This blog post tell you everything you need to know on How to build customer base for hair salon.
If you don’t know who I am, Hi there I’m Shade. I started my hair salon about three years ago and I’ve learned a lot and now I want to help people like you, who are trying to figure out the ropes of running your own hair salon successfully.
Subscribe to my newsletter to get notified whenever I post on topics related to how to build a customer base.
It can be tricky starting out especially when you have no idea what you’re doing but don’t worry Rome wasn’t built in a day, you’ve got this and in no time you’ll get the hang of it.
Here are my tips on how to build customer base for hair salon.
What is a customer base?
A Customer base is the group of clients to whom a business markets and sells their goods or services. As a hairstylist or any business owner you need to have people who your sell your services to in order to make sales and money.
Customer vs Client
I define a customer as someone who purchases a product or service from your business. This is different from a client who I refer to as a loyal customer who regularly patronizes your business.
When I described a customer base I included that it was made up of clients NOT customers. You want the people who purchase your services to always come back. In this case, you want your clients to always get their hair done at your salon.
Although before you can even think of building a customer base you need to get customers first and then convert them to clients.
Check out this blog post on how to convert your customers to clients.
How to get customers?
Build a brand
Before you can get customers for your hair salon you need to build your hair salon brand. This isn’t just about having an Instagram account or a logo but determining the values and essence of your business. If you would like a blog post with more information on how to build a brand for your hair salon let me know in the comments.
Determine your target audience
Once you’ve determined what you want to do with your hair salon brand, you can then decide the type of customer you want to work with. For instance as a wig installation specialist you can determine the age group of your potential clients and the kind of content they will respond to. This will help you in your marketing and advertising.
Study your competitors
Identify the big hair salon accounts in your field and study them. What kind of content are the making? Who are the people in their customer base? What is their price ranges? Knowing these kinds of information gives you a guide on what your hair salon brand should look like and what exactly you should be doing to get customers. This is not to say that you should copy their branding or anything just take notes of things that work implement them in your own way.
Offer discounted services to build portfolio
In order to convince a customer to book your service they need to have trust in you to deliver. Customers will never trust a random stranger selling on Instagram without proof. That’s where building your portfolio comes in. In order to build a good portfolio you need content samples of your work.
The easiest and cheapest way to get these samples is to offer free or discount services to your family and close friends who fit into your target audience demographic. This provides the proof necessary to gain your customers trust.
Note that a portfolio is not the same thing as your hair salons social media accounts. Although it is a good source for generating content for your hair salon.
Building a social media advertisement strategy
Your business social media account is your tool to attract potential customers. The purpose of having a business social media account is to convince someone to purchase you product or service and not just to display your services.
Think about it like this why should a customer book me and not any other hair stylist. Make a list of all the reasons why you’re the best choice for your potential client.
Play those points to your advantage in every single post to convince your client. For instance, A post describing the convenience of having your hair appointment in the comfort of the clients home with amazing results will be sure to get more clients that are interested in that type of service than just a post of your portfolio.
Create an effective contact system
Now that you have a killer social media account that attracts the right kind of customers, you need to create a system that allows these customers to reach out and contact you.
Most social media have these tools on hand already so make sure you take advantage of them.
Bonus tips
The hairstyles you make as a hairstylist market themselves if done properly and will do most of the convincing. I’ve noticed that when you do an amazing job you get at least 10 referrals from a single customer.
Although a lot of the times it’s not just about your work. Other factors such as the environment, your professionalism, the kind of tools you use and the way you treat your clients affect your referral rates and can potential increase or decrease the new customers you attract.
Don’t get me wrong having skill is the key thing that attracts customers but it might not be what keeps them coming back.
Check out this blog post on ‘how to keep your clients coming back for more’
Conclusion
I hope it has helped you and you are now equipped with what it takes on how to build customer base for hair salon.
Would you like a post dedicated to how to brand your hair salon business?
If so, let me know in the comments!
