Why salon owners get such lousy results from their marketing..
by Greg Milner on 18/02/09 at 11:03 pm
Couple of ads sent in by Inner Circle members this week got me thinking about why so many salon owners whine and complain about the lousy results they typically get from their advertising efforts…
I use the word ‘efforts’ advisedly. It’s clear to me that most owners of beauty businesses put almost zero ‘effort’ into their marketing.
The ads sent in this week were prime examples of not only how lazy most people are, but how ignorant almost ALL business owners are about the effort required to
Move the Sloth!
The MOST difficult part of any marketing is getting attention. Owners of salons & spas typically make the mistake of thinking that simply running an ad…any old ad, anywhere, any time…is somehow, miraculously enough on its own to do the job of catching a prospect’s attention.
And when it doesn’t, they blame the media… the newspaper, the Yellow Pages, the radio, whatever… and whine “Oh, I’ve tried advertising in the Yellow Pages, it doesn’t work…”
But the second most difficult part of marketing is – let’s assume you’ve actually got the prospect to read or listen to your ad or flyer – getting that prospect to take action.
Most people simply put in too little effort, have too high expectations – and are always disappointed by the results.
You’ve gotta imagine your prospect as a
…Giant mass of blubber, oozing across the couch, face glued to the television, needing an electric cattle prod just to get the smallest flicker from a single eyelid…for whom it will need an enormous effort to even reach the phone…
And yet for some reason, salon & spa owners seem to think that the mere fact they’ve run one lousy ad in a newspaper – once, three months ago – or distributed a half-assed, dreary flyer to a dozen houses within a two-minute walk of your salon, should be more than enough to galvanize every man, woman and child above the age of 8 within 18 miles to beat a frenzied path to the front door, trampling each other under foot, maddened by the terror of missing out on your wonderful services and fabulous products…
And when they don’t, you blame everyone and everything else except yourself.
Folks, a reality check:
1) Marketing is a process, not an event.
2) You need to earn their attention, every time. Not only with multiple forms of media (direct mail, press, mailbox flyers, referrals, free publicity, online, email, SMS and on and on) but with the right message delivered via that media.
3) That message has to contain a sales argument that compels them to pick up the damn phone
4) That sales argument has to contain a HUGE value added offer, one that is irresistible.
5) It needs to be backed up by testimonials, every time. Real ones, with names and suburbs, not ‘weasel’ testimonials, eg “Mary, New York.”
6) If being delivered by direct mail to a known list (eg existing clients) that message has to be delivered several times, in a linked sequence of letters. A single letter doesn’t even nick ‘em on the way by. If all you’re going to do is send one letter and expect the world to change, give up now. It won’t work, and you’ll waste your money. Forget it.
And if all of that ‘effort’ sounds just too much, then get out of business. You shouldn’t be in business at all if you expect the world without putting in the effort.
Our Inner Circle members at least have all the pre-done ads, flyers, letters, strategies, offers, headlines and templates at their instant disposal in the Toolkit.
They at least have zero excuse for not putting in the effort. For those who do NOT possess these tools, I wish you luck. In this market, this recession, you’ll need it.
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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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