Getting the word out
Any ideas on getting the word out affordably AND still getting value for your services??
Or has the whole world been trained to cheapen every service and good out there??
(Can you tell I'm a little irritated by the whole trend?!?)
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dayanita Medjesky on
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Thanks Denise for the thumbs up...and by the way I LOVE your website!!...very user friendly :-)
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Permalink Reply by Carrie Patrick on
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Hi Violetta,
When you tried the ASCP website, was it recently or a while ago before the new website builder was released? We have heard from a lot of people that the new version is much, much easier to use than the old one. There are some tutorials and links to examples of other members' websites at http://www.ascpskincare.com/membership/website_builder.php and you know you can always give us a phone call for help if you're still having problems!
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Permalink Reply by Susan Ferguson on
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@ Violetta, I did mine through intuit.com. There's was definitely easier to create and I do go in and change it a bit. You can have your site up in one evening if you want. If you just get the basics started you can add pages any time and as you have time to fine tune it. There are still pages I need to make better. But it is helping me. As far as all the profiles that I do on different sites, they take about 10 to 15 mins. each. Those too can be updated and changed as you need to. If you want to e-mail me I will give you a list of all the ones I have done. bodybasicsskincare@live.com
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Permalink Reply by Crickett Enos on
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Hmmm, didn't know there was a time limit on the Groupon. Once a customer had paid for it couldn't it be considered a gift certificate that cannot have an expiration date? They could just linger out there indefinitely? I'm not familiar would like to hear others experiences. Thanks
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Permalink Reply by Kellie Campbell on
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Crickett, the deal has an expiration date however the value has no expiration. With that being said if the client wants to come in after the expiration date thats on the groupon they can however they pay actual price for the service and use the value of the groupon towards it.
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OHHHHH! interesting. So the deal expiration is an incentive to use it right away so the provider doesn't have a lot of outstanding gift certificates out there. That's a good idea.
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Permalink Reply by Christine Cochrum on
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I wanted to update you all on the Google Offer I ran a few months ago. Totally NOT worth the aggrivation! When I ran my first Groupon (just a few months after they started here in Baltimore) for a massage we sold 1,000 within 2 days. We ran a second Groupon the next year and again sold 1,000 in a matter of hours! We then ran a third Groupon for a facial and sold more than 600. For the most part that worked out well for us.
So I decided to try Google Offers. They promised a different demographic and some perks such as they would send out a photographer to take a 360 shot of the spa and feature that on the offer.
The person in charge of setting everthing up was totally incompetent, he didn't return e-mails and insisted on calling me instead of e-mailing as I requested (I still perform services so I rarely have time to talk on the phone during business hours). He called with less than 24 hours notice to set up the photo shoot. I had to come in an hour early to get this done as to not disturb my clients. The photographer did not show up. She had left a message stating that since it was raining and she couldn't get an exterior shot the photo shoot would be incomplete and they wouldn't use it anyway, so she wasn't going to come. They never attempted to reschedule the shoot.
I was given a tentative week when my offer would run, but I didn't know the exact date until the day before. They changed the run date three times. I was trying to prepare my staff for the offer, but it's difficult to do when you don't know when it's running. So finally the day came. They ran the promotion over 3 days and I sold a total of 67! No that is not a typo....67. I was very disappointed. Especially after all the aggrivation I was dealing with.
So we have decided to run use any group buying promotions for a while. We have two promiotions that expire the middle of this year and I hope that the exposure we gained will help sustain us.
I'm not by any means saying that Group buying sites are bad, but you need to make sure you are choosing wisely and make sure you are prepared for the best and worst. I hope this helps.
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Permalink Reply by April L. Ramirez on
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I do a similar thing through my local newspaper. They have an auction twice a year and you list your services and say the service cost $80 the person has to pay at least $40 for it to sell and then you get the whole $80 towards advertising services which can be highly costly especially when your just getting started. The radios do something similar as well. I never offered a discount to rebooking the same day that I will do!! yay I usually am able to sell products off of the services too!
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Permalink Reply by Denise Ivers on
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I've been advertising on Trubates for seven months now and have had 95 new clients walk through my door that I would never had seen otherwise. Currently about 70% are rebooking. It sure beats sitting around waiting for clients to walk in (which rarely happens in our salon/spa). I am a sole practitioner in my 3rd year. I rent a treatment room with 4 other estheticians, and several hair stylists. Most in the salon/spa have established clientele so I don't get many referrals from our hairsylists since I'm the new esthy on the block.
Trubates in my opinion, is set up much better for the merhant as compared to Groupon. In my area, they take much less than Groupon and allow you to run 3 ads concurrently. There is no "quickie" deal-1 day, so you don't get slammed with thousands of sales at a time. The sales in my case have been steady and consistent just as the clients walking through my door.
Trubates website is set up with tabs for different services like spa salon, restaurants etc... so that you shop for specific services in your area. They send blast emails out with your ads and allow customers/clients to write a review after their service which is visible on your ad page.
As a business owner, I don't feel desperate at all. I feel that these discount sites are going to be around for a long time and with an unstable economy still looming, the consumer will continue to search for quality services that are affordable. Even though my initial service is discounted, many clients tip very well and buy products also and come back to pay my regular fees minus a discount for booking the same day.
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Hey Gina,
The best marketing tool is referrals. That means you work with who you know. Who do you know that could potentially send a lot of business your way? An existing client, friend or family member? Then, what service do you most want to promote? Offer that service to that person as a "thank you for being such a great client", and ask them to refer business to you. Never be afraid to ask for business, especially if someone enjoyed your service, the best compliment they can give you is a referral.
Waxing services are one of the easiest ways to build a clientele. If you are doing a facial, notice if your client could use a lip wax. Ask if they have ever tried it. Then throw it in for them to see if they like it. I do this all of the time. Say I have a brow client: I notice that her lip could use doing and ask if she's ever had it done. If she says no, I'll throw it in then next time she comes in for her brows I book her lip too. Once you expose your client's to waxing they usually keep it up. From lips you can go to Brazilians it's an easy step.
Building a base takes time. It can take anywhere from 6 months to a year to build a good clientelle, depending on where you are. If you are the only esthi in a salon full of stylists and manicurists then you need to work them every day. Find out which stylists have the best clients then offer them a sample of your services so that they can refer their client's to you. If you are a solo esthi in your own shop, it's a little more challenging. If that's the case find a salon near you without an esthi and see if they are interested in cross-referring. There are times when paying for advertising is a good thing, but you need to know how to manage your money, and what's going to give you the best return for your investment. Don't let Groupon dictate how you will run your business.
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Permalink Reply by Kimberly Lovato on
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- Ok, Everyone! I am running a Groupon ad in 2 weeks for a PCA Pumpkin Peel. This service retails at $85, the special is $39. The good news is that each treatment is for 30 minutes. I also plan to up-sell, re-book, and sell product. I can also cover my product costs in under $8 per treatment, from start to finish. Keep your fingers crossed!!
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Permalink Reply by Nondy Llewellyn on
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My math may be a little off, but as I understand it, you will be making $10 per treatment. If you get 1/2 of the "special", that's $18.50. If your product cost is $8, then your income is $10.50. I will be interested in seeing how well this works out for you who are doing these deals.
Nondy
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