It is no surprise that the best Salons also have the top Salon websites. They have recognised that their website plays an important part in the success of their salon business yet too often the websites of hair and beauty salons are either homemade, poorly designed or outdated. A professionally designed website is an essential tool for any hair and beauty salon. It's not only a reflection of your salon's brand, It articulates what your salon stands for, defines the experience your clients can expect and is the start of their emotional journey. Beauty Salon websites also serve as an important gateway to other technologies and services, such as your salon booking software where your clients can make appointments, purchase products from your online shop, buy gift vouchers and benefit from promotions. Websites for Salons play an important role in making your salon more accessible, all day, all year.
A top salon website will serve as an important anchor to your existing clients and will also help you attract new ones.
In this post, we'll explore why every salon needs a professionally designed website.
Some salon businesses spend a fortune on refurbishing their salon or by buying costly machines and equipment, that have a dubious return but do not see the value of investing in a professional website for their salon that will market these investments, define and differentiate their salon businesses and get them a return on their money. The top salon websites out there today have several key features in common that help make them stand out.
Generally speaking, it is not a good idea to try to be all things to all people, so sooner or later you are going to have to decide what type of client you want to attract and why? All your Salons business and marketing decisions flow from answering these two questions. The answers should dictate everything from the look and feel of your Salon’s interior to the products you stock and the services you offer. In short, what is your differentiating angle, your brand, and how are you going to stand out against the competition? Once you know the answer to these questions you are going to have to start thinking about how you market to this target group. Your Salon Website plays a crucial role in this process
Top salon websites appeal to the market segment they have chosen. A modern look to attract a young or progressive client base or a more traditional look for the more mature or less adventurous. Your colour choices are equally important such as using soft pastel colours which suggest relaxation and a zen-like experience or bold colours like orange that indicate new ideas, dynamism, something out of the ordinary. In any case, the website needs to generate the emotional reaction you want in your target market.
Beauty salon websites are the end point for nearly every marketing initiative you are going to undertake to attract new and existing clients to your salon business. Sooner or later someone is going to put your Salon name into a search engine. It might be because one of your existing clients have recommended you, they are responding to one of your social media posts or they have just moved into the area and conducted a cold search.
Put yourself into their position when they enter your salon name into Google
There is no website - You don't exist! Your salon immediately losses credibility. You project an image of not being a real player, less than professional and ultimately a risk. Move on.
There is only Social Media Account - A little more information but unstructured and I don't know if I am going to get what I am looking for, there is a list of other Salons listed immediately below in the search results with a website. They look like a safer bet. Move on.
There is a homemade website - Probably knocked together by college student as a nixer or thrown together as a favour from her brother-in-law. Doesn't have the right plug-ins so some pages don't work, crappy images. Must be amateurs. Move on.
There is an old-fashioned, dated website - Given 80% of searches are now via mobile phones this crappy website looks bad on the phone. The silent message the salon is sending is a lack of investment and attention to detail on how the Salon presents itself or worse they don’t care. What sort of a service can I expect? Move on.
There is a modern website, badly built - Spelling mistakes, poor quality images, inconsistent fonts, looks like it was created by someone who doesn't understand the industry, half-hearted. Shame, a missed opportunity. Move on.
There is a well-designed modern, mobile-friendly website - They look credible, and professional. What they say resonates with me. I'll stay awhile and find out more. Like it! I'll book using their online booking software, and might even use the 1st visitor coupon promotion and buy something in the shop. Hooked.
We all should recognise ourselves in the above scenarios and so we should instinctively know how important our salon website is to the success of our salon business. The fact is that many hair and beauty salons still ignore the importance of creating a top Salon website and are unknowingly providing important competitive opportunities for those that don't.
