Thursday 29 March 2012
Unconventional marketing ideas for salons and spas
Online promotions have become the norm as it's a cheap and fast way to advertise at large-scale. However, as everybody uses the same online tools (Twitter, Facebook, newsletters, emails), promotions aren't really different from one salon to another and don't really catch people attention. They all miss that "little something" that would make people remember it for months.
So I've been imagining what I would do if I had my own business and wanted to promote it, let's say, "in a different way". Here are some of the ideas that came to my mind, all of them feasible offline. Try them if you are dynamic, have devoted staff members and want to offer something more.
Advertise yourself in the sky
Don't worry I'm not talking about using carrier pigeons to send promotions to your clients, they would probably not appreciate it. In fact I was more thinking about helium balloons. What about releasing 100 or 200 of these with your business card or a promotional flyer fastened to them? It's affordable and would help advertise you locally in a uncommon way. The best thing is that it's customisable! You can write your own message or, if you want to use it for Valentine's Day for example, just choose heart-shaped balloons.
Catch me if you can!
I was wondering what would make me run to a salon if I wasn't in an emergency situation like "I’ve had a DIY, hair at home self-colouring disaster!" After ten seconds, it flashed through my mind: What LITERALLY makes women run...? Men!
It may sounds silly but think about George Clooney or Brad Pitt, every time these guys put one foot outside a crowd of women follow them wherever they may go! So if it works for them, why wouldn't it work for you? Choose the most attractive male member of your staff, give him a t-shirt with the name of your salon and the sentence "Catch me and you'll get a free haircut!" written on it, place him in the middle of a busy street, and... 3 - 2 - 1..GO!
Curiouser and curiouser
Everybody is curious, it's a fact. So why not try to take of advantage of it to attract new customers to your salon? Create a flyer with a big question mark in the middle and your address on the reverse. Don't write anything else, not even the name of your salon! Once created, ask some members of your staff to distribute them without telling people what it's about. You'll see, curiosity will drive them to you.
Follow the yellow brick road
What I love in marketing is that everything can become a powerful communication tool if used correctly. Let's take the example of pavements. If you want your potential customers to go to your salon, show them the way! Wake up early in the morning and draw some yellow arrows on the pavement from a strategic point of the city to your salon. Like Dorothy in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, they will find their way to your salon.
Looking a fool never killed anyone, but it makes people remember you
Many salons decorate for Christmas or Easter by putting tinsels or little eggs on their front window. But you could do and share more with your clients. How? Hire out some Santa or Bunny accessories for you and your staff and work with them for 2 or 3 days. You'll may look funny with your bunny ears or your Santa bear but it will help you share this moment with your customers and stick in their memories several months past the event ;)
Maybe all these ideas won't work for your salon but at least you would have tried, had fun and be known in your locality for acting and thinking different from the others.
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I love your fresh thinking although I'm not sure all ideas would work.
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