As a beauty professional and an entrepreneur, you wear many hats. In fact, sometimes it might feel like you’re wearing too many of them. So when we suggest zeroing in on creating and building your brand, your first instinct might be, “Who has time for that?” But guess what? You do! It isn’t necessary to be a marketing bigwig to craft a brand identity that is all you, lending itself to an increase in demand for your services from people who are intrigued by it. After all, there’s only one you and you’re pretty awesome.
Beauty pros are creative, with an eye for making things gorgeous. Use these skills to create a brand that clients will remember, with little touches that make it feel extra special. Not sure where to start? Begin with the basics.
CHOOSE A COLOR SCHEME
Think about big businesses and the colors you associate with them, like red and yellow for McDonald’s. These hues are as much a part of their brand identity as the products and services they offer. Consider a color palette which represents you; something that can translate to a logo, advertising, salon decor, etc. It’s best to stick with no more than three colors to create your brand’s palette. Maybe you choose complementary hues that you absolutely love, or look to the sorts of emotions different colors evoke. For example, light to medium pinks can feel feminine and romantic, whereas a hot pink screams confidence and youthfulness. Yellow, like sunshine, is optimistic and happy. Black is sophisticated, modern, and elegant. There’s a whole rainbow out there — play around with it.
CREATE A LOGO
Once you have a color scheme in place, it’s time to develop a logo. We aren’t talking cartoon animals or anything terribly complicated (unless you have dreamed up something fabulous that fits your brand), but instead something as simple as your business name or monogram. This is the time to choose a font that fits your brand. Warning: Once you go down this rabbit hole you’ll realize there are about a gazillion different fonts to choose from but browsing them all is actually pretty fun. Modern fonts are sharp, sleek, and stylish, often looking great in all caps if you choose to go that route. Cursive fonts can convey a sense of elegance or sophistication (think of the font Cadillac uses). And then there are the decorative fonts, which can feel whimsical, creative, and fun. Which will you choose?
FIND YOUR VOICE
Perhaps most importantly, you’ll really want to find your brand’s voice. It could be sassy, sophisticated, playful, friendly — it all depends on what you want to convey to current and potential clients. Once you’ve decided on the way in which you want your brand to speak for you, use this voice on your website, social media, advertising, and any materials you use in your salon suite, like your menu of services.
Next, consider what kinds of little complimentary extras you can offer in your salon that vibe with this voice. Clients remember the details, like being offered a warm cup of tea or a quick scalp and neck massage with a signature essential oil. Think about what makes you feel welcome or appreciated and incorporate these gestures in your salon. It makes the beauty service feel more like a customized experience rather than another thing to check off on someone’s to do list.
Want more tips and tricks for salon success? Check out the rest of our blog posts. As the largest privately owned salon suite rental concept, we’re dedicated to helping beauty pros take their businesses to the next level.
