KEVIN MOSER HAS OWNED Element Salon in Nashville for seven years and
has built a clientele that draws heavily
from the social elite of the Music City. In
an effort to further connect with clients,
Moser decided to launch an e-newsletter
that emphasizes content over frequency
and has everyone talking:
ST: What was your goal in launching
an e-newsletter and what has been
the response?
KM: In 2009, I decided to evaluate our
salon's digital marketing strategy, and
determined that e-mail newsletters would
be an excellent way to further connect clients
to our brand. We keep it fresh by only
sending them out six times a year and view
them as a value-added offering to our clients.
We use the newsletters in a broader
effort to deliver educational information
and insights from our staff that clients can
use in their daily lives.
Many businesses are jumping exclusively
on the social media bandwagon and,
although clients like to keep up with us on
a social platform, many others would rather
hear from us via e-mail. The response from
our clients has been great. They love the
information, and it's an effective conversation
builder. Since we can track responses,
we have learned that our open rate exceeds
the national average for small business
newsletters.
At Element, we are all about delivering
services to reinforce the importance of our
clients and this just seemed like a natural
extension of that.
ST: What type of content do you
include in your e-newsletters?
KM: We are very selective about the content
that we are delivering to clients. If an
e-newsletter is going to be successful it has
to have information that clients find interesting
and can actually use.
I feel that it is a mistake for salons to use
an e-newsletter as a sales or promotional
sheet. We are all bombarded with "specials"
in our e-mail. We want our clients to look
forward to, not dread, receiving another e-letter
in their inbox.
We offer educational tips like how to
achieve a salon-style blow dry at home or
how to tame unruly textures. We highlight our services, including
color or smoothing services,
with actual before
and after shots using
clients as models.
We keep clients informed
about upcoming
educational events
like our Spring Beauty
Bash or Sexy Summer
Hair Style, new hires at
the salon and product
focuses.
One of the most
popular aspects of
our e-newsletter, and
something that sets us
apart, is that we incorporate
a lot of Nashville social
news. Many of our clients are
active on the social scene and
our e-newsletter reports where
the city's most stylish women-
many of whom are Element
clients-have been spotted. We
reference local Nashville social
and lifestyle publications where
clients can check out themselves
or other clients. Our salon is active
in the Nashville community,
and Element events, such
as our annual Christmas party
and our Spring Beauty Bash are
often covered in the local media
as well as in our e-newsletter.
Element stays plugged into the
Nashville social scene and this
generates a lot of buzz and has
clients talking when they come
into the salon.
A sample Element newsletter.
ST: Have you seen an increase
in business, new clients or
retail sales since launching
the e-newsletter?
KM: We have been very encouraged
by increases in all those
areas. In fact, we recently added
to our staff and the attention our
e-newsletter has generated has
translated into additional clients
and increased retail sales.
The most important aspect
of the e-newsletter is the way it
strengthens our relationships with
our clients. We already
have a very loyal client
base and the newsletters
really foster increased
dialogue. They give
us a lot of feedback on
what they've read and
enjoyed in the newsletter.
ST: What advice do
you have for owners
who would like
to create a digital
presence for their
salon?
KM: First of all, get
some good, outside
assistance. A communications
professional knows what works,
what doesn't and understands the
technology and how to access and
interpret readership statistics. I
establish the topics and content
for the e-newsletter, which is
then produced by our outside
communication consultant, Kelly
Motley, who also works with the
staff on creating content.
Be very strategic in your
choice of information. It must be
helpful, informative, entertaining
and always reinforce your commitment
to your clients.
Stats >>
Number of employees: 8
Years in business: 7
Product lines: Kerastase, L'Oréal Professionnel, Redken, Alfaparf
Most popular service: Hair Color
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