I read your article about budgeting and I am trying to plan for the next year. I am never sure how much I should spend on advertising. Do you have any thoughts? Evelyn
Evelyn, this is impossible to answer for you without knowing your location, revenue, history, competition, average pricing and a bunch of other factors. To give you a definite answer in your situation would just be shooting from the hip. At the same time, I can give you my overall thoughts.
Advertising is always a difficult one for salons. Being able to track the effectiveness of your advertising is really important. The amount of advertising that a salon or spa expenses runs all over the map. It really depends on the type of salon you are trying to create and also your location. This is especially crucial for start-up salons.
Many times salons invest in yellow page advertising. The question you must ask yourself is: “Are you really trying to attract people that look in the yellow pages to find someone to do their hair?” The answer to this question depends on the type of salon that you are trying to build.
In most cases the most effective form of advertising is direct advertising. Direct advertising uses different referral programs with your existing clientele. An example would be to offer someone a free product if they refer someone. You might ask your distributor sales person to give you some of the packages they put together. If you need assistance with the referral program, let me know.
Although we know there is some media advertising a person needs to do, we have not seen a direct relationship with the amount spent on media advertising and success in drawing people into the salon. The most effective media advertising we have seen is on the morning radio shows, where the announcer actually discusses the business. It seems that when the announcer is doing a live discussion of the business, people seem to pay attention much more than when they push a button and the ad comes on.
I recommend that you look at the Your Beauty Network website www.yourbeautynetwork.com. For a small fee they provide you with a wealth of information including examples of marketing programs.
If you would like to discuss this with me, please feel free to give my office a call. I would be glad to set up a time to discuss this with you in detail. It is a pleasure serving you.
Larry Kopsa CPA
Evelyn, this is impossible to answer for you without knowing your location, revenue, history, competition, average pricing and a bunch of other factors. To give you a definite answer in your situation would just be shooting from the hip. At the same time, I can give you my overall thoughts.
Advertising is always a difficult one for salons. Being able to track the effectiveness of your advertising is really important. The amount of advertising that a salon or spa expenses runs all over the map. It really depends on the type of salon you are trying to create and also your location. This is especially crucial for start-up salons.
Many times salons invest in yellow page advertising. The question you must ask yourself is: “Are you really trying to attract people that look in the yellow pages to find someone to do their hair?” The answer to this question depends on the type of salon that you are trying to build.
In most cases the most effective form of advertising is direct advertising. Direct advertising uses different referral programs with your existing clientele. An example would be to offer someone a free product if they refer someone. You might ask your distributor sales person to give you some of the packages they put together. If you need assistance with the referral program, let me know.
Although we know there is some media advertising a person needs to do, we have not seen a direct relationship with the amount spent on media advertising and success in drawing people into the salon. The most effective media advertising we have seen is on the morning radio shows, where the announcer actually discusses the business. It seems that when the announcer is doing a live discussion of the business, people seem to pay attention much more than when they push a button and the ad comes on.
I recommend that you look at the Your Beauty Network website www.yourbeautynetwork.com. For a small fee they provide you with a wealth of information including examples of marketing programs.
If you would like to discuss this with me, please feel free to give my office a call. I would be glad to set up a time to discuss this with you in detail. It is a pleasure serving you.
Larry Kopsa CPA
