Vampires in the Workplace

Have vampires in the workplace? Want to know the 5 key ingredients for your witches branding brew? Just a couple of the treats that will fatten your wallet—not your waistline—in my Halloween marketing goodie bag a.k.a. tomorrow's email newsletter. Subscribe below then watch your email in the morning!

subscribe

Don't touch my coffee! 15 caffeine stats you can use to start a social media conversation

It seems to me that people used to "like" and comment on posts much more frequently than they do now. Why? Overload. We're all consuming so much on social media that it takes something truly - TRULY - evocative to motivate us to respond.

But there are still a few topics sure to garner social media interaction, including that beloved and sacred day-starter: coffee. However you spell it—coffee, Americana, latte, mocha or cappuccino—you're likely to get attention and (hopefully!) some interaction with your audience.

On that note, the infographic below from the good people at homeownersinsurance.org contains 15 stats about caffeine that you can use as social media conversation starters:


[Source: Homeowners Insurance]


***

Do you want more creative ways to generate social media engagement -- for every day of the year? Check out 365 Days of Marketing, available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

6 Ways Your Business Cards Can Make You Money

 

We think of business cards as essential to doing business in the modern world (and they are).

But you may not know that business cards have been around for hundreds of years, and they’ve always been important. Business cards were originally used by the most prosperous and the aristocratic in society to announce that they would be coming to town soon, were exchanged during introductions and were left at the homes of peers and friends to note that one had stopped by.

It’s amazing, if you think about it, that we still use business cards in what is – essentially – the same way. We use them to introduce ourselves, we send them with collateral, we leave them at other businesses, we hand them out at events and parties.

Business cards might actually be the most often-used tool in your marketing arsenal; yet it’s often given little attention in terms of design. Worse, many times people hand out business cards that contain obsolete or outdated information, crossing out and writing in new data. This sends all kinds of negative messages; that you're careless, that you don't care how you present yourself, that you're not proud of your business, that you're not successful enough to be able to afford to replenish them (and who wants to work with someone who is unsuccessful at what they do?)

Since it’s the job of your business card to introduce you to others and remind people of your existence, your business cards need to be memorable, need to reflect your brand and the personality of your business, must look professional and be kept up to date.

Once you’ve got this tool ready to work, here are 6 ways to use your business card to make money:

• Don’t leave home without them. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it, but how many times have you been at a party, a store, somewhere and in the middle of a conversation with someone, you have an opportunity to give them your contact information but find yourself without a card? If it was good enough for the rich and famous for hundreds of years, it’s good enough for you, too! Give away your business cards to people to whom you are introduced or meet at networking and social events. Introduce yourself to the managers or owners of businesses you visit on a regular basis and leave two copies of your card with them (one to give away).
• Include 2 business cards (one to give away) in each Thank-You Note you send. Which of course implies that you are, in fact, thanking your customers. All of your customers. Your most important clients. Your most loyal patrons. (Come on, you can thank at least one person each day, can’t you?)
• Send your business cards to large employers or organizations in your area for placement in common areas, like break rooms. Create a special offer and have it printed on your cards. Send or (better yet) hand-deliver a gift basket with samples from your business or with treats and your catalog or brochure to the receptionist, human resources department, etc; introduce yourself, note the special offer you’re extending and ask that your cards be placed in lobbies, break, lunch or other common areas. Provide digital ad copy that can be featured in their newsletters or on their employee/member websites.
• Place your business cards strategically throughout your building on displays. Draw attention to special offers, departmental features, awards or charity involvement, etc.
• Include business cards with products, services or gift certificates that you donate to non-profit fundraising drives, auctions, etc. When you donate, ask that your business cards be placed near your auction basket or featured in printed or online collateral.
• Create a digital version of your business card that can be downloaded from your website, blog or email newsletter and easily shared with others. Put information about your new customer offers or referral rewards on your digital business card.
  
• Bonus #7: Give them out with Halloween Treats this weekend or Monday evening from your business or even from your home.

***

Do you want more creative ways to use your business card and other marketing tools? Check out 365 Days of Marketing, available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

Friday's 5 - Marketing Shorts and Sweets

My backyard is full of leaves but so is my tree, which means weeks and weeks of raking, piling, yard-wasting, burning and otherwise getting rid of them in order to keep the yard looking good and healthy. When it comes to your business, is your yard covered with leaves? Are there a thousand little seemingly harmless messages trying to distract your customers from what you most want them to see?

Just a thought. Here are my Friday's 5 to start your weekend with - or to give you one more burst of marketing energy and enthusiasm to end the week!


[ READ ] The most powerful 3 inches of space you own
(designer-daily.com.com)
Your business card can be the hardest-working 3-and-1/2 inches of marketing real estate you own. Believe it or not, they've been an important part of civilized society for centuries. Check out this brief history and be sure to scroll down to see some of the amazing things you can do with your cards these days.



[ READ ] Need a Do-Over? 4 Simple Steps to Reboot your Brand
(smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com)
Reboot or refresh – here are 4 steps to putting some umph back in your brand, so it can get back to work for you.




[ READ ] 5 Ways to Humanize your Social Media Marketing
Connecting emotionally with prospects and customers is key to building an army of enthusiasts and evangelists (i.e., getting people to tell other people about you!) Here are 5 ways to humanize your business social media persona in order to do just that.




BONUS: Breathe New Life Into Your Social Media
Six articles that will help you jump start or re-energize your social media marketing.



[ READ ] 13 Tips for Setting Performance Measures
(greatleadershipbydan.com)
Do you want your employees to succeed? Then you need to set – and be able to measure - clear, achievable, challenging, and unwavering performance standards. Believe it or not, clear and enforced standards are strong motivators; most employees want to excel, knowing the target helps them self-measure and prevents unfair practices due to their more subjective counterparts.



[ READ ] What Your House Will Look Like in 2015
(fastcompany.com)
Smaller, smarter, solar: words that describe what homes will look like in 2015.










[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter.


Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Now available on amazon.com: the 2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar by Elizabeth Kraus.

Breathe new life into your social media strategy

Style, Strategy and Marketing Savvy

October 27, 2011

I can't believe October is almost over. With the holiday season nearly here, do you have tools in place to keep your business in the forefront of your customer's minds? Today's newsletter is a social media article collage meant to help you do just that.

[ READ ] How to be your own media marketing machine
(elizabeth kraus | 12monthsofmarketing.net)
Yesterday I read a Chris Brogan post (co-author of NY Times best seller Trust Agents and author of Social Media 101) on entrepreneur.com which said "There are inexpensive ways to market your stuff, as long as you accept one fact: You're also a media company." If you're in the position of needing to run your own business while simultaneously promoting it, you might need a place to start, so I wrote this post laying out what you need most, and how to get started. <more>


[ READ ] Social Networks: Your Personal Operating Systems
(venturebeat.com)
Brian Solis, author of the newly-released, The End of Business As Usual suggests that a war for your social media soul is being waged by Google, Facebook and Twitter. Solis says, "Connected consumers are increasingly leaning on their friends for empowerment, entertainment, and enlightenment. Social networks are now personal hubs that bring information, people, and businesses together." . <more>


Most Commented-On this week:
A new joint-venture, Niche USA
promotes military spouse-owned businesses and entrepreneurs < go >
With partners Jennifer Beatty (wife of a US Marine Corps officer, mother of two, full-time day job plus entrepreneur) my long-time friend John Schmidt, who recently entered the ranks of military families when his son told him of his decision to join the US Air Force, and myself, Niche USA was conceived and launched. Check out the site or the blog and if you know someone who needs to know about this project, please forward this information on to them! One more huge favor? Please 'Like' the Niche USA Facebook page to help us get more reach.



[ READ ] 9 Ways to Build a Facebook Following
(smartblogs.com)
I've been in this spot (please note the favor request above) more than once. You set up a new Facebook page for your business or a special project, ask people to like your page, send out announcements and post like crazy, but so far, there's little to show for it. Here are nine ways to get your Facebook page 'liked' and on the move. <more>



[ READ ] Smile Your Happiness Depends On It
(vancouversun.com)
If you're old enough, you'll remember one of the original 'reality shows' whose climactic moment was punctuated with the phrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." Well that phrase takes on a whole new meaning today, with studies showing that there's a correlation between the presence (or absence) of your smile on your Facebook profile page and your future happiness. <more>



[ READ ] 17 Twitter Marketing Tips from the Pros
(socialmediaexaminer.com)
You might have written it off before, but now is not the time to stop using Twitter, which has grown more in the last nine months than in the last five years (and the trend is expected to continue). Here are 17 Twitter marketing tips from Social Media Examiner's writers that should keep you tweeting happily in the months to come. <more>


And last, but not least:
[ READ ] It's Time You Jumped On Google Plus
(networksolutions.com)
A skeptic at the outset, now that Google Plus is open to the whole world, I'm getting the point and seeing its value. Your connections there will not be the same people you interact with on Facebook, nor those you're connected with on LinkedIn; if it were so, I wouldn't make time for it. This article provides interesting insight and etiquette for why and how you should get on and see what all the fuss is about. <more>

[ get ] more quotes

On the resources page this month and free for download and use: a full page display and a 4-up postcard-sized version for signage you can use at the point of sale, on shelves, tables, as bag stuffers or handouts at your business to get your customers to "like" your Facebook page.

 

***

For more, [ subscribe to email newsletters ].

Need social media, email and other marketing content? The 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies already has the schedule laid out for you for every month of the year, plus not only the how-to but also the content you need to carry out a strategic, effective electronic marketing plan.

Elizabeth Kraus is the owner of Be InPulse branding marketing - 12monthsofmarketing.com - and the author of 2012 Marketing Calendars, 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing (12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa).

What to do when you have to be your own media marketing machine

Earlier today, Chris Brogan, co-author of The New York Times bestselling book Trust Agents and author of Social Media 101 posted this on [ entrepreneur.com: ] "...there are inexpensive ways to market your stuff, as long as you accept one fact: You're also a media company."

In the article, he advocates for the use of Social Media, blogging and Email, advice with which I heartily concur (and I'm assuming that you already know you MUST have a website to make all of this "go" and to get found by your target markets).

From a monetary standpoint, they cost next to nothing. They connect you with people immediately, 24 hours a day. He's right: If you are on a shoestring budget you can still promote your business and expertise; but it is going to cost you in one area, and that is time. Here are some recommendations to help you build an integrated web, email, blog and social media marketing program:

1. A Website.
   Not a blog, not a Facebook page and not a citysearch or other directory listing. You need NEED your own website with your own domain name. Why?
   
   Your customers aren't looking for you in the yellow pages, they are looking for you online. You'll be Google'ed, Yahoo'ed, Bing'ed and otherwise searched for online by your prospects, no matter whether your business is brick-and-mortar and locally based or virtual. If your competitors are online and you aren't, guess who gets 'found?'
   
   And in case you need more reasons: having a website gives you the opportunity to build your brand, before a prospective client ever walks in the door or places an order. You need a professional-looking site (which might mean different things in different industries) that (1) is visually appealing and stimulating to visitors (i.e, engages them and makes them want to know more), (2) has a clear call to action which enables and motivates site visitors to take the next step and (3) helps to educate your customers (making you the expert in your field).
2. Email marketing.
   Back to Chris Brogan's recommendations, noting that email marketing is not about throwing a newsletter "full of promotions" at your readers. Your email is in and amongst the letters, notes and education that they value. You might be sandwiched in between an invite to a friends party and a note from mom. Good email marketing gets you into the inbox and keeps your emails getting opened. Think about each one from the customer's point of view:
   
   • Connect with them emotionally so that they feel like your business is an important part of their life.
   • Find ways to communicate your feelings about how important they are to your business (and you).
   • Build trust and motivate them to want to move to deeper levels of engagement with your business.
   • Become a valuable resource of useful information about your industry, your local community or another area of importance to your customers.
     
3. Social Media.
   Specifically those platforms identified as most important in statistics everywhere including the 2011 Social Media Examiner's [ report ] which listed Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Blogging as the four most widely-used and effective social media marketing tools.
   
   • Facebook. Probably the most important social media tool for which you need a strategy and a plan. Why? One in every eight minutes spent online is spent on Facebook. And one out of 11 people on the planet have a Facebook account. You need to be there, because your prospects and customers are there. Furthermore, there is a lot of data to support the assertion that consumers identify and interact with their favorite brands on Facebook for status and self-image as well as business reasons.
   • Twitter. At a minimum, use Twitter to push out information that will pull followers back in to your website, Facebook page, blog and e-mail newsletter. In tomorrow's newsletter, you'll find a link to 17 ways to use Twitter to build business to build on.
   • LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a great place to connect with peers, vendors, manufacturers and other industry experts. Don't just use it to push your business, use it to connect with other people who share your interests and can provide you with useful and practical advice to help further your business. Seek out introductions and connections, join groups and become active in discussions.
     
4. Blog.
   To me, blogging is great. I get to talk about things that I'm passionate about. I get to share my point of view. I get to be emotional if I want to. You can do a lot of things with a blog that you can't do with any other electronic platform. Use your blog to:
   
   • Build your reputation as an expert
   • Connect emotionally with your readers
   • Be a real 'person' behind your business entity
   • Provide your readers with entertaining, engaging and thought-provoking information

You'll be sending negative messages if you neglect any of these forms of communication and marketing, especially after you've established expectations in the minds of prospects and customers that you are present and ready to help them. When you neglect your marketing, or fail to communicate often enough to maintain your visibility you may give the impression that you're unprofessional and unreliable.

So if you are just starting out, add these elements in one or two at a time and make sure that you create a manageable schedule, such as this:

• First Day of the Month: Send email newsletter. Cross-post to Twitter, Facebook and Blog
• 20th of the Month: Send email newsletter highlighting any 'last chance' opportunities (things that will expire at the end of the month)
• Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (Weekly): Post a little something on your Facebook page (once every day would be better, but things happen!) and cross-post to Twitter with links back to your Website, Facebook page and/or Blog.
• Wednesdays (Weekly): Blog, and cross post to Twitter and Facebook (and your website, if you are maintaining a blogroll there). 
  Even if you're not a writer, you can do this!  Blog posts can be brief.  Post 3-4 paragraphs about something that interests you and would be likely to interest and engage your target market on your blog.  This should relate to your business, be written personally and conversationally, should be something you wouldn't be embarrassed to have your grandmother or high school English teacher read and should not generally be a forum for hard selling.  Even so, you use your blog design and blog posts to stimulate readers to take the next step in engagement with your business.  

Build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients!

Elizabeth Kraus

***

For more, [ subscribe to email newsletters ].

Need content? The 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies already has the schedule laid out for you for every month of the year, plus not only the how-to but also the content you need to carry out a strategic, effective electronic marketing plan.

Elizabeth Kraus is the owner of Be InPulse branding marketing - 12monthsofmarketing.com - and the author of 2012 Marketing Calendars, 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing (12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa).

Little White Marketing Lie #6: Marketing is an 'Activity'

Have you ever wondered how important marketing really is to the life of your business? That’s like asking how important breathing is to your body!

No matter what you want to do or what it is your business provides, marketing is the means to that end. And it's not just important—marketing impacts, and is impacted by, everything about your business. You might even say that everything about your business is marketing.  Why?

Because each and every time a client comes into contact with you or any aspect of your business, each and every interaction works together to paint a picture in the customer or prospect's mind about you and your business.  Is the picture being painted in all of these encounters all you hope or intend for it to be?

Stop thinking that ‘marketing’ is a verb—something that you should be (or should start) doing. Marketing is not a verb. A verb implies action that begins and ends.

Many people think that the purpose of marketing is to stimulate sales. Wrong!

At it's most basic level, marketing includes any and all activities undertaken to attract, engage, motivate, and retain customers. Is there any part of your business that doesn't cover?

Everything that directly or indirectly impacts the customer experience in any way— retailing, communications, policies, your staff and the employee culture, training, advertising, events, your management style, décor, pricing, merchandising—everything must be viewed as part of your marketing.


[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to get the next little white marketing lie - and more - delivered right to your inbox—it's going to be a great year!


Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Now available on amazon.com: the 2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar by Elizabeth Kraus.

The Sidekick or the Superhero

Many pros are looking for the silver bullet – the magic formula – the hocus-pocus – the quick fix – the express train (if you will) to success. Even though it seems like they really want to know what it is, most don’t like the answer when they hear it, because, as Thomas Edison said, “It’s dressed in overalls and it looks like work.”

While we all dream of having that one great idea, genius breakthrough or other ticket to overnight success, 99.9% of the time, that’s not where we’re going to find it. Earlier this week, the uber-smart people at Harvard Business Review recommended three ways to achieve professional success, and not one of them had to do with a genius idea or a superstar performance. And all three can only be achieved over time:

• Strong performance.
  This is about your ‘track record’ over time in fulfilling your responsibilities, yes, but also by consistently exceeding expectations and goals. This isn’t about doing what’s expected, it’s about doing more than what’s expected, most of the time.


• Ethics.
  This is about who you really are on the inside coming out on the outside. You can discover that person in the actions and behaviors you engage in when (you think) no one else is looking. While some people can fake a moral compass when things are good, deficiencies are often exposed in times of stress and duress.
  
  Who takes over when things get tough for you – the angel or the demon? How about the little things – do you show up on time, every time? Stretch your lunch break? Do personal tasks on the clock? Shirk cleaning duties? And how about your personal appearance – do you ride the line of what’s appropriate or allowed in the workplace, or do you dress for the position you aspire to achieve?


• Drive.
  You demonstrate drive when you show up, day in and day out, ready to go. You demonstrate drive when you take on responsibilities outside of the scope of your job and complete them, with style and enthusiasm. You demonstrate drive when you seek out continuing education at every opportunity.
  
  
  And that brings me to one last point on this topic:
• To get where you want to go in your professional career, be the sidekick.
  Seek out mentors and take in all that they’re willing to teach you. Be observant and take note of what sets successful people apart from others; not only what they know or can do, but how they treat others, what they value and what they think is most important.

No silver bullets or magic formulas; but then, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. The good news is that even though this formula works (and has always worked) few seem to follow it. So you can set yourself apart and set yourself up for success for the long haul if you are simply willing to invest -- in yourself.


[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to have more great business and marketing ideas delivered right to your inbox every week.

Now available on amazon.com: the 2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar by Elizabeth Kraus.

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Friday's 5 - Salon and Spa Marketing Shorts and Sweets

Hair washing robots? That's right! Let the craziness that is Friday's 5 short and sweet bits of marketing inspiration begin.


[ READ ] 4 Ways to Improve Facebook Marketing and Engagement
When it comes to Facebook, it's hard to beat the advice of Amy Porterfield, co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies. Here are some of her best-and-easy tips for improving marketing and engagement on Facebook (networksolutions.com)

Like Freebies? Download a PDF or JPG of this graphic on an 8.5 x 11 sign to display in your business, in windows, or elsewhere in your place of business in order to get customers to "like" your Facebook page. Since I thought you might appreciate a smaller version, there is also a PDF and a JPG of the same graphic 4-up on an 8.5 x 11 page which can be used for station talkers, bag stuffers or even postcards.



[ READ ] 6 Misleading Assumptions You Make About Quiet People
People have a lot of funny ideas about quiet people, the worst one being that all quiet people are alike. Even quiet people themselves are guilty of assigning their own traits to all other quiet people in the world. Here's a few of those assumptions. (cracked.com)



[ READ ] 7 Ways to Turn Your LinkedIn Profile Into a Workhorse
LinkedIn means business; it says everything about you professionally. And since it tends to rank well on Google for your name, people will read your LinkedIn profile when they want to do research on you, your product, service, or company. Here are 7 ways to enhance the copy on your profile to ensure that you get everything you want from LinkedIn. (copyblogger.com)


[ READ ] An Educational Angle Can Get You Into Schools
In my books, I write about how to build business in niche markets, like the education market. Teachers wield influence with co-workers and parents and most are connected with thousands of people in their communities. Since you are already (hopefully) using educational information to enhance your own blog and social media posts; now, that same type of information might get you into the halls of local schools so that you can create brand awareness among some of the most influential people in your community: educators.  (philly.com)


[ READ ] The Top 16 Gorgeous Celebrity Redheads
For whatever reason, women seem to want to warm up their haircolor in the fall. Dailymakeover.com shows you the top 16 celebrity redheads; use these images to inspire your clients to new depths of color! And just in case you missed it, [ click here ] to read my blog post, "6 Ways to Keep Hair Color Clients in the Salon."

BONUS: Hair Washing Robot Freshens up 'Do's [ Go ] (newscientist.com) (Because you just can't make this stuff up.)


White Papers: Get the Little White Marketing Lies for Small Business [ GET PDF ] or
the Little White Marketing Lies for Salon and Spa [ GET PDF ].

They're here! Get the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies - available now on my website and next week on amazon.com or purchase the 2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar from my site or amazon.com. List price for either is $16.95, and both are available for bulk purchase by distributors, resellers and others. [ Contact Elizabeth Kraus ] for more information.

[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to get the next little white marketing lie - and more - delivered right to your inbox—it's going to be a great year!

Elizabeth Kraus – 12monthsofmarketing.com
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com in book and digital formats.

Salon and Spa Style, Strategy and Marketing Savvy Newsletter - October 20

Today's newsletter is all about love -- and getting more of it -- from your customers, your employees, your career and your business, itself.

"Passion persuades." 
(Anita Roddick, 1942-2007, English entrepreneur and founder of The Body Shop)

[ CLICK HERE ] to read the October 20th style, strategy and marketing savvy newsletter and get all the links, online.

In this issue:

• Little White Marketing Lie #4 "Our Customers Love Us"
• Most read on the blog: 6 Ways to keep hair color clients in the salon
• Honorable Mention: Beer me! 45-day rules to strengthen customer relationships
• Climb the ladder of success, lipstick in hand
• Secrets to success from women entrepreneurs
• 10 Measures of a strong brand
• 10 Ways to become the leader your followers will love
and last, but not least,
• It's not the metrics. Your marketing just sucks.

NEW Free Download on the resources page for you:
a full page (8.5 x 11) display and a 4-up postcard-sized version for signage you can use at the point of sale, on shelves, tables, as bag stuffers or handouts at your business to get your customers to "like" your Facebook page.



Like the little white marketing lies series? Get 5 to use in shaping your own marketing plan or educating staff for small business or for salon and spa:

[Download pdf] 5 Little White Marketing Lies for Small Business
[Download pdf] 5 Little White Marketing Lies for Salon and Spa


[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to get the next little white marketing lie - and more - delivered right to your inbox—it's going to be a great year!



Elizabeth Kraus – 12monthsofmarketing.com
2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies [ go ]
2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar [ go ]
365 Days of Marketing [ go ]
12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa [ go ]

5 - Now 6! - Ways to Keep Your Color Clients in the Salon

This morning I reviewed a 2011 Small Business Report by Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service. The report provided a scorecard for small business success that rated small business marketing as a falling “D” grade. (For those that have been out of school for a while, the only place to go from “D” is “F,” for fail.)

The poor rating relative to marketing and innovation, coupled with an article a friend shared today on Facebook about a salon that is creating at-home color kits made up of professional salon color products which are then sold to clients to self-administer at home, led to this article. The salon reasons these clients were going to use drugstore color if they didn't provide this as an alternative. And let’s face it, if they’re selling color kits, they've also found a way to recoup some of the losses in color services with retail color sales.

In the comments below the Facebook post, stylists were pretty much unanimous in decrying the practice. Even so, it’s not the first version of this story that I have run into online or even in person. It got me thinking about the problem. Aren’t there other ways to keep your color clients in the salon beyond capitulating to economic factors which have led to more at-home hair coloring?

Here are 6 ways to keep those color clients (and improve your marketing grade, too!)

1. Educate your clients. If they believe in-salon hair color, administered by a professional colorist is equivalent to buying drugstore color to use at home, then your marketing deserves that “F.” Educate clients on your website, on your menu of services, at the point of purchase, in your e-mail newsletter and on social media about what makes your color services different:
   
   • Your products are superior because (insert the ways your products benefit the client, here).
   • You choose different products, toners, colors, etc., based not only on desired color outcome but also on your client’s particular current hair color, their hair condition and local environmental conditions (such as the minerals or other things in local water sources, wells, etc.) What boxed drugstore color can do that?
   • Your services include conditioning services needed to restore and protect the hair from chemical damage, and result in less damage to the hair.
   • Show before-and-after pictures that demonstrate the pitfalls of at-home color experiments and/or show the amazing color results that you produce in the salon.
2. Be more creative. Rather than applying all-over color every 6 weeks, can the time between applications be extended slightly and/or could you develop an “in-between” touch up for the hair color at the 6 week mark that would be less expensive?
3. Do the work of budgeting for your clients. Budgeting makes things easier for everyone. Take the cost of your clients color services and the other services that they receive in-between colors (like trims). Estimate what the total for 6 months or 1 year of these services would be for the client, then divide by 12 and break the cost down into a flat, monthly rate.
   
   Ask the client to sign an agreement for the 6 or 12 month period and pre-book all of their appointments out over that time. Each time the client comes to see you, they will pay you the flat rate, regardless of what services they receive on that day. That way, they won't pay $120 one month and $33 the next; they'll pay the same flat rate every month. In return, they'll agree to adhere to pre-booked appointments that bring them in at least once each month.
   
   For customers that pre-book and pre-pay, offer a VIP customer discount, or include a free retail product as a gift with each service.
4. Party on! Create group appointment blocks for color clients (this could also be a great way to hold “color party” events in the salon). These blocks of time would allow you to maximize the use of your time, serving more than one color client at a time in a color ‘party.’ Party rates would allow you to lower the cost for everyone, since you would be serving multiple clients at the same time.
5. Give away "free" retail. Build the cost of an average retail product (such as a color-enhancing or extending shampoo or conditioner) into the cost of your color services. You add value to the service for the customer by providing them with a ‘free’ retail product, and if the retail product extends or even enhances the life of hair color, you can help clients to stretch out the time between their visits a little bit longer, which reduces their costs over time.
6. Take your show on the road. Girlfriends gather in groups to enjoy jeans parties, jewelry parties, lingerie parties, etc. Chances are you have independent party-types right in your client base or among your own family and friends, already. Partner with one or more of these individuals and attend their parties, adding a free blowout or hairstyling demo plus free consultations for all the attendees. Distribute written prescription or recommendations (a free sample prescription form that shows two different options is available at www.12monthsofmarketing.net/bshop.html).
   
   Credit for this party idea goes to Jennifer Beatty of Pure Salon Designs (www.puresalondesigns.com) . Jennifer's website has a lot of great resources including ideas you can use to engage your clients, I highly recommend you wander over and spend some time there!.
   

Don’t give up! You ARE the expert on hair color, now go out there and prove it!


[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to have more great business and marketing ideas delivered right to your inbox every week.

Now available on amazon.com: the 2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar by Elizabeth Kraus.

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Little White Marketing Lie #5: We're just one great idea away from success

Little white lies are falsities we tell people (and sometimes tell ourselves) that we believe to be benign, harmless. But there are little white marketing lies we tell all the time that may be hurting our businesses:

Little White Marketing Lie #5: We’re just one great idea away from overnight success.

Most of the time, 'overnight success' is achieved only after years and years of hard work and much trial and error. It’s not about one great idea. Success is usually the result of trying one more time, and one more time after that. It’s about experimenting, refining and continually improving. It’s about demanding the best of yourself, and then asking for a little bit more.

All of history is on my side on this one.

As Thomas Edison, the famous U.S. inventor famously said, “Genius is 2% inspiration and 98% perspiration.” And maybe he said it even better in his autobiography when he simply stated, “There is no substitute for hard work.” And that’s why so many people prefer to believe the myth that it will be a great idea that brings them success – after all – who wants to work hard? Who wants to fail? Repeatedly?

Edison did, and if you want to succeed, you’ll adopt his mentality. He didn't view himself as a failure, even though he failed hundreds of times while trying to invent the light bulb. He told reporters who asked him about those hundreds of failures that he’d merely succeeded in determining what didn’t work. And knowing what doesn’t work is important, too. Knowing what doesn’t work keeps you from going down the wrong roads, chasing phantoms (apparitions like the myth of “overnight success.”)

The truth is, you’re closer to success than you realize. You already had a great idea, that’s why you’re in business. The idea of your business may not be unique in and of itself, but how you do business can be.

There aren’t shortcuts and there are few serendipitous 'post-it-note' accidents that result in overnight business super-stardom. Not to mention the fact that you don’t want to go down in history as a one-hit wonder! History is replete with companies that had a great idea or business concept and started strong, but got stuck.

Take Steve Jobs, for example, who said, “Stay hungry, stay foolish,” speaking at a commencement address Year after year, project after project, Steve Job’s company and products took the market by surprise, and by storm. Without demanding and fostering an innovative and unique internal culture, it’s likely that his great ideas would have been someone else’s to capitalize on.

For most successful businesses, the secret isn’t in having a great idea. Amazon sold books, hardly innovative and there were many booksellers in the business before them. There’s nothing new about what they did. But HOW they sold books, how they fulfilled orders, the ease and convenience and value they built into doing business with them – that was their genius. Doing it right, over and over again, and doing it differently than the others.

It’s not what they do, it’s how they do it.

Lands End? Zappos? Again, there is nothing particularly innovative about selling shoes or clothes. But these businesses are genius – and consequently successful – because of the way they fulfill orders, the way they stand behind their products and the culture they provide for their employees. Believing that happy employees will translate into happy customers, they built their policies and business around this core value.

So don’t focus on trying to discover a genius offering. Instead, channel the bulk of your creative energies into perfecting the customer experience your business provides by (1) delivering on your promises to the customer, every time, and (2) making the customer experience at your business unique, different from competitors and more than the customer expects, in ways that are attractive and meaningful to your customers.


[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to get the next little white marketing lie - and more - delivered right to your inbox—it's going to be a great year!

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Now available - the 2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar [Buy] or read the PDF overview online [here].

Little White Marketing Lie #4: Our Customers Love Us

Little white lies are falsities we tell people (and sometimes tell ourselves) that we believe to be benign, harmless. But there are little white marketing lies we tell all the time that may be hurting our businesses:

Little white marketing lie #4: “Our customers love us.”

Don’t fall for this one, it’s especially dangerous. When you begin to believe that customers need, want and love your business more than your business needs, wants and shows that they love your customers, you’re in trouble. You’re just a hop, skip and a jump from complacency, neglect or even the condescending disdain that will reveal just how fragile that customer relationship was.

By nearly every measure, you can’t support the claim that your customers love you. To understand why, you have to know what characterizes true love:

Love is unselfish and patient. It is slow to take offense and overlooks shortcomings. Love puts the interests of the object of its love ahead of its own interests. Those who love are almost unconditionally faithful to the object of their affection.

If this describes your customers, I want to know where you live and I want to know how I can get me some!

The truth is, customers are self-centered. They are in the relationship for what they are getting out of it. (And why shouldn’t they be?) They are likely to take offense and notice shortcomings. If their interests change, they will go elsewhere. And they are fickle. Most are more than open to the possibility of being wooed by another offer and many welcome any opportunity to experience something new. It’s as if they’re sitting the proverbial bar, made up and looking hot, just waiting for someone to buy them a drink.

There is a way to get customer love, but it’s going to cost you.
Why? Your customers are never going to put more into the relationship than you do.

Imagine a still pool of water providing a reflection. The reflection on the water may be a fair image of the original, but the original is still by far the strongest, clearest side. Like it or not, the “love” bestowed on your business by your patrons is a direct reflection of your dedication to, engagement with, and interest in, them. The love you show for the customer is the original, their response is the reflection. Just as with the clear pool of water, the reflection is never going to be stronger than the original!

You’ll never get more than you invest and your customers will never love you more than you truly love them (at least not for long).

Just as in other relationships, there are some ways to gain and nurture mutual affection:

• Remember the fickle nature of the customer’s love and stay on top of your game.
• Deliver great customer experiences, every time.
• Be intriguing, engaging and provocative.
• Keep your eyes and ears open for signs of discontent.
• Communicate, proactively. Solicit feedback.
• Listen. No, I mean really listen.
• Respond to customer’s complaints, wants and needs.
• Be open to change. Ask how you can change. When your customer tells you you need to change, by all means, change!
• Get help from professionals when you need it.

And maybe most importantly: establish emotional connections – give people reasons to love you.
Tell the story of your business. Tell people why you’re passionate about ‘what you do.’ Talk about your family history and other connections to the community. Tell customers about the good that your business does in the lives of community members and employees. Educate the public about the ways in which your business benefits the local economy, local charities, schools, the arts and other organizations. Align yourself with a local cause and give back.

It’s never about you, it’s always about them. Don’t fall for the lie that your customers love you, or that they need you even nearly as much as you need them. Instead, stay focused on providing benefits and value to your customers, and focus your marketing on telling customers about how doing business with you makes their lives better.

It's here!! Get the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies - available now on my website and next week on amazon.com or purchase the 2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar from my site or amazon.com. List price for either is $16.95, and both are available for bulk purchase by distributors, resellers and others. [ Contact Elizabeth Kraus ] for more information.

[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to get the next little white marketing lie - and more - delivered right to your inbox—it's going to be a great year!

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.

Now Available: The 2012 Marketing Calendar for Small Business, "Little White Marketing Lies"

12 little white marketing lies, yours to disprove in 2012! The 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar "Little White Marketing Lies" is now available for purchase on my site and should be live on amazon.com next week.

In it, you'll find a collection of 12 little white marketing lies you should dispel in 2012 plus hundreds of marketing ideas that you can use to build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients.

Use this calendar to plan and keep your marketing initiatives on track, all year long. Use the hundreds of marketing ideas and tactics to attract, engage and retain clients, develop customer and employee loyalty and stimulate sales and referrals.

In addition to the ideas, also you'll find visual helpers in each calendar month that are there as a go-by for when you need to do certain tasks - everything is laid out for you!


[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to catch next Monday's newsletter. It's going to be a great year!

Elizabeth Kraus – 12monthsofmarketing.com
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com in book and digital formats.

Little White Marketing Lie #3: Word of Mouth is our Best Marketing

Little white lies are falsities we tell people (and sometimes tell ourselves) that we believe to be benign, harmless. But there are little white marketing lies we tell all the time that may be hurting our businesses:

Little white marketing lie #3: “Word of Mouth is our best marketing.”

Unfortunately, for most of the business owners making this claim it’s true -- but by default. Because what they’re really saying is that they have idea what else – if anything – in their marketing mix is producing any results. Or worse, because word-of-mouth marketing is actually the only form of marketing they’re engaging in.

And even that is a little white marketing lie because (1) ‘you’ can’t do word of mouth marketing. By definition, your customers do it for you and you have no control over whether or how it occurs. And (2) your clients aren’t going to walk out of your business and spontaneously talk about your business to others unless and until you give them something to talk about!

In reality, most business owners who make this claim are engaging not in word of mouth marketing, but in what I call “accidental marketing.”

When pressed for definition, you reveal that what this word of mouth marketing means to you is that you feel that the products, services or experience you provide your customers is so amazing that they simply can’t wait to go and tell everyone they know about how wonderful you are. That’s not word of mouth marketing, that’s accidental marketing.

In fact, it’s not even accidental marketing (that would imply action on your part), it’s doing nothing, but hoping for accidental success.

To give you an idea of how effective it is, would you do accidental bookkeeping, hoping that customers would remember to pay you, and pay you the right amount, without giving them a bill? Accidental accounting? Tax reporting? Accidental purchasing to stock your wares? Accidental programming? Would you provide services to your clients by accident – without consultation to find out what they need, without education, and without strategy?

There are many facets of your business that you approach that you approach intentionally, many of which you perform on a daily or even an hourly basis, and for which you’ve written detailed procedures and policies. There are aspects of business in which you’ve invested countless hours and thousands of dollars in education and training. You know there aren’t shortcuts, so you dedicate the time and energy required to do them properly. But somehow, when it comes to your marketing, your actions reveal that you don’t truly believe marketing is a legitimate, mandatory part of your business planning. Marketing should receive the same level of focus and attention that all of the components of your business do – from your professional education to your bookkeeping and billing to your products and services – but for many small businesses, it rarely does.

Are you employing the type of ‘strategy’ where you open your doors and wait for the phone to ring, wondering where all the customers are? Where you invest thousands of dollars in superior retail products which end up sitting on the shelves collecting dust waiting for a chance to “sell themselves?” Where as an independent professional or small business owner, you wonder why your landlord isn’t out there getting business to walk in the door for you?

You are, in fact, not marketing, but hoping for accidental success.

Meanwhile, those who are actively engaged in the marketing needed to build a successful business know that it takes actual, intentional action in order to produce a result. (And they’ll leave ‘accidental marketers’ in the dust!)

Accidental marketing is not a valid “word of mouth” marketing strategy. To generate word of mouth referrals, invitations, and buzz, you have to do something that is, in fact, buzz-worthy. Waiting for business to come to you accidentally might feel safer and more comfortable to you, but it’s just about the least effective strategy you can employ to build your business.

For the sake of clarity, and so you’ll know whether or not you’re actually engaged in or stimulating any of these word-of-mouth marketing tactics, here are some of the terms we generally refer to as word of mouth marketing:

• Word of Mouth Marketing: simply the passing of information about your business from person to person. Often confused with doing nothing yet hoping people will accidentally talk about you or your business—remember, people won't talk about your business unless and until you give them something to talk about!
• Buzz Marketing: a word-of-mouth marketing technique wherein a business tries to make interactions with customers appear to be unique, spontaneous exchanges of information, rather than delivery of pre-scripted marketing pitches.
• Viral marketing: "...is an idea that spreads... and while spreading actually helps market your business or cause." (Seth Godin, sethgodin.typepad.com)

Now available - the 2012 Salon and Spa Marketing Calendar [Buy] or read the PDF overview online [here].

[ Subscribe ] to my e-mail newsletter to get next week's edition delivered right to your inbox with the next little white marketing lie or to find out when the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar is available for purchase -- it's going to be a great year!



Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the newly released 365 Days of Marketing and
Make Over Your Marketing: 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa, available on amazon.com or 12monthsofmarketing.com.