‘We’ve invested in the latest skin rejuvenation equipment. It’s arriving next week so we need to book tons of appointments asap – it’s cost us a fortune.’
I hear this story so often from my Salon Social Club members. Sometimes the new service is hair extensions, other times fat reduction, but the question, and solution, are the same.
Just because a beauty treatment or hair service is new (and you’re super excited about it) doesn’t mean your salon clients are going to rush to book appointments.
In fact, far from it.
Of course, you love your shiny new toy, but why isn’t it the hot ticket with clients you expected?
Slow bookings for your new salon service?
Here’s why:
People make purchases based on feelings and emotions.
We may like to think we’re being utterly logical when spending our money, but around 90% of buying decisions are made subconsciously, based on our emotions. In other words, ‘how we feel’.
The marketing challenge is that clients are often suspicious of something ‘new’. There’s an element of uncertainty with anything novel and untried.
Put yourself in their shoes and you start to understand why they feel wary. With any new service it’s human nature to worry you’re a guinea pig and wonder:
- Does it work?
- Are there side-effects?
- Does the therapist/stylist need more experience?
- Is it honestly better than the treatment I already have and love?
- It seems expensive. Am I wasting my hard-earned cash?
So feeling a tad apprehensive, and outside their comfort zone, clients often decide ‘it’s probably best to leave it for now’.
They decide to wait and see.
And you are left disappointed with the lack of bookings for your brand-new launch.
What’s the (marketing) answer?
Quite simply…
TRUST.
Because ‘People do business with people they ‘Know, Like and Trust.’ I recently wrote a blog on this key 3-step marketing formula if you want a deeper dive.
To successfully market any new hair service or beauty treatment you need to build trust and confidence.
And not just trust in your business and team. You need to build trust in that (often) rather intimidating piece of kit sitting in the corner of your treatment room.
Launching something new in your salon soon? You’ll find 12 actionable tips to make it a money-making success in my blog here.
And Salon Social Club members head to my ‘New Service Marketing Launch Blueprint’ for all your post caption templates and ready-to-go Club Canva graphics for a super easy, super successful new service launch. And members, don’t forget, if you’ve any marketing questions just ask me 💡
Right, let’s get started:
#1. Testimonials
Ideally you want at least one before you launch your new service so you can start trust building from the moment you launch. Try offering free pre-launch treatments to your best clients in return for their honest testimonial – it’s extra practice for your team too.
#2. Safe pair of hands
Build trust in your team’s expertise and experience. Shout about their external training for the new kit or service as early as you can on your salon social and your website.
Don’t wait until the new service/treatment is launched. Trust building takes time.
#3. Benefits (not features)
Focus on the benefits of the new service/treatment, not just ‘how it works’ in your marketing materials. This is particularly important with advanced aesthetic equipment where it can be too easy to fall into technical jargon and blind your reader with science.
Show-not-tell the results (benefits) with trust boosting before & after photos and more of those client testimonials I talked about earlier.
#4. Recommendations boost trust and bookings
Word of mouth is one of the best ways to create trust in your new salon service/treatment so make sure clients have every encouragement to shout about it to friends.
‘Recommend a friend’ programmes are not old-hat marketing. They work.
#5. Use celeb endorsements
Many aesthetic, hair and beauty manufacturers give you a marketing head start by getting celebrity endorsements for their product. Use them.
Your younger audience in particular is very influenced by what celebs say, so don’t overlook these, they are an immediate way to build trust in your new service.
Turn a slow start to a profit machine
Becky, one of my Club members from Ireland, recently asked for some advice on introducing a new non-invasive skin tightening treatment. Despite its clear benefits, she felt her regular clients were hesitant and bookings were sluggish.
I suggested social and in-salon marketing for complimentary skincare consultations to explain the treatment process and likely results.
On my advice, Becky also ran a taster event with mini-treatments plus a time-limited event offer. She promoted this on her salon social alongside client testimonials and before & after photos to build that all-important trust.
Before long, her clients started trying the new treatment, and as she knew they would be, were thrilled with the results. Becky regularly reminded her team to encourage clients to use the salon referral programme which soon led to more bookings and recommendations.
Don’t leave your marketing too late
Don’t leave your marketing to the last minute if you want your new launch to be a rip-roaring success. Start thinking about creating that crucial trust in your new kit or service from the moment you sign on the dotted line for it.