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A Marketing Guide for the Hair & Beauty Industry - What to do NOW and What to do AFTER Covid-19


Most of you have gone from working long hours, seeing so many clients and generally being rushed off your feet to a complete standstill.

Regardless if you work as a salon owner, salon worker, mobile or from home, you would have had a similar thought process and emotion as other people within your industry during this time.

Do you continue to promote your business even though no one can book? Is it unethical of you to shout how amazing your business is right now? Do you attempt to make some money for cash-flow? The questions are endless and whilst I cannot give you all the answers, I can certainly help guide you on the best Marketing practice for the Now and the After.

First of all, I want to highlight that you have been gifted with time, a rarity for most business owners within your industry. You have the time to work 'ON' your business, rather than 'IN' your business and NOW is the time to grow and take it to the next level! Have you ever head of the saying "The best come-back is one from a set-back!"? You will bounce back after all of this and have a more streamlined, professional and successful business... if you want to.

So, What Marketing should you be doing right 'NOW'?

Your clients want to be connected to you and as their guru, therapist and life coach they want to hear your reassurance. Update your social media channels and let them hear from you. What are you doing right now? Do not be afraid to get personal and share what you are doing during Isolation. If you still want to create, then what about doing virtual styling and going live? Show off your knowledge and expertise whilst giving tips for them at home.

Reach out to your clients and check in on them and if they haven't already done so, ask them to leave you a review over on your Facebook business page and your Google business page. Share your testimonials and reviews across your Social Media in the hope to attract new clients for when you re-open.

Give your business a full Marketing audit and look through your online network. Who are your followers and who are you following? There is no point in communicating on your social media if you are talking to the wrong people. Are your followers people who match your 'ideal client persona'? Spend some time actively looking for them online and engaging with them. Use this time to grow your social media in an effective way.

Look at other ways of communicating with your clients and implement email marketing, if you haven't already done so. Add your clients email addresses to a mailing list and send them out newsletters in addition to your other marketing exercises. If you already have a mailing list, look through your data and update it. Check your statistics and see how successful your emails are for your business and ways in which you can improve your newsletters moving forward. Why not plan ahead and schedule some e-mails to save you time when you're back open?

Another excellent way of communicating with your clients is SMS marketing. Research some systems and look at inputting clients mobile numbers in for quick, automated, direct messages.

With the extra capacity in your day-to-day schedule, up skill and book on to online courses. Brush up on your skills and launch a new service when you re-open.

If you work in a salon environment, it is likely you cross paths with co-workers when at work and rarely have the opportunity to speak with them or find out more about them. At a time when most people need uplifting, focus on boosting employee morale and check-in with everyone you work with. If you are in management, think of ways you can do this within the workplace when you return. Share team photos on your website and introduce your social media audience to your employees. Let your potential clients understand what it is like at your salon and what they can expect. As well as making everyone within the workplace feel valued.

If this virus can teach us anything, it is that all businesses regardless of the industry, need to have a strong presence online. If you do not have a website then now is 110% the time to get one. With the products you sell in your salon, add those to your website and advertise them across your social media to maximise sells during this time.

What Marketing should you be doing 'AFTER'?

Life is not going to be the same post virus and as business owners, we need to be prepared for the change.

Hair & beauty professionals are expecting to be rushed off their feet when lockdown restrictions are lifted, but I think the most sensible question here is: for how long? Once all regular existing clients re-book, your books may be back to square one and it's your duty to fill your columns with new clients and up-sell wherever possible.

To ensure that your return is not reliant on your previous clients and that you are looking to expand further, it's a good idea to plan and prepare your bounce back with a new business plan and marketing strategy.

Understandably it is difficult to prepare a marketing strategy when we are unsure what dates face-to-face business will resume, so include May - December in your Strategy and have a plan for each month.

- What campaign will you drive?

- What service and/or product do you want to sell the most of?

- What will your content look like and where will it be distributed?

If you work on multiple platforms now such as; Social Media, Email, Web and SMS, you will have a wide audience across multiple channels and potentially some prospect clients who are watching you right now and may book after all of this.

Use this time wisely and strategically.

I have just launched my FREE Social Media Strategy and I would love for you to download it, to help you when preparing your bounce-back.

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