Writing a good salon marketing plan is not an easy task, yet coming up with a cost-effective marketing plan to fit both your business goals and your budget is even harder. In order to achieve a low-cost marketing plan which actually works, it is essential that you engage with your audience on numerous communication channels to send the most powerful message while avoiding to invest too much time or resources into only one strategy.
Here are some low-cost marketing ideas which guarantee to make your salon business a marketing success, without affecting your budget too much. Aim to combine the following strategies in a cohesive salon marketing plan to ensure a truly cost-effective salon marketing.
1. Display Advertising and Pay-Per-Click – Advertising Which You Can Actually Track
Salon marketing plan without advertising is like a radio without music. Advertising is an essential part of the marketing plan of any business, but that doesn’t mean that it needs to fit your budget strong. Although usually considered an expensive investment of resources, there is a smart way of going about advertising and that is choosing an advertising method which results you can actually track and monitor. Pay-per-click advertising campaigns and Display Advertising on suitable websites are a great and a more cost-effective alternative to traditional advertising as they allow you to track the return on investment. That way you actually know whether your investment is worth the money or not unlike investing in traditional advertising, which makes Display Advertising and Pay-Per-Click ideal for any low-cost marketing plan. Moreover, these methods also help you attract new customers more quickly compared to SEO tactics, which take a longer time to organically generate traffic.
PRO TIP: Should you be aiming at a long-term audience engagement you might want to try combining Display Advertising/Pay-Per-Click with a well-sustained SEO strategy to ensure the most effective results.
2. Social Media Strategy – Cost-Effective and Fast
What’s a truly cost-effective marketing plan without effective social media use? Often valued for its easy, fast results, as well as for its generally low cost, social media provides the foundation for salon marketing. Through employing free social media channels such as Facebook or Instagram, salon businesses are provided with the opportunity to effectively reach audiences, communicate with customers, build brand awareness and even brand trust (through reviews, for example).
A strong social media presence also makes a great combination of local search marketing, mobile marketing and Online Public Relations.
PDF Topic: "The Most Cost-Effective Marketing Plan Checklist for Beauty Salons"
3. Online Public Relations
Managing your business’ reputation online (ORM) or also known as Online Public Relations is another ‘must’ in your salon marketing plan, which promises to not affect your finances significantly. Keeping track of what others say about your salon business as well as taking their comments on board can help you achieve a better understanding of how your beauty salon brand is perceived as well as what could be improved in your services, for example. Combine that with good communication with prospective clients who may have any questions or past clients who were left disappointed, and your online public relations strategy can result in not only better online reviews but also better brand image. A real win-win cost-effective strategy.
4.E-mail Marketing
Interested in better customer conversion rates? Then why not consider implementing some e-mail marketing into your salon marketing plan. Stay away from buying traditional mailing lists of leads, though – that is an outdated strategy which can hardly work nowadays. Instead, try combing e-mail marketing with social media marketing or PPC advertising.
5. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – Why Your Website Is Important?
Often regarded as an essential part of any modern marketing plan, it is easy to see why SEO matters. What do you do when you are searching for something, whether it is goods or a service? The key word is search – you look it up, often through a search engine, as it is the fastest way to do so. So what do you need to do? If you want your salon business to be a success, you need to draw search engine traffic to your website in a cost-effective manner. Often the best way to achieve that is to understand how keywords work, as well as what content your website needs to provide. A trick which corporate websites often use is free educational content, online webinars, forums, etc. For salon businesses, some Do-It-Yourself hair tips or anything beauty related can be a real game changer and cost your budget little to nothing.
PDF Topic: "The Most Cost-Effective Marketing Plan Checklist for Beauty Salons"
