makes me want to sing an adapted version of Sting’s masterpiece right now: “Every breath you take, every search you make, every bond you break, every friend you take. I’ll be watching you.”
Ha – this sounds just like FB’s personal love song to each of us.

Google and FB are masters at this and run way ahead of the curve. For most businesses and products, it is still advertising old school style – good message combined with traditional means e.g. a beautiful glossy ad in a well- respected magazine and there, advertising and marketing ticked. Done and dusted. Many haven’t quite figured out how to use technology in their mix, let alone understand how to use social media to drive their business. It can be incredibly confusing and even daunting to close the massive gap in your marketing mix.

So let’s start with the mere basics and take a few steps back. There are 2 things that is required to make such specific targeting and advertising possible – data and technology. Google and Facebook have both by the bucket load. In simple non-powerhouse terms for you and me this means:As much information about an individual (the more the better)Mechanism to reach that person (hardware – cellphone/computer and software – application etc.)

Many of you are already deploying this in your everyday business practise. You may be emailing your clients useful info or you may be sending out an SMS to remind your customers of an upcoming appointment. In both cases you have data (their email and the cell number) and then using some form of technology to reach them.
The question then remains: Why are you not doing it more or taking it to the next level?

To have personal information about your customer is really a beautiful and rather rare thing. It has only recently become quite a new phenomenon that’s exploded. I don’t think this fact is truly appreciated in many industries who simply take it for granted and do nothing with it. The mind still boggles at the restaurant industry that handles this info so glibly. They go to all the trouble to ask for your details when you make a reservation and then simply throw it away at the end of the night. To hold personal information of another is a great gift. As a salon owner, I urge you not to fall into that same trap.

Just think: You can still just walk in to any grocery store, buy a litre of milk and 2 bags of apples and walk out anonymously. They have no idea how to reach you or talk to you again. That shop will not have a clue about your age, your name or your needs – no idea about your buying patterns or that you may have an apple addiction J. For years, large retailers were left with few options to attract and talk to customers – they were limited in many instances to publish big inserts in newspapers to announce of specials and promotions, then they’d hope and pray that those nameless people came in to buy. It was impersonal. Cast your minds back a few years and you were simply greeted at the checkout counter. Now, you barely get a hello, but get a snappy “do you have a ………. card” instead. Yes, this once limiting barrier has been overcome by shopper cards and loyalty programmes.

This has really changed the marketing and shopper landscape. Suddenly retailers not only knew the names and locations of their customers, but they also knew how regularly they were coming in and what they were buying. They began to see patterns and links and correlations and the science of buyer behaviour went to new levels. It could dictate trends, showed learnings and even influenced business processes like the lay- out of shelves and the placement of products. Data become information became powerful knowledge. Business Intelligence became a household term and industry boomed all round.

It also meant targeted advertising and speaking a specific message people wanted to hear. It wasn’t just blanket advertising – one message to the masses. The pendulum however has swung and now the problem is we have far too many cards and schemes from far too many retailers and they are impossible for a consumer to keep in a standard wallet. The loyalty market has become yet another bandwagon for companies to hop and sadly some have no clear strategy as to how their data should be effectively mined and used to radically enhance their business as it did in the grocery business.

Again, this is an example of large scale industry change – but what about in a small business? The good news is, is that most of you are already holding the keys that is needed and the rest is quite close by. Even if you do not have data about your clients and your business – you still have the basic information, perhaps not the best information (yet) – but at the very least you have names and numbers and it is a start. This means you can at a very nominal cost communicate with your clients on a regular basis. A simple example is an SMS telling them of a special or offering a discount can be at your complete control and discretion. You can choose to send to your top 50 clients or 500 clients. It’s your choice of message and quantity. You can monitor uptake and see the ROI. It really is a no- brainer and while rather old technology, it still works. Your software provider can help with this. In fact, what I am saying is not that new, Chris Parker, MD of ESP Salon Software, has made mention of this in several of his previous articles and can be found on their website for ease of reference. They have a module aimed to do just this and use it effectively and often for many clients.

You can construct your campaigns based on what info you have. It may well be an incentive for you to collect more RELEVANT information – take your lead from the big grocery stores out there. How often does your customer come in? What treatment do they normally have? Do they have a time or day preference? We all like to be offered something – but it has to be RELEVANT. When we get offered something totally irrelevant and we have no interest – it’s SPAM. We all get highly annoyed with SPAM.

The do’s and don’tsUse your data and business intelligence to drive your campaignCommunicate with relevanceCommunicate at regular intervals (one hit wonders are not cool)Get familiar with POPI (The Protection of Personal Information Act)Ask their permission if you can send them infoDon’t SPAMDon’t communicate too oftenDon’t only send blanket messages – show that you know your customer

The permeations of groups and messages are endless. You can target new clients or send birthday messages with a discount. You could send out an incentive to your top clients. You could send to clients you haven’t seen for months. Let your business mind flow – I am just going to encourage you to try and do something a bit more with the precious personal information you have. Let it help you increase your presence and awareness and generate even more business for you. All the best!

Guidelines for effective email campaigns

By Karl

On October 11, 2016

In Articles, Beauty Salon, Business, Business Intelligence, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques, Professional Beauty, Salon Business, Spa, Wellness

Email was first introduced in the 70’s and by the 90’s it revolutionized the way we communicated with one another, it opened doors that postal mail could never have accomplished in reaching the masses instantly. Then the SMS appeared, this enabled us to send shorter messages to each other via mobile phones, this made email seem a bit archaic coupled with the explosion of social media to our everyday life. Approximately 40 odd years later, however, email has been given new life and has prevailed as the best way to communicate effectively with intended recipients.

Email’s resurgence continues to revolutionize the way we communicate with each other in a smarter and more effective ways; it is mobile friendly (stats show that around 65% of all mails are first opened on a mobile device), it delivers rich content with the likes of graphics, icons, buttons and very importantly it can track the engagement of readers tell us how many people have received, opened and clicked on the emails and even what they have clicked within the emails. All of these factors combined is why in 2016 email is noted as the most effective marketing tool available.

Have you adapted?

Now, considering that email is a far cry from what it used to be it begs the question, have you adapted to capitalise on the new way of managing email campaigns or are you still emailing in the same way as you have always done?

Here are some pointers to take into account when sending out emails to your clients:

1. Create mobile friendly emails (responsive)

Before you start ensure that your emails are built using a mobile friendly platform. The majority of readers are now reading email on their mobile phones and therefore your emails need to be easy to read on a phone. Responsive emails simply means that the size of the email will automatically be altered to the device the email is being viewed on – small and readable if opened on a mobile device, normal size if opened on a computer, also. Creating one big image as your mailer with all the text within the image is a bad idea as you will have to zoom in and scroll around the page to view the entire message. The more “html” the better.

2. Have a very clear purpose

Establishing the purpose and objectives of the email campaign you are about to embark on will keep you focussed on what is important as you create content for your mailer and sure that it flows logically in a top down manner.

As part of this process try and stick to just one clear message per email campaign. Just because you now have a very powerful way to share content with your readers doesn’t mean you should do it all in one email. In this process think about what you want to say to your clients and what you want them to do in response. This way of working also makes it easier to measure the success of your campaign.

3. Use catchy subject lines

Your subject line will determine whether or not the reader continues reading. It must be catchy yet also have great integrity, ie if the reader does open the email then the content of the email must directly relate to the subject line (it must deliver on its promise). This will further re-enforce the message you are trying to get across as well as increase the chances of the reader opening emails from you in the future.

For catchy subject lines try using the headline approach as our Newspapers and Magazines have taught us (relevant, short & catchy), it’s been capturing readers since the beginning of time – so make it short and catchy – “Summer is Here – Time for a Change”.
Or, try using a question – as recent studies show that subject lines phrased as a question perform better than using statements in the subject line – “Need a Beauty Boost?”
Or, if your email campaign is targeting by a specific location – incorporating the location reference into the subject line could also add a touch of relevance – “Special Offers at our Sandton Spa.”

4. Keep your message as concise as possible

Stats also show that readers generally only spend 15 seconds scanning an email – therefore we have to catch their attention from the get go. Capturing our audience will determine the success rate of the campaign. A good combination for this is a good image that tells your story, then a brief write up that further elaborates on the image – all of which must be consistent with your subject line. The less you can say to get your message across the better.

Put the most important information first as people have stopped reading longwinded text therefore let the content expand or flow from the subject line. Also note that you can add more value by providing access to exclusive content. Remember that email marketing success is to get credibility from the first email so readers look forward to the next email campaign, rather than delete upon receipt because we didn’t get it right the first time.

If you do have a lot to say on a particular matter then add this to the blog page on your website and put a link for the reader to “read more” on your web site. This allows the reader to easily scan your mail for topics that interest them and then focus in on that particular part of the email. It also helps drive traffic through to your website, which gives you further opportunities to engage with them.

5. Include a clear call to action

A call to action is an instruction to the reader to provoke an immediate response by clicking a button and engaging in whatever the required action is. Preferably only use one call to action per email and make it easy to see. Examples of Call to Action buttons are – Book Now; Contact Us; Find Out More; Click here to Enter.

Provide incentives for readers to respond to the call to action. Readers love getting offers, discounts etc. Competitions is another sure way to entice the reader to participate using the call to action button and thereby assist in increasing your email open rate.

6. Identify yourself clearly

This may seem very obvious, however, it is surprising how overlooked this very simple requirement is. This is a simple matter of making sure the from address and reply address are correct as well as your business name being used. This will help the reader to trust the mail before they open it. Ensure that you have your own domain name rather than using free email accounts like Google for your business. The domain name is what you get when you set up your web site address, ie www.yourdomain.com. You will then be able to use “yourdomain” for your emails.

7. Segment your recipient list

When sending emails you want to try and reach the people who are most likely to open the mails as well as respond to your call to action. Sending emails to your entire database is not always the best way to do that. In many instances it is better to target segments of your database based on things like gender, purchase history, loyalty status etc. This will also help connect the content to the reader more effectively and be more meaningful for them.

8. Analyse reader engagement

Not only is Email Campaign the No.1 digital marketing channel, it is also the top source of data for analytics as the data generated from the tracking stats enables us to get results quickly to determine the success rate of our campaign as well as the relevant stats to assist us in other marketing outlets.

Data from stats include – how many of your mails are opened on a mobile device, total number of emails sent, total number of emails delivered, the breakdown on opened mail on Mobile, Desktop & Web, what the click rate from and more.

Its not enough to just have the stats though. Each time you do an email campaign you should be smarter than the last time. In order to do so you actually need to learn from the analytics and change your behaviour accordingly.

Conclusion

Email has changed and so must you if you wish to remain competitive. Therefore create mobile friendly emails, have a clear objective for each campaign, create subject lines that grab the reader’s attention, have clear concise messages consistent with your subject line and objective, store bulky content on your website with links to read more, segment your database in order to target specific recipients and finally have a clear call to action. Most importantly be ready to respond. It would be a shame to run a successful email campaign only to drop the ball when readers respond.

Email Vs SMS

By Karl

On June 2, 2016

In Articles, Beauty Salon, Business, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques, Salon Business, Spa, Wellness

What a co-incidence – I’m sitting at my coffee shop of choice just about to start writing this article on the difference between SMS and Email and I receive an SMS notifying me that ABSA Insurance phone lines are down due to the storm in Gauteng yesterday.

Now, Im aware that there is some irony in the fact that there has probably been an increase in insurance claims (and therefore attempted phone calls) due to the storm and the fact that the insurance lines are down due to the storm, but the fact that I have just received this SMS highlights for me the need to be clear of when, how and why different communication methods are used.

In the “old days” I’m sure the questions facing business owners when it came to sending communications would have been things like, do I fax or do I phone or do I send a letter via the post office. These days, however, the question is more “Do I Email or SMS, or do I communicate via Social Media?” For this exercise I’m not really going to discuss much detail (if any) about social media because I really want to take a look at SMS and Email messaging, which although they have been around for quite some time, still seem to be quite prevalent despite the competition from social media.

What’s the difference?

Content

Probably the most obvious difference between SMS and Email is the content. With SMS messaging you are limited to text only and a limited number of characters, ie 160 characters per SMS. Now you might argue that it is now possible to type messages longer than 160 characters and our smart phones intelligently handle these as one message but the truth is that you are being billed for two messages if you use more than 160 characters.

With Email on the other hand your content can be very rich, ie images, longer messages, different fonts and layouts etc.

Instant Delivery

A major difference between email and SMS is the fact that SMS is instant and pops up on your phone screen almost immediately, whereas email is usually downloaded either via your computer or via your phone periodically. Although it is possible to change the settings of your phone to alert you when you receive a new email this setting is often turned off by users because they prefer to not use their cell phone network to download mails due to the cost and would rather wait until they are on a wireless network at home or work to do so.

Stats

Although it is possible to track how many messages were delivered for an SMS batch, Email has far greater reporting capabilities due to the fact that you can use tools like Google Analytics. The Email is very much like a web page and you are able to tell how recipients engage with your email, ie how many were delivered, how many opened the emails, how many clicked on links, the locations of the recipients who interacted with your emails and so on.

Cost

Cost is always a factor and most of us are used to the idea that you have to pay for SMS but the idea that you may have to pay for email is sometimes a foreign idea because of the fact that you don’t pay for the individual emails that you send out each day for personal and business reasons through your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

However, for bulk business emailing, there is usually a cost involved for delivering the message. This is because a bulk emailing company is required between you and the recipient to manage delivery of content and the providing of stats and for this they charge a fee. If you send through your ISP you won’t incur any other costs but you will encounter other problems (see SPAM) and you won’t get any stats of who opened and interacted with your messages.

Therefore, there is cost for both bulk SMS and bulk Email but the cost for SMS is usually higher – usually because of the fact that the cell phone network companies themselves charge a minimum fee for delivery and these are marked up by the third party SMS providers. (Note that you cannot under normal circumstances deliver your bulk SMS messages directly through your own cell phone network company).

Another potential cost worth mentioning is the design of the message itself. Because you cannot change the layout of an SMS message there will be no cost involved in creating the message content itself. However, Emails often require the help of a design agency, because of the fact that they are basically web pages that are being sent to your clients. Some providers offer you templates as part of their services but if you want something that is unique to you and meets all of your brand requirements then you will most likely end up paying someone to assist you with the design.

SPAM (Junk Mail)

In order to prevent SPAM being sent through their servers your ISP (ie the company that you have your email account with) will generally not allow you to send bulk emails through your normal business account and can even blacklist you for doing so and can block your email account for a period of time as a consequence.

Therefore you would need to use a bulk emailing service that is set up for sending large volumes of emails and there is usually a cost for this, but as already mentioned above there are many other benefits, ie the delivery and engagement stats.

SMS works in much the same way, ie you will set up an account with a Wireless Application Service Provider (WASP) and you will send your bulk SMS messages through them and there will be a cost involved.

You will generally find a lot more SPAM in Email than you will in SMS and perhaps this is self regulated due to the costs involved in sending SMS messages as well as the fact that through email you can advertise a lot more or disguise a scam more effectively.

When to use what?

Transactional vs Bulk

The first step in deciding which medium to use is to first understand the nature of the communication. Identifying whether your messages are transactional or bulk is part the process.

Transactional messages are usually in response to an event (ie a booking confirmation, loyalty notification etc). Transactional messages are usually sent on an individual basis as events (transactions occur) and are more informational than promotional. Hence, recipients tend to be far more tolerant of them by virtue of the fact that they must have recently engaged with your business.

Bulk Messaging for Information Purposes

Bulk messaging can be used for both promotions and for information. For example, you may need to advise your entire database that your trading hours during the festive season have changed, or you may need to advise them that there is a problem with your telephone lines and that if they need to call your salon then they need to use an alternative number.

Bulk Messaging for Promotions

Bulk messaging for promotions is usually where you invite the most colourful responses from your clients – language of the likes that you will not find anywhere near a Concise Oxford English Dictionary – and it is here where you need to be most careful (see the section below on “Whats your story?”).

Urgency VS Content

Keeping in mind all of the above – choosing between SMS and Email will most commonly be determined by the nature of the content and the urgency of the message.

If it is urgent, then it should be via an SMS. The recipients will get their notification immediately and the chances of them actually viewing the message are greater via SMS.

If the message can wait and has more content then it should be via Email.

What’s your story?

Because of the damage that can be done in sending unsolicited messages to your clients you need to do as much as you can within your own power to get their permission to communicate with them via SMS and Email.

This starts at the very beginning – you need to sell them the reason why you want their cell numbers and email addresses and they need to buy into it.

For example, if you say to them that on their birthday they get a free service then they will be more likely to give you their details and allow you to communicate with them. Also, if you say to them that you always send SMS appointment reminders or notifications that a free loyalty service has been awarded then they are more likely to respond positively.

All too often you hear receptionists saying that clients do not want to give out their details and you can’t expect receptionists to force clients to do so.

Opt Outs (Unsubscribes)

Depending on how you deliver your bulk messaging will affect how you manage your opt outs, ie clients who do not want to receive any further messages from you.

Your database should have separate options for SMS and Email opt outs in case the client wishes to receive SMS notifications but not Email.

Keep in mind that your source database should be kept up to date with clients that have opted out in case you choose to use a different email / sms provider as the new provider will not have the opt out list that the old provider has and you may end up sending messages again to your unsubscribed clients.

Building your team

By Karl

On March 8, 2016

In Articles, Business, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Salon Business

Chris Parker – SAHJ

A year ago I bought my 3 year old son a spacerail online, which is a toy roller coaster with little silver balls that are lifted up by an electric mechanism and dropped in at the top of the roller coaster and then begin weaving their way down the maze of rails to the bottom where they once again begin their journey back to the top. It was going to be amazing to share the experience of building and enjoying this marvelous toy together. I was very excited, my 3 year old son on the other hand had no idea what a spacerail was.

Once it arrived the first thing that caught my eye was the age bracket on the box, which for 16 years and older. Ok, so perhaps the build would take a little longer than initially planned …

Well, was that an understatement! Each part in the box had to be painstakingly assembled from scratch, the rails had to be measured and cut and the instructions were less than useless. So you basically looked at the picture on the box to figure it out. For every part you clipped in, another seemed to unclip, which was very frustrating in and of itself but with an impatient 3 year old tugging at every part while you try and assemble it, it made for quite an experience. Once assembled the balls would fall off at a bend, when you fixed that bend then they would fall through at another section that just shifted because you fixed the bend. So you spent as much time fine tuning after the build than you did doing the build.

However, once working properly the reward was great. It was almost therapeutic to sit and watch the monotonous motion of the balls completing their laps with only the sound of the little electronic motor and the occasional swishing as the balls flew round a bend.

Then I had an idea! This would be a great team building exercise for the staff at our company. So we bought 3 spacerails and split the staff into 3 teams based on the departments they were in. There were no rules except the deadline of two weeks.

It was quite fascinating to observe. Everyone was very excited to start (well some more than others), but I knew what was in stall for them. There excitement would turn to frustration, maybe even despondency. They would need to persevere and work together, but once they had achieved their goal the satisfaction would be great.

No one was quite sure what the objective was, ie was the first team to complete the task the winner, were you allowed to help other departments, were you allowed to take it home to work and so on?

One team completed the task within about a day, another about a week and half and another just in time to meet the two-week deadline.

Once we had finished we just sat and talked to hear about each person and each teams experience. I really just asked one very open question along the lines of “what is your feedback on this teambuilding exercise?” and was very surprised at the depth of insight it gave to the working dynamics at our business. I wont get into too much detail but one thing that was mentioned was that appreciation of the fact that we were able to discuss a particular matter (for the first time) that was only highlighted because of this exercise. It allowed one group of individuals to be heard on a matter that had actually been on their mind for some time and for management it made the matter so much more evident. It also allowed other staff members to hear the issue that had been bothering their fellow team mates. Time will now tell if we can get it right to properly deal with the issue that was raised.

Aligning the rails

One thing that I have learned over the years is that companies have their objectives and visions and employees have their own objectives and visions. More often than not these are completely unrelated. So unless they are aligned then the chances are high that they will eventually part ways.

Another thing that I’ve learned is that people need to be built as individuals and in teams and as an organization. Its not enough to just focus on staff members one at a time because that only deals with a vertical relationship between you as boss and them as employees. It does not deal with horizontal issues between themselves and other staff members that make up the smaller teams and also the entire organization. Any goodwill you develop between yourself and an individual can be damaged or completely destroyed because of disharmony with them and one or more other staff members or departments.

So, to borrow from the spacerail project, if the rails are not aligned then the rollercoaster will not function correctly and so with your team, if the individuals are not aligned with you and with each other then the process of achieving your vision will be so much more painful.

Share your vision

A good starting point and one which I often take for granted is the vision for the business. If staff members do not know what the vision is then how can they be inspired and motivated to help achieve that vision. If there is no vision, then this should be addressed as high priority and then shared with your team.

Learn their vision

At the same time it is important to learn what your staff members visions are, because if they are out of sync with your own then either re-alignment needs to happen or they need to be related to with this fact in mind.

Help them achieve their goals

Understanding your staff members goals / vision is the first step in helping them achieve those goals. It may be that they don’t have very clearly defined goals, in which case you can help them to define them before you start helping them achieve them.

Make sure feedback is objective

When you feedback to your staff members try and be clear on when something is fact, ie performance based on the numbers, versus personal feedback based on how you feel. If it is based on how you feel then say as much (couples communication 101).

Use team building exercises

Team building can happen all the time. They don’t have to be an expensive excursion but rather can be any little task (like the spacerail example above) and you can have a lot of fun thinking of small teambuilding exercises. The important thing is that it is observed by yourself so that you can draw your own conclusions, but most importantly that the staff members are given a good platform to feedback themselves as this is where the most revealing information lies.

Don’t just pay lip service

Once you have implemented some processes that are designed to build your team and you are getting good feedback and make staff members feel heard, the secret will lie in actually taking action. If you just placate staff members and don’t show tangible steps that facilitate achieving their own goals then they will eventually get the message and start making other plans, which will affect your goals.

What if their dream is to open their own salon?

This is a tricky one and perhaps my answer might not be the most popular but if this is what their heart is set on then its better for you to know about this and (shocker alert) even help them achieve this. If you do it in the right way you may be pleasantly surprised because you will have avoided losing a staff member and valuable clients unexpectedly. This will be for you to work out based on what you know about yourself, your business and your staff but can be refreshingly liberating to send people on their way with your blessing rather than having to explain to your clients whey they are such a terrible person for leaving on such bad terms and stealing all your clients.

Conclusion

Teambuilding is an ongoing and complicated process that needs constant monitoring and managing. Teambuilding excercises are just one part of teambuilding but are important. The secret is for everyone to be getting what they want, while helping you achieve your goals of running a successful company. Not every person is the same and this is why engaging your staff members on multiple levels is of key importance.

Price It Right 2

By Karl

On January 21, 2016

In Articles, Business, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Salon Business, Wellness

Chris Parker – SAHJ

I recall the time shortly before asking my wife to marry me, I started shopping around for a wedding ring. I knew nothing about diamonds, I thought 1 carat was small – after all its only 1, how much smaller can you get? Believing that 1 carat was the lowest number you could get I thought I would probably need something bigger – maybe 2 or 3 carats (for those of you who have bought diamond rings bigger than 1 carat please stop reading here).

I walked into a jeweller and asked for some pricing for a 1 carat diamond ring – just to get a benchmark or starting point. Well, I had to quickly recalibrate as I learned my starting point was in the region of R60000. The thought that went through my mind was that either I am not going to be able to get married or I would need to be able to motivate why diamonds were not actually a girl’s best friend.

So the hunting began, along with the research about how diamonds are valued by the 4C’s (Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat), so you might get a larger diamond but the clarity or colour may be of lesser quality and so the value would be less. I had to find the right balance of all of the above so that my fiancé to be would not start crying for all the wrong reasons when I finally went down on one knee to ask her to marry me.

The more I shopped, the smaller the diamond became and the lesser the quality. Until I came across a couple who owned a jeweller business, which was not in a shopping mall but rather in the business district in Cape Town. They found me a diamond that I was happy with and we finalised our design for the band and they provided me with my diamond certificate and I was good to go.

Their pricing was much better than those on the “high streets” or should I say shopping malls but a nagging feeling in the back of my mind eventually compelled me to ask them how their prices could be so competitive. Straight away they advised me that they did not have to pay the high rentals of their competitors, which allowed them to compete much more on price. Their labour and material cost for making the ring was also very good and I found out from my wife that immediately after our engagement she had the ring valued at a different jeweller. I never told her how much I paid for the ring but the value she was given by the jeweller she took it to was about 3 times the price I had paid for it. By the way, she loved the ring … and still does. Mission accomplished.

Reflection

So, looking at the above story it seems that the major factor that influenced the price of the ring for this jeweller was the cost of their overheads. This being attributed primarily to rent and perhaps the labour cost of their jeweller that made the band.

As a client I was concerned about price, however, I still wanted a good quality product as I didn’t not want to get a substandard product for such an important life occasion.

I was happy to “shop around” until I found the right deal, which was a combination of price and quality.

Some of the things I had to forego included the convenience of an easy to locate jeweller in a shopping mall and the prestige of having a “brand name” associated with my purchase. I know some folk who would not be happy putting in the hard yards to try and find the right jeweller for the same reasons because they may not be as price sensitive. On the other hand I know some that would not choose a diamond at all, or they would be happy for an alternative or much smaller option because they are very price sensitive.

So, when it comes to pricing products and services in the salon what can we learn from this. I believe that pricing in the salon will be a combination of cost-plus pricing and competitor based pricing within the context of your brand positioning.

Cost Plus Pricing

Cost plus pricing is when you determine your selling price based on the costs linked to the products and services you sell. This method, although not the only factor, is probably the biggest consideration for at least setting your base price for services.

For retail products you should have roughly the same selling price as other salons for the same items because the supplier generally has a recommended selling price. However, your costs may vary based on your particular deal with the supplier in question. If you have bigger spending power or you are a good negotiator you may be able to obtain the stock at better prices and therefore, even though you have the same selling price you have a greater profit margin.

For services you would need to account for the professional stock you use to provide the service, the commission you have to pay to a stylist for performing the service and perhaps other peripheral costs if you shampoo the clients hair (cost and labour) involved, which you may recover by means of some sort of “docket fee”. You may even look at including things like overheads (rent etc) although this can be a little trickier on an item for item basis. Once you have your associated costs you would then determine how much you would need to charge in order to make a profit. Once you have arrived at a price you will need to determine if it is still worthwhile to offer the service.

Competitor Based Pricing

Once you worked out your costs for supplying services then you will need to consider your competitors pricing. If your competitors are able to provide the same service that you are at a better price, then you will need to consider either dropping your prices or alternatively you will need to differentiate yourself in some way so that your clients will be happy to pay more for your service – add value in some way.

The reason that your competitor may be able to supply it at a lower price may be due to a number of factors. For example, they may have been able to negotiate a better rental than you or the products they use may be cheaper or they are able to obtain them at better prices or maybe they don’t add as much value in terms of the experience (refreshments, satellite tv, head massage etc).

If your competitor is selling the same service at a much lower price then perhaps they themselves are selling the service as a loss leader or they are positioning themselves as a “value for money” brand rather than a premium brand. They would then most likely be appealing to different clientele than what you would be and perhaps you should not worry about those salons, but rather compare yourself with other premium or value for money brands depending on how you are positioned in the market.

Conclusion

The goal of your business is always to make a profit. In overly simplified terms you want to sell as many products and services as you can at the highest price and lowest cost possible, ie you want to maximise all the good stuff (volumes and margins). However, you may at times be under pressure from the market, your clients and rising costs that will always seem to try and drive your prices down. By doing the exercise of working out all associated costs, being clear on your positioning in the market place and being even clearer on your real competitors are you will be in a better position to compete. All of the above must translate into perceived value in the eyes of your clients, it therefore goes without saying that the more you understand what your clients value the better positioned you will be to provide that value.

Price It Right 3

By Karl

On January 21, 2016

In Articles, Business, Hair Salon, Hairdressers Journal, Salon Business, Wellness

Chris Parker – SAHJ

In this third article on pricing we wrap things up. In the previous two articles we asked the question of how it is sustainable for some salons to have such cheap pricing, especially for services that have high costs associated with them. This question raised the bigger question on how to go about pricing your products and services as a strategy.

In order to answer these questions we identified that pricing, rather than gut feel, can be quite a scientific process and that many theoretical pricing methods and factors could be taken into consideration when deciding on pricing. In the context of a hair salon we identified “cost-plus pricing” and “competitor based pricing” as probably the two most influential methods used by most because of the fact that we need to cover costs before we can start making a profit and also our pricing needs to be competitive in the market place so that clients would perceive fair value for the products and services they were buying from the salon.

We also looked at how you might “position” yourself in the salon market and whether you were a value for money (budget) brand focusing on more price-sensitive clients or whether you would position yourself as a premium brand, where clients are not as price sensitive and you were able to justify your higher prices by the perceived higher quality / value of your products and services.

We also took note of the fact that hair salons sell both services and retail products and that with retail there was less room for pricing variation apart from stocking brands that may be less or more expensive than other brands.

In ending the series I would like to highlight some different theoretical pricing strategies that can be put into practise for varying reasons and at different times and stages of your business lifecycle.

Penetration pricing

Penetration pricing is when a business sets a low price in order to increase sales and gain market share. This may only be for a short time and then once the goal of increasing sales and/or market share has been achieved then the prices may be increased.

This is commonly used when a new business is opened. For example, a new business might run a 25% off special on some or all of its products and services in order to make themselves known to the market. Once the have sufficient clients gained they will then start adjusting prices back to normal.

Therefore, if you are opening a first salon or expanding by opening more branches then you may consider running a special price on various items for the first few weeks.

I think the idea behind some of the group couponing companies that offered amazing deals to their database of clients was explained as a way to penetrate the market. However, for businesses that made use of these services they found that they didn’t actually win the clients because the clients just followed the group discount supplier to the next deal at another business.

Bundle Pricing

Bundled pricing is when a business groups together more than one product and/or service and offers a better price or gives one away for free. An example might be a buy one get one free or buy one service and get a product at a reduced rate.

Bundled pricing can be very useful when it comes to special occasions like mother’s day or Valentine’s Day special. If you salon offers things like nail services then you could bundle a hair service with a nail service. Alternatively you could bundle together related stock items in to gift hampers and sell them at a better rate than if you were to sell them separately.

You may also bundle items that are paid for upfront but redeemed over a period of time. For example, pay for 10 haircuts or blow dry’s upfront and redeem them over time and receive a discount for doing so. This kind of bundling could be likened to loyalty because (like loyalty) you are rewarding repeat visits, however, in bundle pricing you are rewarding the loyalty upfront because the client is essentially pre-paying for their future services and you are rewarding them for doing so.

Psychological Pricing

Psychologic pricing is when the seller sets the price to play on how the buyer thinks about the price. For example, charging R299 instead of R300. We all know that this is the oldest trick but it enables the client to say they bought something for under R300, rather than R300. Somehow this does affect our psychology towards pricing.

Premium Pricing

Premium pricing is set to reflect the exclusiveness of the service or product. The idea is that a client would not easily be able to find the equivalent quality at a lower price and would be willing to pay the higher price because of its perceived exclusivity.

In retail this may be a particular brand that not many other salons stock and is of a very high quality. For services I think this is already happening as mentioned in my previous article by the fact that you get different pricing within the same salon depending on who the stylist is. If a stylist is perceived to be more of a “premium” brand because of awards they have won, celebrities they have worked on, or simply because of their skill or popularity then you may be able to charge a premium for their services.

Loss Leader

A loss leader is an item that is sold at or below cost in order to attract clients so that they can purchase other items at their normal prices. This is similar in a way to penetration pricing, which leads with lower priced items to gain market share.

Conclusion

As you can see there are many different pricing strategies (even more than mentioned in these articles) and it may be very confusing to figure out where to start. I think that if you stick to the basics and get those right then you will be able to start to “play” with some of the other strategies available to you. This implies the obvious, have a set price list. Ensure that you have factored in all the direct costs related to those prices and and keep looking at those costs so that you know your margins in case they are affected by things like supplier price increases. Increase your prices to keep up with inflation. Use price increases as a opportunities for promotions with your clients, ie by now and beat the price increase. Be sure of who you are in the market place, ie how you are positioned as a brand so that you do not panic simply because another salon has cheaper pricing. There are only two things that influence your turnover performance and those are the number of feet through the door and the spend per visit. If you are going to charge less you will need to increase feet through the door. If you are going to charge more then you will need to convince clients your services and products are worth it. Finding the balance between feet through the door and spend per visit is the key and once you have a good balance benchmark it and monitor it over time to keep yourself on track.