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Originally Posted by sunrisetan  My goal was a special to bring in the higher end clientele. They don't nessesarilly need a "special" to bring them in. Just the word of mouth, that you are the best salon in town. Any of these gimmicky specials I believe to bring in mostly bottom feeders. If all local salons run these ridiculously cheap promos to bring in these cabbu's, well, the cheapest typically draws the cheapest clients as well.
McDonald's has the dollar menu...but I like to compare my salon to our nicer higher end restaurants...what specials do they run? Nothing cheap! Usually they just feature an entree. Or add something new to the menu, but nothing discounted or reduced in price.
I'll leave the ridiculous promos to the cheaper lower end salons in my town. Seems there's a market for both low end and high end, but trying to mix the 2 together? Well, I think your higher end clients prefer the nicer accommodations while some of the bottom feeders are'nt comfortable in a nicer environment anyhow. Sort of like, how many nicer looking people do you see in Walmart as compared to the magnitude of lower end looking folks?
However I would admit, in this tough economy the lower end salons with their cheap pricing and decor tend to do more volume...but then again, me having one client (one car) in a HP unit, compares to my competition having at least 6 clients (6 cars) in entry levels beds. Where parking is of concern...higher end salons win.
How to draw in higher end clientele? |
McDonalds has the dollar menu - but also Angus Beef burgers. That said, they are looking for and set up for volume. 100 customers/day buying an Angus burger doesn't do nearly as much for their bottom line as 1000+ customers/day - some buying a dollar burger, some a Frappe, some an Angus Burger, etc. It all adds up.
In a salon - not EVERY prospective client is a $40 walk-in 360 HP tanner every day. Those are great - but if you JUST saw those customers, your counts would be pretty low and probably not sustainable.
So the GOAL is to attract the BULK of those INTERESTED in tanning - and get them to meet their needs at YOUR salon.
Some will use high end beds and lotions exclusively.
Some will sign up for recurring memberships.
Some will come one month/year leading into a vacation
Some will
spray tan for special events only
Some will be open to the SALES INFLUENCE of your staff!!
The "Special" gets a new customer to try your place. You and your staff - your equipment, pricing strategy, environment of your salon, etc etc -- retain them and turn them into the "type" of customers you desire.