5th Clinic, Marketing - 27th February 2007

Minutes

This month’s Clinic has proved our most successful to date. Even the pouring rain didn’t deter people from attending! We invited Tunde Alabi from Business Link and Carole Taylor from Clientwave to be our guest speakers for the evening. Both of the presentations were both extremely informative and each covered a different perspective of Marketing which complimented each other. Tunde spoke from a more strategic perspective and Carole from the perspective of how to use technology to market your Business.

 Tunde Alabi was our first guest speaker. He spoke from a strategic Marketing perspective and discussed the importance of the need for unique Marketing. He stressed the need to make your Business different. He asked the attendees to think about what is unique about their Business. This is essential because if your Business is unique, there will be less need to compete. He also stressed the need to build relationships with your customers which can be achieved through effective Marketing communication. There are many ways to win a Client and not just through the product/service. Every single communication made with the customer is important which highlights the importance of good Marketing Communication.

 Carole was our next guest speaker. Carole is the Managing Director of Clientwave – the UK’s Leading Hair and Beauty Consultancy. Carole has had 20 years experience of Marketing Consultancy and managing Client Relationships in the Hair, Beauty and Retail Industries. Carole initially ascertained what stage each of the attendees are in their use of technology in the Salon. There was a mixture amongst the group as to the level at which they use computers to aid the running of the Business. There was a common theme amongst all people that this is an area for improvement for all of them.

 Like Tunde, Carole emphasised the importance that running a successful Business is all about Communication. Carole suggested that you should be doing something in terms of Marketing your Business everyday. If you don’t, another Salon might be communicating with your customers. This communication should be constant and not sporadic. Carole discussed a number of the benefits of effective Marketing communication such as filling the appointment book, cross-selling services, increase retail sales, attracting new clients, increasing loyalty and raising brand awareness.

 Carole then discussed Online Marketing in more depth. She looked at:
Domain Name
Functionality
Load Speed
Flash vs HTML
Links
Data Capture
Search Engine Optimisation
Webstats

Carole then discussed Email Marketing and Text Marketing. Email Marketing can comprise of Salon e-newsletters, E-shots to announce events, products launches etc and Client competitions. Unlike traditional leaflets, flyers and brochures, email Communication can be delivered to your clients without the need for costly production, design, stationary, printing, postage and distribution costs. Also unlike traditional marketing methods you can also establish when they received it, who opened it and how many clients “clicked through” to your own website. Text Marketing is another useful method of communication. This is the quickest and least expensive way to reach your clients. You can keep clients informed about late appointment availability, offers, competitions, events and promotions. If can be used as a good way to stimulate clients to re-book and encourage lapsed clients to return.

All of the attendees were extremely interested by what Carole had to say. Throughout the presentation she answered their questions about how to improve their Marketing. Everyone left the Clinic feeling spurred on and motivated to improve their own Marketing systems to improve their overall Business. The evening was a definite success!