Salon advertising is a big subject, so instead of blasting you with more information than you can use, we’ll suggest two simple things that will change how you treat your ad efforts: Customer Value and Conversion Cost, which we will discuss further below.
These salon advertising tips are so simple you can probably do them while reading this article!
1) To begin, you have to know how much an average customer is worth to you. How much do you make in sales from an average customer per year? (Take total revenue/number of customers) Customer value is important for many reasons but for this example it has a specific purpose. This will tell you how much you can spend on advertising to get a customer. Extra credit if you can figure out how long a customer stays with you on average. This will give you average customer lifetime value, which could show you some great insights.
2) Salon advertising will require a bit of trial and error, so test some ads (or look at ad efforts in the past), but do it wisely. Try advertising on Facebook to get your feet wet if advertising for your salon is new to you. You can do it for very little investment and you can limit it to people who are in your geographic area, age demographic, and interests. Don’t just put an ad out there for everyone. Focus on advertising to your customer type, in your area. Be specific about who you want to reach and you will see better returns on your investment.
3) Figure out how many people who see your advertising end up becoming customers.
- Let’s say 100 people see your (very targeted) ad on Facebook that cost you $50.
- 10 people who see the ad visit your website.
- Of those 10, only 2 call you and only 1 becomes a customer.
- That is only a 1% conversion, but you got a new customer for $50.
4) Decide if the cost of getting a new customer is worth what you are spending. Is a new customer worth $50? $100? It is your business, you have to decide, but you know what each customer is worth to you if you followed step 1.
5) Does making ads sound like a lot of work? It can be, but even if you don’t want to handle your advertising in house, knowing these numbers is important. It will tell you if the company you hire to advertise for you is making you money, and how much. This can show you if they’re really doing better than you could do on your own or with another company.
Salon advertising is something that can take very little time when done efficiently and should always be information and data-based. Notice how the focus is on knowing the right information and making the best decision based on that information. As a business owner you need to know the value of your customers and conversion rates from advertising efforts to know how, and where to spend your money. This will take you so little time, and you can get away with doing this simple math just once a year and still make better decisions because of it.
If you are still hungry for more ways to effectively manage your salon and make more money at the same time, check out these great articles on how one minor change in shipping wholesale hair products can save you hundreds and how new hair salon products will always make you more money!
