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All About Hair...and So Much More.
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All About Hair...and So Much More.
177: Converting Website Visitors into Loyal Salon Clients
Ever wondered how a well-designed website can catapult your salon business to heights you've never imagined? Get ready to discover the powerful impact of a robust online presence in this episode of Salon Ownership Made Easy. Our virtual handshake is more than a mere introduction to your potential guests and stylists, it's an open window to your brand's soul. This episode uncovers the essential features, the right words, and the powerful SEO strategies that transform your website from a digital poster to an inviting, value-based oasis for all your guests.
As we wrap up this enlightening journey, your salon website will be more than an online booking platform, it will be a living extension of your brand. So come on over, join the conversation, and don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more of our salon ownership hacks. Learn why new clients are like fresh breaths of air to your salon, the magic of online booking, and the power of reaching out to your target audience. This is more than a podcast, it's your salon ownership journey made easier, one episode at a time.
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Picture this You're stumbling upon a hair salon's website and it looks like a work of art, perfectly capturing the salon's vibe and services, and you're instantly hooked. That's the secret sauce of a well thought out online presence, and today we're going to talk about it. Well, hey there, welcome to the Salon Ownership Made Easy podcast. As a former salon owner, I know how tough it can be to deal with things like hiring new team members, managing your KPIs and fixing everything that seems to break in the salon. It's enough to drive anyone crazy. But don't worry, I'm here to help you navigate the ups and downs of the industry. Let's face it, beauty school didn't prepare us for the real world of salon ownership, but with the right techniques, systems and mindset, you can achieve amazing success. With over 30 years of experience and four successful salons under my belt, including two that hit over seven figures, I've learned a thing or two about what works and what doesn't. So buckle up and get ready for some practical tips and real talk. Let's do this. Well, hey there, and welcome back to another episode of our podcast.
Speaker 1:Today we're going to dive deep into the digital area, where first impressions often begin with just a simple click. Look, in the day and age of this digital age, if you will. Your website is more than just pixels and code. You can't ignore, delay out the presence. It's really your virtual handshake. It introduces your potential guests and stylists to your fabulous brand and you don't want to take that for granted. You don't want to just have a website that just is part of your booking program. You want your website to look and feel like your salon. You want people to get an experience of your salon before they even walk in the door. And stylists stylists are actually looking for salons to call home and you want your website to be an extension of that virtual hug, if you will, like hey, come join our team, come join our family. And if you just have a basically a landing page to book an appointment that doesn't tell anything about you and yes, you could be posting on Instagram, posting on Facebook little hair pictures, things like that that still doesn't cut it.
Speaker 1:First of all, there's something called SEO, where we'll talk about just a second. And secondly, you have a voice, you have a vision and you have to be able to kind of let the user of your website get a picture of that, if you will. So let's talk about two things. We're going to talk about the guest experience and the stylist experience on your website. Those are two completely separate things. So you can't talk to both people at the same time. Now you can, with your pretty pictures and your pictures of your salon and your fonts and things like that. That will say something to the web user, but you want to use different verbiage for both the stylist and the guest. Okay, so first let's talk about the guest experience.
Speaker 1:This is a world where all of our clients they crave convenience and transparency and your website becomes that hub when those curious scrollers they come around and they discover your salon first. They see you on Instagram or Facebook and Somewhere on your social media platform. You need to have a link to your website and when they go to your website, it's just that next chapter in their journey and it just reinforces that great vibe from your social media. So you are using that website to reinforce what your message is to your target audience and you have to have a warm and inviting digital space. It can't just be like book your appointment here, no, no, no. You want to build trust and you want to build familiar grounds and you want them to feel like they're part of your family, part of your culture, part of your salon and you want them to feel like, wow, I belong at that salon. I think they they hear me and I haven't even made my appointment. So when you build that trust, they're more likely going to hit that book now button, which that's the goal. You want them to book now. So let's consider some of these things on your website, the features that will impact your SEO, search engine optimization, and It'll give them a great web experience.
Speaker 1:All right, first, you have to have Values-based verbiage. What do I mean by that? I mean you need to cut through all that digital BS and you need to connect with that authentic voice of yours. You need to use your own verb verbiage, you need to use your own words and you want to appeal to those guests who share your core values. They'll find you if you're talking the talk. If your core values are integrity, education, meaning you keep up with things in the salon Maybe it's your green salon and that's part of your values People will find you.
Speaker 1:You need to tell them on that first page what you're about, what your salon is about. Why did you open that salon space to be different than any other space out there. Why do they need to come to you and not the salon down the block? And you need to hit it hard. I mean, you only have like two seconds to make that first impression. Not only do the pictures need to look good, it needs to be able to read it, because you know there is a difference between using black text and white text. There is a difference, so they need to be able to read it. Can they read it on their phone? There's so much that goes into this, but your voice, the way you talk, how you have those first couple of paragraphs on that first page.
Speaker 1:Don't just copy and paste from your retail products and don't just say hey, book here. You know what's one of the worst things is Welcome to our website. Sorry, we're not taking new clients. What I've seen that? Yes, I have seen that. So don't do that. You want to welcome them. You're always accepting new clients, even if you think you are busy, busy, busy. A guarantee you people leave.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk about online booking. You have to have online booking. It is a must for Solans. You have to make it easy for those late-night phone scrollers to book an appointment on the spot. I'm one of those people when I have an idea, I need to do it. In fact, I need to do that right now for my dog groomer. Yeah, I don't want to make a phone call. I need to make a phone call. But I don't want to make a phone call If I'm sitting here at 8.30 at night. I want to be able to book that appointment and know that what my day looks like tomorrow. That's what I need.
Speaker 1:People need that for their hair too, and you might say, yeah, but what if they're a new client and you know they're booking for something that I don't do? So when they come in, explain it to them. You want them to walk in your doors and you don't want to say sorry, you booked for a full highlight or full balayage and I don't have time for that. No, no, no, no. Do something for them. Don't put the blame on them. Don't make them feel bad for coming in your space and wasting your time, and I feel like that's what we're doing. We've got these big, long services and we expect our clients to know what these services are all about. They don't. They don't know our lingo. They don't know what it takes. Maybe you have on your online booking. If they're a new client. They just book a new client appointment and maybe it's just for an hour and you tell in there that, hey, this is a get-and-to-know-you appointment. This is a maybe a haircut, maybe make up whatever you want, but maybe it's just a haircut. But they need to come in and see you, or at least a virtual online consultation, so it doesn't take time out of their day or yours. Maybe they live 45 minutes away and they don't want to drive 45 minutes for a consultation. I don't blame them I wouldn't either but you got to have something. You can't just say sorry not taking new clients.
Speaker 1:And now a third thing you need. You need a thing called dynamic widgets. What are those? Those are those embedded feeds that you see on websites like your Instagram feeds that automatically come over every time you post an Instagram. It refreshes on your website. You need Google reviews that. Every time somebody reviews you, it updates. What this does. At first, it makes it look like your brand is connected and you're always having fresh content on your website, which is great. But it also does something to the SEO. It's telling the computer gods out there that you are actively updating your website and they'll boost it. They'll boost the visibility, because what they don't want to do is you to make a website. You never engage in your website, you never change it and becomes this old, dusty website. They don't want their visitors going to that. You need something on there that and it's called dynamic widgets and it's just basically embedding a code in your website that helps with that. If you need help with that, I can help you. Okay, now let's just flip the coin and let's focus on the stylist experience on your website.
Speaker 1:We all want to attract top notch stylist, but what does that take? It requires showcasing your salon culture and presenting your salon as an attractive workspace. It is about more than just attracting talent. It's about aligning your salon's values and your vibe with other stylists. That's what they're looking for too.
Speaker 1:We can all say, yeah, we have ongoing education. Yeah, and don't say that unless you have a plan of action in place. That is so disappointing when stylists get very excited about education opportunities and really all you have is quarterly education that's offered by your distributor. It's not education opportunities. Every salon can offer that be different. Have weekly or every other week Classes. It's the holiday season right now. Maybe you need to have a class on holiday hair. People are going to parties. Maybe holiday makeup not hour and a half makeup, but teach your stylist how to do 15 minute makeup applications. So, after they just did this wonderful blowout on someone going to a holiday party, they can freshen up the look and make them a look a little bit more festive. You don't have to have a full-on, in-depth education program, but what you do have to have is consistency. That's what people are looking for. They want to know that they're gonna grow with you and that's what they're looking for.
Speaker 1:So let's consider what do you actually put on your website for not only the SEO, but also just for the potential new hires? Okay, so you do need a dedicated career page, and what do I mean by that? You need one of those clickable little buttons up top and you want to showcase Friendly work environment through photos Maybe you have Testimonials from stylists of little videos of each stylist going. Hey, I joined salon ABC Because this is what I was looking for and this is what I got, and I'm happy. This is my home. You can get creative.
Speaker 1:Basically, the prospective hires want to see stylists having fun and loving what they do, so you need to figure out a way to show that off. And then you have to have an online application. No, people are not making resumes anymore. It's kind of cool if they do. You just need to modernize your hiring process. So, just in bed, an online application. You can make those super, super easy in Google Docs. It doesn't have to be like the old-fashioned applications. Okay, you don't need all that, but you do need to know what are their career goals and how do they interact with clients. Maybe you give them questions like, hey, how would you go about handling this situation? It's gonna give you a sense of who they are and then, if you like what you hear, then you can invite them in for a Interview. We used to do phone interviews first, because you can tell a lot by phone interviews. So so those are two different Parts of your website that's so super important one for the guest, one for those Stylists.
Speaker 1:So here's the deal your salon's website. It really is the gateway to your salon space, everything from making appointments and you got to make it easy, breezy right To communicating your company's core values. Your well-designed website packs a punch. It has to. It has to. If you need more information about what goes into a really successful website. Go back and listen to episode 173. So, whether you're like a classy urban salon or you're just a cozy local favorite, investing in a user-friendly, visually stunning website is not just a leap into the future. It is a giant step Toward your salon success.
Speaker 1:Did you hear me on that? Look at your website. Are you ready to take your website to the next level? Go on over to my website. Salon ownership made easy comm and find out more because I can help you with your website. I love doing those. I can help you get it up and running. I can help you update it. If it needs to be, I can get that dynamic content connected to it.
Speaker 1:Whatever you need, you know you might already have a website and you don't need a full-on everything. Just email me, I'll help you whatever you need. I know it's the holiday season and you're busy and you don't have time. It's like oh, denise, you're asking me to do one more thing, I don't have time to do one more thing. Well, I got you, okay, but look, if you've already got a website and you don't need that, head on over and sign up for my mailing list. I send out information all the time and support and I keep you posted when new videos and classes are live. And, who knows, you might be the luck. You want to receive a random discount code for our new course coming up, but you've got to be on our mailing list to receive it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, alright, so that wraps up another episode. Thank you so much for tuning in and remember when you know better, you do better. Thanks for hanging out with us on today's podcast. We hope you found it interesting and learned something new. If you liked what you heard, hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on future episodes. We're always open to your feedback and suggestions for topics to cover in the future, so don't be shy. Drop us a line on social media or shoot us an email. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch you on the next one.
