MENU
SEARCHData Axle helps the salon identify new residents to their area in Charlotte and target them via email or direct-mail. The owners are impressed with their ROI.
The entire Sean Rocco team participated in developing the marketing piece that was mailed to new residents.
Provided by Sean Rocco Salon.
For many salons, neighbors are an obviously desirable target market for client prospects. Identifying and marketing to this demographic via email or direct mail can be challenging, but a new technology tool is helping on Charlotte-area salon do just that--and the marketing ROI has never been better.
While longtime residents may be taken by the competition, what about people who are just moving into the area? These newbies sit in the real bullseye of this target market.
Located in the walkable Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, Sean Rocco Salon is surrounded by restaurants, parks, historic buildings, and restored residences. Dilworth attracts interesting people—just the type of guest Sean Rocco owners Sean Duncan and Mark LaRocco aimed to attract ever since they opened their doors in 2015. And these potential clients are easy to locate—they live right around the corner.
“Today, we find people are more inclined to visit businesses in their local community,” says Duncan, who shared the idea in his SALON TODAY 200 application. “They want to ‘shop local, support local.’” In the reshuffle and surge in population in midsized cities like Charlotte that followed the Covid lockdown, Duncan and LaRocco decided to really roll out the welcome mat for new residents and try to reach them before other salons even figured out they’d arrived.
When the salon launched and wanted to stand out amid all the marketing noise coming at new residents, Duncan and LaRocco looked back to traditional marketing. For this crowd, maybe a direct mail campaign would work. Like all business owners, they wanted the biggest bang for their buck—the highest return on investment (ROI) they could get.
“Internet and social media have been such a dominating marketing tactic for everyone,” Duncan says. “So at first we were unsure about direct mail, but we created a campaign seven years ago and have made revisions over the years.”
The difference now is that the owners found a tech tool, Data Axle, to help spot the most likely prospects. While Data Axle provides data to apply to both email and direct mail, the Sean Rocco Salon owners focused on direct mail.
“Data Axle provides us audience information based on a selection of different factors, allowing us to pinpoint a specific audience,” Duncan explains. “Of those factors, the two we rely on most are 1) new movers and 2) living within proximity to our salon and zip codes. We use the list of new movers in the surrounding zip codes Data Axle provides in hopes these residents will find their new salon home with us first.”
Duncan and LaRocco have been impressed with the results. Reports Duncan, “Data Axle has been the most successful ROI marketing we’ve tried.”
The invitation included client incentives, information about the company, the salon's Instagram handle, and website information so the audience could do their own research on our salon.
Provided by Sean Rocco Salon.
With the plan in place, the owners still had to create the post-pandemic direct mail piece. Going classic and classy, the owners created a warm invitation to visit the salon. Involving their whole team in the development of the piece, they made the invitation relevant to today’s world by mentioning social channels.
The invitation included:
client incentives
information about the salon company
the salon's Instagram handle
and it's website address, so the audience could do their own research
Duncan explains: “We were able to put something highly responsive in people’s hands so they would actually open their mail and be excited.”
Because the invitation references digital connections, the old and new become synergistic. Says Duncan, “The direct mailer encourages traffic to our website and social platforms, helping to increase ratings with search engines. It all works together.”
Get inspired to design your own Direct Mail offer by checking out marketing ideas from Whip Salon, Progressions, and Gene Juarez.
After moving to Colorado and teaching at a cosmetology school, Allison Stock joined Zandi K as a stylist, eventually becoming part of the Leadership Team, Education Team and Master Bridal Team. Today, as Director of Operation, Stock is Owner Nicki Wenz's right hand, managing human resources and operations, education and career development, and coaching and culture.
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
Scott maximized her micro-salon by transitioning from stylist to strategic owner, focusing on recruiting and station-sharing. By prioritizing her ownership role over behind-the-chair work, she grew her team to six stylists within the two-chair, 150-square-foot space before eventually moving to a larger facility.
The former CFO of Perdue Farms and owner of Hardy Seafood, Terry Owens delivers a wealth of wisdom and strategies for entrepreneurs in his new book, "Business is Simple."
After scaling her single-location salon business, SALON TODAY 200 Honoree Amy Pal recently sold her six-location Whip Salon for seven figures. Using the six Ps for maximizing a business's value, she's ready to help her peers do the same.
Buried inside the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are federal solar tax credit changes that deserve your attention now. Two of the credits that matter most to commercial property owners, the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit, are still available, but only if you move fast. A third, the Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Deduction, has a hard termination date that is closer than most people realize.
Up to 40% of hair stylists ghost the salon interview stage, leaving owners trapped playing endless phone tag with uncommitted applicants. This data-driven report breaks down why traditional job boards create recruitment friction and reveals the modern messaging strategies high-growth salons use to get pre-qualified talent to actually show up. Learn how to transition from cold calling to high-conversion conversations that protect your time and fill your chairs.
Sponsored by Beautista
Spit fests, hostile threats, and even an overachieving matchmaker--SALON TODAY readers share their craziest client tales and how their team handled these tough situations with professionalism and grace.
Keeping your appointment book full when clients are in vacation mode takes more than a good Instagram post. It takes a plan. The 2026 Summer Marketing Calendar from Meevo gives salon, spa & med spa owners a month-by-month roadmap with sharp themes, key opportunity dates, and campaign ideas specifically designed for the beauty & wellness industry. Here’s to your summer season working as hard as you do!
Sponsored by Millennium Systems International
AI is transforming the beauty and wellness industry, and the future is about empowering people, not replacing them. Discover how Phorest AI helps salons, spas, and med spas across North America respond faster, personalize every visit, and keep human connection at the heart of the client experience.
Sponsored by Phorest
Owner Michaella Blissett-Williams credits her General Manager Gloria Hortua with [salon] 718's year-over-year, double-digit growth and says she's been able to scale the company to eight locations because she can rely on Hortua to manage daily operations.
Shine Time: Aluram’s High Shine Line Delivers Moisture and Shine with Clean Ingredients
Sponsored by Aluram
Elyse Rogers is an uplifting presence at The Headroom who makes the team feel heard even in stressful situations. Owner Danielle Cherewyk sings her praises in this installment of Meet the Manager.
Despite a slight and predictable decline in client traffic for Q1, resilient pricing power is driving year-over-year revenue growth in salons. The KIM Report's Alain Audet reviews the data and what it's telling us about the state of professional beauty.
Same-store revenue grew just 2% for the second straight year—and new guest visits declined across every segment of the industry. The 2026 Benchmark Report reveals where growth is actually happening, which verticals are pulling ahead, and what the data says about where your business stands right now.
Sponsored by Zenoti
Hair restoration is entering a new era driven by regenerative science. This paper explores how Exosome technology is transforming treatment outcomes by targeting hair loss at a cellular level. Discover why EXOGROW is leading this shift.
Sponsored by Dermapenworld
A salon brand is much more than a logo. In this thought-provoking blog, Leon Alexander, Ph.D., walks you through the difference. SALON TODAY suggests sharing this article with your team and leading a discussion at your next huddle, asking the team to define your business's brand.
