Finding a clear brand identity can help your business to thrive. So how can you discover yours? 

What is a brand? It’s not just a font, a logo and your website – it’s who you are. Steph Stevenson, owner of HNB Salon Spa in Sandbanks, Dorset, says: ‘Your brand is a personality – an individual with a unique voice, so you build an emotional connection with whoever your target clients are.’

Your business is your salon and team, but your brand is your identity. For instance, Steph says, Disney’s brand isn’t films or theme parks – it’s magic. However you connect with the company, it is offering you a magical experience.

Common misconceptions include thinking that, if you’ve pinned down your colours and the typeface on your website, that’s it. But Ryan Power of Salonology says: ‘It’s difficult to have a meaningful relationship with a logo. What’s important is the owner or the manager, the face of the business. It’s your personal brand. Your client is going to look for common bonds with you.’ 

Why does it matter?

Competition is fiercer than ever post-pandemic – everyone’s fighting to survive. Steph says a clear brand ‘increases loyalty and gives you a better differentiation, so you’re not the same as everyone else. You’re not posting the same stuff. You’re not speaking in the same voice.’

She adds: ‘I’m based in an area of high-net-worth individuals. We are a luxury brand. If I was to start offering massive discounts or speaking to the budget market I would lose clients.’

Michael Young of Hooker & Young, based in Newcastle and Teesside, says: ‘We have always been more attracted to beauty and glamour as opposed to an edgy, trendy, younger style. If we were a magazine, we’d be Vogue, rather than a cool fashion mag.’ 

It’s not just you

Steph says your team is key to your brand: ‘We are very careful with

recruitment. We need every single person to want to deliver the very best experience for our clients.’ Make sure everyone understands the brand and their part in it.

Consistency is key. A strong brand keeps staff turnover low, holding costs down and reassuring clients. Michael says: ‘At the salon I work in, every stylist on the floor was my assistant at one point. We treat them really well. Everybody is employed. We don’t have any sort of rent-a-chair arrangements.

‘They all work hard, but they get paid handsomely. And we’ve got a lot of assistants. It’s been a bit of a pandemic itself in the hairdressing industry, not being able to get members of staff .’ But a clear identity means people want to work for you. 

Make it real

Make sure you live up to the brand the moment a client clicks on your social media or webpage – or meets you in real life. Steph says: ‘We have a concierge, Michael, who ensures you are really being shown the brand is about luxury and you are being looked after, the moment you walk up to the door’.

Hooker & Young spends a lot of money on gorgeous flowers and ensures you are greeted immediately. There’s only ever one person on reception, so you aren’t faced with an off -putting barrier, and there’s a clear look for staff : smart black clothes, name badges and no trainers.

You need to keep reinforcing the message. Steph says: ‘Our mantra is Every Customer, Every Time, Every Day. At team meetings we repeat it and look at the words the client used in reviews. If it’s “She made me feel so special”, we ask, how could you get more of that emotion? What would you like to be able to give your client?’ 

Invest in your brand

It’s worth getting expert advice, says Michael. Hooker & Young consulted clients who run a digital marketing agency. ‘We told them how we wanted to look and what we wanted to do, and they came up with ideas for our logo. It was reassuring that the direction we were going in was the right one. If you’re really serious about getting this absolutely spot on, investing in that expertise is definitely worth it.’ 

Develop your ideas

Don’t think clarifying your brand is a one-off – you need to keep working on it. Look at other brands for ideas. Michael noticed Bentley Motors had its own magazine. He and partner

Gary wanted to create ‘a high-end, gorgeous read in heavy paper with an embossed foil banner. We knew the kind of magazine we would want to do would be pricey, not a flimsy newsletter.’

Every word is written by Gary, with a beautiful shoot to showcase their work. It cost £25,000 to produce but the publishing company covers the expense by selling advert space. 

Measure success

Hooker & Young uses a market research firm to send in mystery shoppers and then feed back reports and scores for each salon at weekly team meetings. If there are negative

comments, they talk to the staff member about ways to improve. Michael says: ‘You may think, we’re brilliant, and not really stop to ask: are you delivering on the things that you say you are?’

Ryan says that, for a salon owner, ‘success is being seen as the best at whatever you specialise in – the number one lash artist in Warrington, for example. If people are talking about you positively, then your brand has worked. Especially if that results in people coming and giving you some money as well.’ 

WORKING OUT WHAT YOUR BRAND IS

  • Ask some key questions about you and your clients’ expectations.
  • What would your clients expect/place most importance on? Value for money? Luxury? High fashion? A straightforward haircut and style or an experience?
  • Where are you likely to bump into them? The gym? A bar or restaurant? A club?
  • What are their values? Are they keen on sustainability, for instance?
  • Who are you?
  • What are your values?
  • What makes you different from everyone else?

COMPLAINTS: THE POWER OF SORRY

When things go wrong, you need to protect your brand. If a client is unhappy:

  • Own it. Don’t deflect or blame someone else.
  • Immediately apologise.
  • Listen. Make the client feel heard.
  • Fix what you can.
  • Offer reassurance. What can you do to avoid this happening in future?

RESOURCES

Author: NHBF | Posted 28 Jul 2022