Do you have your holiday ducks in a row? Be sure to have some great holiday specials to offer your clientele- after all, tis' the season for stepping out to those snazzy holiday parties in those stylish new threads and sparkly jewels. They'll need a great hairstyle to match. Thing is, they've already spend a big chunk on those clothes and accessories, not to mention gifts- so it's a great gift to your customers to offer some deep discounts.
For the new years, it might just be time to renew and refresh your salon's image with some quality hair stylist's business cards. Don't stop at the business cards- it might be time for you to create a whole new image. Posters, flyers, and a website overhaul might be just the ticket to banish those winter blahs to help you get through to the spring.
Happy Holidays!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Day Spa Business Cards
One of the most popular indulgences for ladies (and some gents) these days is a day out at the spa. Some salons have gotten smart and merged their hair, makeup and nail styling with spa type elements to come up with a whole new kind of experience. Now there are places where you can get a mani-pedi, body wrap, hairstyle and massage all in one trip. You go in feeling drab and looking dull, and come out looking and feeling like a million bucks. If you own a salon, even if you can't quite come up with the equipment and staff to create an entire separate spa side of your business, add some elements and start advertising your services.
Seriously people, would it kill ya to start offering a few spa services? For instance, aromatherapy is an inexpensive, rather esoteric way to introduce some of these elements into your salon. How about having at least one of your staff skilled in simple massage techniques? There are cheap classes for that.
Salons are often rather clinical looking places- why not soften up the atmosphere with some calming music and greenery?
If you don't have a business card that capitalizes on any spa type features, now's the time to get that ball rolling.
Friday, November 5, 2010
How to Design a Great Salon Business Card
Before ordering your salon or spa business cards, give some thought to how you want your end result to appear.
The first thing to consider is your "audience". Whose attention are you trying to get? Is it middle aged ladies, trendy young men, or teenage girls headed for prom? Or do you need to appeal to everyone?
For instance, if you're trying to have a young crowd or families attracted to your salon, cartoony graphics, and maybe rounded corners are in order.
Secondly, make sure your colors actually match and don't clash. Be sure the font colors you choose are strong enough to be seen over all the other elements on the card. An example: If you are using a template that has a greyscale background, white is probably not going to show up well enough. The exception is if the card designer you are using (like the one on BusinessCardsThatWork.com ) has a drop shadow option- this makes the letters pop out from the background.
Then you want to think about your font type- that is, how the letters actually look. There are a gajillion fonts to use but you only need 2, maybe 3 max. Don't overdo it or it will end up looking very unorganized. Choose a font that suits your salon- for men, the very sporty looking bullpen 3d font is great- sort of reminds you of baseball. For kids, the font "comic sans" is always perfect. You can also never go wrong with a classic like Times-Roman, or Georgia. Use italics, bold, and shadows for highlights, but don't go overboard.
Pictures- do you need to add any graphics of you own to the card, or leave it as is? A good addition might be a picture of the salon itself (it if looks good), or inside the salon; maybe a group pic of your stylists of a head shot of the stylist whose card it is. Have a logo? If not, why? Come up with something simple yet memorable. There are a few business card sites that let you build a gallery of your own pics, to upload and tweak as you'd like. BusinessCardsThatWork.com is one of them.
Double sided business cards are great- you can put a little fill-in form to write in their next appointment info. If your business does almost exclusively walk ins, there's not much need for this. This is also a good place for a map, a list of specialties, bio of a hairdresser, company history, etc.
There are 3 types of business card finishes you can get from most business card companies- matte, c2v, and UV coated. The matte coating isn't really a good choice in any case. They get dirty, bent up, and look just plain unprofessional. You may as well just print them out on your printer if you're gonna get those. C2V coating is the right choice for most cards. It's not too glossy but not at all matte either. It provides your card with enough protection to withstand use.
UV coating is a shiny, glossy coating that's a little more expensive but often worth it. I wouldn't go dipping them in water or running over them with a car, but they will darn sure last WAY longer than any other biz cards. If you're going to spend a significant amount of money on business cards, go the extra mile and give them a little insurance.
Experiment- get 2 different sets of 250 each, and see which one seems to get the best response.
In conclusion, approach your business cards design with thought beforehand. Don't wait until you've started designing to come up with your colors, fonts and graphics.
The first thing to consider is your "audience". Whose attention are you trying to get? Is it middle aged ladies, trendy young men, or teenage girls headed for prom? Or do you need to appeal to everyone?
For instance, if you're trying to have a young crowd or families attracted to your salon, cartoony graphics, and maybe rounded corners are in order.
Secondly, make sure your colors actually match and don't clash. Be sure the font colors you choose are strong enough to be seen over all the other elements on the card. An example: If you are using a template that has a greyscale background, white is probably not going to show up well enough. The exception is if the card designer you are using (like the one on BusinessCardsThatWork.com ) has a drop shadow option- this makes the letters pop out from the background.
Then you want to think about your font type- that is, how the letters actually look. There are a gajillion fonts to use but you only need 2, maybe 3 max. Don't overdo it or it will end up looking very unorganized. Choose a font that suits your salon- for men, the very sporty looking bullpen 3d font is great- sort of reminds you of baseball. For kids, the font "comic sans" is always perfect. You can also never go wrong with a classic like Times-Roman, or Georgia. Use italics, bold, and shadows for highlights, but don't go overboard.
Pictures- do you need to add any graphics of you own to the card, or leave it as is? A good addition might be a picture of the salon itself (it if looks good), or inside the salon; maybe a group pic of your stylists of a head shot of the stylist whose card it is. Have a logo? If not, why? Come up with something simple yet memorable. There are a few business card sites that let you build a gallery of your own pics, to upload and tweak as you'd like. BusinessCardsThatWork.com is one of them.
Double sided business cards are great- you can put a little fill-in form to write in their next appointment info. If your business does almost exclusively walk ins, there's not much need for this. This is also a good place for a map, a list of specialties, bio of a hairdresser, company history, etc.
There are 3 types of business card finishes you can get from most business card companies- matte, c2v, and UV coated. The matte coating isn't really a good choice in any case. They get dirty, bent up, and look just plain unprofessional. You may as well just print them out on your printer if you're gonna get those. C2V coating is the right choice for most cards. It's not too glossy but not at all matte either. It provides your card with enough protection to withstand use.
UV coating is a shiny, glossy coating that's a little more expensive but often worth it. I wouldn't go dipping them in water or running over them with a car, but they will darn sure last WAY longer than any other biz cards. If you're going to spend a significant amount of money on business cards, go the extra mile and give them a little insurance.
Experiment- get 2 different sets of 250 each, and see which one seems to get the best response.
In conclusion, approach your business cards design with thought beforehand. Don't wait until you've started designing to come up with your colors, fonts and graphics.
Friday, October 22, 2010
5 More Reasons You Need Business Cards for Your Salon or Spa
If you think you don't need to have good, quality business cards in your salon / spa / barbershop advertising arsenal, think again.
1) Not everybody hangs out on your side of town. So you can't really depend on folks noticing your salon and remembering where it is, even if it's near a major landmark. But, you can bet they will deviate from their usual routine once they get word or idea that you do a great job.
2) The topic of what you do for a living comes up more often than you think. A casual conversation is a good opportunity for handing over your impressive business card. Keep it handy so there's no awkward digging around for it when the opportunity strikes.
3) Not everyone looks in the yellow pages - internet or paper. Personally, I haven't broken out the old paper YP in about 5 years. It would be my last resort. On the other hand, there are more people that you imagine who would not think to look up something like a salon online. Unless that is your customer base is nothing but hip 20-somethings.
4) Business cards (ahem- the right ones) give you an extra professional edge- but not just to others, but for yourself. Simply put, it's a confidence booster, and an ice breaker.
5) Your competition has business cards- count on that. If you see a trendy looking salon in town and they're doing lots of business, they've got a card and it's probably a good one. Find out what their card looks like and make yours better. You don't have to order lots of them to begin with- just make them reaallly good.
1) Not everybody hangs out on your side of town. So you can't really depend on folks noticing your salon and remembering where it is, even if it's near a major landmark. But, you can bet they will deviate from their usual routine once they get word or idea that you do a great job.
2) The topic of what you do for a living comes up more often than you think. A casual conversation is a good opportunity for handing over your impressive business card. Keep it handy so there's no awkward digging around for it when the opportunity strikes.
3) Not everyone looks in the yellow pages - internet or paper. Personally, I haven't broken out the old paper YP in about 5 years. It would be my last resort. On the other hand, there are more people that you imagine who would not think to look up something like a salon online. Unless that is your customer base is nothing but hip 20-somethings.
4) Business cards (ahem- the right ones) give you an extra professional edge- but not just to others, but for yourself. Simply put, it's a confidence booster, and an ice breaker.
5) Your competition has business cards- count on that. If you see a trendy looking salon in town and they're doing lots of business, they've got a card and it's probably a good one. Find out what their card looks like and make yours better. You don't have to order lots of them to begin with- just make them reaallly good.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Business Cards for Barbers or Salons that Cater to Men
 |
| Unisex salon business cards |
Either way, we don't want anything too frilly or frou-frou. Tone on tone, black and white, greyscale, or primary colors are your best bet. Rounded corners are probably best avoided, but depending on the design, a UV coating might be in order.
The card shown above is a great example of a gender-neutral card that can be tweaked either way. Use dark colors and a plainer font such as Arial or Verdana. To make is more girly, use a font like Georgia or Fashion Victim. Make the font color a pink or purple, or maybe aqua.
Here we have a VERY basic card that features some thinning shears on a white background.
 |
| Unisex salon or barber shop business cards |
Friday, October 8, 2010
Glossy = Glamour!
When you want a REALLY eye-catching salon business card, you can't go wrong with a glossy finish. How do you get a glossy finish business card? Well when you go to order your card, splurge on the UV coating. UV coating is an ultra-thin, plastic layer that is bonded to your business card surface. It makes that surface a lot more damage and moisture proof, but from an aesthetic standpoint, it can really add a touch of glamor to your design.
Those who are ordering double sided cards with appointment fill-in areas on the backs should get the UV coating only on the front side- it's too hard to write on.
The card shown above is already "glossy" in a way because of the highlights on the graphic. Imagine how it would sparkle with the UV coating. Add this touch to your business card designs by including the option in your cart. It only costs a few extra bucks, but you'll be thrilled with the results. If you don't have an appointment area on the back of the card, why not go all out and get the UV coating on both sides? Happy designing.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Well Rounded (Corners) Salon Business Card
Did you know that, for a couple of extra bucks, you can add a smooth new dimension to your salon and hair stylist business cards? We're talking about rounded corners versus the old traditional square ones.
Obviously, squared corners are perfect for many business card designs, and we'll talk about that in a future post- but then there are others that would look absolutely smashing with rounded corners.
Why would anyone want to bother with getting business cards with rounded corners?
The main reason would be simple durability. When someone slips a square-cornered business card int or out of their purse or wallet, the corners tend to get bent, (because they are more narrow of course) making a dog eared effect that is less than attractive. Round cornered business cards are easily transferred without losing their crispness.
Another positive aspect about ordering your salon business cards with rounded corners is a significantly softer appearance. When your primary customer base is female and your primary business card design is very feminine, a rounded silhouette will be very complimentary. A variation on this idea is, instead of order a huge box of all the same cards, order 2 smaller boxes- one for the guys and one for the gals. Have the ladies cards rounded, and the gents cards with traditional square corners.
Finally, the obvious- so far, business cards with rounded corners are still rather unique and trendy. Show your potential clients that you're on top of the current style trends by having a salon business card that sets you apart from your competition.
Most online business card companies allow you to choose this option toward the end of the checkout process, along with your finish- matte, glossy, etc. Next time you order, consider stepping outside the norm and choose rounded corners.
Obviously, squared corners are perfect for many business card designs, and we'll talk about that in a future post- but then there are others that would look absolutely smashing with rounded corners.
Why would anyone want to bother with getting business cards with rounded corners?
The main reason would be simple durability. When someone slips a square-cornered business card int or out of their purse or wallet, the corners tend to get bent, (because they are more narrow of course) making a dog eared effect that is less than attractive. Round cornered business cards are easily transferred without losing their crispness.
Another positive aspect about ordering your salon business cards with rounded corners is a significantly softer appearance. When your primary customer base is female and your primary business card design is very feminine, a rounded silhouette will be very complimentary. A variation on this idea is, instead of order a huge box of all the same cards, order 2 smaller boxes- one for the guys and one for the gals. Have the ladies cards rounded, and the gents cards with traditional square corners.
Finally, the obvious- so far, business cards with rounded corners are still rather unique and trendy. Show your potential clients that you're on top of the current style trends by having a salon business card that sets you apart from your competition.
Most online business card companies allow you to choose this option toward the end of the checkout process, along with your finish- matte, glossy, etc. Next time you order, consider stepping outside the norm and choose rounded corners.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
When Salons (And Their Business Cards) Don't Make The Cut
Okay. Being knowledgeable about both the salon / spa business AND business cards, I've seen some real duds on both counts. I don't really need to elaborate on less-than-pleasant salons, we've all been to at least one. (Rude employees, unsanitary, too expensive, etc.). But business cards... let's complain talk about those shall we?
There's the cards that are tacky, but not in a stylish, avant-garde, kinda way... more like the tacky, tacky- tacky kinda way. They have 5 different unreadable fonts in 5 different ugly, neon colors. Sometimes they have no graphics whatsoever, or the graphics they do have are fuzzy because the original picture file was too small and they blew it up to fit.
Yes, let's talk about graphics a little more. If you're advertising a business that specializes in beautifying people, it's probably not a good idea to feature your (scary-looking) cousin (whose hair you do for free once a month because you owe them money) be featured on your card. You should use a template that already features an attractive model with great hair. Or, you can take the time to find a really nice, copyright-free picture of a model to upload to a template.
You know, cheap paper looks... cheap. It's dull, it gets wrinkles, and it smudges if you breathe on it. That's because it has no coating on it. It looks unprofessional and will make you look unprofessional. Your business cards should have at least a protective coating on the front, and if you can swing it, get the UV coating, which will keep the card looking fresh for a long time.
Plain white business cards with black text and graphics can look good, but not if the fonts and picture you use looks like you printed it on your home computer with a clip-art program from 1996. Instead, find a pre-made business card template with eye-catching graphics and matching font. Don't use a Victorian, fancy font like Vivaldi if your cards have a modern, high tech flair. You'd think that would be common sense, but I've seen it done.
Too much information can be a bad thing on a biz card. Sure, there's a lot to say, but you really don't need to say it all. If you feel that you must include a lot of info, then choose a business card template that you can edit the back of. Then, you can put anything on there you like- a map to your salon (especially if it's out of the way), a list of all the things your salon specializes in, etc.
Keep your designs simple, readable, yet classy and your cards will work hard for you- you'll get your money's worth right away. Plus, you'll never have some picky blogger making fun of your business cards. This guy does a bang-up job of making fun of business cards in general, he has some really good points.
There's the cards that are tacky, but not in a stylish, avant-garde, kinda way... more like the tacky, tacky- tacky kinda way. They have 5 different unreadable fonts in 5 different ugly, neon colors. Sometimes they have no graphics whatsoever, or the graphics they do have are fuzzy because the original picture file was too small and they blew it up to fit.
Yes, let's talk about graphics a little more. If you're advertising a business that specializes in beautifying people, it's probably not a good idea to feature your (scary-looking) cousin (whose hair you do for free once a month because you owe them money) be featured on your card. You should use a template that already features an attractive model with great hair. Or, you can take the time to find a really nice, copyright-free picture of a model to upload to a template.
You know, cheap paper looks... cheap. It's dull, it gets wrinkles, and it smudges if you breathe on it. That's because it has no coating on it. It looks unprofessional and will make you look unprofessional. Your business cards should have at least a protective coating on the front, and if you can swing it, get the UV coating, which will keep the card looking fresh for a long time.
Plain white business cards with black text and graphics can look good, but not if the fonts and picture you use looks like you printed it on your home computer with a clip-art program from 1996. Instead, find a pre-made business card template with eye-catching graphics and matching font. Don't use a Victorian, fancy font like Vivaldi if your cards have a modern, high tech flair. You'd think that would be common sense, but I've seen it done.
Too much information can be a bad thing on a biz card. Sure, there's a lot to say, but you really don't need to say it all. If you feel that you must include a lot of info, then choose a business card template that you can edit the back of. Then, you can put anything on there you like- a map to your salon (especially if it's out of the way), a list of all the things your salon specializes in, etc.
Keep your designs simple, readable, yet classy and your cards will work hard for you- you'll get your money's worth right away. Plus, you'll never have some picky blogger making fun of your business cards. This guy does a bang-up job of making fun of business cards in general, he has some really good points.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Internet Resources for Hair Stylists & Barbers
On my last post, I mentioned how important it is to make use of internet resources available for hair stylists, barbers, and nail salons. So I think it would be a good idea to elaborate on that subject.
HairResources.com is an entertaining & useful resource for keeping an eye on celebrity hair trends ("Can you make my hair look like Megan Fox?") Has an extensive gallery of styles along with suggestions on how to achieve certain celebrity looks. You have to navigate through some ads but otherwise a very cool site.
HairMaven.com is an interesting online hangout for stylists of all types. Aside from more practical issues, has a forum for posting interesting / weird / funny things that happen in your salon.
BusinessCardsThatWork.com is an online store that has some of the classiest and most trendy salon, barber shop, spa, and nail salon business card templates available. Simply pick out your favorite template and personalize it (you can even add your own salon logo, pics of your employees, etc.). You can choose what type of finish you want, and also whether you want the corners to be rounded.
www.blackhairmedia.com and www.blackfolkshair.com are both huge sites that have lots of resources for both clients and hairstylists. Also, www.black-barbershops.com is a supersite of info for African-American barber shops.
Here is a very nice article from Entrepreneur Magazine about starting and maintaining your own salon.
You would not believe all the great resources out there for stylists. Go over to Youtube.com and do a search on whatever hairstyle types you're interested in learning about- some really useful and entertaining videos are there- even videos about how to make Disney Princess styles, for goodness sake. What would we do if there weren't so many peeps out there who like that 15 minutes of fame? :)
HairResources.com is an entertaining & useful resource for keeping an eye on celebrity hair trends ("Can you make my hair look like Megan Fox?") Has an extensive gallery of styles along with suggestions on how to achieve certain celebrity looks. You have to navigate through some ads but otherwise a very cool site.
HairMaven.com is an interesting online hangout for stylists of all types. Aside from more practical issues, has a forum for posting interesting / weird / funny things that happen in your salon.
BusinessCardsThatWork.com is an online store that has some of the classiest and most trendy salon, barber shop, spa, and nail salon business card templates available. Simply pick out your favorite template and personalize it (you can even add your own salon logo, pics of your employees, etc.). You can choose what type of finish you want, and also whether you want the corners to be rounded.
www.blackhairmedia.com and www.blackfolkshair.com are both huge sites that have lots of resources for both clients and hairstylists. Also, www.black-barbershops.com is a supersite of info for African-American barber shops.
Here is a very nice article from Entrepreneur Magazine about starting and maintaining your own salon.
You would not believe all the great resources out there for stylists. Go over to Youtube.com and do a search on whatever hairstyle types you're interested in learning about- some really useful and entertaining videos are there- even videos about how to make Disney Princess styles, for goodness sake. What would we do if there weren't so many peeps out there who like that 15 minutes of fame? :)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Salon - Spa - Barber Shop Client-Building Quick Bits
Here are some bite-size ideas for you to consider while pondering your salon, spa, nail tech, etc advertising venues and other ways to increase client volume or enhance your current customer's experience.
1) Change decor (plants, sculpture, style books, posters, etc) a couple times a year. If I see the same magazines on the same table one year later, yuck. More points lost if it looks like they're still in the same position and covered in dust.
2) Music, please. But be careful- the wrong music or loud music can also be very aggravating. Play it safe with the Lite rock station, which is relaxing and has a little something for everyone.
3) Use free internet tools to stay on top of trends in your industry. Ever heard of GigaAlerts? Formerly known as "Google Alerts". It can help you learn what people are searching for and talking about, and you will know about that awesome new technique or product before your competition does.
4) Join an internet forum to schmooze with your fellow stylists across the country- for instance, the Hair Boutique forums cover a jillion different topics from curly hair to African-American hairstyles.
4) Karma. It may take a while, but you get what you give. Participate in local charities and do what you can to help people, as a company/business.
5) Don't be uppity. Hey, you can be sophisticated AND personable at the same time. I can't count on one hand all the hair stylists and boutique / salon owners I've met who gave off a distinctively snooty aura. You want to give me the stink-eye while you've got your scissors to my hair? WRONG ANSWER. And if you're the owner / manager, don't let your stylists act the fool, either.
6) Get yourself some high-quality business cards and don't let one satisfied customer go out the door without one.
7) Don't underestimate a good sale, coupons, etc. Make sure you have them frequently... don't be known as that salon in town that ALWAYS charges full price for everything because you think everything you touch, including your clients, turns to gold. See #5.
1) Change decor (plants, sculpture, style books, posters, etc) a couple times a year. If I see the same magazines on the same table one year later, yuck. More points lost if it looks like they're still in the same position and covered in dust.
2) Music, please. But be careful- the wrong music or loud music can also be very aggravating. Play it safe with the Lite rock station, which is relaxing and has a little something for everyone.
3) Use free internet tools to stay on top of trends in your industry. Ever heard of GigaAlerts? Formerly known as "Google Alerts". It can help you learn what people are searching for and talking about, and you will know about that awesome new technique or product before your competition does.
4) Join an internet forum to schmooze with your fellow stylists across the country- for instance, the Hair Boutique forums cover a jillion different topics from curly hair to African-American hairstyles.
4) Karma. It may take a while, but you get what you give. Participate in local charities and do what you can to help people, as a company/business.
5) Don't be uppity. Hey, you can be sophisticated AND personable at the same time. I can't count on one hand all the hair stylists and boutique / salon owners I've met who gave off a distinctively snooty aura. You want to give me the stink-eye while you've got your scissors to my hair? WRONG ANSWER. And if you're the owner / manager, don't let your stylists act the fool, either.
6) Get yourself some high-quality business cards and don't let one satisfied customer go out the door without one.
7) Don't underestimate a good sale, coupons, etc. Make sure you have them frequently... don't be known as that salon in town that ALWAYS charges full price for everything because you think everything you touch, including your clients, turns to gold. See #5.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Business Cards & Electronic Advertising - A Comparison for Salons & Spas
There are some people who would argue that paper hair stylist & barber shop advertisements- such as business cards, flyers, postcards, etc- are less effective and more complicated than electronic and internet based means.
Not everyone has regular access to the internet. If they do, they may not ever run across your website on their own. When someone Googles certain keywords, such as "barber shops in Atlanta", the resulting websites that show up are no accident. It costs the website owner money to hire another company to "tweak" these search engine results. This can be very pricey and this search engine optimization is an inexact science with uncertain results at best, since the big search engines like Google and Yahoo are constantly changing their criteria to keep everyone honest.
Sure, most folks have access to television, but realistically, how many independent salon owners or hair stylists can afford even a 30 second TV spot?
So, electronic advertisements are great, but they aren't very proactive, since they depend on your potential customers finding YOU. The truth is, you shouldn't do without either, but paper advertisement is absolutely essential.
Three venues are super important: phone book yellow pages ads, business cards, and if you can swing it, postcard circulars. Yellow page ads are kind of pricey and aren't exactly attractive... but that's still the most popular form of advertising so you might as well fork out for it or be left in the dust. Don't think the "internet yellow pages" is going to get it. If you don't have at least a text ad in your actual paper phone book, you're losing out. Yes, some people still let their fingers do the walking.
Business cards for your beauty shop, nail salon, barber shop or spa are another must-have. They force you to be proactive. You should consider a good quality set of business cards an investment, as important as your phone book ad. You should get the best business cards you can reasonably budget for. It's a good idea to get the UV coating on at least one side. UV coating makes your card last longer and resist fading. If you have something like a list of your services or a map on the back, you should have the back coated as well. Some salons (and especially spas) like to have an appointment reminder area on the back, just like a doctor's office. If you have that done, leave the UV coating off the back, so you can write their next appointment there. Don't let a single satisfied customer walk out of your salon without at least 2 of your business cards. Be sure to have some on the appointment desk too.
You ought to have a postcard circular at least twice a year- once around the holidays is great, but if only once, make it spring. Spring is when people start buying those new wardrobes and trying out new hairstyles and colors. Yes, postcard circulars are pricey too but having your advertisement go directly to their mailbox is worth it. You can put a list of your services and some great coupons on these circulars.
Not everyone has regular access to the internet. If they do, they may not ever run across your website on their own. When someone Googles certain keywords, such as "barber shops in Atlanta", the resulting websites that show up are no accident. It costs the website owner money to hire another company to "tweak" these search engine results. This can be very pricey and this search engine optimization is an inexact science with uncertain results at best, since the big search engines like Google and Yahoo are constantly changing their criteria to keep everyone honest.
Sure, most folks have access to television, but realistically, how many independent salon owners or hair stylists can afford even a 30 second TV spot?
So, electronic advertisements are great, but they aren't very proactive, since they depend on your potential customers finding YOU. The truth is, you shouldn't do without either, but paper advertisement is absolutely essential.
Three venues are super important: phone book yellow pages ads, business cards, and if you can swing it, postcard circulars. Yellow page ads are kind of pricey and aren't exactly attractive... but that's still the most popular form of advertising so you might as well fork out for it or be left in the dust. Don't think the "internet yellow pages" is going to get it. If you don't have at least a text ad in your actual paper phone book, you're losing out. Yes, some people still let their fingers do the walking.
Business cards for your beauty shop, nail salon, barber shop or spa are another must-have. They force you to be proactive. You should consider a good quality set of business cards an investment, as important as your phone book ad. You should get the best business cards you can reasonably budget for. It's a good idea to get the UV coating on at least one side. UV coating makes your card last longer and resist fading. If you have something like a list of your services or a map on the back, you should have the back coated as well. Some salons (and especially spas) like to have an appointment reminder area on the back, just like a doctor's office. If you have that done, leave the UV coating off the back, so you can write their next appointment there. Don't let a single satisfied customer walk out of your salon without at least 2 of your business cards. Be sure to have some on the appointment desk too.
You ought to have a postcard circular at least twice a year- once around the holidays is great, but if only once, make it spring. Spring is when people start buying those new wardrobes and trying out new hairstyles and colors. Yes, postcard circulars are pricey too but having your advertisement go directly to their mailbox is worth it. You can put a list of your services and some great coupons on these circulars.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)