And each and every year the website grows as more material is added and the archive gets bigger.  In fact there is over 6 years worth of archived material on the website now.  It’s easy for some of the older archives to be lost in depths of the website.

And it’s safe to say that if you were to employ a design firm or an ad agency to create the material on the members website and give you multiple options for designs, template sizes and concepts, you would be looking at spending into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  On the other side of the coin, if you were to try and design all this material yourself, well firstly you’d probably need a degree in copy writing, graphic design and a heck of a lot of time on your hands!!!

So, in this new feature I intend to delve deep into the archives, blow the dust and cob webs away and unearth some of the hidden gems that perhaps you have never come across before.

In this first feature I am going to look at a clever little flyer that was actually created by a Pizza Shop.

This was actually one of the very first promotions we use for our salon D’Aguiar: hair.skin.nails after joining the Inner Circle Program back in 2007 and it was a huge succuss. Our version was slightly different and at the top said ‘FREE $20 Voucher – No Strings Attached’  We then looped a piece of string through the flyer and hung it on peoples door knobs around our neighbourhood.  We consistently got 10 bookings from every 100 door flyers delivered and we had so many people saying they LOVED the out of the box marketing!

We still have dozens of clients that come to our salon today who originally came from this flyer. So when you think for the cost of a $20 service, we have made upwards of $4 – 5K from EACH of those clients since then, it’s a pretty good return on investment!

Here’s a link to find this template in the members only sealed section.

http://www.worldwidesalonmarketing.com/members/salon-marketing-ideas/ideas-to-steal/a-different-kind-of-mailbox-flyer-try-this/

If you are an Inner Circle Member and want to share a success story from another members only website ‘hidden gem’ then drop me an email chris@worldwidesalonmarketing.com and I’ll be sure to feature it in an up and coming article!

If you are NOT an Inner Circle Member and are sick and tired of sitting in front of a computer screen trying to come up with designs and copy for flyers and ads then you need to apply to join the Inner Circle Program and get access to the years of archives on the members only website and get your very own copy of the Essential Salon Owners Toolkit to help you market your hair or beauty salon/spa. Click here to find out more and apply for a 90-day Money Back Guaranteed Test Drive TODAY

Worldwide Salon Marketing is excited to announce that it is partnering with Salon Finder to launch the all-new Salon Finder app in Australia within a matter of weeks. It’ll be free to ‘claim’ your salon in it, add a bio, an image and contact details, and a tiny amount to subscribe and get your offers live on your salons very own App page…new ones every day if you like.

The All-New Salon Finder iPhone App

Salon Finder iPhone App (which is also available on iPad and iPod) was developed by Chris Sanders and his team in our Worldwide Salon Marketing NZ office and was released on the NZ App Store for download in December.  The App is not available in Australia yet but you can register your salon now at www.salonapps.co.nz so you are ready in time for the big launch in February!

As the world becomes increasingly mobile our industry has a fantastic opportunity to capitalize on this cutting edge technology while it is still VERY early days.

Think about when websites burst on to the scene 20 plus years ago. Done right, those early birds who got the worm set their businesses up for life! The only problem was the huge barrier to entry for Salon Owners – COST! Yes to have a website developed back then would set a salon back tens of thousands of dollars, which quite simply, most salon owners didn’t have!

And like the website craze from all those years ago, Smart Phone Apps are fast becoming the next big thing, so much so that many experts suggest that the internet is dying.

Similarly, with software developers charging tens of thousands of dollars (ouch!) to develop an iPhone App, cost will be a BIG factor preventing Salon owners from capitalizing on this technology now, while it’s running HOT!

So, Salon Finder and Worldwide Salon Marketing are making it very easy for Salon Owners to ride on this bandwagon now without the worry of crippling software developer costs.

Click this link here to see screen shots and information about how Salon Finder will help your Salon to capitalize on this ever-increasing market. 

And Salon Finder allows salon owners to take back some of the power from the ‘daily deal’ sites and do their own deals to tens of thousands of iPhone users who have high disposable incomes. And the best thing is that the customers contact them direct…there’s no middle man taking commissions of sometimes up to 50%. All a salon pays is a subscription fee, which begins from as little as $49 per month!

“The world has become more mobile, so our industry needs to move with it or risk being left behind,” says Chris Sanders. “Our industry is full of savvy, forward thinking business owners.  We are excited to bring this marketing tool to develop and enhance an industry we love. It also means salons can get away from their reliance on ‘daily deal’ websites that have been running loose and free offering cut price deals.  Salon Finder is all about empowering salon owners and building loyalty”

For more information on Salon Finder visit www.salonapps.co.nz or feel free to call Chris Sanders on +64 9 476 1592

The Trust is Gone! What are you doing to earn it back?

Consumer confidence is a fragile and delicate item.

It takes month and years to build up, through long sequences of events where the client and the salon share experiences. In an instant, it can be smashed into a million pieces, and for some clients, there is no going back to the salon.

Consumers are now realizing that the grass is not greener on the other side, and now feel that the daily deal websites and salons were “ripping them off”. The deals that they were signing up for, at what everyone could see were ridiculous prices for any services based business to try and honour, are proving to be bad experiences.. This was taken from an email that was sent across my screen earlier this week… It is about a value add offer that was sent to an existing client of a salon, as part of their marketing for the month.

“Thank you,

But please do not email me this type of thing.

This shows to me that consumers have had enough of the daily deals websites that have been extremely successful at taking their money ( and making sales happen when they would never have happened ), and delivered an experience NOT to remember. Consumers are angry that it has taken up 12 months for them to receive their $20 haircut, which they have had to drive 90 minutes to get to. They have over promised and under delivered on the whole experience. (AS a side note – it shows the emotional power that these sites have as clients will purchase something that they never would normally purchase, in a location that they never go. It is interesting to see how human respond to different emotional stimulus.)

They bought something for the “NOW” emotion that comes with bidding – you want it now and if you win it releases endorphins that make you feel good. Everyone is happy. The salon picks up some income, the clients gets a good deal and the daily deal website makes money as well.

Fast forward to the actual reality that transpired. The salon is probably at breaking point with an owner that is trying to figure out where it went wrong, while trying not to pull their hair out. The client will be wondering why they bought something that they will only use once ( buyers remorse ) and never go near again because the customer service was so poor. The company will be inundated with requests for refunds as clients will not wait for their allotted time for their treatment.

So this begs the question – “What are you doing to earn the consumers trust?”

What are you doing to make them see you as a knight in shining armor, who will slay the multi headed daily deal beast with your sword and wisk them away to a place that is safe and warm, where it is all about them?

Building trust is one of the key foundations of any relationship in today’s economy. You will not see it on the stock exchanges of the world, but it does carry that power. One way that you can build trust is through keeping your appointment times consistent. By this I mean that you do not change them around on the clients. They need to know that once they have booked in that they are going to get the appointment time and day they wanted.

Also you can make sure that you stay in contact with them through monthly newsletters that educate and entertain the clients. Fill it with content that the clients will want to read. An example is the process of what happens to the skin when the seasons are changing, and what the skin will need to look it’s best during this time.

A follow up phone call to see how the treatment was for the new client, an old client as well as it shows the existing clients that you still care about them, can go along way to establishing trust in the clients mind.

Another way to build trust is to give them all the information that they want, so that they can educate themselves, and see that you are the obvious choice for the service that you provide.

NOT yet a Member of the Inner Circle marketing & mentoring program? Don’t yet have the power of the Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit? Click here to find out more and apply for a 90-day Money Back Guaranteed Test Drive of the entire system, including the Toolkit, one-on-one coaching (with our experienced coaches who are all salon & spa owners themselves) and access to the Members Only resources website.

The right tools for the job make it that much easier and more enjoyable, that it would be criminal NOT to use the tools that are starring you in the face. The idiom in the title says it best; If someone brings a knife to a gunfight, they are very badly prepared for something.

With the RIGHT tools, your salon will take you to places you had only dreamed of!

This email from brand new Inner Circle Premium member Susan Nguyen, of Classy Cuts unisex hair design, in Melbourne, says it all.

“Hi, I’m Susan Nguyen, you might remember me from the Melbourne hair and spa boot camp seminar last month ( the little Vietnamese girl that brought every packages that day)lol. The Reason for my email is to say a very BIG BIG THANK YOU for designing this amazing Marketing Toolkit ! I’m so so happy that I’ve finally found something that really works for our salon! I’m so impressed with the amazing, instant results! and also how much more motivated I’m now. Therefore I’ve decided to write to you at 3:44am to express my Thank-you.

You’ve taught me how to work with my head! work Smart! and now i can see light at the end of the tunnel.

thank you so much! and it was great to meet you last month Greg , keep up your great work, and have fun on your trip away .

ps : thank God i purchased every tool kit that day, best money ever spent .:)very ThankfulSusan Nguyen from Classy Cuts unisex hair design.”

As you read this you can hear that same thought in your own heads. Susan is a classic example of taking your salon from where you are now to where you want it to be. Although Susan is at the beginning of her journey, she has the right mindset and the right tools to get her there.

Here is “what is in it for you” inside the Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit -

-A hardcopy Toolkit that contains “done for you” marketing that you can use straight awayto get new clients in your door tomorrow,

- Coaching calls that guide you through starting to use the “tools” and how to get the best results for your salon,

- Access to our “Members Only Inner Circle” webpage where you can access our library of tools that can be used in your salon,

- And last, but certainly not least, the world exclusive “Members Only Facebook Forum”. This is where the best of the best, or the TOP 5% of salon owners, go to discuss what is working in their salon.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to see, under the surface.

Susan invested in herself for the good of the salon, only 4 weeks ago, and is seeing real results straight away. Only really happy people send emails at 3 44 am in the morning!

How do you plan to make the transition from where you are now to where you want to be? Do you have the right tools to get you there?

NOT yet a Member of the Inner Circle marketing & mentoring program? Don’t yet have the power of the Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit? Click here to find out more and apply for a 90-day Money Back Guaranteed Test Drive of the entire system, including the Toolkit, one-on-one coaching (with our experienced coaches who are all salon & spa owners themselves) and access to the Members Only resources website.

With the 2011 Salon and Spa Superstar Bootcamp being only days away for Melbourne, and a matter of weeks for Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, it can be revealed who the mystery special guest is. The person in question has been a motivational speaker and author who has sold over 2 million books worldwide. His expertise is to SHIFT MINDSETS AND TO BUILD BIGGER PEOPLE to produce results.

This man has spoken for, and shared the platform globally with some of the world’s most influential people including, Sir Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Denis Waitley, Robert
Kiyosaki, Mark Victor Hansen, Jim Rohn, Charlie Tremendous Jones, Captain JerryCoffee, Allan Pease, Bob Proctor, Willie Jolley and Morris Goodman “The Miracle Man”.

So, the question remains… WHO is this mystery guest speaker?

Who managed to cause the phone to melt as salon owners scrambled to get the last remaining tickets? Ladies and Gents, I present to you …

Pat Mesiti.

His enthusiasm combined with his great sense of humor gives him the ability to move an audience into action as well as give them practical resources to help them achieve their goals. He is a gifted communicator and will add tremendous value to the lives he touches. Pat is Dynamic – Entertaining – Unforgettable!

And if you think that Salon marketing does not apply to you, then read how Dee Lawson, of Dee’s Classic Cuts in Armidale in NSW, gives another reason why salon owners want the Essential Salon Owners Toolkit from the 2011 Salon and Spa Superstar Bootcamp.

“Hi eveyone. Just letting you know we have had 167 new clients come in to our new salon since the 4th April 2011. WOW…. I checked the retention and only 18 people have not been back and some of these people were only in in May.”

Dee has implemented marketing out of the toolkit so that new clients beat a path into her NEW salon, and is now seeing massive returns in the number of new clients that are coming in, but also in the retention rate, which is just UNDER 90%.

This is no small achievement in any language, and has been created by Dee implementing systems into her salon that allow her to work on her business.

Book a ticket now, before it’s too late:
Online: www.salonprofitsecrets.com/buy-tickets/

If you have NOT yet secured your ticket(s) to one of these events, time is short.
The venues and dates are:
Melbourne:
Monday, July 4, Citadines on Bourke
Sydney:
Monday July 11, UTS Function Centre, Level 7, 235 Jones St (Building 10), Ultimo
Brisbane:
Monday, July 18, BTP Technology & Conference Centre, 1 Clunies Ross Court, Eight Mile Plains
Perth:
Monday July 25, Royal Perth Yacht Club, Australia II Drive, Crawley

How to book:
Online: go to   www.salonprofitsecrets.com/buy-tickets/
Phone: call the Bootcamp hotline, 08 9381 6621

NOT yet a Member of the Inner Circle marketing & mentoring program? Don’t yet have the power of the Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit? Click here to find out more and apply for a 90-day Money Back Guaranteed Test Drive of the entire system, including the Toolkit, one-on-one coaching (with our experienced coaches who are all salon & spa owners themselves) and access to the Members Only resources website.

NZ Salon Owner Coffee Group Session Kicks Off in Ponsonby, Auckland!

If you are interested in registering for future ‘Coffee Group Sessions’ then email chris@worldwidesalonmarketing.com to get notified first!

Both inner Circle and non inner circle members came together to share ideas and knowledge on how we can improve our businesses in general and how we can make these daily deals websites work for us.

There has been an explosion of these websites over the last 12 months with some 80 plus in New Zealand alone and I have been fielding calls from salon owners on a regular basis asking me my thoughts, so we felt it important to discuss the pros and cons of these daily deals sites so that salons can make an informed decision before committing to it.

The coffee group started with 2 stories about businesses that had embarked on a daily deal offer.  One story reflected on how these daily deals can work against you, another on how it can work for you.  Here’s a brief outline of these 2 stories.

How a Daily Deal Offer Worked Against a Business

The first story was about a restaurant who signed up for a deal and quickly sold 500 vouchers.  They simply were not ready for the onslaught that followed as they didn’t have the staff or infrastructure in place to cope.  Once the deal had expired the restaurant owner said they would never do a similar deal again because the coupon they did proved very costly after the discount they offered and the commission they gave away.  In addition the customers that bought the deal were either existing customers already or they came from out of town and would be unlikely to return again in the future. They felt like many of these customers were on the coupon track and would keep searching out the best coupon deals and not be loyal to any one business.

How a Daily Deal Offer Worked For a Business

The next story was about a massage therapist who had just started up a new business and as a way to kick start her business she felt what better way to launch herself than to do a daily deal offer and get her name out in front of a whole bunch of people who had never heard about her before.  She sold 219 deals and about 75 signed up for more services. As a new business the influx of clients was invaluable to her and brought in people from areas of town she never thought about targeting.  The massage therapist explained that it was important to do a deal  that encouraged people to buy more (services or product), but not to expect to make any money from doing the daily deal, instead use it as a marketing tool to get customers in the door.

After hearing these stories and sharing their own experiences, what did salon owners at the coffee group session see as the major pros and cons of these websites?

Here is some of the feedback we got from Salon Owners about the cons of daily deals

• Bargain Hunters: Many of the salon owners felt like the majority of people coming in with these vouchers were bargain hunters with another 5 vouchers for different salons up their sleeve.  Therefore it was hard to build any loyalty from these people and turn them into regular clients.
• Not the Salons Target Market: As the daily deals have such a large database many of the customers who bought the offer were not the salons ideal target market. Lots even found their regular customers had bought the deal too.
• Annoys Loyal Customers: As the salon was busy with daily deal clients it made it hard to find appointment times for the regular loyal customers.  This annoyed the regulars who pay a premium price and they would not come back and instead go to a nearby competing salon.
• No Profit:  There was no profit to be made doing these deals as by the time you take off staff costs, product costs, daily deals commission, tax, gst you would be actually losing money
• Discounting: Salon owners felt like doing a daily deal lowered the value of their business and makes them look desperate.  A new client buying a discounted daily deal offer will always see this as the original price making it hard to charge more in the future.  The discount also devalues your service and costs you cash in the till.
• Too Busy: Sounds like a good problem to have, but many salons who had done these deals felt that they just couldn’t cope with the onslaught of customers and did not have the infrastructure or systems in place to cope.  This annoyed the people who had bought the deals as they couldn’t fit in sometimes for weeks.  You know what they say…’first impressions count!’  The salon would also be left with weeks of coupon clients to service and no profit to be made.
• Cash flow is Difficult: Some salons found they would be waiting up to a month to be paid, but they would still have staff and bills to pay in the mean time putting them under considerable financial stress.
• No Restrictions or Limits: Many found they were unable to set limits and didn’t put any restrictions on the offer, so their late nights or peak times were filled with coupon clients
• No Rewards or Incentives:  Because the profit margin is minimal if nothing at all, then salons could not offer incentives or bonuses for staff, meaning staff were unmotivated to rebook these clients.

Here is some of the feedback we got from Salon Owners about the pros of daily deals

• Good marketing Tool: Some salons found that the daily deals were a great marketing tool in order to get their business in front of thousands of customers who had never heard about them before.  Provided you didn’t just rely on them for income then it was a great opportunity to get new business and fast.
• Bigger Reach/Database: It allowed a salon with a relatively small customer base and no email software system in place the chance to reach a wider audience with no upfront costs.  It also allowed them to build their own database quickly.
• Utilising Downtime: It was a great way to fill downtime in the salon provided you had put day or time restrictions in your offer
• New Clients: It was a fast way to get new clients through the door and once they had established a relationship with the client they could personalise their future marketing to that client.
• Up-selling Opportunity: A few salons had put in place an up-sell so that when these clients booked in they were given the opportunity to upgrade to a higher priced serviced allowing the salon to make more money
• Mini Referral System: Although the client who has bought the deal may not be your ideal client or may even live out of town, if they enjoy their experience they may even refer other clients to you or buy a voucher for a friend or relative who does live in your area.

The overall consensus from the first NZ Salon Owner Coffee Group Session was that daily deal websites should be treated as a loss leader.  A great marketing tool to get new customers in the door and build a database, but certainly not something that is going to make you rich!

After attending the Coffee Group, Michelle Govender has decided that Daily Deal websites are not for her Salon Rejuven8 Health & Beauty.  See her video below!

As with any marketing campaign that is a loss leader you need to know what a customer is worth to you so that you know how much you are willing to spend or give away in order to get a customer worth $xxxx per year to your salon.  If you don’t know what a customer is worth to you in a lifetime then it’s something you need to know!

So how can a salon beat the daily deal websites and keep all the money? Well, if you are determined to do a daily deal then you need to become familiar with the concept of value adding instead of discounting. This is a great way to offer your coupon hunters more perceived value but at the same time you will not be affecting your profit margin.

To answer my opening question, are daily deal websites destroying our industry? Well to a certain extent yes they are.  But I also believe that salons need to put more thought into their marketing long term instead of just going for the ‘quick fix’ which in many instances is leaving salons out of pocket!

Answer this question.  Do you make a sale to gain a customer, or get a customer to make a sale?

It seems like salons are continually trying to undercut each other on these websites and to be quite honest, it screams of desperation and resembles a pack of salivating hyena’s, all trying desperately to scrape the last bit of meat from the carcass.  In an effort to get a quick fix of cash, short sighted salons are inadvertently destroying the industry as a whole – these are the salons that see the purpose of a customer is to make a one-off sale. Harsh words I know, but it’s this thoughtless approach to marketing that really irks me.  I have spent years trying to get salon owners to see more value in what they do, and drive the price of our services up.  Why is it that many salon owners de-value what they do so much to the point of bankrupting themselves?

Hopefully this blog will help you make a more informed decision as to whether you should or shouldn’t do a daily deal, and if you do, how to manage it so that it works for you!

I would love to get more feedback on this topic so please leave your comments below!

If you want to know the secrets of gaining customers for life then you need to be a member of the Inner Circle Program and get your copy of the Essential Salon Owners Marketing Toolkit™ then Click here to find out more and apply for a 90-day Money Back Guaranteed Test Drive of the entire system, including the Toolkit, one-on-one coaching (with our experienced coaches who are all salon & spa owners themselves) and access to the Members Only resources website.

NZ Salon Owners Brainstorm Ideas!

Worldwide Salon Marketing NZ and The Salon Staff Coach have teamed up and are excited to announce the start of a new mini series of ‘Coffee Group’ Starter Classes for salon owners.  This is your chance to get up close and pick the brains of 2 NZ salon marketing and staff coaching experts. 

The first of these starter classes will be at the ‘Williamson Cafe’ in Ponsonby on June 20^th and will be from 9.30am to 11.30am.

These classes will be hosted by Auckland Salon owners and Worldwide Salon Marketing/Salon Staff Coach directors Chris and Rachael D’Aguiar-Sanders.  The cost is just $19 per person and complimentary tea/coffee and light snacks will be available.

Call 0800 029 668 Now to secure your spot or email chris@worldwidesalonmarketing.com

Each of these Mini Starter Classes will have their own unique topics up for discussion….So what can you expect to learn from this session?  

• The Pro’s and Con’s of Daily Deal Websites. There has been an explosion of these websites on the market (At least 80 in NZ alone!).  So how do you out-smart those daily deal websites – and keep ALL the money!
• Why building a database is like striking GOLD for your salon and how to get the most out of your database. PLUS why your business is worth nothing without it!
• The Lifetime value of a customer to your business.  Do you get a customer to make a sale or make a sale to gain a customer? How much money is slipping out of your hands by ignoring your customers?        
• How to get your staff seeing each new client as an opportunity and rebooking every single one.  What’s in it for your staff and what’s in it for you?
• Your Q & A – Let us know what you want to hear about!

We have allocated time for a question and answer session so get submitting your questions now to chris@worldwidesalonmarketing.com or rachael@worldwidesalonmarketing.com   

Hurry! There are ONLY 15 spaces available at this starter class.  Once the spaces are gone, that’s it!

And for current Inner Circle Members we will be hosting a ‘Members Only Closed Door Session’ at the same venue from 12pm to 1.30pm.  This will be free of charge for IC members and coffee/tea and light snacks will be provided.  

To book in contact Chris Sanders at chris@worldwidesalonmarketing.com or call 0800 029 668

Some salons I have spoken to have had more than 600 bookings from these sites and haven’t been prepared for that kind of response, especially when they are a one-woman-band business.  They just didn’t have the systems and infrastructure in place to cope.

Which leads me to share with you an interesting story that I was told last week when taking my 4 week old baby daughter to see a specialist. A Paediatrician, Allergist and Chest Physician no less!  It illustrates what happens when you don’t have the right systems and infrastructure in place.  What starts out as a great idea can soon turn horribly wrong!

Our daughter had been suffering from reflux and some strange rashes, so the specialist asked us lots of questions about our baby as well as our history.  We explained how Rachael had lost her allergy to dairy products during the pregnancy and so she had been able to eat as much Ice Cream as she wanted, but as soon as the baby was born, the allergy returned.  The specialist found this very amusing and suggested I should keep Rachael pregnant so she can always eat Ice Cream!

He then went on to tell us about how in some African tribes the chief of the village would have to have at least one of his wives pregnant at any given time, to prove his power and virility.  The logical reason behind this was that only 1 in 10 of these children would actually survive – it had nothing to do with Ice Cream!

The specialist was compelled to lobby the American government to donate their expired pharmaceuticals so they could be used in third world countries such as Africa to help reduce the infant mortality rate.  Over $2 billion worth of drugs were being thrown away each year by the drug companies that were still good to use for at least another year beyond that date.

He was eventually successful in his bid and implemented a massive program in Africa to help reduce the death rate amongst children.  The program proved to be very effective and the populations of the tribes began to increase dramatically.

There was of course a slight problem.  Now that the population was growing there was increased pressure on the infrastructure and resources in the villages and before long many of these tribes couldn’t support their people.

You see, the program they had implemented to help reduce the child mortality rate had succeeded, but what they hadn’t done was to change a culture that was firmly set in its ways.  The male leaders would still have one wife pregnant and the population would continue to explode.  It was a disaster!

The specialist told us “As a doctor my heart was telling me to save lives.  But I never thought about the consequences”.

He confessed that due to this population increase they had to implement sponsor a child programs as damage control. These are the campaigns that we still see on TV today.

So how on earth does this relate back to your salon and doing daily deals? Well if anything it told me that all of our actions have a consequence, be it good or bad.  Regardless, we have to be prepared for ANY outcome.

What happens when the population of your salon suddenly increases from your amazing one day only deal?  Well, if you can’t fit them in, you get a lot of very annoyed customers.  Not only the ones who have bought the deal off the website who have to wait months before they can fit in, but your loyal existing clients who have been coming to you for years and can’t get their usual spot!  So you end up doing $29 deals for months, half of which you give to the website as their commission.

Just like the African village you have grown very fast but there hasn’t been a careful strategy put in place to make sure you can cope with the increase.

And what happens if you have all these customers come through your doors only for them to get their deal and you never see them again?  If your salon’s rebooking rate is low then you would want to address this before you even contemplate embarking on a daily deal offer.  Change the culture first.

So if you are thinking about doing one of those ‘daily deal’ offers, then think carefully before hand and don’t just use it as a quick fix as it may come back to hit you were it hurts the most – Your pocket.  And I can safely say there won’t be any ‘sponsor a salon’ campaigns on the TV anytime soon!

If you want to learn the secrets to marketing and sales strategies that REALLY work and gets your phone ringing red-hot all the time, then you need to be a Inner Circle Member! Go here for more information and complete the brief online form to apply for a 90-day Risk Free Test Drive of the entire Inner Circle system, including the world-famous Toolkit.

So what do you do to make that happen?

Well, the next thing you do is identify what market you are targeting.  If your offer is a Brazilian waxing promotion then the local Rest Home may not be your ideal market! 

Once you’ve identified your market you choose your media to deliver this message to market. 

Let’s say you decide to do a mailbox drop to attract the new clients, and a direct mail piece and email for your existing clients.  Now that all sounds great, but how do you absolutely maximise the results that you get from this promotion. 

If you follow the principles of direct response marketing that we teach at Worldwide Salon Marketing, then there is a VERY good chance that you will get a great result.  But the question is, can you take things a step further and get even better results using some simple, yet clever techniques.  I think so! 

Which is the reason for me writing this post – How can you maximise the amount of people that are actually going to open your mail and look at your offer, so that YOU can get the most bang for your marketing buck?

There are some simple, highly effective techniques you can use to increase the responses to your marketing through direct mail

Last week I went to my Po Box and saw what looked like one of those envelopes that you get from a Courier, letting you know that you have a parcel waiting for you because it was too big to fit in the Post Box.  Curious and eager as to what the package may be, I ripped the perforated edges of the courier envelope to find out where I collected my parcel from, only to discover that it was actually an advert for a company called Scotpac who do debt financing. 

Inner Circle Members can view the envelope on the members-only website by clicking the link below….

http://www.worldwidesalonmarketing.com/members/marketing-to-existing-clients/email-marketing/a-smart-direct-mail-example/

Now the fact that I didn’t require Scotpacs services was irrelevant.  My immediate thoughts were, ‘that’s smart marketing’. 

First of all, their use of the imitation courier envelope was a stroke of genius.  Some may say they tricked me into opening it.  I would say that they are so interested in having me as a client and telling me about what services they offer, that they will go to any lengths to get me to open their mail. 

The next thing here is that Po Box holders would be their ideal target market – mostly business owners.  There were probably 300-400 Po Boxes who would have received this courier envelope in my post shop alone.  

Finally, they made it as easy as possible for me to enquire further.  A freephone 0800 number and a freepost envelope. 

Like I said earlier, you will no doubt get great results from using the direct response techniques we teach, but why not put a bit more effort in and go that extra mile to maximise those results!  You want as many potential customers to look at what it is you’re trying to sell them, right?  Otherwise it’s income lost.

Do you know how many of your clients are opening your emails?

Email is another example.   Think about how many emails you get every day from people whether its friends, facebook updates, newsletters that you’ve subscribed too, whatever.  How many of them do you actually read?  Many people will just click ‘delete’ and that’s the message gone FOREVER.   Your customers could and probably are doing this to you when you send out an offer by email.  Being able to moniter these statistics is crucial – in our salon D’Aguiar:hair.skin.nails we use a systems that can tell you how many people actually opened up and read the email, allowing us to tweak our marketing each time for better results.  

Your subject heading is crucial with email and can make or break your campaign.  Inner Circle Members can go to the Members-Only website here to view some great examples of attention grabbing headlines  http://www.worldwidesalonmarketing.com/members/salon-marketing-ideas/ideas-to-steal/headlines-you-can-swipe-and-modify-for-your-own-salon/

You have to give your existing customers and potential new customers a reason to want to open up & read your marketing.  A belief that there is something worth reading about that might change their life, or in some way benefit them.  Make them think that if they don’t open up this mail, they might be missing out on something special, an opportunity gone begging….and the truth is, they may be missing out on something pretty amazing  – A glamorous makeover in your salon perhaps!!!

If you want to learn the secrets to marketing and sales strategies that REALLY work and gets your phone ringing red-hot all the time, then you need to be a Inner Circle Member! Go here for more information and complete the brief online form to apply for a 90-day Risk Free Test Drive of the entire Inner Circle system, including the world-famous Toolkit.

Toni Cunningham, WSM NZ's New Coach & Mentor!

So successful has NZ salon owner and Inner Circle member Toni Cunningham been with her own salon, Decadence in Palmerston North, that she’s joined the Worldwide Salon Marketing coaching team to guide other New Zealand salon owners on a path to their own success.

In the last 5 months alone Worldwide Salon Marketing New Zealand has seen its membership to the Inner Circle program increase by over 61% based on the same period last year.  Due to this phenomenal growth we asked Toni to come on board so that we can continue to provide our members with the best coaching and mentoring service available in New Zealand.

In similar fashion to WSM, Toni (who will be based out of her office in Palmerston North), has seen her hair & beauty salon grow over 300% in the last 12 months since she joined the Worldwide Salon Marketing program.  She was also voted as one of the top 3 fastest growing boutique salons in the recent National Kitomba Awards.

She will be an excellent addition to our team and her knowledge and experience in the industry and as a WSM Inner Circle member will be a huge asset to any salon owner she mentors and coaches.

Says Toni,

“12 months ago I had a salon that was struggling to make ends meet, a far cry from my salon today which gets over 25 new clients each week. Since I joined the Inner Circle program I have never looked back, my salon is making so much more profit and I am in the salon less which allows me to spend more time with the family and have more ‘me’ time.

I am so excited and passionate about helping other salon owners succeed in business, achieve their goals and subsequently improve their lifestyle, and I truly believe that by sharing knowledge you can help someone create a better life for themselves.”

Toni, who also has experience in sales and management told me in a recent conversation that she noticed another salon in her town had joined the WSM Inner Circle program and she took it upon herself to go and see them and gave them some help and advice with their marketing.  Now that’s what I call an admirable thing to do!

Here’s what Toni said when I interviewed her recently:

I’m sure you’ll agree, Toni is a natural choice and a fantastic asset we’ve managed to secure for our NZ IC members…

Welcome to the team Toni!!!

Members who are wanting schedule in a coaching call with myself or Toni should call our Auckland office now on 0800 029 668