Could licking stamps be the ultimate salon promotion?
We all love Internet and agree that Google and the online world is indeed very powerful, but in the world of I Want everything faster than the speed of light can you cheat your competition with an old school salon marketing?
This is me in our previous Salon Punk HQ, about two years ago, licking stamps. Frankly, it was a bit painful doing that, but how far can you go to form relations with new hair customers, warm up prospects and attract them to your salon?
Did it work?
Of course, it did, and sticking stamps on envelopes will help you get new salon customers as well, but like anything else (in marketing) there is no point in doing anything if you don’t have a clear vision why and how you are going to run the campaign.
Here are 5 steps how to create a great direct marketing campaign in your salon without using the Internet and why Licking Stamps Is Probably The Most Profitable Thing You’ll Ever Do In Your Salon business.
1. First things first, set a goal what you would like to achieve through your campaign, for example, double number of salon customers.
2. Think geography. Work out where your customers are going to arrive from, for example, if your salon shop is in Manchester’s Salford Quays chances are your customers tend to hang out around Manchester’s borough of Salford.
3. Next, think who is your customer. For example, mainly women in their thirties, fifties, or perhaps you are a specialist in the bridal hair?
4. Once you have a clarity where and who your customers are, get permission based database, addresses / post codes of your target market. There are companies who can supply with the data, or you can do your own research online (or if you really want to avoid Internet, there are still plenty of paper directories in circulation).
IMPORTANT NOTE: Don’t just get thousands of addresses and start sending letters, you need to TEST SMALL first. For example having 100 targets is a good number to test and see if your promotions work. Don’t waste money and time testing blind please.
5. Write a letter to your prospects (don’t spam), introduce your salon, give them a good reason to try your salon, make a special offer and ask to call, visit your website or the studio.
What happens next? Will you get clients in the salon? Probably not. And probably not immediately either. Your efforts can be wasted if you stop at step
For The Ultimate Salon Marketing See Salon Extreme 21 – Unpack Ton’s of Salon Building Ideas, Letters and Client Building tools.
6. You need to have a good marketing plan. Sending salon promotion letters once is not enough. You need to create relations with new customers.
How many times should you send a promotional letter to new prospects? I’d say at least 3 times, maybe once a week or so. You will see if your promotion works during that time. That’s why it is important to test.
What happens if you get no response?
Usually, there is a reason why people don’t respond to your salon flyer or a letter, you need to go back, review the promotion, review your offer, edit and tweak the benefits and test again. If you have a hair salon your audience is looking for you will eventually find the winning combination for your promotions.
Hope you will use this information, and let me know how you are getting on OK?
Yours in hair
Salon Punk