The Beginnings of a Website for Kelli

A couple of weeks ago I stopped by Kelli's Salon, Studio Deja Do and although she wasn't there, she luckily had a stack of business cards on a small shelf outside her door (BONUS POINTS! Put your business card where people can get your info even when you are not there!) I checked out her card and saw that she had a website listed on there, so of course, when I went to my car I looked up the site on my iphone.

Crickets. Nothing.

No site! Although a site was listed on her card, she did not have a site for potential clients to find her. That not only tells people she is not findable online, but she thought about it and hadn't taken the steps to create a site. I immediately emailed her and suggested we chat about getting a site up and running so this doesn't happen to any more potential clients!

We set up a Google+ Hangout and did an online consultation where we determined her goals for her website and we started turning the wheels. I created this simple visual board for the direction I wanted to take her website and brand and I set up the Bare Bones version of a site that we can add in information and images in the near future. We set up a styled shoot to get some portfolio images, and I added in some Professional Headshots that I had taken of her last year and now she has something to show anyone that wants to find her online.

Lost to Launch

It's LIVE- the emails have been sent out and Lost to Launch is officially open

For a limited time only (registration ends this Sunday, april 2nd for the introductory pricing of $350) FIVE lucky stylists will be able to get a beautiful, clean new website for their businesses.

BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

When you register for Lost to Launch, you will get a consultation with questionnaire, installation of selected Wordpress theme, and customization of your theme. During our consultation, I'll walk you step by step through registering your domain and purchasing a year wordpress hosting with godaddy.

New Class Syllabus for Social Animal

After much deliberation, we've decided to change up the next Social Animal Class a bit and focus more on One On One with the students and their devices. We'll also be focusing on the most popular social media platforms, and save the strategies for other platforms for Social Animal 2, a more in depth course on Social Media. There are still some seats available for the April 28th course, so call T & G Concepts today if you'd like to reserve your space. 

Increasing Your Value | 4 ways to enhance your client experience

I'm planning an amazing upcoming class, and I wanted to talk about some ways to enhance your client experience. Many of you may think your clients are leaving your salon feeling amazing but are you giving them a reason to choose you over anyone else?

1// Consultations
A lot of times, stylists get so used to seeing the same clients every six weeks for years, that you may not have sat the client down and asked them about their lifestyle in a while. People change constantly- job changes, having babies, getting divorced, working out more, moving, health changes, etc. All those things can effect how a person looks and feels. If you make sure to carve out times for your clients to really listen to their needs and wants and prepare yourself before they show up to the appointment, it's going to show them that you value them and are not just herding in cattle. It can be as simple as a text message the day before asking what they were thinking they want for a color, or any style ideas they may have. Even if you don't go with their original idea, just the fact that you were thinking about them ahead of time can show you are valuing them.

2// Educating your clients
There are numerous times people walk out of a salon with the best hair of their lives only to not know what the hell to do with it the next time they wash it. SHOW your clients how to best style their hair. Give them product suggestions and WHY they should be using that specific shampoo, conditioner, styling product, tool, etc. We did not go to cosmetology school. We may not know how to best use a wand. All we know is that we want our hair to look like that Victoria's Secret Model. Tell us how to get that look on our own.

Also don't shy away from educating clients about how much you charge. Even if you have a pricelist prominently displayed, be sure to talk about the services you will be providing to them and how much they will be spending with you that day. No one likes to be surprised AFTER the services have already been done.

3// Going above an beyond
There are all kinds of ways to do this. Give a head/neck massage. Have drinks/treats for your clients. Get an ipad that your clients can watch movies, browse the web, read magazines on. Pluck/wax eyebrows. Do makeup touch ups. Do a fun unexpected style (like a quick little braid tucked into their blowout). Something that will set you apart from the stylist in the chair next to you.


4// Saying thank you
This is the one thing that most service based professionals drop the ball on. This is not a one night stand people! You are marrying your clients! Show them you are so grateful they chose you! Get a client info form for everyone to fill out and send them thank you cards in the mail after their appointment. Post before & after photos on social media and tag your client. Put them on an email campaign list and send them emails with styling tips once a week. Send them off with a nail polish with a thank you tag after their appointment (you could save this for celebration marketing campaigns). Send them something fun on their birthdays.

If you choose even ONE of these suggestions to do for your clients, they will all have a better experience with you than they are having now!

Branding Case Study | Leah Fitts Beauty Design

Evolve was born from a need for stylists to reinvent their business and take it to the next level. After working with Leah for a year and a half in my portrait business and having her makeover my clients AND also sending a TON of referrals her way (and vice versa- some of my best clients have come from her!) she was ready to launch her very own beauty website, Leah Fitts Beauty Design.

We talked about what she was looking for in her business, and I created her website and she styled a shoot to showcase her incredible hair & makeup skills!

Here is a little peek into the creative process how we came up with her brand identity.

Q: What changes are you looking to make in your business?

A: I want to showcase more styling and makeup, and I want to streamline my price list. I have a lot of clients that have been with me from the beginning that are all different price points, so in order to raise my sales average I want to put everyone on the same current pricing. 

Q: How do you currently market your business?

A: I get most of my business from word of mouth referrals. I think it would be helpful for potential new clients to be able to view all my information on my website. 

Q: If you could use three words to describe your brand, what would they be?

A: Dreamy, glam, and fun!

Q: What colors best define you?

A: Oooh, a peach, teal, and pink palette I think!

Come back next week for more of Leah's branding process and visit her new site at Leah-Fitts.com

Celebration Marketing | Mother's Day

In my first class, Evolve | Visual Marketing for Beauty Business, we spoke about Celebration Marketing. Celebration Marketing is one of my favorite way to begin a marketing plan, because those dates are already set in stone so all you need to do is plan around those dates.

You can find ways to market around any holiday or set event, but some ideas for stylists could be:

- New Years
- Valentines
- Mother's Day
- Father's Day
- Halloween
- Christmas
- Fashion Week
- Summer Resort Getaway
- Spring Break
- Beauty Gift Week
- Birthdays (yours or your clients)

As a women's glamour portrait photographer, Mother's Day is one of my biggest holidays I target in my celebration marketing. There are dozens of reasons to celebrate mothers, and one of the best gifts a person could give their mother is a portrait session experience with her and her loved ones.

Here is a peek into my own Mother's Day Campaign plan

Going through my campaign, I am donating two gift certificates with a gift with purchase to a local charity function. These are three streams of marketing (gift certificates, gifts with purchase, and charity events) all tied around one celebration marketing event. A stylist could replicate this easily by donating a gift certificate and a styling product to a local charity event.

I am also holding a destination mini-session event in Sedona, AZ where clients can purchase a mini package of time with me and receive three digital images. I can fill my event with multiple shoots and offer a pared down service for a promotional fee for one day. In order to promote this event,  I can use business to business marketing and pair up with salons in Sedona that can share with clients. I also have a referral system in place for the mini sessions, which encourages clients to share with their friends in order to earn additional images from the shoot. A stylist could replicate this by offering pared-down services for children, men or specialty services such as blow-outs one day a month for a promotional rate.

I created two promotional packages for my Mother's Day shoots that are different from the standard sessions offered on a daily basis in my studio. The Luxe sessions can include a large number of people and a gift with purchase, and the Lite sessions include small groups of people and a mini gift with purchase. There is also a list of new promotional products only available during the Mother's Day Sessions. A stylist could replicate this by offering special products only during your Mother's Day campaign or bundling of services for special rates. Make sure you state that these special items are available for a limited time only to cause action in your clients.

My final item is a Mother's Day magazine that I will be putting together with images from all my clients shoots from now until Mother's Day. I am reaching out to women I know and past clients to be "models" for my magazine, and in turn I give them a gift certificate for three digital images from the shoot plus $100 off their order. Even if those clients order nothing from me, I have received marketing images for my magazine, plus gave them an amazing experience that they will share with everyone in life and social media. I will have learned their stories and told them in the magazine, which could earn me new clients in the future; and makes them more likely to book me for future shoots. A stylist could join in on this effort by doing hair and/or makeup for the magazine shoots, and referring their own clients to be models in the magazine. If you are a stylist who is interested in this business to business project, email me at info@evolve-beauty.com

Class Announcement | Social Animal 1.2

I'm THRILLED to announce another Social Animal class in April! We will be going through what we learned in my previous Social Animal Class, but tweaked per the student surveys I collected after the last class. Every time I teach this class, I polish it up and make it better- so even if you've taken the class before; there is much to learn and review if you attend it again!