Salon Success Secrets

Power Play: Find the Problem, Seize the Opportunity

Lindsay Lowe & Jen Booth

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What if your salon could offer more than just a haircut, becoming a haven where clients rediscover their confidence and inner beauty? Join us as we unravel the magic of identifying the true problem your salon solves, inspired by visionaries like Steve Jobs, who transformed the music industry with the iPod. Just as he found a deep need and crafted a narrative that resonated with millions, we explore how an understanding of your salon's core value proposition can revolutionize your marketing strategy, turning mundane services into transformative experiences.

In our conversation, we unveil the secrets to creating compelling marketing messages that speak directly to your clients' hearts. Imagine appealing to a new mom yearning for self-care or someone seeking a fresh start post-divorce. By crafting a narrative that sells confidence rather than just a service, you attract the right clientele and offer them an empowering journey of transformation. Discover how your salon can shift from offering mere services to providing an impactful experience that marries inner beauty with outer transformation, creating a loyal and emotionally connected client base.

Do you have a question for Blondes in Business: Luxury Beauty Business Podcast? Send a text or leave a voicemail at 855.650.3445 or send us an email to hello@thephdprogram.com. We would love to hear from you.
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Speaker 1:

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself as a salon owner hey, what is the problem that we really solve? Because if you can get crystal clear about the problem that you really solve, it will help you in all of your marketing messages, all the messages that you teach to your team. And so today is going to be a huge opportunity for you to look at, finding the problem and seizing the opportunity.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so, uh.

Speaker 2:

So, if you're excited about this, you know, really it shows a lot about your character as a salon owner, because this is one of the core things that when you get crystal clear on it, it can unlock so many possibilities for everyone around you.

Speaker 2:

You know, I think, something that really stands out when we're thinking about, you know, finding the problem and seizing the opportunity is just like, you know, when Steve jobs really introduced how, uh, you know, he really revolutionized, you know, the music market. You know, instead of saying like hey, here's a little box that you're going to, you know, listen to music from, it was like you know what if you could bring your 100 favorite songs with you everywhere. And, you know, really drew out the marketing aspect of what we know as the iPod, which is basically extinct now, you know, but really revolutionized the market when it came to how music was listened to. No longer did you have, you know, your CD player with the cassette adapter in your stereo, with it skipping when you were driving. And if you're younger than 30, you're like, what are you even talking about right now? But truly, you know, they found that problem, they seized that opportunity and then they really got crystal clear on their marketing and made an incredible impact inside of the technology world.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I love that you said that, lindsay, because, just like Steve, once you discover the problem that aligns with your business's strengths, you know you get to uncover that opportunity within and you get to create that marketing message that really helps resonate with that potential client or that current client. And you know, when I think about a lot of times as salons, we think we, the, you know the problem we solve is, like you know, someone needs to be lighter, they need to be brighter, they need better skincare, they need better makeup tips. But, like, if we truly just only focus on the problem and not look at the opportunity that we really give to someone, then we can miss that message, that marketing message that will really help to draw the right consumer in.

Speaker 2:

Because, when you think about it, like that is really tied to something even deeper. You know, and so, um, you know, when, when you think about it, it's truly like we are helping people find their confidence. You know, and so it's like either marrying that inner beauty with that outer beauty, um, or really helping people walk through the world in a much more confident light. Um, you know, that can be one of the core problems that it is that you are potentially solving for all of the clients that come through your doors.

Speaker 1:

That's so huge because, like, if just think of you're like, oh, come, get your hair done, we can make you brighter and lighter, like that message versus, that's the problem. But if you really seize the opportunity and say, hey, our opportunity here is that we sell confidence. Like you know, it's you going through a divorce. It's time to get your confidence back. Come back, come in and get your dream hair. Like, just like, the difference in messaging like really helps to like attract the right people and and draw the right people in.

Speaker 2:

You know, even thinking about like, hey, if maybe your avatar is like you just had a baby and you haven't experienced any self-care for a while, come back in and, like Jen said, let us get your confidence back.

Speaker 2:

You know, it's just really um, starting to craft that marketing message where you're turning that problem and that solution into a story.

Speaker 2:

You know, because customers really love that emotional journey, so when you can take them um, you know that's why they are a lot of times attracted to a before and after.

Speaker 2:

You know, like, if you're scrolling through, uh, your Instagram or uh, tiktok, whatever social media of choice that you happen to be scrolling through, a lot of times we love to get stuck in a before and after, whether it's like you know somebody had a weight loss journey, or you know they used to be poor and now they're rich, or you know they used to have not great hair and now they've got great hair or skincare. You know whatever that is like using those before and after pictures and really you know whatever that is like, um, using those before and after pictures and really you know, sharing that transformational uh story with your clients or with your consumers can really help them get emotionally charged and people buy um from their emotional brain. They don't buy from their logical brain, and so so that's a really great way to craft your marketing message when you're thinking about turning the problems into solutions and then showcasing it in a story.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love that you mentioned that logic and emotion. I heard once that said, when you're selling to that logical side of the brain, logic equals lethargic. And so, like you know, when you think about that, an example of that would be like five hour energy. Like they understood that people wanted to energy, energy boost, but they didn't want to drink a whole can of energy drinks. And so that's how they were designed or developed, you know they they narrowed their focus down to allow them to connect with that audience that just wanted that small little sip of energy instead of a large glass of energy. And so, like you know, they understood the problem and then they created the opportunity to it. And so that is like, if you can get really crystal clear and, as the visionary, as a salon or your company, to think about the problems that you, that you saw, but what is the bigger opportunity? It just helps you get so much more crystal clear about what you're going to speak to to current clients and potential clients.

Speaker 2:

I love that. Jen. That's a brilliant analysis. Is really looking at that five-hour energy story? It's almost like if we were to say to our consumers cause, I know, you know, our main target demographic is usually a really busy person, but they still want to have that glam look, and so you might say something like you know.

Speaker 2:

An example framework would be like you need X, but not interested in Z, here's a way to achieve Y without the hassle. So you could say do you need your hair colored but not interested in sitting in the salon for hours? Hair colored but not interested in sitting in the salon for hours, here's a way to achieve 10 minute color or lunchtime color, uh, without the hassle. And so really thinking about those problems and thinking about like, okay, how do we, you know, put this out to our guests so that they know, oh, I didn't even know that you could get a lunchtime color. You know some some different things like that. Or like quick extensions, like because you know a lot of times when consumers have the money but they don't always have the time. And so you know, when you use that framework of need X but not interested in Z, here's a way to achieve Y without the hassle, it can really target the right person and draw them into your company.

Speaker 1:

You know it just reminded me this morning I was actually teaching a branding class to our new trainees and we really looked at this and we did some research. So this is fun to do with your team is look at your local hashtags, like hashtag your town hair or hashtag. You know, for us it's like Lake Norman hair or you know, manhattan Kansas hair, and just see, like what people are using in their captions or what they're hooking with and you know what, nine times out of 10, what we saw was like highlight low light toner 0.9 in B, low light, 0.7 in C. And I was like, are you guys? And it was just really huge because I was like everyone's missing the entire point.

Speaker 1:

If we could really create like that connection, communication and trust with their captions and learn that you know what's the problem, but what's the big opportunity to that and speak to that Like that's really what's going to draw the right people in at the end of the day. Like, are we teaching people with these captions to be stylists? Are we teaching them that they have the opportunity to have, like, their dream hair? You know they, we just really want to serve and so, like, I think if you get crystal clear on problem. And then what's the big opportunity? Like wow, that's when magic can really happen.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I love that you talked about. You know how building, you know that hook really does capture the attention of the people that you're trying to serve with your solution. You know, and so I think once you've, you've drawn people in by not saying stuff, like you know, we used O nine N and O nine V and all this stuff, cause they don't care. That's like you're just speaking French to them and they might be like, oh, that's cool, they speak French, they don't get it, it doesn't apply to them, um, but once you really made it about them and and how you have the solution for their, their problem, then you have to always make it actionable, you know so you want to. You want to give them the opportunity, um to to know how to connect with you. You know.

Speaker 2:

So, after you've identified that core problem that your product or service addresses, then you want to define the unique opportunity with this problem, create a relatable story to connect with your audience. And then, you know, then you can develop that memorable, clear hook to make your solution instantly recognizable. But don't forget to tell them how to book, don't forget to tell them what to do next, because truly what you're doing is you're giving people's brain a gift when you tell them what to do next because they're like oh, I need to book with them, you know. Oh, reserve my next time. Or um, you know, whatever your call to action is, make sure that you do not leave that out. Um, when you are working on delivering that opportunity to them, yeah, awesome.

Speaker 1:

And so you know, the greatest opportunity is that the opportunity is waiting, and so there's so much value in solving a targeted problem and marketing, because when you're able to do that, that's when you see more new clients, that's when your average ticket increases. It's like a beautiful puzzle that comes together when you have that right marketing message.

Speaker 2:

Love it, so we're excited to hear your results. You know, get to work with this power play, see how powerful it truly makes you inside of the marketplace, and we can't wait to see you on the next episode. Thanks for tuning in.