Why a Strong Salon Brand Identity Will Make or Break Your Business
Hey there, Susan Wos and Lindsay Marchand here. We decided to collaborate on this blog post about salon brand identity because we BOTH see salon brands, everyday!
A solid and strong brand identity is your calling card. It’s the first impression you give to not only new clients but potential salon employees.
It can be hard to stand out as a beauty brand with so many talented stylists and salons these days. The key to a positive brand impression is to be authentically YOU, with great marketing strategies in mind.
Explore how to create a successful brand identity, get marketing ideas for a long lasting first impression and learn how to make your salon stand out from the rest through customer loyalty.
Throughout this blog we will feature salons who volunteered to be examples of great branding.
Why branding is important for a salon?
Salon branding is important because the imagery and message associated with your beauty salon is your invitation for to attract your target audience. Salons without a great brand identity are proven to struggle more in getting the attention of potential customers and employees.
What does a salon brand mean?
A salon brand can mean two different things. To non salon industry members, a salon brand means products are higher in quality- “salon brand” quality. For members of the salon industry, a salon brand is the look and feel or the “identity” of a salon business.
Hire or rent to salon & spa professionals that align with your brand with Salonspa Connection.
Here are some steps you can take to define your salon’s brand identity
To define your salon’s brand identity you will take the following 6 steps:
Define your brand identity
Create a visual salon personality
Get the salon branding process started by choosing colors, fonts, logo design
Create a salon website, and decide which social media accounts will be best for your marketing strategies.
Implement your salon branding into your physical location
Live and adjust your brand identity as you see fit!
How do I create a salon brand?
Creating a salon brand can be accomplished in these steps: Define, visualize, get branding & digital assets, start selling online or in person.
Ongoing brand strategy is to live out the brand message. Tell your followers on social media who your brand is, and promote your unique selling proposition.
Start by defining your brand and groom it to perfection
A great brand identity begins with listing out the core values you and your salon business possesses. Core values directly translate into the salon’s culture which is your magnet for both new business and to hire salon employees.
Values and culture can be things like: luxurious, inclusive, on trend, client centered or carefree.
Once you have a few values on your list, for each value come up with 5 images you feel fit your vibe. Choose strong brand visuals and a color scheme that express your future brand personality.
Now take your values list and write down 5 ways your salon brand identity will uphold your values.
For example: “Inclusive” as a value, (to us), would elicit a mission statement like:
Welcoming to all. Regardless of your race, gender, nationality or age, our salon is for people who want to feel amazing!
A safe space. Laugh, cry or just let it all out in our chair. What happens in the salon, stays in the salon.
Kindness rules. We believe in transparent pricing, accountability and great customer experience. We will never surprise you with hidden charges or waste your valuable time.
Enlightened Beauty Brand Identity. Our salon pursues ongoing education in today’s social and health issues, and the most earth friendly practices.
Conscious hair services only. Our salon provides gender affirming services as well as animal cruelty free products, only. No living being has been harmed to create the salon products we use.
Establish your brand voice and tone
Salon branding includes thinking through your brand voice and the tone in which you want to be heard. For instance: the salon’s services are the most luxurious offerings in the city.
Wealth does not shout, it whispers, just like a luxury brand identity voice would speak softly and with confidence.
Translating the brand’s tone throughout digital assets, such as a salon instagram profile and website, helps attract the “right” new clients. Understanding what your perfect client wants to hear are the building blocks to a beautiful and unique identity.
Create a visual salon personality
Once you have found the salon brand’s voice, it’s time to focus on the personality. Imagery and wording of your brand identity should be designed around attracting your target audience.
If your target audience is specific, this is an easier way to identify what the target group messaging should include. Your ideal client will personally identify with the salon brand voice, be unafraid to hone in on a specific target audience.
A brand voice is created so that customers feel your hair or nail salon is one that should be heard. If your stellar brand is all about fancy nail art, make sure the salon stands out to the target audience.
The salon branding process, go pro or DIY
Getting a professional looking logo design, fonts and color scheme USED to be only for creative geniuses with the right tools. It was an exclusive club of people who fully understood how to position a brand image.
These days, there are a ton of options to save money and do it yourself or hire a professional to create a brand kit.
In our personal opinion, it is best to spend the money on a professional beauty industry branding package. Unless you are SOLID in graphic design, aesthetics and have a good understand branding, get help on this area of business development.
If you are a design rockstar, (and maybe a control freak), Canva has an awesome and easy to use branding option. AI tools like discord are integrated with Canva, ensuring you get totally unique designs.
What is a salon branding kit?
A salon branding kit includes everything you need for a website, print advertising and digital marketing strategies. A brand kit will include stock photos, 2 or more logo design options, color scheme, fonts and a vision board.
If you are a DIY salon branding pro, sans serif fonts are some of the most versatile font families out there.
Make your salon branding stand out with the perfect logo design and colors
The only thing that is harder than coming up with a name for your salon are the logo and colors! Since creating a great salon brand identity are big marketing efforts, loving your logo and colors is important.
If you hired a brand design expert, carefully review your choices. Choose designs that show a successful salon business in the making!
Digital Marketing Tools
Digital marketing is a very powerful tool for a salon owner. “Tools” for digital marketing efforts include design apps like Canva, a beauty industry website, social media accounts and any software programs you use to measure results.
If your Instagram profile is your main marketing tool, measuring success is key. Posting and marketing software like Later give you a great understanding of performance related to posts, reels and stories.
Some salon owners will benefit more from search engine optimization than from social media. Great salon websites funnel more business and salon employees than any other digital marketing efforts.
A positive reputation with wonderful online reviews are the best way to get existing customers to buy into your brand. People LOOK at reviews before making an appointment or contacting you for a job in your salon.
Never underestimate the power of digital marketing, get an audit if you need help fine tuning your online presence!
Look at your current customer base and other salons
A salon’s target market can be defined by existing customers, (the ones you want in your chair). Evaluate what traits do the favored clients have, that you would like to see more of?
Is it the fact that they purchase products from you? Maybe they talk about you on social media and send friends in to get their hair done?
Your salon business target audience
Your target audience is best determined by creating a mission statement that speaks to your soul. Clients lives that align with this target group should be fairly easy to identify.
These customers are the ones who will speak up and say- “this is wonderful and I am happy to be here”.
You know, those people who are always so kind and supportive of your small businesses. THOSE people are your target audience.
Does email marketing work for salons?
Yes, email marketing does work for salons, especially if you are implementing new ideas or making an announcement. No one likes to be bombarded by emails.
Keep email marketing for your salon business short, sweet and informative. If you need people to take action, give clear instructions on what you need, and how to accomplish this task, upfront.
If you have legally collected email addresses, it is not illegal to contact customers from other salons. A competing salons clientele is always fair game as NO ONE owns people.
Keeping the salon’s services in the forefront of potential customers minds will increase revenue. Email marketing is a wonderful way to stay in contact with past, present and future customers.
Define your Competitive Advantage
Now that we have branding on our minds and possibly in motion, part of standing out is understanding where your business shines above the rest.
Successful salon brands and their unique brand identities
By definition, salon brands describe professional grade hair products. We are going to show you a few examples of salon owners who have taken their salon branding to the next level.
Digital marketing strategy for your new salon brand identity
If you have gotten this far in your branding adventures, congrats!! Once you have completed the branding process, it’s time to start marketing.
Marketing is both active and passive actions. Promoting and marketing is the way in which imprinting your salon’s name, imagery and information associated with your business into the consciousness of the general public.
Marketing includes everything from the sign on your front door to customers reviews to social media advertising.
What is Digital marketing for salons?
Digital marketing for salons is content, ads, visuals, and placement of digital assets.
For example, a website is a digital marketing tool that is an integral part of a successful salon branding process. A website is the single most powerful digital marketing tool available.
The content on a salon website can have search engine optimization. This is a digital marketing tool that allows a salon owner’s business to be very high on search pages.
Getting your business in front of people online requires effort. Putting emphasis on visual means to have excellent photos and brand messaging.
Don’t get blown away by the competition- implement your salon brand identity into the business
There are 3 salons that offer very similar services, all located on the same city block. Each salon has talented stylists, happy customers and a beautiful environment.
One salon reels in more clients, has better reviews and keeps employees happy. So, what is the one salon doing that is working so well?
The salon that is standing out from the others has great a brand voice, marketing and customer engagement. This business is dedicated to having a following- not on social media, but within the salon’s community.
They hold classes and invite all stylists in the area. They have events for clients, they solicit reviews and reward customer loyalty buy getting them to buy into their business.
Create a community- this goes farther than any ad you can do. When people feel aligned and familiar with the salon owner, it pays off in dividends!
Developing a budget for your salon’s marketing plan
All salon owners should set aside a budget for marketing. Branding should be included in this budget.
There are so many ways you can market your business. SEO on a website, social media ads, events, walkarounds, print marketing and more.
Decide which route is the best use of your time and energy. Consult with a marketing expert if you need ideas or have questions about implementation.
If your marketing plan isn’t working, consider these actions
Marketing can come in many forms. Rarely does one great campaign yield the best long term results.
Write out your goals and the marketing channels you wish to utilize to reach your goals. Try something NEW!
Digital- search engines and social media are the easiest ways to reach a number of people. The fastest marketing channels are in person connections.
If your goals are not being met, try new avenues of marketing and refresh your creatives used in your campaigns.
To track and measure the success of your salon’s marketing campaigns, check out these tools
Social media posting softwares like Later can give you insights beyond what Instagram and Facebook show. TikTok even has a built in analytics tool that shows you how well your videos perform.
Facebook META has the best tools to indicate what is working, and what isn’t! If you are dead serious about social ads, but aren’t sure how to navigate META, contact Susan for education on META advertising.
Building Relationships is Marketing
In this digital world, it’s easy to forget how powerful in person connections can be. Relationships produce more clients and employees than any other marketing tool available.
Relationships can be created online too if you are a busy owner or stylist. Liking and commenting creates familiarity and shows support.
Getting out into the community, offering advice or charity helps to build reputation. FOCUS on relationships in your marketing efforts and always extend an invitation to work with you!
There are many types of promotions and special offers that salons can use to attract and retain customers
Promotions, freebies, giveaways and referrals should be an ongoing effort in your salon. Gather a bunch of trial sizes and give them to every customer who gets add on services.
Reward clients for sending friends by giving them a free services or a discounted service on their next visit. INCENTIVIZE clients to help you grow to see amazing results!
Conclusion on Salon Branding for the Hair and Beauty Industry- Live Your Brand!
Finally, having amazing branding in your salon is just a piece of the overall big picture. If your salon brand identity doesn’t ring true in your stylists, it is all for nothing.
Set expectations and clear standards for your salon. Demonstrate living these attributes in your daily life.
Dive into your brand and be the amazing owner you know you are! Set your expectations for yourself, high.
Reach out to Salonspa Connection for all of your salon business needs!
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