Executive Summary
This marketing plan discusses the main principles of a hair salon where understanding the style, price, and clients matters. In this report, attention will be paid to the current marketing situation, objectives, strategies, competitors, customers, and the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Identifying local forces, positioning, and a management team is necessary to introduce a perfect marketing mix model. The hair industry in El Paso is competitive, and this marketing plan proves this venture to be successful.
Marketing Situation
The hair industry is not new in the United States and is known as one of the most competitive business sectors. A company with more than ten years of experience could face similar challenges a new organization has. It does not take much time or effort to lose regular clients or find new ones, and such instability attracts and frightens. Considering the constantly changing environment and obligations of salon owners, the analysis of four aspects, namely the industry, competitors, customers, and the company, is required.
Industry Analysis
The hair salon market continues to grow, and its forecasts are promising for the next decade due to constantly changing trends, high social expectations, and haircare innovations. As shown in Figure 1, the hair salon total market size has been able to recover during the pandemic crisis and demonstrates good results in 2021, meaning it has a positive type of market growth (IBISWorld, 2021). The number of people who choose barbering, hairdressing, and cosmetology as their professions also increased, proving a constantly growing life cycle of the industry, which is in its maturity phase. In 2014, about 650,000 individuals were involved in this business, but a 10% increase is expected by 2024, with haircut and styling as the main services (Statistics and Trends, 2019). People choose different locations to place their salons to consolidate this business and generate annual revenues.
Competitive Analysis
The development of the hair business in El Paso depends on the cost of living, which is not high, and people who search for inexpensive services. As shown in Figure 2, Texas is the state with the highest employment level in hairdressers and hairstylists (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). My business has direct competitors within the industry (similar salons and beauty centers in the region) and indirect competitors outside the industry (haircare services that allow people to take care of their hair individually at home).
The strengths of my competitors are a solid client base, service variety, and strong brands. Some salons were established decades ago and offered their services via different marketing sources. They develop discount systems to attract customers and underline their uniqueness as a competitive advantage. Their weakness is a high pricing policy and the necessity to increase prices regularly to cover equipment, resource, and material costs. My experience shows that the barriers to entry are related to unclear client bases and poorly advertised services. I choose a differentiation strategy not to set high prices and make it possible for clients to make their contributions.
Customer Analysis
American citizens prefer to visit hair salons and beauty centers because of different reasons, and understanding segmentation characteristics is a critical step in this marketing plan. As shown in Figure 3, the age of regular clients varies from 35 to 55, but younger people may also be the regulars, relying on their haircare needs and style changes (Statista, 2017). The value of the age segment is explained by their paying capacities and the possibility to manage time and book services.
The gender factor is not critical in this analysis because my practice shows that males and females are eager to cooperate with hairstylists. The geographic and psychographic segments are hard to quantify, but their impact is great in the hair industry because of improved growth rates. It means that people from other regions come for high quality and other benefits. Clients with unique personality traits are interested in experimenting with their hair and choosing qualified services. The level of income and attitudes toward this life, society, and responsibilities also determine their decision-making. Clients know haircare basics, but they want to learn more about recent trends, fashion, and safety.
Company Analysis
My venture is a small hair business located in Fort Bliss, where military service members are looking for a professional hairstylist. As soon as I got an opportunity to choose sole proprietorship as the preferred legal structure and work alone, I became able to establish my unique price policies and avoid unnecessary reports and agreements with other partners. I created a sufficient workspace where I am the only personnel who provide clients with comfortable services and. My work includes wig installs, frontal sew-ins, and other special and basic hairstyle services and products. The information from the SWOT table proves that my primary factors of success, namely communication and attention to client needs, are effective in maintaining competitive advantage in pricing and communicating.
Marketing Opportunity
Communication with clients is the strong side of my business, and customers are eager to share their feedback and offer new ideas for me to implement in the future. However, it is necessary to discover new opportunities, and one of the most evident is to strengthen my position and brand online. It is recommended to utilize geotargeted and mobile ads to help people recognize services and find a place (Lister, 2020). Individuals do not need much time or money to set a program (usually free) and be in touch with the community. The value of this opportunity creates a good background for developing hairstyle services, with illustrative examples, information, and support.
Marketing Objectives
The main marketing objectives are to improve people’s awareness of my services and to increase the number of positive reviews and feedback by 50% within the next year. I am not planning to change my pricing policies because the already set numbers are enough to cover the bills, buy the necessary products, earn a living. Following this plan, I expect to achieve a market share of 25% in the region, increase the percentage of customers with positive feedback by 90%, and make it possible for customers to pay between $125-150.
Marketing Strategy
Target Market
My target market includes males and females aged between 15 and 50 years. There is a thought that women should be the target market since they are ready to spend much money on salon services (Andersen, 2017). I want to target all people in the local community who need hairstyle changes and show that high-quality services are available at reasonable prices. My goal is to have 6-8 clients per day, depending on the required work, complexity, and time. At this moment, I address such market needs as functionality (service description meets the outcomes), price (various budgets), and convenience (special approaches to every client). The current market value is between $150 and $275, and my intention is to penetrate on its minimum ($150) and show clients their real opportunities. The rationale for this penetration could be estimated by the number of regular clients and profits.
Positioning
My position is to capture customer feedback and build a brand around it. When people read real stories from the same community members, they are ready to try the offered service and know what to expect. This position occupies a significant place in the minds of the target market and removes competitors with their high prices. I need to improve my advertising, and clients’ opinions could serve as a solid basis for my position. There are no reasons to lie or exaggerate the quality of my work or a variety of services as some competitors do, which distinguishes me from competitors. Real people, real stories, and real prices are the main elements of my marketing positioning.
Marketing Mix
Management Team
My hairstyle business is my own product and the outcome of my hard work and enthusiasm. I communicate with my clients directly and ask questions if I find it necessary to improve or change my services. My workplace is not big, and I am able to clean it individually, so I do not need other members. I am the only responsible member of this management team. My 6-year-old experience in the hair industry seems to be enough to understand what matters in my work and what can be omitted. If my strategy to communicate and promote services in a community does not work, I will find a team of professional marketers who could create a story and deliver it to the citizens. Still, this step is not obligatory in my plan, and personal achievements, attention to customers, and brand improvement will be implemented at the moment.
References
Andersen, I. (2017). 4 statistics that will fuel your salon marketing strategy. RevLocal. Web.
IBISWorld. (2021). Hair salons in the U.S. – Market size 2005-2027. IBISWorld.
Lister, M. (2020). 17 hair-raising salon marketing ideas. WorldStream.
Statista. (2017). Share of consumers in the hair and nail salon services in the U.S. in 2017, by age. Statista.
Statistics and Trends. (2019). Ten surprising statistics you didn’t know about the hair industry. S-Schwartz.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Occupational employment and wage statistics. BLS.gov.