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The Who, What, When, Where
and Why of Advertising
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Beauty
Business Buzz
Shannon Wells
Advertising… any successful business
owner knows there is no surviving without it.
Only a few know the true secret to
successful advertising, the kind that gets the
results intended without paying into a bottomless
pit. From where to advertise to how much
to spend, let’s take a look at some of the keys to
success when creating an advertising plan and
what you need to know to make sure you’re
getting the most bang for your advertising
buck.
The Who: The first thing to determine
is exactly who your ideal audience is. Many
companies have an idea of who their ideal
client is, but you’d be surprised at how many
companies do not.
When determining
your ideal
client, you need to be
specific. Age, type of
occupation, income
level, location,
even gender are all
important characteristics
to nail down. If
you aren’t aiming to
bring in a certain type
of client then you are
missing a great opportunity
to tailor your message, your efforts
and eventually your results. Determining a list
of attributes that fit your ideal client will give
you great insight into how best to reach them.
The What: Many people are lost on the
concept of advertising. I’ve seen many salons
and spas dump random amounts of money
into various forms of advertising hoping for
results, and then repeat the same thing the
next year, never knowing the actual outcome
of their advertising dollar.
According to Michelle Bautista, business
advisor for Your Beauty Network, a great place
to start is to allocate a specific percentage of
your budget to advertising. “We recommend
businesses use 1.5 percent of their total service
sales towards advertising.” This recommendation
provides a specific number to use for
advertising rather than throwing endless funds
at this area of your business.
Measuring your results is also imperative
to managing your advertising dollars. Bautista
adds, “A great way to manage and measure
your results is to make sure your return on
investment is at least three times the amount
you spent on the advertising in the first place.”
Determining a list of
attributes that fit your
ideal client will give you
great insight into how
best to reach them.
Use these tips to measure what you need to be
spending on advertising.
The When: Deciding when to start your
advertising campaign depends on what you
want to accomplish. Are you announcing
something new? Are you attempting to win
new clients or send a message to existing
clients? Are you announcing a time-based
promotion? Traditionally it takes two to three
months to penetrate a market. Plan your
advertising accordingly so you get the word
out in advance of when you want to see the
results. If you have a product launch or a
holiday special, you want to get the word out a
couple of months in advance.
The Where: There are so many options
and mediums in which to advertise your
business today. Television, radio, billboards,
magazines, yellow pages and even the internet
are some of the most common methods used
and can be very successful if
there is some strategy to which
ones you select.
Your best choice of
advertising medium goes
back to who your audience is.
Which of these items is your
ideal client most likely to use?
Where is the client located and
which of the mediums will
reach them there?
For example, if your ideal
client is a business executive,
radio ads running during
traditional work hours will not likely be heard
by your ideal client. Make a list of the likely
habits of your ideal client and it will dictate
which mediums you should select as well as
the specific genres of the medium. Attracting
moms as your ideal client, for instance, may
dictate you advertise in local kid’s activities
publications.
The Why: Advertising really is a matter of
necessity. It is essential to getting the word out,
generating interest, reaching new clients and
portraying a positive image of your business.
Understanding what you want to accomplish
with your advertising and creating
a planned and measurable budget is essential
in ensuring advertising success. Determining
your ideal clients and then going to where they
already are to spread your message is an effective
way to make sure your message is getting
to the right people. Make your plan to find out
the best fit for your business!
Shannon Wells is the Marketing Manager of Your Beauty Network, a
beauty industry ongoing business support service. It offers a membership
based business support resource used by over 700 salon and spa owners.
For more information, visit www.ybn.com, call 866-364-4926 or e-mail
shannon@ybn.com.
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NORTHWEST STYLIST & SALON | OCTOBER 2008 | 11