by Greg Milner on 29/07/08 at 10:25 pm
It’s the depth of winter in my part of the world, so Michelle and I are flying north from Perth to the former US Navy base town of Exmouth tomorrow (Friday) for a few days of warm weather, game fishing and socializing with friends.
But before I get into fishing mode, a few words of advice about a Big Mistake many salon owners make when deciding about advertising in the local newspaper.
Yesterday I was interviewing the owner of a salon that was applying for membership of the Inner Circle program, and she brought up a misconception that’s so common I thought it worthwhile to discuss in this week’s Success Strategy.
This salon owner echoed a sentiment that’s so widespread in the beauty industry it’s actually quite corrosive and dangerous for your business if you believe it, and act on it.
“Newspaper advertising doesn’t work. I’ve tried putting ads in the paper, and I’ve never got any response.”
Now, how can that possibly make sense? If that were true, newspapers would have gone broke years ago. Their ONLY source of revenue is advertising. If newspaper advertising didn’t work, period, then nobody would advertise in newspapers.
Yet, the newspapers are FULL of advertising. How can that be, if newspaper advertising per se didn’t work?
Here’s the lesson: it’s not the media that’s at fault when your advertising doesn’t work – it’s your ad that doesn’t work.
Trouble is, most salon & spa marketing is so dreary, so lacking in emotional copy that actually sells something, it’s little wonder it doesn’t get any response. To prove that to yourself, go have a browse through the latest Yellow Pages.
Even the best of them – and that’s not saying very much – are a blur of sameness. Name of the business at the top, a few perfunctory bullet-pointed services, and a phone number/address at the bottom.
Ad after ad after ad, all droning on about the business…instead of the customer.
Good advertising is Salesmanship in Print
No, it’s rare the media that’s to blame for the poor response to your ads. It’s your ads. Usually because there’s no compelling headline, no throat-grabbing offer, no benefit-driven copy, no proof (testimonials), no call to action, no risk-reversal (guarantee).
And – because the vast majority of business owners work under the delusion that ‘people won’t read lots of text’ – the ads typically waste vast amounts of blank space.
Wrong. Less is not more. MORE is more. The more you tell, the more you sell. And any advertising salesman who tells you otherwise is somebody who has never studied the science and the art of Emotional Direct Response copywriting. He sells space, that’s all.
It’s up to you to put the right words in that space, words that compel people to pick up the phone and call you, and you alone.
RESOURCE: It’s why Inner Circle members have an unfair advantage over their rival salons and spas – because they have access to hundreds of proven, templated ads, flyers and sales material that’s formed using Emotional Direct Response copy.
If you want to try it out, we accept a VERY small number of salons each month on a 30-day Test Drive of the Inner Circle marketing & mentoring program, including the Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit™
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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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Rinta Juwana
Sep 11th, 2008
Hello,
I own a mobile spa serving New York City and surrounding.
I go to client`s home and offices for their Bridal shower party, birthday and coordinate spa parties for them.
So far we done it only once every one or two months and i want to have more client and spa parties.
Is your program work for mobile spa as well?
Thanks
Greg Milner
Sep 14th, 2008
Hi Rinta,
simple answer: ‘It’ works for ANY kind of salon/spa/medspa/mobile spa. Here’s the point: if YOU take the action required, the tools and strategies can be tweaked and massaged for any beauty business.
But if you’re hoping for some miracle, some ‘magic pill’ that will miraculously leap off the shelf of is own accord, and gang-tackle customers as they walk past, dragging them through the door kicking and screaming, while you do nothing but watch…well, no, it won’t do THAT.
Regards, Greg Milner
Co-founder, Worldwide Salon Marketing