What Is Guerilla Marketing?

Are you familiar with guerilla marketing? If you’re not, you should be. Entrepreneur defines guerilla marketing as an unconventional way of performing marketing activities on a very low budget. It can be a great business strategy for salons, especially new ones! In this post, I’m going to tell you how I used guerilla marketing to grow my business, and provide you with five simple steps to help you start a guerilla marketing program for your own salon.

First things first – why try guerilla marketing? One good reason is that it can be done on a shoe-string budget. Money can be tight for many new salon owners, and guerilla marketing (if done right) can be efficient and cost-effective. And due to the nature of guerilla marketing, it’s a great way to build brand awareness in your community AND build local partnerships, which can be another powerful tool.

So, with those benefits in mind, I decided to try it out for my own salon! When I started Be Inspired Salon no one in my community knew about us. So, my team and I started to go around to neighboring businesses and talk to members of the community. We gave away brochures and gift cards, NOT discounts (you all know how I feel about discounts). It was a risk to give away gift cards, but we knew that if we could get them in the door it would be a game changer.

That tactic worked, but we needed to step it up a notch. We decided to attend local networking events with the goal of building relationships, not selling services. But here’s the thing, we got a little bold with our new strategy. We attended these events dressed like cocktail waitresses. We had on nice Be Inspired Salon branded shirts and professional name tags, and we carried around trays with free product samples and whiskey glasses to collect business cards. (I said we were bold!)

We definitely drew attention, but in a good way! And don’t worry, we didn’t get in trouble. The hosts of the events thought it was a very clever idea. Anyways, it was a great way to start conversations and get to know the people in our community. We would tell them about the salon, offer a product and ask them to enter their business card for a chance to win a prize. We would alter the prize based on the audience, but usually it switched between a free hair cut or a product bundle.

Take a guess as to who won? Everyone! That’s right. When I first started guerilla marketing, I made everyone a winner. We were new, and we had plenty of openings. And it turned out to be a great success! We started getting new, paying clientele in the door.

Five Steps to Guerilla Marketing

But there’s a little more detail to how I made it happen. Here are the five simple steps you can follow to repeat what I did for your business.

1. Find events. I’m very lucky to live in a professionally driven community. There are always networking events going on. But if you are looking for ideas, check your local business chamber or search for local organizations on LinkedIn. It’s also a good idea to check out Business Networking International (BNI) – they have chapters across the US.

2. Set a strategy. Networking can be intimidating, so it’s a good idea to have a plan before you go to events. First, set a goal of how many people you want to meet and/or cards you want to collect at each event. I started out with 10. Then, decide what you are giving away, and like I mentioned before, personalize it to the crowd. Finally, brand the heck out of everything you give away! I had little stickers made that included my salon logo, address, and website and put them on everything my team gave away. It’s a simple and affordable way to grow brand awareness.

3. Follow-up. This is the most important step to make your program successful. How many times have you had a conversation that ended with, “We should meet up sometime!” Only to never have that happen? The same goes with business networking. After my events, I like to find them on social channels, usually LinkedIn, and I send them a quick note. Something like, “Hey! It was nice to meet you last night. I want to connect.” And if you don’t feel comfortable using a social platform, email is another great option.

4. Set a schedule. Frequency is another key to success. When I first started, my team and I were going once a week. And if you’re thinking I’m crazy, you’re not wrong. It was a lot, but it did lead to results. But I know that everyone doesn’t have that kind of time, so at a minimum, I would suggest going once a month.

Once business picked up, I thought I didn’t need guerilla marketing anymore. I was wrong. I rode the first great wave of new business, and after about six months of no networking, business slowed down. I couldn’t figure out why. I talked to my business coach, and he pointed out that the only thing I stopped doing was guerilla marketing. So, the lesson here is that even when business picks up, you can’t stop networking. You need to keep a consistent frequency, even if it’s once a month.

5. Get your team involved. You don’t have to do it all by yourself. I recruited my Stylists to help for several reasons. First, it can be scary to go to an event by yourself, so the buddy system is never a bad way to go! Second, I wanted them to be more invested in the business. I started to notice that if I met someone at an event, and they came to my salon, they expected to see or work with me. As I got busier, that wasn’t possible, so it was important to have my Stylists at events as well.

We have an event sign-up at the salon with the expectation that at least two people have to go to ONE event per month. This way you don’t have to go every month, but your salon is still being represented in the community.

If done well and done consistently, guerilla marketing can help you grow your salon business! If you’re looking for more detail on how to get your program started, check out “Episode #74  - Have You Been Guerilla Marketing?” on the Beyond The Technique podcast!

Are you a salon owner or manager looking to improve your business? From my experience as an owner and salon business coach, I’ve come to realize that truly successful salons have five things in common. And today I’m going to share those with you!

#1: Opportunities for Growth

Successful salons offer their employees ample opportunities for professional growth. For example, a level system, or a way for a Stylist fresh out of school to get from where they are now to a master level. Having programs in place provides your team with benchmarks they need to hit to continually move up the ladder at your establishment.

#2: Offers Education

Education is key. The most successful salons have training and education built into their culture. And it should be offered to your Stylists at every level. When a new Stylist starts at your salon, do you have a program in place to help them become more developed? What about your seasoned pros? Do you have programs in place to help drive their continued success? It’s important to provide educational opportunities that will empower and inspire your Stylists to become better!

#3: Provides Structure

Deep down, most humans desire structure. While you may have some employees that will always want to do their own thing, this shouldn’t stop you from providing structure at your salon. Structure encompasses a lot of different things including boundaries, expectations and accountability.

An easy way to implement more structure into your work environment is to provide your employees with a handbook or “playbook.” This would include the rules your Stylists needs to play by to be a part of your team. This could also include important information around boundaries. For example, what are your vacation and compensation programs? Are there rules around whether your Stylists can purchase equipment? Or do you provide equipment? Topics like these can be outlined, and boundaries can be set with clear communication and a tool such as a playbook.

You can also use that playbook as a good starting point for setting expectations and accountability. This ties in well with providing opportunities for growth. A successful salon will outline what is expected from a Stylist fresh out of school versus someone who’s been at the salon for a few years. This can include things such as the skill level you expect them to be at, to the attitude and behavior you expect them to bring into your salon. And when you have your structure documented, it helps everyone stay accountable.

#4: Strong Collaborative Marketing

This is a great tactic and one that is a win-win. Successful salons take a collaborative approach to promote not only their amazing salon, but their talented Stylists. It’s a strong effort to help build your Stylists’ clientele while building your business.

Meet Your Stylist is a great customer retention tool to help you do just that, but with little effort and big return. This tool helps you match new clients with the Stylist at your salon that is the best fit for them! And the best part is, you are empowering your Stylists by providing them the opportunity to work with clients that fit in their wheel house of expertise.

If you aren’t using a tool or you don’t have a strong collaborative marketing program in place – you need to make sure you are getting the word out about your Stylists’ talent and help build their clientele! Your business will benefit from the collaboration.

#5: Creates a Team Environment

A strong team environment means there is a strong team effort. There is a parallel between working in a salon and being on a basketball team. When you have a team mentality, your goal is to make sure the team wins – it doesn’t mean you’re the point guard who scores all the points. A great team has a common goal in mind they are all working towards. It’s not about “me and my clients,” it’s about “US and OUR clientele” as a salon. Successful salons don’t compete internally, they work together to compete against other local salons! Successful salons have a team effort that’s constantly trying to build each other up to get to that next level and achieve the bigger vision.

With that being said, do you have a bigger vision for your salon? Have you shared this goal with your team? Before you can create a team environment, you need to make sure everyone at your salon is on board!

So, how do you start implementing these five things? The first step is putting it out there to your team. Call a team meeting and go over your vision, your new playbook, or your new education program - whatever it may be. Make sure to listen to your team’s feedback, they might have an awesome idea for collaborative marketing or a conference they think would be useful to attend. There might also be some resistance, but that’s okay. Don’t let that fear stop you from implementing new things, because in the end, having these five tactics in place will help you become a more successful salon!

If you are looking for more business tips and beauty industry advice, make sure to follow Beyond The Technique, listen to our weekly podcast, and join our private Facebook group.

Take a moment to think about where you want to be in 5 years. Seriously, take a moment to visualize these goals and dream big! Start by asking yourself these questions: what are my career goals, where am I living, what vacation am I planning, where am I working? Now that you have a picture of your bright future, ask yourself one more question: are you surrounding yourself with the people who are going to help propel you to that next level?

Who Are Your People?

Renowned businessman Jim Rohn once said: “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.” Considering that statement, are you spending your time with the right people? Think about the people who genuinely want to see you succeed and are always cheering you on. Who are those people? Take a few minutes and write down five people who you want to surround yourself with and will help propel you to your next big dream.

Limited Exposure

Now that you have established your Top 5, think about those friends who need limited exposure. These are the people who didn’t make it into your Top 5, but you can’t completely forget and let go of them. For instance, your constantly complaining coworker or your irresponsible sister-in-law are really draining you, but you can't cut them out of your life. When you are around these people, you maybe feel worse about yourself, and you know deep down that they are not the right fit for you. While you can’t control that the fact that they are in your life, you can control the amount of time and energy that you spend on them. Who are the people in your life that you need to limit your time with?

Limiting your time with relatives can be challenging, so you may need to get crafty. Here is one example. Let’s say that when you go visit your relatives, you normally stay Friday through Sunday. However, you know that a weekend with relatives is really draining and counterproductive to your positive and proactive mind-set. So, try telling a little fib. For example: “Hey Aunt Cathy, I know that when we visit we normally stay until Sunday, but we are going to come Friday and leave Saturday because we have an event Saturday afternoon to attend.” While this is a little dishonest, you know that limiting this exposure is a benefit to you.

It’s Time to Let Go

To recap, you now have a Top 5 group and a limited exposure group. Finally, take a deep breath and ask yourself: who do I simply need to let go? These are the people who are constantly questioning you, maybe making fun of you, and you just feel insecure around them. Maybe these are people who don’t have the same habits and lifestyle as you, so their influence is actually disrupting your five-year dream plan. It does seem difficult to let people go, but stay focused on the positives. If you purposefully surround yourself with those who you can learn from and grow with, the negatives won’t be on your mind.

Starting today, you must think about who want to hang out with because this is one step towards reaching your success. Who you want to be in the future—those habits and behaviors—needs to start today. Every year, sit down and ask yourself these three questions: who are my people, who do I need to limit my time with, and who do I need to let go? Always believe in your dreams and focus on building great relationships with great people!

Want even more personal and professional advice? Follow us and listen to our weekly podcast to learn even more tips and tricks from the pros! We hope to make it in your Top 5!