How-To: Find Your Ideal Salon Guest

Eufora Business Trainer and salon owner Tiffany Ward shares the five questions that can help salon owners target their ideal guest and their marketing efforts.
Eufora Business Trainer and salon owner Tiffany Ward shares the five questions that can help salon owners target their ideal guest and their marketing efforts.

Eufora Business Trainer and salon owner Tiffany Ward shares the five questions that help salon owners target their ideal guest and their marketing efforts.

Marketing is expensive. There are a million ways to advertise a business, so how is any salon owner to choose the most impactful plan to reach her audience? According to Eufora Business Trainer Tiffany Ward, the first thing all owners need to do before implementing any campaign is to define their target audience. What kind of customer is the best match for the salon? Once that has been determined, says Ward, it is much easier to direct salon marketing efforts.

Often, it may it feel uncomfortable to “profile” the ideal guest. The salon menu may offer many different beauty services, seemingly good for anyone. The team may say they love every guest who comes through the door. Sound familiar? Regardless, there is always a common denominator when it comes to that ideal guest, and it is every owner’s job to find it if they want to market successfully. Getting specific about the traits that define the ideal guest (target audience) requires thought, intention and focus. Salon owners who commit to these habits will find their marketing dollars are invested more wisely, and social media time is directed in a much more productive fashion.

Ward recommends conducting this simple 5-step exercise with salon team members to begin the process of identifying an ideal guest.

  1. What type of service would you do all day long if you could? (Choose only 1)
  2. Who receives those services?
  3. What do they do for fun?
  4. How do they dress for work or for fun?
  5. What kind of lifestyle do they have?

Working through this exercise as a team, Ward discovered her own salon’s ideal guest looks something like this:

“She is female, a realtor in her early 30’s, engaged or in a committed relationship and has a dog. She has a flexible daily schedule, but her time is limited. She appreciates getting all her services in the same place in a short period of time. She wants quality because she is a real 'networker' and is always on display in front of current or potential clients. She also appreciates new trends and loves shopping locally. We named our ideal guest Nicole.”

Ward further shared, “Nicole suits our salon well because she knows we work hard to create on trend, high quality work while being super-efficient. She also appreciates all the philanthropic work we do in conjunction with our community.”

Being armed with specific customer information makes it easier to decide where to place valuable marketing dollars. In this example, since Nicole loves to shop local boutiques, the salon may opt to team up with a like-minded boutique owner to host an event, or perhaps invest in a reciprocal sampling or gift card program. The exercise also revealed that Nicole is very attracted to neutrals and bright, clean spaces, so social media pictures with white backgrounds are likely to catch her eye. Nicole is a real networker and is constantly introducing new homeowners to the community, so offering Nicole discount cards for her clients (along with an incentive for herself) means there will always be a steady stream of new guests for the salon. Another option might be to partner with Nicole at one of the fundraising events she attends in the course of her job.

Ultimately, any salon that identifies their target guest will enjoy a better return on their marketing investment. Why? Because their message is being delivered to an interested audience looking for what that salon has to offer. The result is less wasted money, less time spent on futile efforts and more spent on purposeful, profitable activities. The best part of this scenario says Ward, “You do not have to run giant marketing campaigns or hire some big company. Just learn to show up where 'Nicole' is.”

For more information on guest acquisition and retention, salon owners should plan to attend the next Eufora Salon Owner Network meeting on April 3rd. More information on this and other Eufora education topics can be found at eufora.net.

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