You know that your salon is an excellent space with top-of-line offerings and you’ve more than likely put your blood, sweat, and tears into creating and offering your guests the environment you dreamed of. You know a lot about the products and services you offer; after all, you chose them for a reason. You also know your staff – you interviewed, hired, and trained them to meet the standards that you put in place. You know a lot of things about your business; but, do you know your customer?
You might be thinking, Why, yes! I know their names, and if I saw them at the supermarket, I’d recognize their faces. But, are you aware of their beauty wants and needs? Knowing their names is important; but understanding the types of customers you see, as well as their “why” or the reasons they come to you can really improve your sales and show how much you care.
As a business owner, knowledge of your clientele is just as important as the services you offer. In the tanning industry, it’s common knowledge that salon guests look to your facility to get a golden glow and their weekly “me time” in that sunbed. However, you may be missing out on opportunities to sell other services and memberships if you aren’t selling directly to them.
Marketing to different types of clients may seem tricky and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s face it, you are busy and may not have the time to sit down with each and every guest to discuss all of their beauty concerns and ways you can assist them. This is where creating Buyer Personas comes in! Creating these personas can make it easier to pinpoint and analyze the types of guests you see weekly and what their needs are. Hubspot.com defines a buyer persona as “a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers. When creating your buyer persona(s), consider including customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals.”
Generating a few buyer or client personas is a fantastic way to cater to your guests, get the most out of your marketing dollars, and sell the right services and retail items to the right people! During this process, you may find that almost every one of your guests, or their “personas,” can benefit from your offerings. Once this is realized, selling to them successfully will then be all up to your sales pitch.
Ready for some homework? At your next team meeting, make a list of three typical guests who visit your salon. You could start with “new,” “return” and “regular,” give them names and write brief descriptions of them. List the reasons they visit your business and for extra credit, write down the types of products and packages you can put together that might interest them. From there, you will have the knowledge you need to create custom sales pitches and marketing collateral that speaks to your clientele, directly.
When you and your team take a new approach to speaking with clients, an approach that’s focused on them, you will nurture and grow those relationships, as well as your sales!
Knowledge of your clientele is just as important as the services you offer.
