Marketing: an investment, not a cost!

“It takes money to make money.”

Consumer brands like L’Oréal invest up to 24% of their annual revenue back into marketing to continue to grow.

Keeping control of business costs is important. However in order to make money, we need to invest money.

Simple question: would you rather spend £0 and make £20 OR spend £50 and make £2000?

99% of owners would choose the latter but why is it that when surveyed only 33% of owners invest in growing their business through marketing?

Consumer brands like L’Oréal invest up to 24% of their annual revenue back into marketing to continue to grow.

Why do L'Oréal still need to invest in marketing, I hear you ask Surely customers will keep buying their products and this is just a waste of money?

Think of your own habits: You see an advert for a glossy Rimmel lipstick. It looks FABULOUS. You have to get it!

You already have 2 other lipsticks but does that stop you buying it? No of course not!

That advert made Rimmel an extra £5.99 per lipstick sold that they would not have earned otherwise. They invested into their business to earn more money.

If sales are down and business is quiet, companies do not stop marketing. They do the opposite: they increase spend to increase business.

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What does this mean for my salon?

At the start of June 2021, the average UK salon had:

• £14,286 worth of revenue from clients they had not seen in more than 12 weeks
• That’s the equivalent of 326 loyal clients who haven’t rebooked
• Only 40% of available appointments were booked. 60% were empty

If your business is more than 70% full and you are on track to hit your earnings target then stop reading… If not, read on as this is YOUR 3-step plan to earning more!

But we do this already with paper cards?

At Slick we work with over a 1000 UK salons day in day out.

As a business owner your client history and contact details are the most precious you have.

Rather than wasting money on social ads that the kids next door will see you can send messages to specific clients!

Take Boyd Hair & Beauty:

• Spent £31.74 on marketing 💡
• Received 38 bookings ☎️
• Earned £2408 💰

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Your 3-step plan to a full diary

1. Set a budget.

Typically aim to spend at least 1.5% of your monthly earnings on marketing to grow the business. I.e if your business takes £5,000 in the till then you should aim to spend £75 a month on marketing to your clients. Tip: keep this money in a separate bank account so you can track spend.

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2. Be smart. Use your system data

Rimmel and L’Oréal don’t spend money on just anyone! They only spend marketing money on clients that haven’t bought for a while or to launch new products. Your business is the same.

Use your budget to:

• Tell clients about a new service
• Remind clients who haven’t visited for a while to book back in
• Send targeted offers to add on extra services / staff member

Your system does this for you- all you need to do is write your message!

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3. Marketing does not equal discount.

We hear this all the time: “I don’t want to offer any discount”!

Good! Discount doesn’t equal marketing. Often clients just need a nudge, like the Rimmel advert, to spend their money!

Try these messages on for size:

“We miss you! We notice you haven’t been to see us for a while! Book in today at [salon name] for some TLC!  [insert booking link and phone] x”

“We still some slots left for June if you fancy some self care from [salon name]!  [insert booking link and phone] x”

“WE'VE MISSED YOU. And we're guessing your hair has missed us! Book your appointment at [insert booking link]”

If you want to grow your business then book a free 1-2-1 session with your Slick Business Coach here

Rob Smith is the Co-founder at Slick and former Head of Marketing at brands such as L’Oréal and Philips‍