Marketing Is So Much More Than Promotion: Just Visit My Hairdresser
Last Saturday, Mary Davis, co-owner of Davis Hairdressing in Newton, Mass., called to inquire about my recent visit. I asked her if she had a few minutes to talk because I wanted to let her know how impressed I've been with my experiences at her salon.
As we spoke, I realized that she had an amazing story to tell and asked her whether I could take notes. Hers was a compelling vision of an integrated-marketing and client-service approach that any business—not just other retailers—would do well to emulate.
Excellent service leads to word-of-mouth referrals
As a marketing-strategy consultant, I've been impressed by the salon's marketing savvy since my first visit. I originally discovered Davis Hairdressing on Yelp, a social-networking site.
I was searching for an emergency solution. The hair-salon owner who usually did my hair was running a half-hour late when I'd arrived for my appointment, and we'd had to reschedule for the following week—but my hair needed immediate attention.
I called Davis Hairdressing on a Sunday, planning to leave a message. To my surprise, someone answered the phone and asked whether I would like to come in that day or Monday—both days that beauty salons in the area are typically closed.
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Comments
This is a fantastic case study. Thank you for sharing. Small businesses can learn quite a bit about incentives and retention, such as the 2nd-visit coupon versus discounting the first service. It is generally less expensive to sell to existing customers than it is to acquire new ones. And this is a great way to encourage future visits and relationship building. - Dan Soschin
Wow, powerful article!
Great review. This is exactly what all small businesses should integrate into their existing marketing and customer retention programs.
This is such a great article! This business really understands the fundamentals of marketing - make a great product/service FIRST, and then promote that. It's amazing what good WOM can do for a business. The ongoing training to keep up with their client service standards is really impressive and if my sister in law wasn't my hairdresser, I'd definitely go to this place!
Good one. Now an article that explains that "the demographic" is not the same as the "target market"? A lot of folk (especially the media) don't seem to understand that demographic is only a description - not a set of insights
Thanks for your comments.
It's also a great story about MEASURABLE results from SOCIAL MEDIA.
I became a customer due to a Yelp review--and I got an email saying that at least one other person will become a customer because she saw this story.
If it results in a significant increase in business over the next 6 months, we might have another story :-)
Fantastic article and quite inspiring! Thanks for sharing!