In this day and age, small businesses can conveniently make a name for themselves. So why be a regular hairstylist when you can take things a notch higher by packaging and presenting yourself as a brand? With the advent of technology, you now have all the necessary tools at your disposal.
Building a brand both online and offline is a critical component of success in any business sector.
Importance of Branding in Business
Branding creates a connection between your business and your customers. It shapes your business’ identity and sets you apart from your competition. A business without branding will have a difficult time building trust with people because a brand image, story and identity are crucial in showing how reliable, credible, and established a business is.
Businesses need branding to help them gain recognition. All hair salons cannot have the same logo, business name, customer service, online presence, goals and articulation. These are all aspects of branding that you must establish so that your customers and potential customers alike can spot you in the midst of other hair salons that are springing up daily. Having a strong brand for your business will ensure that people take note of it much more than businesses without any branding.
How to Build Your Brand
Now that you understand the advantages of building a brand, let us discuss how to actually build one.
1. Stick to your unique offering
If you are a newbie in the business, it pays to discover what you excel in. You can render different services but be recognized for just one or two. For instance, people usually come to your salon to braid or dye their hair, but then you figure out that they mainly come around to dye their hair. This is your unique selling point. You could decide to brand your salon based on the service that brings in more customers.
There isn’t a right or wrong way to identify where you belong, however you need to ensure that it is in tune with what you’re good at doing and what you can deliver effectively.
2. Set up a Website
Once you have the essentials like your name, logo, and the services you want to offer, you should go ahead to create a website for your salon. Your online presence is an arm of your brand. You can find people, book appointments, blog about your industry, and connect with customers – all on your website.
3. Have a Social Media Presence
You cannot skip this in today’s world. Along with your website, it is essential to have social media accounts that show who you are and what you do. Your profile name should be your business name so that people can easily find you on social media platforms. It should also be the same across all platforms that you are on. Ensure that your bio contains the link to your website and that it effectively tells who you are, what you specialize in, where your salon is situated, your phone number, etc.
Based on the colour(s) of your logo, create a colour palette for each post to ensure that your page does not look disorganized.
4. Network
Networking is key to spreading the message about you and your brand. Attend hair business conferences, trade fairs, and networking events to meet with people, exchange contacts and socialize.
5. Design Custom Materials
You can create business cards that contain vital information about your business so you can share them with your customers and potential customers. You can create branded towels and other branded materials for use in your salon as well. These will help strengthen your brand awareness with your clients.
