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All About Hair
Welcome to **All About Hair**, the ultimate destination for all things hairstyling! Join our host, Danise Keilitz, a seasoned industry veteran and former award-winning salon owner with 30 years of experience, as we dive deep into the world of hair.
Whether you're a newbie craving foundational knowledge or a seasoned stylist seeking advanced techniques, our podcast has something for everyone. Our tutorials are designed to cater to diverse audiences, providing accessible and inspiring education.
Drawing from decades of expertise, we reveal insider tips, industry secrets, and cutting-edge techniques to help you become a hairstyling pro. From classic cuts to trendy styles, we cover essential tools, hair care, color theory, and specialized techniques for different hair types.
Our commitment to accessibility shines through in our user-friendly tutorials, perfect for easy learning anytime, anywhere. Join our vibrant community of hair enthusiasts worldwide to share successes, seek advice, and connect with like-minded individuals.
Subscribe to **All About Hair** today and embark on a journey to master the art of hairstyling with us! Let's celebrate the beauty of hair together.
All About Hair
229: Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Loyal Clients
What if you could transform your salon business and build a loyal clientele, even if you're just starting out or moving to a new town? In this episode of All About Hair, we reveal practical and proven strategies that will help you attract and retain clients. From leveraging social media advertising to the importance of up-to-date profiles and spotlighting your specialties, you'll discover how to effectively target your local community with minimal budget. Also, learn how to form valuable partnerships with local businesses for mutual growth, encourage client referrals, and deliver exceptional consultations to make every client feel special.
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You know, building a clientele as a hairstylist it can be really challenging, but there's so many different ways to go about it and I've done a little bit of research on what works and what doesn't. If you're brand new, or if you're moving to a new town, or if you're just wanting some ideas on how to get some new clients, I got you covered. Welcome to All About Hair, the go-to podcast for stylists, salon owners and anyone passionate about hairstyling. Whether you're a seasoned stylist refining your skills or a curious listener looking to enhance your hair knowledge, we've got you covered. I'm your host, denise Kylitz, a former stylist and salon owner with four award-winning salons under my belt. With over 30 years of experience, I've dedicated myself to helping stylists excel in foundational haircutting, color theory, client communication and more, enabling them to build six-figure careers they can be proud of. My mission is to uplift our industry by sharing valuable insights gathered along my journey. Get ready for enlightening discussions, captivating interviews and practical advice on marketing, sales and technical skills. This is the podcast all about hair Number one.
Speaker 1:Don't underestimate social media advertising. Yes, you can do social media and yes, you can post and all that good stuff, but don't overlook the power of actually advertising on social media, because that's where the people are right. Just use a little bit of budget. It doesn't even have to take much, you know, $15 a week. Target your audience to your community and your surroundings and advertise on Facebook or Instagram. Now you want to make sure that all your profiles everything is up to date. You want to make sure that you have your location on your profile. You have to have your city and the salon you're working at. I mean, that's crazy. Do you know how many Instagram and social media accounts I go to and they don't even have where their salon is located? You don't know if they're in California or Virginia. Hmm, that's very frustrating. So make sure that you're putting where you're located and also what you specialize in. I mean, if you don't enjoy doing vivid colors and unicorn hair, don't put that on there. Don't even have a picture of it on your page. Put on there what you enjoy doing. Maybe you enjoy doing beautiful, believable brunettes. Put that on there, because there are people looking for people who specialize in certain things. Maybe you specialize in extensions, maybe you specialize in wedding hair or special occasion hair. Put it on there and then make sure you have pictures in your account that has that.
Speaker 1:Other than that, you want to utilize the advertising on these platforms. Just set aside some budget and get in there, and if you need help on how to do that, reach out. I can walk you through that. You can target your ads to reach your audience and then just come up with a strategy that works for you. And again, don't over budget, don't spend more than you have coming in. But it's pretty creative to run some promotions. Maybe you want to run I don't know Brazilian blowout specials in the springtime because of the humidity or the summertime.
Speaker 1:All right, here's another idea. How about building relationships with some of the small businesses that surround you? It could be a fitness center. People who are into fitness are into bettering themselves, looking good. Maybe you can go in with them, offer a gift certificate or encourage cross-promoting you could do that. But maybe there's a boutique beside you. Cross-promote with them. Maybe they're having some kind of event you can be part of, or vice versa. It's always nice to cross-promote with local businesses and buddy up if you will, because everybody's out there trying to better themselves, right?
Speaker 1:Number three make sure you're asking for referrals Every client, every time. You need to ask for the referrals. Just encourage your happy clients to refer guests, because you want more people just like them to come into your chair. Number four you need to value each one of your clients, every single one of them. Make sure they leave your chair feeling amazing Okay, not only looking amazing, but feeling good on the inside too. Just make sure that you're giving good consultations, that you're listening to them, that you're understanding them, that you're there for them.
Speaker 1:Number five make sure that you're scheduling their next appointment before they leave the salon. Do not let them say oh, I'll just call you when I get home. Let me check my calendar, I'll call you. No, no, no. Tell them, let's get you on the books, because it's a lot easier to change it than it is to make the appointment afterwards, because maybe you're going to get booked up. You don't know. And then you can't find them an appointment because you know, and I know, that we want something right then and there, when you look in the mirror and you're like, dang, I need a haircut, you wanted it yesterday, and so you call your hairstylist because you didn't pre-book and you try to get in with them, like today, tomorrow at the latest, because you want it today and they can't get you in for like three weeks. Well, what's going to happen is I'm going to try to go somewhere else that can get me in sooner, and you don't want that to happen to you, so make sure that you pre-book their appointment before they leave.
Speaker 1:We used to have a little thing at the front desk that said for haircuts, we recommend four to six weeks for hair color, six day weeks for balayage, and then when we would say what that date would be, so people could actually know in their mind like oh, wow, that's coming up, especially around the holidays, cause most people underestimate how fast that goes If it is coming up around the holidays. You need to remind your guests Thanksgiving's this many weeks away. Let's get you on the books beforehand, because you don't want that to come and I and I get too busy. So there are all kinds of ways you could script this. There are all kinds of ways to make it roll off your tongue, if you will. And then you want to make sure you're following up with them, whatever your POS system, texts, emails, there's programs out there that will give them a reminder like 48 hours before their appointment. They don't have to put it in their calendar, they should. We do this at the dentist, right? You go to the dentist and they said okay, we need to make your next cleaning appointment and it's either six months or a year away. You don't know what you're doing in six months or a year away, but we do it anyway, right, because it's hard to get in with them. It should be the same in the salon. So remember that. Don't feel guilty or take no for an answer, just pre-book their next appointment.
Speaker 1:All right, make sure that you snap a before and after picture. These are so, so important to you. Ask permission, okay. Ask them if you can or just don't take a picture of the front of their face. Okay, when you share their pictures, make sure you tag them. Ask them if you could tag them in that, or at least share it to theirs, because they get excited too Cause then they start sharing with their friends, right? They're like this is my hair, look at this, my hairstylist did this. This is my before and after. It gets people excited about it, and then they show their friends and their friends see what you can do, and then they want to come to you as well. You see how that works, but always ask permission beforehand. In fact, you might even want them to sign a waiver. I don't know. It depends on what you're using the pictures for.
Speaker 1:Here's something Do what other hairstylists aren't doing. What do you mean by that? Huh, well, just market yourself differently or find a different niche. I know that if I was to open a salon today, I would probably market to people over 50. Why? Because I'm over 50. And there's a lot of women out there who they don't want little old lady hair just because they're over 50. And I know that sounds silly right now, but it used to be when you reached 50, they'd say cut your hair short because when you get older you shouldn't have long hair, whatever. No, I mean, I just can relate to that demographic and I can blend gray hair. That's just what I relate to. You, on the other other hand, might relate to I don't know unicorn hair. I don't know. I'm trying to think something completely opposite than that. You might relate to extensions. You might relate to bridal hair or braids or men's haircutting. That's huge. So find what you like to do and create something around that. Create some excitement. Find and do something that other people aren't doing. I guarantee you your tribe will find you. People are looking for people who are different. Get creative.
Speaker 1:Number eight don't ever underestimate the power of videos. Yes, videos are an excellent way to communicate. It could be a 30 second reel kind of showing what you can do. It could be behind the scenes, it could be how to use a product. Put those on your social media just for something different, so people can actually see what you're about, how you talk. In fact, you don't even have to talk in the videos. You set it to music and then just put fonts to it. Just use simple stuff your phone, a ring light. They have free video editing software on your phone. You don't have to buy anything special. You know, a good video is a day in the life of the salon People are interested in. That. Isn't that funny? But yeah, don't underestimate that.
Speaker 1:And then what about your website? Oh, my goodness, it kills me to my soul, and I've tried to find somebody's website and they don't have one. They don't even have a website. They have a Facebook page. No, no, no, no, no. If you are a salon owner and have a salon, or if you are an independent stylist an independent meaning a booth renter or you have a salon suite, you must have a website. Why? Because it makes it look like you're a professional for one, and it is 24 7, promoting your services and your business 24 seven. You could make sure you put a button on there that they book, cause I don't know about you, but it's 11 o'clock at night Well, not really Cause I go to bed at like nine, but, but pretend it's in the middle of the night and I'm saying, hey, I want my haircut. I want to be able to book right then and there I want to know what my options are. So you need a button on there that they could book right away. You need some kind of contact form so if they need to reach you, um, send, shoot you an email or at least have something that they can feel like they're reaching out.
Speaker 1:You need to have some kind of photos your before and afters, what you're capable of doing, maybe even describing some of the things like what, what is balayage, what is a highlight, what is a? What is a pixie? You need an about page. Who are you? Why do you do what you do? What are you passionate about? Why should they come to you? Some kind of thing that they can form a relationship with you before you even walk in the door. I could tell you, um, just by personal experience. When we were picking a dog groomer, I picked her because of the about page, because of her story of where she came from, and that's the only reason I had no other other basis to make my decision on and I I just liked it and I've been pretty satisfied.
Speaker 1:And you also need testimonials. If you can gather testimonials from your clients and stick those on there, you don't have to stick their picture on there. In fact, you could just have their first name or even just, yeah, first name and have some testimonials, because people believe what other people are saying. You know, when you go on Yelp, that's what we all do. We all look to see what everybody else is saying If they're going to say something good. Now, you're not going to put this one star reviews on your website. Hope not, hopefully you're not getting one star reviews. But put some reviews on there. Or ask somebody Could you write me a little review and then stick it on there?
Speaker 1:You know, if you don't have any other way of doing that and make sure that you are putting your business and promoting it through your Google business profile, and if you don't know how to do that, let me know. And if you're a wedding person and do wedding hair, you know there's sites like Wedding Pro that you could do. There's Thumbtack. There's all kinds of places that you can make sure that your website is representing you. Google is huge because then it also does help you track in the SEO. It's a whole other conversation. You really want your business to be the number one, at least on the first page of when people are researching on Google. Like hairstylist near me, you want yours to come up and there's so many different ways of doing that. Whoever creates your website for you which I would probably recommend getting someone to do that, not doing it yourself because they can help you with the SEO which helps with that. If you don't know what I'm talking about and you need some help with that, it's okay, reach out. I'll point you in the right direction or I can help you with that.
Speaker 1:Here's a pro tip that's not even on my list is always be on time. Yeah, you might be running late, but if you're running late, you better communicate that to your guest so they know and they can determine if they need to reschedule or something. But clients appreciate it when you're on time. Things happen, get you off time, but always try to be punctual. Always try to be a person of your word. Always try to be a duck is what I say. You know, a duck is all nice and swimming on the on the surface of the water, but underneath they're paddling like hell to make make themselves move. That's what you need to be Be calm and cool, collected, but underneath make sure that you're watching the clock and you're doing all the things and multitasking and stuff like that. It's a lot, I know it's a lot.
Speaker 1:Here's the bottom line Building a strong clientele. You need about 200 clients that are coming to you consistently. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of time, a lot of services, a lot of butts in your chair. Not everybody's going to become your client. They're trying you out. But if you provide high quality services, if you give 110%, if you do the best, you know how to do when. You know how to do it at that time, because you know every time you, you're going to learn something new every single time, cause you know every time you you're going to learn something new every single time. And each time they show up, you're going to have more skills in your back pocket. You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine. Make sure you're following up. Make sure you're true to your word.
Speaker 1:Don't be afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone, trying new things and just have fun. This is a freaking fantastic career to be in. It is so much fun. You know, where else do you get to, like, make people feel good, listen to great music, dress up. Come on, this profession is, it is where it's at, and we get to make our own choices.
Speaker 1:There's, there's I did this video on I think there was 30 different career choices with a cosmetology license. There are so many different paths you can take. It doesn't have to just be behind the chair. A lot of us choose behind the chair because it's a lot of fun and there's so much flexibility and benefits and, again, it's a lot of stress too. Okay, you got to know a lot of different things and have a lot of balls in the air, if you will. But hey, we chose the career. Sometimes it chooses us, but it's a lot of fun and I and that's why I share these videos my podcast. That's why I do what I do is because I've been in this industry for 30 years and I still love it.
Speaker 1:My gosh, my gosh. How many people do you know that hate their job? That's sad, right. So if you can learn to love what you do and then figure out how to get paid for it, I think that's half the battle, right there. So, anyway, thank you for your time.
Speaker 1:Thanks for watching this video, listening to me, putting up with me. Hopefully, these tips gave you some pointers on how to build a clientele fast, and if you have any questions, reach out to me. I'm here, like always, and remember, when you know better, you're going to do better. Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of All About Hair. Here's what I'd love for you to do next Take a screenshot of this episode and share it on your Instagram stories. Be sure to tag me at Denise Keilitz so I can see that you're listening. Sharing on your stories helps more people discover this podcast, allowing them to learn how to build their salon business more easily and faster. If you're really enjoying this show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and leave All About Hair a review. Your support helps boost the podcast and it makes it easier for others to find. All right, let's wrap this up, I'm Denise Kylitz, and until next week, remember, when you know better, you do better.
