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3 Months of Marketing
Elizabeth Kraus | 12 months of marketing .net
Branding, Marketing and Design

So on February 10 I was reading through a few e-mails for inspiration, a kick in the pants, whatever it is that connects with me the most.  I clicked on “28 Days for the Heart” only to discover that the article is filled with great ideas that I should have started on 6 weeks ago in order to implement.   Dear author:  thank you so much for the great ideas that I will now print out and file away for next year, if I remember where the file is in ten months.  

Needing  additional inspiration for the day, I opened up a February trade magazine and read about Valentine’s Day marketing ideas.  Um, Valentine’s day is Saturday, let’s see, today is Tuesday, if I hurry, I can adapt this great idea to my business, lay out a campaign, send 2 postcards to my clients and 2 email newsletters and order in the retail I need and get the gift certificates and partner with a restaurant to set up a cooperative gift package and sell through about 50 of these.  In 4 days.  Another opportunity missed, this makes me crazy!  

Doesn’t it bother you that usually by the time you get inspiration for a great idea for your business, you have already missed the opportunity? 
You needed the idea two months earlier to plan, purchase retail, generate marketing and sell through your packages or promotions.   What you need are ideas to infuse creative energy and breathe life and fun back into the salon now – not something to file away for next year. 

So here is what I propose.  Let’s brainstorm now on ideas to carry us through to Father’s Day.  March is almost here so whatever we do has to be something we can organize and communicate quickly – but we will try to get the most we can out of March to prepare for the next 3 months. 

First, if you have not already begun to do so, start now in efforts to build a robust client and prospect database with both e-mail and street addresses.   As simple as it sounds, you can’t market your promotions or events without a contact list!  Without a contact list, you can only market your promotions and events to people who actually come in to the salon.  The goal of your marketing planning is to get MORE people into your salon, who wouldn’t normally be there, MORE often.  

Make it your goal as a stylist, or your goal for the salon as a whole to collect 100% of client email and street addresses and put them into your salon-management software or into an excel spreadsheet. 

March is Employee Spirit Month.  If you have Salon-Branded T-shirts or tanks, or can get them made quickly, wear them during work hours every day or at least every Friday in March.  To raise co-worker’s spirits, consider doing something out of the ordinary once each week in March.  Create a certificate-style award for each person in the salon or spa, and hold spur of the moment huddles randomly throughout the month to give out each award in front of peers.  Or go big!  Choose one day to close an hour early and hold an in-salon party cocktail style with refreshments and hold an awards ceremony.   By the end of March, you need to have purchased the retail needed to support April’s “Jazz” Appreciation Month .   By the end of March, you need to have planned your Mother’s Day retail, gift certificate, and package promotions, and order in the supplies, salon-branded retail, and products needed. 

April is Jazz Appreciation Month.  Continue to build your contact database by taking entries for a drawing you’ll hold at the end of the month where the winner will receive a Jazz CD from the salon, along with a $10 gift certificate.  The point is not about what you give away, the point is that in each entry you are collecting the name, e-mail address, phone number and street address of each individual who enters.   Entering this data into your computer records should be a high priority. 

When April is over, award the winning prize, and send a special “Jazz it Up” offer by e-mail and postcard mailing (if possible) to EVERY CONTACT you collected.  Turn the music up just a little in April or create music “Happy Hours” where the music is really up and clients are treated to refreshments and happy hour pricing on add-on services.  

Planning for Mother’s Day and May promotions should be complete, and retail should be ordered in.  A Youngblood Point of Sale Lipgloss or Lipstick Display or EyeShadow Quads make fantastic gifts for moms and daughters.  Create Mother’s Day packages and retail promotions that sell to clients in pairs – mother-daughter, sisters, grandmothers, mentors – every special woman.  When you sell through service gifts in pairs, you have just booked through two appointments and chances are one of them will be someone new to your salon.  In April, reach out through e-mail and a postcard mailing to promote your Mother’s Day gifts and packages – begin marketing these the second week in April.  Add a bag-stuffer so that each client leaves with a Mother’s Day reminder and make sure you have signage throughout the salon all month.  Begin planning your Father’s Day promotions and packages, and order the retail you need.  

May.  Mother’s Day.  Full-on Spring.  Graduation is just around the corner and Cinco de Mayo (May 5) presents another perfect Happy Hour opportunity.  May is also National Date Your Mate Month. 
Get out of the box and out of your salon and find a restaurant who will partner with you for a cross-promoted, cooperatively marketed “date your mate” gift package.   Create “twofer” packages for Date Your Mate which include a cut and makeover in-salon in preparation for a twofer at the restaurant who is partnering with you.  Collect entries for one month – in-salon, in-restaurant, and online, if possible.  Put all of the contacts into your database, regardless of the point of collection (you will be sharing this with the restaurant). 

Remember you are collecting prospects and contacts – it’s not about the give-away, it is about the marketing opportunity you have with future clients captured through the contest.  At the end of the month, draw one winner and give the package away (salon and restaurant).  Make sure that EVERYONE who entered gets a special offer – co-marketed again with a salon-restaurant package offer or simply an offer for your salon.  Complete preparations for Father’s Day and begin marketing Father’s Day retail, gifts, gift certificates, and packages right after Mother’s Day. 

Looking for more ideas to carry you through the next 12 Months?    “12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa” is available to you through Salon Services and Supplies at 39.95 (800-251-4247 or www.salonservicesnw.com in your nearest showroom).  12 Months of Marketing includes free online support, including free marketing templates and graphics at www.12monthsofmarketing.net.  

Elizabeth Kraus is the owner of Be InPulse Marketing, Branding and Design and the author of “12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa” released in February, 2009.  Contact Elizabeth at salonandspa@12monthsofmarketing.net.