Successful marketers often borrow ideas from other companies and adapt them to their own services and products. But you don’t have to swipe your great ideas, we’re giving them away. We invited this month’s sponsors to submit their top marketing tips.

People say, “A picture is worth a thousand words”; and for good reason—it’s true! For a dramatic effect, use before and after photos in marketing and advertising. Any time you watch a show where an extreme makeover is performed, the final step in the process is the hair cut and color, because it’s such a dramatic before and after. Hair is a woman’s greatest accessory, and can make all the difference in her appearance. Utilize before and after photos on websites, in local newspapers or even a look book in your reception area.
>Craig Black
President, Salon Lasers

As people are more visual than kinesthetic, marketing advertisements and posters should contain more space for an image than text. Consumers will remember what they see more than what they have read.
>Leon Alexander
President, CEO, Eurisko

Some stylists have a hard time discussing and selling retail products. We recommend they stop thinking about selling and simply educate! Every time they use a product at the chair, they should explain to the client what they are using and why. It should be a conversation, not a selling speech. Make it fun!
>Julie Royer
Marketing Manager, Phyto Alés Group

Testimonials are one of the most influential parts of any advertising. Get feedback from customers and feature it in ads, flyers, brochures, sales letters and on your website. Psychologists call it “social proof”—people want to know that others have successfully gone first. So tell them ... and reap the rewards!
>Jay Siff
CEO, Moving Targets

To increase retail sales and better your customer service, consider product reminders included in e-mail appointment confirmations. Korvue software can sense what products are due to be re-purchased and can include that list of products on your everyday e-mail reminders to clients. The client can then check their product levels and have them reserved with their appointment by accessing their online account, calling the salon or making a personal note.
>Alan Hayes
Educator, Korvue

Feature fashion pages from the latest fall magazines in easel cards at your front desk or on your nail tech tables to bring your clients the latest looks—and help them choose a nail lacquer that will work for them.
>OPI

Eighty percent of your revenue will come from 20 percent of your clients. This statement is true for most businesses, so focus on your existing clients with a few simple ideas:
• Reward clients with points for every dollar they spend, and keep them coming back for more.
• Track product usage and have front desk staff remind clients to purchase their favorite items at checkout.
• Create a fun and rewarding employee contest and get stylists motivated to sell. You will be surprised how a few simple incentives can really add to your bottom line!
>Lisa Fabricant
Marketing & Advertising, Harms Millennium Software

Stylists should sell the appliances they use in the salon to their clients. Clients look to their stylist for products and appliances to help maintain the health and condition of their hair.  If a stylist loves the performance of a particular appliance, selling it in the salon to the customer makes sense and increases revenue. Stylists should cross promote their products. Any liquid product used for a specific purpose like straightening, volumizing or frizz reduction can be cross-promoted with certain appliances. A flatiron can be sold with a straightening product or a dryer with a diffuser can be sold with a volumizing product.
>Nina Montoya
Senior Marketing Manager, Hot Tools

Carry out your branding message in every aspect of the salon experience: greeting, attire, music, decor, services and, of course, your own branded product. The message becomes an experience customers can only find in that particular salon, creating loyalty to the salon and products over the individual stylist.
>Todd Shea
Director of Marketing, Aware Personalized Branding

Create a special service to package with your product offering: such as Aveda’s Sun Care Hair and Body Cleanser, Sun Care Protective Hair Veil and Sun Care After-Sun Hair Masque—partnered with “SunKissed Face-Framing Highlights.” The package will be successful because of the ability to draw customers back into the salon for repeat service. Also, because the package includes a service and product, service providers will really get behind them and help promote them.
>Andrea Eaton
General Manager, Paris Parker Salons & Spas/Neill Corporation

We all know how expensive it can be to acquire new guests, but by investing into your current guests, you’ll save money and grow a more loyal customer base. A loyalty-marketing program can be a great way to segment your best guests and reward them for shopping with you—and it provides an opportunity to send relevant, meaningful information and offers to your target audience. Aveda’s loyalty program, Pure Privilege, has kept guests loyal by keeping them informed of the latest product information, providing exciting offers and sought-after rewards. Pure Privilege has increased annual spending and frequency among these best guests making the investment really pay off for participating salons.
>Tina Tuohy
Manager, Trade Communications, Aveda

Successful companies are easy to do business with; the best brands in the world follow this motto. When sending e-mail reminders to clients that it’s time to make their next appointment, provide a link to book online, and that makes it easy to do business with you! Not only does this increase client satisfaction, it improves performance indicators such as client retention and client frequency—ultimately boosting annual revenue.
>Valorie Reavis
Marketing Manager, Shortcuts Software

 An often-neglected area of a salon is the retail area. Many salons simply put product on a shelf and either light it using an inferior light or no lighting at all. This is a sure recipe for decreased retail sales. Mass retailers know how crucial proper lighting is to sell merchandise. Retail sales in a salon are no different. If the products are not brightly illuminated to attract the attention of the client to go look and see what is on the shelf then there is a good chance that they will not bother to look unless they specifically need something. The more “eye catching” the lighting is for the retail area the better chance a salon will have to attract attention to their products, which translates into higher sales.
>Howard Gurock
President, Minardi Color Perfect Lighting

“As a result of our current recession, we’re seeing a new trend of retention rates increasing after 90 days vs. always decreasing in the past. That’s because we’re seeing a decreased frequency of visit— clients are pushing their visits of two, three, even four weeks longer than usual. My advice is to target your marketing on maintaining that average client frequency through VIP programs, pre-booking, frequency of visit programs, etc.”
>Phil Fennell
Salon Marketing Consultant, Profound Beauty

“Clients are stretching hair color appointments because they don’t want to pay for a full service. Lure them in with a lower-priced, between-retouch service that helps extend salon color results. Wella has developed just such a service, the Color Touch ‘Touch of Gloss’ application, which buys the client a few extra weeks while bringing her back to the salon more frequently.”
>Eva Scrivo
Spokesperson, Wella Professionals