Salon owners who want to slay their sales and establish themselves as reputable business leaders in the community may want to consider taking a “grassroots” approach to growing their salon business. The term “grassroots” points to the most basic level of a community, campaign, business or organization. When it comes to the salon, you could take a grassroots approach in many ways, but it all comes down to putting the power into people’s hands and leveraging them to help you build your salon’s business.
But that also means that you will need to empower your stylists, estheticians and manicurists with the resources they need to effectively do their work well and show it off to draw in more customers.
Here are some grassroots ideas you can implement to help you skyrocket your business!
Identify Your Goals.
Whether you take a grassroots approach or not, it’s critical to set goals and milestones for your salon to meet. Are your goals based on revenue or number of clients? Maybe your goals are to find stylists that better fit the vibe and feel of your salon. Either way, it will be helpful to jot these goals down on paper and keep them somewhere you see them regularly. It will be beneficial to have a milestone upon which you can base your newfound success.
Find Your People.
Grassroots efforts come from the ground up — hence their name — which means that the roots of your salon need to be fruitful and synergistic. Your stylists and estheticians should fit in perfectly with the kind of business you want to run, while attracting your ideal client. Whether you have stylists or you are looking to fill your salon with more estheticians, it could be helpful to determine the type of person you want in your salon, as well as the type of client. Your people should have a skillset that will attract and be a reflection of the kinds of clients you will attract. It’s also great to prioritize self-starter and entrepreneurial characteristics when you are interviewing potential stylists and estheticians. These qualities will propel your grassroots efforts as any initiative or goal you take to your team will make them want to work harder than ever to achieve it.
Learn Your Staff’s Needs and Empower Them.
If you really want business to boom, make sure your salon is outfitted with high-quality salon stations. Every stylist or esthetician needs the appropriate equipment to do their job thoroughly and precisely, which keeps clients coming back. Get to know your people and solicit their feedback and advice on whether or not they need a better manicure table or amenities to draw in clients. By taking these needs into consideration, you could easily improve the morale of your people — who are the very thing furthering your grassroots efforts — as well as empower them to bring in more clients. Also, your stylists and estheticians are the ones who talk with clients coming in and out of your salon every day, which means they probably have great ideas as to how you could improve the salon and make guests feel more comfortable. By empowering your people, you’re invigorating your business from the ground up!
Deploy Grassroots Marketing Efforts.
Marketing and word-of-mouth is what effectively draws new clients into a salon’s front door. So it’s only right that your grassroots efforts include marketing. Your grassroots marketing strategy should be one that increases the visibility of your salon and stylists. Grassroots marketing follows the premise that companies should cast a smaller, more niche net when it comes to their audience or prospective clients rather than trying to deploy a “catch-all” marketing campaign. Here are some steps you and your stylists can take to deploy a grassroots marketing initiative.
- Define Your Audience — Meet with your stylists and estheticians to determine who your base clientele is. Here are some questions you should be considering: What age ranges do they fall into? Are they on social media? Where are your clients located? Which kinds of clients would you like to attract? With this information, you should be able to determine the kinds of people you want to reach and how to reach them.
- Leverage Social Media — If you’re looking to draw more clients in, make sure your social media presence is looking pristine! On Instagram, more than 80 percent of users find new products and services through the social media app, which means that you could attract and retain your clients by having a thriving social media presence.
- Consider working with local influencers within your community who will post about your services. You may be able to provide a free service instead of a fee to encourage their followers to follow you and use your services.
- Once you have set up your salon’s profile, make sure your stylists and estheticians have their own profiles and use them to post their work and engage with clients. Look into certain hashtags that your potential clients could be looking at.
- And remember, you want to cast a small net instead of a wide one. If you have a hair salon and want to reach people who are looking for a balayage hair style, instead of just hashtagging “#Balayage,” try adding your salon’s location to cast a smaller net like “#AustinBalayage.” You can take this approach with other hashtags, too. Make sure your stylists and estheticians are using the same hashtags.
Create an Uplifting and Photogenic Atmosphere.
When clients walk into your salon, do they feel comforted and inspired? And how do your stylists feel about their free-standing hair salon stations? It’s critical that not only your clients feel fabulous when they walk through and out your doors, but your people need to feel inspired by their work areas. If you want to further the buzz about your salon on social media — which is a surefire way to grow your business — create a photogenic and “Instagrammable” feel. Your salon should have an area where your stylists and estheticians can photograph their work in good lighting so that they can keep their social media channels buzzing. You may also want to create a photo op spot for guests so that they, too, can participate in the social media buzz. Include your salon’s social media handles and personal hashtags around the salon to remind guests to tag you. By creating a salon atmosphere that is social media worthy, you’re really making your clients and people work for you to boost business!
Deploy some of these strategies today to get business booming. Whether you decide to implement all of these initiatives or just some of them, each salon is different and you know what’s best for your clients and people.
