Sounds like a nightmare for salon owners, right?  WRONG!  This is an open invitation for salon and spa owners to set themselves apart from the rest.  My advice to owners is to NOT sweep Tabatha’s comments under the rug, but bring them right back into the open.  Yes, I said it.  I want you to publicize Tabatha’s remarks to your clients.  Chances are, a few of your clients saw the episode and are now wondering about your salon.  They are thinking to themselves….”Hm…..is that sanitation solution they use for the nail utensils ever changed??? Tabatha said it wasn’t…”  Or “Hm…..do they double dip that wax stick?????  Tabatha said that could cause STDS!!”

In case you missed it, Tabatha revealed that SOME salons/spas don’t change the sanitizing solution for nail utensils often enough, making it practically useless against bacteria, refill expensive backbar products with cheaper products to save money, use Windex instead of Barbesil to clean cutting scissors and combs, double dip wax sticks and others…

Don’t let your clients wonder.  Don’t let Tabatha’s comments be the elephant in the room.

Update your website, Facebook, Twitter, in-salon literature, email marketing, etc….with a blurb that talks about how your salon takes cleanliness and hygiene to the highest level possible.  Let your customers know that you are NOT one of the 75% of salons who don’t.  Talk about your stringent cleaning procedures, talk about using a new wax stick for every dip, talk about bleaching the pedicure bowls thoroughly after each and every pedicure!!!  Most of all…assure them that what they heard on Dr Oz is NOT in any way how things are done at YOUR salon.

A video message from the owner would really hit the ball out of the park.  Walk through the salon while being video taped and SHOW how you clean, what types of sanitation cleansers you use.  Remind your clients why they pay more to come to YOUR salon…because they don’t want to take the chance of ending up in a chair at one of the other 75%.

Happy cleaning my friends!

This month was my birthday. To my pleasant surprise, on the day of my birthday, I received an automated email from the new waxing salon.  It was a simple email, just wishing me a happy birthday, but it really surprised me.  Like most people, I have a smart phone, so I get my emails all day long. I was really delighted to see that out of all of the emails, phone calls and Facebook messages I was receiving, the new waxing salon had also sent me a birthday wish.

Use Your Existing Salon Marketing Software to Build Lasting Relationships

If you have a large salon, most likely you are using sophisticated booking software.  The majority of these software programs incorporate marketing technology that can send out automated emails to clients on their birthdays.

The question is, are you using this technology and taking advantage of the increased business it can bring?

More than likely, anyone celebrating their birthday will be going out for the occasion on that day or within the next few days. Why not show your gratitude to your client for their patronage by offering them a % or dollar amount off of a blow-out or make-up service for their birthday. Go a step further and tell them to bring a friend in for the same offer.  Maybe this will expose a new client to your salon.  It should be used within 10 days of their birthday so that the client can take advantage of this service on the day they will be celebrating.  I’ve been to lots of area salons in recent years, not one wished me a happy birthday or attempted to get me back in the door with a birthday offer. I’m going out soon to celebrate my birthday. I probably would have taken advantage of getting a nice blow out for the occasion.

Believe me, a little generosity goes a long way.  Another great reason to extend a birthday present is to create loyalty.  It takes about three visits to the same salon/stylist before a person starts to feel some sense of loyalty to them.  If I was a new customer at your salon, that discounted birthday blow out or makeup application might get me back in for that key 3rd visit much sooner than I would have scheduled.

We are building relationships here to create loyalty.   Loyalty brings referrals and keeps customers at your salon.  If their favorite technician leaves, will they still be loyal to the salon?  That’s really up to you and how you treat your clients over the course of their patronage.

Owner and master stylist Glen Goldbaum opened his salon on Red Bank’s west side a little over a year ago.  In an otherwise flat economy, business has been booming for Goldbaum.  The fashion forward and trend setting salon has set the hair styling bar high. Goldbaum himself is a former Vidal Sassoon educator and he has hand selected a staff comprised of the most talented stylists around.

Goldbaum is excited to welcome the eco-conscious hair care line to his salon.  “I love the organic philosophy of the products and the texture they create.  Aveda’s style and culture meshes well with ours and the way we do things here.”

For more information on Glen Goldbaum 72, please visit http://www.gleng72.com/

About Glen Goldbaum: 

 Glen Goldbaum began his career 25 years ago with Vidal Sassoon.  He became a senior stylist and eventually the company’s head educator.  He went on styling at the Kim Lepine Salon on Madison Avenue in NYC and became a leader for hair stylists at Paul Mitchell’s New York Academy.

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