Friday, 15 June 2012
Unconventional marketing ideas for salons and spas (part 2)
I've seen so many blog posts about how to use new technologies to attract more clients, that I'm honestly about to explode. It is always the same thing, the same advice, the same techniques with little or no adaptation.
So to summarise what advice is currently available online, we have:
- Heaps of articles giving you tips about advertising yourself on Facebook or Twitter, generally for free (just like if you didn't know how to post a status or a photo by yourself)
- Countless blogs telling you how to do it via smartphones
- And some others giving you advice to create new flyers
Boredom 1 - 0 Innovation
But the main problem for me isn't the lack of innovation, it's the lack of creativity and originality. Yes, the theme has changed and you have different things for Mothers Day, Christmas, Summer... but the techniques to attract new clients are always the same:
- The old discount trick
- The free gift
- The package
It seems like many marketers have lost their enthusiasm and only recycle old ideas on new devices. Where is the imagination? Where is that creativity which is supposed to be the foundation of this industry?
Let's dream about something new, even if it sounds crazy. I know that all my ideas are hard to put in place mainly because they require a good dose of cheek! But the truth is, there are more tens of thousands of salons in the UK - all trying to attract new clients - so if you want to distinguish yourself from the competition, it's time to act differently.
Yes, my crazy ideas are back!
This time, I have decided to come up with some ideas on how to attract people when they are walking past your salon because, let's face it, the ‘A’ board is dated! I hope these ideas will help you catch people's attention and bring in more clients.
1. Welcome to Camden Town
If you think about it, how different is your storefront from your competitor’s down the road?
If you want to differentiate yourself, take Camden Town for example. Strongly associated with alternative culture, this London quarter is reputed for its very colourful, out of the ordinary buildings (see picture). Gigantic statues adorn the facades of every building literally grabbing pedestrians attention and telling them what is sold in that shop. It is a very cool and unmissable way to draw attention.
Now we could imagine a giant red, white and blue (British power!) comb for a hair salon or a huge pink varnish bottle for a beauty one (or use your brand colours).
Yes it's expensive but people WILL take notice and even pictures in front of the store. And to answer back to the social network, need an offer marketer! These pictures will attract more attention on Facebook than a 10% off coupon!
2. The wolf-whistle gadget
If your storefront is quite small, your potential clients may miss you. We’ve seen in the paragraph above one way to attract them visually, let’s now talk about how to catch their attention in a sonorous way, using the wolf-whistle technique.
Crazy? Don’t worry, I’m not talking about asking one your member of staff to whistle at every girl passing by your salon. In fact, I was thinking about motion sensors. Now there are many of these that look like a plant or a bird, and you can easily put one in front of your salon. The best thing is that those sensors don’t really “whistle”, they say “hello!” or make a beautiful sound which will catch people’s attention and make them look at your salon.
3. Look Down!
If you look at people walking in the street, you'll see that a high number of them are watching the ground and not what surrounds them. Is it impossible to catch their attention? No, but you'll have to advertise yourself in their field of vision... the pavement.
The pavement here is all the same, so if you put a bit of colour on it, you’ll get noticed. You can make your salon entrance as extravagant as a Cannes film premiere with the red carpet or even use power cleaning stencils (reverse graffiti) to get your message across! You can also think about using filtered lights to advertise your salon and show people you're HERE.
4. The Hollister approach
Okay this last idea is a bit cheeky but I wanted to end this post on a good note and give you a reason to smile for the rest of the day. Let's follow the Hollister example!
For those of you who have no idea of what I'm talking about, every year during summer time, Hollister hires male models to stay outside their shops only wearing shorts.
It's a dream coming true, isn't it? It's like watching Baywatch except that those "lifesavers" are younger and only a meter away from you.
So, if it works for Hollister, why wouldn't it work for you? It's quite expensive but think about the number of female clients you will attract in a single day! If you want to attract men, don't worry, this technique also works extremely well with female models. There are many modelling agencies across the UK so if you want to find out more, contact one of them.
Have a good day!
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