'Spring cleaning' your marketing

The pre-Christmas rush is over and it's time to take a well-earned breather. But there's little time to rest. It's straight into the New Year's Eve party rush.

Things do settle down again early into the New Year, and that's the time to turn thoughts to new ways of marketing your salon: ideas to excite your loyal clients and entice new visitors.

Start thinking about those special dates early on in the calendar ─ Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter ─ and how you can make the most of opportunities to promote your business.

Be ready with ideas for special offers and competitions to bring more people into the salon. For example, why not think about a competition for a client to win a free hair do for her Mum as a special treat for Mother's Day?

What's most important is to keep your marketing fresh and frequent. Study after study says that in tough economic times it's more important than ever to keep up the communication with customers.