Best way to market without using a deeply discounted coupon. Any Ideas?
Does anyone have any effective marketing ideas aside from social media (already doing that) or deeply discounted coupons such as groupon or living socials and is somewhat affordable? I notice the way of marketing for most is a deeply discounted coupons which have helped many Spas/Esti's gain new clients but I have also seen them become a complete nightmare. My friend did this and went from 5 star to 3.5 star on Yelp and a few people wrote bad reviews. Some of the bad reviews were for not having the hours or schedules that people demanded even though her hours were clearly posted on her website. She is a single Mom and can only work certain hours, which is 40 hours a week, but when she explained this to the demanding customers, they didn't care. I couldn't believe some of the rude comments people were leaving as she is a wonderful Esti. This worries me as I also only work certain hours, so I would hate to get bad reviews because I can't accommodate a customers hours. My friend said the negative reviews have effected her business, so what was suppose to help has somewhat done the opposite.
What has worked for others? I'm afraid to take the leap of deeply discounting marketing as I don't want to devalue my services. Any ideas much appreciated. Thanks!
Tags: Advertising, Groupon, Living, Social
Views: 1717
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Teresa Escoffery on
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For small practices, Groupon and friends can be overwhelming.
IF you are going to do it, and its HUGE IF in my book
- You can set caps on how many vouchers you can sell. The lower the cap, the easier to manager, but the less invested Groupon is in your success
- Set restrictions in the terms and conditions. Be honest so you avoid accusations of denying appts because they are discounted. "Subject to availability, at least XX hours notice required. Limit 2 redemptions on Saturdays" for instance. Groupon is no longer uptight about p;ublishing these -- they had too many unhappy merchants.
I don't understand why people get their junk in a knot over restrictions when they are getting a huge discount. Have you tried buying a cheap airline ticket ever in your life? 14 day advance purchase, Saturday night stay required, non-refundable, subject to $125 change fee and fare difference, LIMITED NUMBER OF SEATS AVAILABLE AT THIS PRICE, offer valid only for left-handed cello playing Gemini.
Be prepared to respond to negative reviews on Yelp and the other websites spawned by Satan. Have your rebuttals polished and polite to address the issues. Though it would feel wonderful, you have to find a nice way to say "Can't you tell time or read?!?!?! the Hours of my practice are on my website and on the Groupon merchant promo file -- 11AM is when the little hand is on the 10 and the big hand is on the 12 and it is light out!"
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Hi Teresa
Thanks for your feedback! I think being prepared to respond is key and making sure to include all the restriction up front. Have you tried the amazon local? A few people have told me they got better clients then Groupon so I might give this a try. I have also been donating gift certificates to all my local schools, animals fundraiser and have already had some referrals, so I might try this route too.. It's free and for a good cause too!.. :)
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Permalink Reply by Amy Sherman on
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I built my business as a single mom with only ONE night a week and two Saturdays a month. AND I only worked four days a week between the hours 9-4. :D It took me a year and I ONLY discount facials in October (Long story) and THIS seemed to work. I did a half off facial in October ONLY and just told people about it. lol I never used groupon and it was a great response for people who were looking for discounts for me to say "I only discount in October. Would you like to schedule an appointment? It fills up fast!" I also (and this may sound CRAZY but really worked for me) In the first month I was OPEN, I didn't book any clients. When they would call me I said "My next available appointment is in blah blah". It worked great to make people feel like I was kind of exclusive without being "pushy" about it.
I also told all of my clients about my children. I also have a picture of them in my space :D I really got a lunch hour rush kind of clientele and I never had to worry about working over.
Don't put yourself on YELP or anywhere else for people to leave a bad review. You are the best secret in town and you cater to your clients exclusively. I do all kinds of EXTRAS for my clients without making them pay for it (CLIENTS LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS) for example: I always do a free eyebrow wax with a facial, or a free hand or foot treatment. I love doing free product with purchase also. It keeps people coming back for more facials/waxing and buying more product.
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Permalink Reply by coldsalineplexus on
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Nice work booking ahead to give the exclusive feel.
However I do disagree about trying to avoid Yelp... it has been a godsend for me. I think the reason I tend to get good reviews is that I check in with my clients many times during the service to make sure they are comfortable and that things are progressing as they had hoped. If I need to manage their expectations, I do so with very clear language so there is no confusion.
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Thanks for your response. I do think Yelp is important as I personally use it frequently, especially when looking up restaurants. Fortunately and Unfortunately my clients are not big yelpers, which is a bummer as I would like to have more reviews, but I'm also happy that I don't have a bunch of negative ones. Most of my regulars never write reviews about me on yelp but they do on my online booking program genbook since it's easy for them. I always feel weird asking them to write a Yelp review, but at the same time I would like to have more reviews. I'm worried that when I start marketing it might not be as effective when only having minimal yelp reviews. Do you ask your clients to write a review or do they just automatically do it?
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You CAN'T prevent others from going on YELP, creating a listing for your business and putting up a review, negative or positive
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Thanks Amy! These are all great ideas! I especially like the idea of discount only during a certain month.
I always try and add something free to the facial like hand treatment or eyebrow waxing and this seems to keep the repeats clients coming, but my question is how did you initially get the client in your doors to give them the free extras? Did you run an Ad in the paper, money mailer, how did you get new clients? When I first opened, years ago, I did news paper ads, movie guides, val pak, those type of things and I established a pretty nice steady clientele that I could market to directly and really didn't do much advertising. Now I want to start advertising again but curious as to what will bring in new clients other then the coupon sites.
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How I started getting people in my door in a small town:
I wanted to be THE GO TO PERSON for skincare and the secret weapon for waxing. I sat down with a blank piece of paper and started brainstorming ideas. How could I personally get the word out about my genius (wink wink). I started by talking to scout groups, mom groups, church groups, offering classes, and YES! I used our local paper and I bought a weekly add that I put tips and info in instead of an "ad" :D My whole goal was to establish myself. I also promoted myself through flyers at the high school.
Here's the thing about small towns (at least mine anyway): Everybody knows everybody else. It won't take more than a couple of months for the word to get out. Within a year, I was booked way out. If I heard of any complaints (even minor ones), I immediately reached out to that person. You CANNOT afford to have anyone say anything bad about you or your reputation. It has to be Stellar in a small town.
Also, I book a LOT of time with my clients. I'm just a little dinky room in a little dinky town. They have my entire attention and I HATE it when you feel rushed out the door. I really hate it. I don't want people to even see each other when they come to me. It's important in little towns because you don't want to explain to people that you're getting a Brazilian wax when you run into your sunday school teacher. lol
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Permalink Reply by Dayanita Medjesky on
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OMG Amy!!!..I so needed this information as I am starting my new adventure with small business as a single mom...trying to figure out where to advertise...this was so helpful!!....any advice with websites?..Vista print offered a free trial when i ordered my business cards but Im not financially in a position to pay as of yet?...I have to watch my overhead....any advice would be greatly appreciated. :-)
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Don't you get a free site with your membership here?
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I use vista print. I know it's kinda canned but it just so easy and no a brainer. I had the worst trouble coming up with a name. lol and weebly got my business for a website. via my 5th grader.
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Haha, that's exactly what I've been doing. It sounds horrible, but I'll book "appointments", so that when clients book online it looks like I'm busier than I am. I know that's horrible, but I hate the idea of people seeing all of my open slots while I'm building my clientele. Thanks for all of your advice, I'll have to put some of your ideas into play!
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