Building a business is never an easy thing. Building one in the beauty niche is even more daunting. With every passing day, there is increased competition between salons, and a lot of times, what makes the difference between the one that sinks and the one that stays afloat is their ability to garner new customers.
Boosting your salon’s customer growth is also not an easy task, but there are tools to make this much easier for you. In this article, I will walk you through some of these very effective tools and also show you how to make the most of them. Ready? Let’s go!
With over a billion users, Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms there is. What makes it a very important tool for increasing your customer base is that it is beyond a social tool – it is equally a marketing tool. In the United States, above 71% of its businesses have an Instagram account
If your play your cards right and do due diligence with the nuggets I’m about to share, you can have your customer base tripled in no time
- Go live.
The goal of a business is not just to get new customers, but to also retain old ones. If you’re losing them as fast as you’re acquiring them, then you’re no better than a ball running in circles. By going live, you get to interact closely with your customers, answer pressing questions that they might have, and also educate them with some beauty tips. This way, you build a special bond with them that they don’t have with other salons, and also position yourself as an authority in this niche.
- Maximize Hashtags
On every post, you’re allowed a total of 39 hashtags but so your post won’t look clumsy, it’s best to stick to 11 or thereabout. There are three main types of hashtags: popular, specific and branded. In each of your posts, it’s best to have a healthy mix of these three to reach a wide range of potential customers. A tool like Instagram hashtag generator can also come in handy in finding the right hashtags for you.
- SQUARESPACE
If as a business in 2022 you don’t have a website, then you are clearly behind the times. A website has gone beyond a crown jewel on a business card, but has evolved to be the digital home of your products and services. Suffice it to say, any salon without a website will not be taken seriously. By using a tool like Squarespace, you can have your website up and running within minutes. Even more, you can set up each page without any form of technical knowledge. There are countless templates and plugins ready-made for you. All you have to do is look through and like a puzzle, build up a digital space that resonates with the services you offer.
Squarespace is popularly known as one of the most efficient tools for creating beautiful salon websites and landing pages, and it offers a free trial.
- SEO TOOLS
Getting a website is a great step, but it doesn’t end there. After you have created a visually appealing website, you’re set to move on to optimizing it for search engines.
Search engine optimization is an important concept, yet it is one many businesses, especially those in the beauty niche, don’t pay attention to.
SEO is basically about you trying to ensure that your website pops up on the first page of Google when search queries related to the services you offer are inputted in search engines. For example, if a lady looking to get her hair dyed is looking for a local salon that could get that done for her, she could input a query like ‘hair salon in Baton Rouge’
Your duty as a salon, therefore, is to try to appear as high as possible. That way, there is an increased chance of the individual clicking through to your website and becoming a customer.
With diligent and intentional SEO, your business could bring in 10x the number of new customers it used to bring in, and this can be achieved through a little financial commitment.
A tool like Ahrefs Webmaster Tools can help you with this. SEO is a daunting task, and, understandably, you might not have the time to sit with it or extra personnel to commit to the task. After you carry out an audit, it will suggest areas to enhance your internal linking. The suggestions are quite helpful in boosting search engine rankings. The tool likewise allows you to have a look at your site’s organic keyword rankings and also see who is linking to you.
- Salon Software
Salon software are increasing sporadically daily and this is not a shock. Making use of Salon software is one of the most effective ways to reach a new audience today, and also keep them coming back for more.
With FRESHA you can book appointments from the comfort of your home, change your schedule if something comes up, and even make payments. Everyone is looking for faster ways to do things more efficiently, and that is what FRESHA brings to the table.
FRESHA is a salon software with over 250 million appointments booked and is available in 120+ countries.
By signing up on such a platform, you are already many steps ahead of your competitors, seeing that the salon software is a hub for the best beauty service providers out there.
Salon software is a must-have because it has the capacity to increase your reach astronomically. Whether you are a hair salon, nail salon, brow bar or are into waxing, the salon software is for you. As icing on the cake, some of them are subscription-free.
EndNote
Like I said in the intro, boosting a customer base doesn’t come easy, but I assure you that if you diligently follow through with these tools mentioned above, you will experience a significant boost in no time. There has never been a better time to expand your business, so get grinding!
