Market yourself and grow your mobile hairdresser business

Know your local market

As a mobile hairstylist (or mobile barber), your will most likely establish an area beyond which it wouldn't make sense to service clients.

It's a matter of business model and common sense. The more time it takes you to drive to your client and back, the higher the prices you will need to charge your customer. But there is a limit to what most customers are ready to pay for your services. Plus you will probably prefer spending time taking care of your customers than sitting behind the wheel.

So let's say you define a 15 to 25 miles radius in which you will accept to take clients, you need to understand what are the types of populations you are facing, starting with age groups, social communities and wage groups. because these will strongly impact the types of beauty services you should offer, the prices you can charge and the way you introduce yourself to this community.

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Prices, Prices, Prices

It's definitely not about having the lowest prices, it's about having the RIGHT prices. Obviously easier said than done. But too high, few people will be able to afford your services ; too low, there will be a suspicion about your skills ... or hidden fees.

So our recommendations are : analyze the prices of the salons around you, estimate the average price for each service you want to offer and establish your own price around this average.

Then if needed, you can raise your prices, based on customers' feedbacks.

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Boost the growth of your business

Marketing yourself efficiently as an independent mobile hairdresser involves a mix of online and offline strategies tailored to reach your target audience. Here’s a comprehensive approach to help you build and grow your business:

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Online Marketing (a few ideas)

1. Polish your profile on DashStylists.com

   • Portfolio: Showcase your work with high-quality images.

   • Services : the larger is your range of services the better - the more precise are your descriptions the better as well

   • Pricing: see above

2. Social Media Presence

   • Instagram and Facebook: Regularly post photos and videos of your work. Use stories and reels to engage your audience.

   • Content Calendar: Plan and schedule your posts to maintain consistency.

   • Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags to increase visibility (e.g., #MobileHairdresser, #HairStylist, #BridalHair).

   • Make sure your audience is redirected to your DashStyslists profile

3. Local SEO

   • Blogging: Write blog posts on hair care tips, trends, and services to improve your search engine ranking.

   • Local Listings: Ensure your DashStylists profile is listed on local directories and maps.

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Offline Marketing (a few ideas)

1. Word of Mouth

   • Referrals: Encourage happy clients to refer friends and family. 

   • Put your network to work : ask your friends and family to talk about your work and communicate your DashStylists profile.

2. Business Cards and Flyers

   • Design: Invest in professionally designed business cards and flyers.

   • Distribution: Place them in local businesses, community centers, and mailboxes.

3. Networking

   • Local Events: Attend local fairs, markets, and community events to meet potential clients.

   • Partnerships: Partner with local bridal shops, fashion boutiques, and gyms to cross-promote services.

4. Community Involvement

   • Charity Events: Participate in or sponsor local charity events to increase visibility.

   • Workshops and Classes: Offer hair styling workshops or classes in the community to demonstrate your expertise.

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Boost client retention

Customer retention is an important business strategy which includes all actions taken by a business to ensure that existing customers keep coming back. It’s a well-established fact that significantly more resources are spent on attracting new customers than on retaining existing customers. Businesses should therefore pay special attention to customer retention. Here are some tips we’ve put together to help you keep your customers coming through your salon or barbershop door:

 

The most obvious but often overlooked : create a nice environment

Create a friendly, welcoming environment. Customers want to feel comfortable entering your business. First and foremost, they want their experience with their stylist or barber to be a pleasant one which includes professional and competent services from a person they can trust. A clean, welcoming environment is also extremely important, and this is especially true during the current pandemic. Customers want to know that you’ve taken all necessary measures to ensure their safety. Wearing face masks, thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting between clients and maintaining social distancing whenever possible are all extremely important.

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Offer incentives regularly

Offer special promotions on future visits. Promotions let customers know that you appreciate their past business and want to reward their future business. And who can refuse a great deal? Ideas for promotions include: 

- Loyalty programs or punch cards

- Free or discounted services with the purchase of another service

- Holiday promotions to bring customers back throughout the year

- Discounts offered to repeat customers on a first appointment for a service not previously received

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Offer easy rebooking and thorough follow-up. You want to make it easy for customers to return to your salon or shop for future appointments. If booking is a difficult process, they will go elsewhere. Make sure to offer rebooking upon checkout or have a user-friendly booking platform or plug-in on your website. Use it to highlight the additional services you offer. This will encourage existing customers to try new services. You can also send reminder emails to your customers, letting them know when they might be due for a service. And make sure your platform allows you to automatically send appointment reminders with the option of confirming or rescheduling in order to optimize your schedule and avoid last-minute cancellations. 

 

 

And remind them of you as often as you can 

Out of sight means out of mind. Encourage your customers to follow you on social media and use it to keep your salon or barbershop top of mind. This will keep them coming through your door. You can use your page to promote new techniques, new products, new services, events, etc.

 

 

Most of these suggestions also hold true for mobile salons and barbershops. Through you don’t have a physical space for customers to come to (instead, you go to them), creating a pleasant and safe experience, offering deals and promotions on future bookings, offering convenient rebooking and follow-up, and using social media to keep your services top of mind can all serve to increase customer loyalty.

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There are many ideas for maximizing customer retention, but there are no shortcuts. The suggestions listed here can go a long way in getting customers to keep coming through your door, but they don’t allow you to forget that first and foremost, it’s the quality of your services that are at the core of your business. Pay attention to that, employ these suggestions, and enjoy your continued success!

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If your are thinking of becoming a mobile hairstylist or barber, follow the link for a bigger picture.

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