Yaneek Page | Promoting your business on a budget for Christmas
Published:Sunday | October 27, 2019 | 12:00 AM
QUESTION: Hi, Yaneek. I want your advice on a cheap way to promote my shop to make serious money this Christmas coming. I am a hairdresser with over eight years in the business. I am certified, and all my documents are up to date and so forth. The problem is, I have a shop but I rent out three of the chairs to other hairdressers to make up the rent and electricity bills. That is not enough to really put any profit into my bank account. I need some new customers coming in, but I have never really done any big promotions, apart from when the shop first opened. Money is the main issue. Can you tell me how I can promote with no money? Please, whatever you recommend needs to work.
BUSINESSWISE: Before I jump into one or two promotional ideas you can consider, I want you to avoid a huge mistake that many small business owners make, which is investing in promotions to pull customers in, only to disappoint them with poor-quality good and services or an overall negative customer experience.
I can’t stress this enough because you may damage the business with the ‘quick buck’ promotional approach, especially in this digital age when consumers can literally publicise bad experiences to the world in a matter of seconds.
Therefore, in crafting your budget, resources, and the execution of any Christmas promotions, make sure you include practical and detailed operational plans to:
1. Convert prospects to satisfied customers;
2. Get those satisfied customers to spend more; and
3. Retain those satisfied new customers over the long term.
Note the emphasis on satisfied customers. We also can’t assume that they are satisfied; we must know what they want up front, deliver to their comfort, and survey them during and after the service to gauge their perspective.
Remember, too, that customers buy with their eyes first, so you will need to pay close attention the aesthetics of your shop – such as a good layout, appropriate temperature, and festive décor.
I know that by now you are tallying this up and recognising that this customer-centric approach to promotions will come at a significant cost. This is true! As such, you will need to factor these costs into your financial projections so you can make the best decision aligned with your goals.
Now let’s delve into the actual promotional ideas. Since your desire is volume but you have very limited cash, you may consider specials tied to referrals. It may be easier, cheaper, and more effective to start now with your existing customer base. Examples:
• 50 per cent discount when you refer friend or family;
• A free shampoo if you refer a friend and a family member;
• 50 per cent off service for each referral (both the existing customer and referral enjoy a discount); and
• A 25per cent discount with each social share using a promotional hashtag (tagging the shop in a post on social media).
These are just ideas that you can tweak as you see fit, but the strategy here is to capitalise on the most powerful promotional method, which is word of mouth from satisfied customers. Your existing customers are easiest and least expensive to reach, most accessible, and may also be appreciative of the promotional offers.
Also, upselling services such as treatments, colour, hair adornments, and hair products may enable you to earn twice as much from your customers on average. This means you won’t have to work as hard to attract/serve as many people – a key consideration when resources are very scarce.
Partnering with nail technicians, waxing specialists, or make-up artists to deliver value-added pop-up services, such as eyebrow waxing, nail design and eyelash extensions, may also be a worthwhile promotional strategy.
I have three other promotional ideas for you:
• Offer a special holiday discount to a particular target group, for example, recent university graduates or school teachers or nurses;
• Offer a special holiday price on a trendy style – long ponytails, crystal, infused-hair, and colourful braids are among the hot trends of the season.
• Offer special opening hours to attract customers trying to avoid the traffic and holiday chaos. It’s not common to find salons that open at 6 or 7 a.m., for example.
Whatever promotion you decide on, remember to focus on what you are best at, what services are most profitable, and the target groups you have the skills and resources to serve best.
Good luck!
Yaneek Page is the program lead for Market Entry USA, a certified trainer in entrepreneurship, and creator and executive producer of ‘ The Innovators’ and ‘ Let’s Make Peace’ TV series.