ST: Sounds like social media is keeping you busy. How are you using it for advertising?
RC: We have a lot of Facebook advertising targeted to specific audiences that are not already associated with Roca. We do ads on Facebook and Google and we reach out to a 100-mile radius of Kansas City. I also target two military bases within 150 miles, where I offer a discount to military wives who want to go to a nice spa in the city.
Since I do see results from the targeted ads, I can adjust them accordingly. When I get the analysis of my ads from Google or Facebook—we do pay-per-click ads—I look to see if an ad is successful. If it is, I can up the visibility of that ad. And if an ad isn’t doing well, I might change the wording, title or photo to see how I can get better results. Google came to Kansas City recently to talk to businesses about advertising, so I went to meet them, and when they pulled up my analytics they said,“What are you doing?” They were astounded by my success. I told them I follow every idea they send about how to get more people to click on ads!
ST: What’s the feedback from clients about your social media presence?
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Roca Salon’s
booking center
overlooks the
salon floor. RC: They love it. We give away something if they “check in” with Facebook or Foursquare and I can change those offers on the drop of a dime. We’re also involved in Frontflip (frontflip.com), a new customer engagement platform that’s just launching. We were one of the first 10 companies to jump on board with this brand-new technology. Basically, it’s an app that reaches out to the community. When customers visit a business, they scan a code with their phone to learn what deal they will receive. I use it to cater to existing clients.
We moved into our new facility in August and expanded our spa. To promote that, we wanted to market to salon clients. So when salon clients come in, they can scan this Frontflipcode for an offering. You can even determine what percentage of your customers will “win” the offer, so right now, I keep it at 95 percent. I have it set so the clients win an add-on service. For example, if they purchase a one-hour massage, they get an upgrade to a hot stone; or if they buy a basic manicure, they get upgraded to a no-chip manicure.
ST: How has your involvement in social media impacted your business?
RC: Ninety-five percent of our new business is from social media/internet. The only print ad we have is in a high-end local magazine with beautiful photos. Every other bit of advertising is internet-based. We started with our website in 2004 when not many salons had websites. We had people come in and say, “We saw you on the internet.” We couldn’t believe it. Now, everyone who comes in says,“I did a search.” We’re well versed in SEO and we’ve stayed in an economic boom when other salons were struggling.
ST: How did your technology know-how influence the design of your salon?
RC: When I remodeled the salon, I put a lot of thought into the physical technology of the building as well. We have separate WiFi from our server so clients can use it, we have a lot of touchscreen computers, and we use an iPad for check in. We also have a separate call center. A lot of planning went into the physical technology so the salon and spa experience would be improved for the guest.
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