Times are tough… says Julianne Gegenheimer of Sugarland, Texas. Julianne is just one of several salon owners across the country struggling in this economy. She can’t seem to compete with the new trend of clients maintaining their image for themselves with store-bought hair colors and at-home haircuts to save that biweekly salon visit.
Hearing this, I decided to write some options for the salon owner to keep his business in this recession. I’m going to go over the obvious and not-so-obvious form of advertising that will cost little to nothing.
1. Don’t advertise as a big salon or spa
Large salons are advertised to create name recognition and future sales. A smaller salon cannot afford to do that. One way to achieve this is to always include an offer of beauty services or products in your ad campaigns.
2. Offer a cheaper hairdressing service
Some potential customers are not willing to pay the asking price for your product or service. Others are more interested in paying a low price than getting the best quality. You can avoid losing sales to many of these customers by offering a smaller or stripped-down version of your product or service at a lower price.
3. Offer a Premium Salon Service or Product
Not all customers are looking for a cheap price. Many are willing to pay a higher price to get a premium product or service. You can increase your salons’ average sale and total revenue by offering more comprehensive beauty products or services…or by combining multiple beauty products or services into one special premium package offer for a higher price.
4. New marketing methods
Look for some unconventional marketing methods that your competitors are overlooking. You can discover some very profitable ways to generate sales and avoid the competition. Eg Having a hair care line that no one else has but is in demand.
6. Joint promotions with other small businesses
You can offer to advertise your products or services to your customers in exchange for them advertising your beauty and salon services to their customers. This can usually produce a large amount of sales if you choose a business that corresponds to your market.
