Marketing Lessons From A Townsville Hairdresser
A good reminder about a philosophy that can make your break your business.
On the weekend, I went to get a haircut. (Yes, this is pretty riveting but stay with me.)
For me a haircut has become about trust. Over the decades I have had some rather appalling experiences with haircuts. And my strategy evolved into finding a hairdresser who knows much more about a good haircut than me – and then allowing them to be in charge of my haircut. Simple ay?
The initial meetings go something like this.
The professional hairdresser will ask me (the “client”) what I would like like. I say something like “I would like the best haircut you can give me given the thinning of my hair and the shape of my head.”
This usually stumps them for a while. And they will take some action like combing or pulling my hair to determine the length, thickness to allow them time to think of something to say. Then they will ask a question like “How much off the sides/top/whatever would you like?”
As gently as possible I will say “I don’t know. What do you think will look best for me?” This will cause them to put on a thoughtful face and swirl through my hair a little bit more. I will attempt to give them confidence by saying something like “You seem to know what you are doing. Give me a haircut that makes me look professional, and that my wife and daughter will approve of.” And “I am really good at many things, but hairdressing is not one of them – so you are in charge.”
There is usually some kind of “agreement grunt”, and they begin. Then – there will be another question that shows they do not yet have it. Something like: “Do you prefer scissors or shears/buzzing thing whatever it is called?”
Still as gently as possible to as not to appear to be rude or dominating or at least less strange – I will respond with “I don’t know. You are in charge of the haircut – just give me the best haircut you can.” And eventually they begin.
Stay with me now, the marketing lessons will flow.
If you are a woman, chances are that you have a hairdresser you go to. And you want the same person each time. Why? Because after your first visit with them, you have a little trust built. And once you a have been once – there is a great chance you will return. Should you return a second time – there is an even higher probability you will return a third time. And after 3 visits – you will keep going there until they stuff up really badly or one or both of you leaves town or retires/dies.
Any smart hairdresser/service provider of any sort knows this and has a clear process to get you past the 3rd transaction as predictably as possible. It is a vital conversion measurement – and there are specific tactics that work marvelously to increase the conversion, which magnifies the power of your initial marketing to get the first appointment and will make you business predictably successful.
That is nice – but today I want to talk about trust. So – generally after 4 or 5 visits to my increasingly well trained (ie – they know more about haircuts than me so they are in charge) hairdresser – things run fairly smoothly. I trust them, and they know they are in charge of my hair. I am under their protection.
Remember that phrase: “Under their protection. ” It may be the key to your massive business success.
The same way that I am “under the protection” of my lawyers, accountants, personal trainers, chiropractors, doctors, and even my lawn mowing guy. All these business have to do to retain my support is to act in my best interests whenever they supply or suggest a service. Lawyers can sell me some Will updates – just by letting me know it is in my best interests to do so. Simple. Not pushy. And because I trust they are “protecting me” – I will take the advice.
What are the numbers of a man’s haircut? Average time between cuts is 5 weeks. My hair grows pretty fast so 4 weeks is good for me. Cost at my last cut was $27. This means my base revenue is $351 per year. Chances are that unless they do something to break my trust – I will come for at least 2 years – so my minimum lifetime value is $752. (There are tactics to increase this obviously – but only available if I retained as a client – which means “under their protection”.)
How can a hairdresser destroy this trust in your protective umbrella? Like this. Change the person who is going to cut your clients hair from their usual to someone who does not yet have the skill to protect them.
Or bluntly – allow a poorly trained junior to deliver a “bad” haircut. It was my own fault. I had assumed that my usual hairdresser understood this concept of “protection”. In fact, when this very young, un-confident new stylist asked me “How much would you like off?” I said “Just ask Jxxxx, (who is standing 10 feet away) she knows.” But she only delivered a one sentence instruction then wandered off, leaving me to my scraggly headed fate.
It is interesting how we can only begin to gauge the expertise of a hair stylist AFTER they begin to cut. And with very successive snip it becomes more and more impossible to escape, despite the knowledge that an inept person is guaranteeing you will need much more hair product until it grows back.
And in the back of my mind “Why did Jxxxx not protect me from this?” Damnit. Now I have to find and train a new hairdresser again. And also – how the heck am I going to stick down that chunk of hair that is shootng out at right angles from my temple on one side only?
Cheers
James
Ps – I may have added just a little drama to this haircut – my world is not going end because of it. Stay tuned for a post very shortly about a model you can use to strategically create a bullet proof business where you do not need to compete on price.
