I’ve been thinking about hair salon marketing lately. It’s not like I’m a great marketing person. I’m not, but I do have an interest, especially when it comes to hair matters. How many times have I heard the question, “Do you know a good place to get your hair done?” I have asked myself the question many times. How do you go about finding a place that you like, that does your hair the way YOU like it, without having to tell them what to do every step of the way? After all, I’m not a hairdresser. I have little experience in this business, except for the occasional bang cut: or the few times I have removed my Barbie dolls’ hair.
Right off the bat let me say that finding a GOOD hair salon requires a bit of luck. Conventional marketing does not come into play, in my opinion. Convenience is often the deciding factor when choosing where to get your hair done. Not necessarily a good way to choose, but a way nonetheless, and I should know that, having been there a time or two myself. Convenience, however, has a part to play depending on what services you want, ie perms, coloring or straightening; and how often you need these services. Just say…
The question remains… how do you find a good hair salon? There seems to be one on every corner, much like McDonald’s or Starbucks. But unlike these fine institutions of tasty goodness, there’s no system in place to ensure the same service every time you visit. Therefore, the topic of conversation… hair salon marketing.
The yellow pages of the local phone book seem like a logical place to look. There are ads, locations, and phone numbers all handily listed. And I’ve used this method more times than I care to admit. Once stands out in my memory. It was several years ago and I had small children at the time. He desperately needed a haircut. Life was simpler then, before the battle against aging began: gray hair was public enemy number one. I pulled out the phone book, found a few convenient locations, made a couple of phone calls, and went to… the hair salon I was able to get an appointment with as quickly as possible. The woman who did my hair, and if I remember correctly, she was the owner of the hair salon, after finishing my haircut, hands me a mirror, spins the chair around, and loudly proclaims for all to hear, “Oh, you you look so much better.” Did I look THAT bad? Of course I didn’t come back. When it was time for another haircut, I pulled out those yellow pages and buckled up for another random walk to pick a salon.
I fondly remember my favorite stylist contemplating salon marketing and how to simplify the process. Her name was Diana. She is still as far as I know. She was a good friend of mine at the time. She was, and I say this with a lot of honor and respect, a hair design artist; the only person up to that point that she could go to, do my hair, and not have to run home and do my hair right away before someone she knew saw me. She was SO good. The only problem I had was the fact that I didn’t like going to the salon where she worked. She was a total dump! However, as luck would have it, the owner sold the salon to my friend Diane, and she made some changes. She made it modern, she made it current, she made it relevant… she made it her own. (I’ve been watching American Idol too long.) I was fine there, however I felt comfortable there.
However, a new problem soon arose. She was SO good at what she did that you had to make an appointment six weeks in advance! God forbid she caught the flu the day before her next appointment because he was out of luck until he was able to get another appointment…in six weeks! We soon said goodbye to our love/hair relationship and went back to the yellow pages. I know right?
The marketing of hairdressers… a subject worth reflecting on. My luck wasn’t changing and I needed a new system, preferably before the next haircut came around. Not to mention the fact that during this time gray hair began to rear its ugly heads. No pun, if that’s really a pun.
Once again my good friend Lady Luck was on my side. I found a gem of a hair salon. No yellow pages, no hype, no commercial marketing. I asked a friend where she was going to get her hair done. She told me. Simple as that. Don’t think she hadn’t tried this before, she had, but this time… THIS time I hit the mother lode. I walked into the room, sat in the chair, and heard those words that I once dreaded as much as a high school math test I hadn’t studied for… “What are we going to do today?” Those words no longer caused fear and trembling or my heart pounding wildly out of my chest; sweat doesn’t run down my back because I don’t know the right answer. No, this time she knew she could answer with confidence, could answer with a confidence she had never had before… She could boldly proclaim, “Whatever you want, it’s just hair.”
When Stephanie is done with the product she’s just created, she’ll hand me that mirror, spin the chair around, and ask me what I think. I’ll smile and say “Very nice. I like it” because I’ll have a cute, trendy, and proper hairstyle that will help me get through the rest of the day without having to do a thing to it.
Salon marketing is an art form. it’s a science. Salon marketing at its finest is word of mouth marketing and now I can shred those yellow pages and rest in salon peace.
