Market your salon through the recession

Now that the country is officially in recession, is your salon slowly churning to a halt? Perhaps you're finding it as much of a struggle to get new customers through the door as it is to get your regulars to stay regular.

And if money is tight and profits are dwindelling, the chances are that for many salon owners, the first thing to go will be the marketing budget.

Sharleen Hunter, a chartered marketer and founder of Unleashed Potential, thinks that cutting back on marketing might be a false economy. Here is her advice for helping salons to sail through the economic slowdown.

Increase your marketing

While other salons foolishly slash their marketing to save money, savvy salons will up the ante on their activities.

Find new ways to market existing services

When money is tight, clients will start trying to save money, its essential to give your clients options.

Therefore if they can no longer afford the £40 blow dry with a director, why not promote the services of a blow dry with your talented junior stylist as £30.

Focus on service

Look at ways to improve the service your salon provides and ensure that every element of the clients' experience is pleasurable.

Clients know that you that you value their custom, they in return will also help to stimulate referrals, thereby boosting your client base and your bottom line.  

Assess success

Look at what methods have worked well in the past and look at increasing it.

Look at additional promotional methods then keep a record of where new clients come from so that you know if these are areas to focus on in the future.

Create an action plan

Don't be tempted to panic. Instead create a structured marketing plan with a calendar of promotions and activities throughout the year to temple clients into the salon.

To maximise success, market promotions in the salon with salon posters, in a monthly e-newsletter or include information on your website.

The more opportunities clients have to find out about it, the higher the chances of success.

Call in the experts

Finally, if you're stuck for ideas or time, consider calling in a specialist hair marketing consultancy to implement a crunch-busting campaign for you.

While it may seem like an added expense, an investment in their expertise could help you make and also save more money in the long-run.