A Partner in Business and in Life
At Janet St. Paul Studio for Hair and Beauty, Director of Operations Natasha McMillen helps bring her wife Janet St. Paul's vision to life, elevating every system from education to operations.
by Stacey Soble
Salon Today 200: MARKETING
Getting your message heard has more to do with your creativity than it does the actual budget you spend. These ST200 honorees created campaigns that got them noticed—bringing new clients through the front door and selling them more product and services while they’re in the chair.
by Salon Today Staff
January 2, 20106 min to read
Beau Monde Spalon
St. Johns, FL
beaumondespalon.com
Carl Slack and Reggie Stephens
SQUARE FEET: 5,600
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 28
‘08 MARKETING BUDGET: $34,000
‘09 MARKETING BUDGET: $14,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $48
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Bumble and bumble, Goldwell
COLOR LINES: Goldwell. Scruples
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/ Millennium
ASSOCIATIONS: The Day Spa Association, PBA, YBN
“We created a cookbook to raise money for the American Cancer Society. We offered our guests 5-percent discounts per recipe donated for the book, with a max 24 percent. We collected over 700 recipes, and a committee of employees designed the cookbook. To date, we have raised nearly $3,000.”
Challise and Company
Marietta, GA
challiseandcompany.com
Challise Copeland, Carrie Cox and Vance Booker
SQUARE FEET: 2,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 15
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $42
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Aveda, Nioxin. AG Hair Cosmetics
COLOR LINES: Aveda
SALON SOFTWARE: Milano Spa Software
ASSOCIATIONS: MCA, PBA
“Working with local high schools, we offered First-time clients free services, with a minimal product charge. The schools sold pamphlets that included the offer as part of their fund-raising efforts. We garnered at least 100 new customers who stayed with us. Placing an approximate value of $750 on each customer, we generated an additional $75,000 in revenue."
Jordan Thomas Salon & Spa
Bel Air, MD
jordanthomassalonandspa.com
Terry McGill
SQUARE FEET: 3,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 50
’08 MARKETING BUDGET: $21,000
’09 MARKETING BUDGET: $23,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $40
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Bumble and bumble, Aveda, L’Oréal
COLOR LINES: L’Oréal, Redken
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/Millennium
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We launched a radio campaign using Maria Dennis, Baltimore’s number-one, mid-day personality and top-ranking mid-day show for women ages 25-34. The endorsement lasted 13 week”—consisting of personal stones about her experience at our salon, various services available, gift ideas, etc. The campaign proved to be a huge success.”
Maximum FX Salons Spas
Austin, TX
maximumfx.com
Javier Herrera and Chris Murphy
SQUARE FEET: 2,300/2,500 (two locations)
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 30
‘08 MARKETING BUDGET: $18,000
‘09 MARKETING BUDGET: $21,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $40
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINE: Aveda
COLOR LINE: Aveda
SALON SOFTWARE: SalonBiz
“July is especially slow for services, so through May, during check out, we asked clients to pick a card out of a deck and whatever they picked that was their discount in July. If they picked a 10 of spades, they got 10 percent off. We decorated the retail store with Vegas decorations and had a huge Casino Month launch party. As clients checked out, they could gamble with poker chips by placing bets on salon and spa services.”
Metro for Men
Irvine, CA
metroformen.com
Krista Martin
SQUARE FEET: 1,900
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 17
’08 MARKETING BUDGET: $35,600
’09 MARKETING BUDGET: $23,500
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $41
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Aveda, Nioxin
COLOR LINES: Goldwell, Aveda, MiN for Men
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/Millennium
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We all felt the frustration of being fully staffed on Mondays, our slowest day of the week. We devised our Monday Special program offering a particular service at a special price for that day only. We posted it on our site, on-hold messaging, Facebook and Twitter. One by one, guests started booking that day. If they pre-booked, the guest received a discount. Mondays are now one of our busiest days.”
Modern Salon and Spa
Charlotte, NC
modernsalonandspa.com
Arsalan and Arezo Hafezi
SQUARE FEET: 6,000/6,200/5,300/5,000/3,500 (five locations)
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 160
’08 MARKETING BUDGET: $76,200
’09 MARKETING BUDGET: $65,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $56
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINE: Aveda
COLOR LINE: Aveda
SALON SOFTWARE: SpaBiz
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“For the last eight weeks of the year we had different billboard displays announcing our promotions. Weeks 1 and 2: Teaser marketing approach to invest interest in new locations. Week 3 Promo of gift certificates. Week 4 20-percent off gift certificates. Week 5 Cyber Monday, gift certificate promo. Week 6 20-percent off products. Weeks 7 and 8 $250 gift card purchase, complimentary $50 card.”
Pzazz
Bellevue, WA
pzazz.com
Kim & Jeff Schmidt and Sharon Hansen
SQUARE FEET: 2,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
’08 MARKETING BUDGET: $6,000
’09 MARKETING BUDGET: $7,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $30
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Redken, Paul Mitchell. Pureology
COLOR LINES: Framesi, Redken
SALON SOFTWARE: custom
ASSOCIATION: NCA
“For Easter, every customer who purchased $15 or more in retail got to choose a plastic egg from a basket at the front desk. Inside each egg was a prize such as 15 percent off, $5 off next hair cut, free products, etc. If a retail-only client receives a free facial in their egg they usually are turned into a repeat service client. If they were a few dollars shy from $15, they usually bought something else to bring up their total.”
Rumors Salon and Spa
Latham, NY
rumorsinc.com
Marri Aviza and Lisa Norgrove
SQUARE FEET: 2,800/1,700 (two locations)
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 79
’08 MARKETING BUDGETS: $82,000
’09 MARKETING BUDGET: $84,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Goldwell, Paul Mitchell, Bumble and bumble
COLOR UNES: Goldwell, Paul Mitchell
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/Millennium
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, NCA, PBA
“In September ’08, we launched Rumors ink, a free bi-monthly publication offering news and views on local business, the world of fashion, the economy and more. It also includes exclusive coupons, interviews, styling tips and advice columns.”
“The education provided by our latest marketing campaign made stylists analyze their own business execute a guided plan and see the nuts and bolts of what good, targeted marketing campaigns entail—receiving nearly immediate feedback. In the wake of the program, we confidently could report increased revenue and client traffic, and it also taught real- life fundamentals of marketing.”
—Jennifer Helper
Salon Vox, Ann Arbor, MI
Salon Vox
Ann Arbor, MI
salonvox.com
Jennifer Hepler
SQUARE FEET: 1,800
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 17
’08 MARKETING BUDGET: $25,000
’09 MARKETING BUDGET: $27,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $53
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINE: Bumble and bumble
COLOR LINE: Goldwell
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/ Millennium
“Each staffer met with our director and began an ‘Individualized Marketing’ campaign. This made each stylist think of their own business strategically from a marketing standpoint. They were also held individually responsible for the cost of the programs, as the marketing programs were designed to directly benefit their personal business.”
Studio Gaven
Brentwood, TN
studiogaven.com
Gaven Smith, Derek Reynolds, Kim Lear, Jamie Sprott
SQUARE FEET: 9,900
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 40
’08 MARKETING BUDGET: $74,000
’09 MARKETING BUDGET: $42,000
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $58
BEST-SELLING RETAIL LINES: Bumble and bumble, Kerastase. Redken
COLOR LINE: Redken
SALON SOFTWARE: Harms/Millennium
“Our most successful ad campaign to date was ‘Real People Real Style.’ We used actual guests as models and tied their lifestyle and length of patronage to the campaign. For example: Real Estate Agent. Avid Volunteer, Studio Guest since 2001.”
Additional Honorees
Avantgarde Salon Spa, Destin, FL
Bell Tower Salon MediSpa and Store, Wyomissing, PA
Belle Epoque, Kansas City, MO
Blo, Raleigh, NC
The Charles Penzone Family of Salons, Columbus, OH
Chrome: A Salon Experience, College Station, TX
Elle Marie Hair Studio, Bothell, WA
Ginger Bay Salon and Spa, St. Louis, MO
Habitude Salons and Spa, Seattle, WA
The Hair Company, Leonardtown, MD
Hair on the Avenue, Sinking Spring, PA
Jerry Heston Hairdressing, Louisville, KY
Mango Salon, Richmond, VA
Mauricio Fregoso Salon, Tucson, AZ
Natural Concepts Salon and Day Spa, Greenwood, IN
Randolph’s Salon, Waterfold, MI
Richard Salon of Smithtown, Smithtown, NY
Salon Art-Tiff, Ephrata, PA
Satori: A Salon/Spa/Shopping Experience, Ithaca, NY
The Studio for Hair, Farmington Hills, MI
Valentino’s Grande Salon, Whitby, Ontario
Wax Poetic, Burbank, CA
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