The Ignorant Leading the Blind
by Greg Milner on 27/05/08 at 11:24 pm
I sympathise with owners of the average, suburban beauty and hair salon. With little else to go by, they look to the ‘big end of town’ – the product suppliers and industry associations – for the lead in marketing material and strategies to bring clients in the door.
And it’s likely that many salon owners are seeing this ‘industry standard’ kind of advertising, copying it – and wondering why on earth they’re not getting any response.
Emailed to me this week from Inner Circle member David Wood of Elan Men’s Hair & Body in Brisbane, a typical example of this kind of worthless, thoughtless and wasteful ‘big company’ marketing. You would think the marketing whizz kids at a big company like salon software supplier Shortcuts would be able to come up with something better than this. As David says,
“An industry marketing communication example for you below for your interest. Received this email yesterday from a reputable software supplier in our industry. Don’t think you need me to point out what is wrong with it…The deal is for $5.00 off monthly fees with each ‘referral’. Our average monthly spend with these guys is well over $200 per month. If I refer someone (to buy 4k worth of software etc) I might save $300 over the next five years…
What is that saying you guys have….. something about a beating heart ??”
Indeed, be still my beating heart. What they are demonstrating here is basic ignorance of their own numbers. They’ve clearly never asked themselves the question “What is the most I can spend to get a customer?” And if the absolute maximum they can afford to spend to get a customer is a lousy $5 a month, then they have some serious problems.
Because it’s an absolute truth in marketing that quickest way to expand a business – getting customers with obscene speed – is to outspend the competition. But to do that youhave to know your numbers – what is the ‘lifetime value’ of my average customer? Once you know that figure (and by lifetime let’s say 5 years) you can then easily work out what you’re prepared to give away – in an introductory free treatment or service, for example – to get that customer in the first place.
Oh, to see such nonsense below passed off as clever thoughtful marketing – and have salon owners swallow it for lack of any better guidance is depressing indeed.
I should say here that members of the Inner Circle program are equipped with the best ‘sales thinking’ tools in the business, and should never fall victim to this awful tripe. You’ll see what I mean below….and yes, I could detail here exactly how this big dumb company could be marketing more effectively, but somebody from the company might see this – and there’s no way they’re getting that kind of info for free.
Subject: Want to know how to get FREE Surebiz from Shortcuts? Forever?
Refer a Friend
For every friend you refer you will get $5.00 off your Surebiz monthly fee… forever!*So the more friends you refer to Shortcuts, the less you will pay.Plus, we will reward each of your friends with $5.00 off their Surebiz monthly fee as well. What a fabulous deal!
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A post by Greg Milner The odd idea, a bit of prodding, a nudge here and there, a little fun, and the occasional dose of brutal reality. Greg is co-founder and CEO of Worldwide Salon Marketing, a writer, direct response marketing consultant, specialist marketing systems adviser and coach. He (sometimes) accepts private consulting clients. |
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