Renowned hairdresser Akin Konizi shares his expert insights to boost your business in the competitive salon industry with five actionable and effective tips.
Winning a prestigious industry award represents a truly fantastic achievement for any dedicated individual or thriving salon business, yet the real and tangible power of such a win lies significantly in strategically how you effectively use it. This involves attracting valuable new clients who are seeking excellence and ensuring your existing loyal clients consistently return for your exceptional services. Therefore, understanding how to leverage award recognition is crucial to boost your business and foster long-term success in the dynamic hair & beauty sector. HOB Salons international creative director and four-times British Hairdresser of the Year, Akin Konizi, offers his advice on using award wins to create client loyalty and attract new business.
Showcase Your Salon Success
Don’t ever be unnecessarily shy about your remarkable achievements; instead, actively ensure that all your valued clients can clearly see them displayed within your salon environment. Strategically place any awards, important certificates, and impressive trophies in highly prominent positions, such as welcoming reception areas or individual styling stations, where clients can effortlessly spot them. Furthermore, make absolutely certain that your entire team is thoroughly prepared and confident to clearly explain the specific meaning and significant value of these awards to clients. They should also articulate precisely how these accolades directly reflect the salon’s unwavering commitment to consistently providing exceptional service and maintaining the highest standards of professional excellence in all aspects of their work.
Promote Awards Digitally
Your comprehensive digital presence serves as a crucial and significant extension of your salon’s overall reputation within the wider community and among potential clients. Therefore, it is highly recommended to regularly update your professional website with a dedicated ‘Awards and Achievements’ page that proudly showcases your successes. Additionally, consider including a visually appealing banner prominently displayed on your homepage, effectively highlighting your most recent and noteworthy win to all visitors. Moreover, on various social media platforms, consistently post engaging celebratory content that features your talented team proudly displaying the awards they have earned. Include behind-the-scenes glimpses from the actual competition events and valuable testimonials from satisfied clients. These testimonials should specifically highlight the exceptional service quality that ultimately earned you the prestigious accolade.
Incorporate Awards in Marketing
Awards undeniably provide an excellent and invaluable opportunity to strategically create fresh and compelling marketing content that effectively positions you, your established business, and your dedicated team members as respected leaders and influential figures within the competitive beauty industry. Therefore, actively use your well-deserved award wins as the strong foundation for innovative promotional campaigns, consistently highlighting impactful phrases such as ‘Experience award-winning hairdressing’ or ‘Book your appointment with our award-winning team today’ across all your marketing materials.
Strengthen Client Trust and Loyalty
Awards not only effectively attract valuable new clients who are seeking the very best but also significantly reassure your existing loyal clientele that they are consistently in the most capable and trustworthy hands within the industry. Consequently, when clients regularly see that your established business and your talented team are consistently winning prestigious awards, it powerfully reinforces their initial decision to remain loyal patrons of your salon. Furthermore, they will naturally share in your well-deserved pride and feel like they are part of something truly exceptional and out of the ordinary.
Inspire Award-Winning Service
Make absolutely certain that your entire team consistently highlights the direct and crucial link between the prestigious awards you have won and the ongoing, significant investment in continuous professional training and advanced education. This clearly demonstrates to clients that they will continue to receive cutting-edge and innovative services that are at the forefront of the industry. Moreover, actively include subtle yet effective mentions of your awards in routine appointment confirmation emails or regular newsletters that you send to your client base.
A simple and polite note included in your communications, such as ‘You’re booked with our award-winning team—we look forward to seeing you soon,’ can go a long way in proactively building and maintaining strong client trust and unwavering loyalty. Finally, remember that your dedicated team forms the very backbone of your continued success, and the awards you receive are a direct reflection of their collective talent, unwavering dedication, and exceptional creativity.