How To Define A Target Market for Hair Salons

Finding your hair salons target market is an important step in formulating a proper plan for your business.

Every salon focuses on a certain demographic, whether it is based on gender, price or type of hair styling.

Only by identifying who your potential customers are, and focusing on their needs and requirements, can your salon hope to be successful.

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1. Key Elements Which Defines Your Hair Salons Target Market
2. Hair Salon Demographics
3. Style & Creativity
4. Price Range For Your Salon

There are three groups of target market definition

• Positioning
• Targeting
• Segmentation

Simply setting up your business, and hoping to draw in customers without this kind of planning, is not a positive strategy and is unlikely to work.

Once you have created your hair salons target market, it will drive so much within your salon business strategy ranging from the choice of your salon's name, to marketing through to customer experience and products or services.

Formulating a proper salon marketing plan for identifying and catering to a certain demographic will help you to better establish your salon business. It can help you to head off your hair salon competitors in what is generally a crowded marketplace, and establish a brand and identity for your business.

Here, we will take a closer look at how you can identify potential hair salon demographics for your business, and refine your salon target market.

Key Elements Which Defines Your Hair Salons Target Market

• Location
• Income
• Gender
• Age
• Price sensitivity
• Education
• Lifestyle
• Values
• Benefits sought
• Behavior
• Motivation

Your Geographical Location

It is important for any business to understand the region in which it is based.

When it comes to defining a marketing strategy for hair salon, it is vital that you carry out the correct research to help you carry out a deep hair salon market analysis.

As part of the research, you need to understand who your customers are, and how best you can meet their needs. An important step towards doing this is evaluating the area in which your salon is based.

Making sure you choose the right location for your salon business is the most important thing, instead of trying to fit your salons target market around the wrong location.

Have a look at the type of housing in the area, and what the price range is for purchasing or renting a property in the area.

This will give you a reasonable idea of the type of demographic that lives in the area, and what their disposal income levels are likely to be.

It is also a good idea to visit local pubs and other gathering places to gauge potential customers' outlooks and habits. All of this will help you formulate a business plan which will give your salon the start it needs to be successful.

You should also assess how much passing trade your salon is likely to receive.

If your business is located on a major transport route used by pedestrians and others, then you may benefit from being a visible presence. A high end salon target market would be working professionals, for example.

If your salon is located in a city centre environment, then many of this type of customer may be expected to walk past the salon, and potentially be tempted to use it. On the other hand, if your business is located in a quiet village, then you will not be able to rely on large volumes of passing trade, and will need to adopt other marketing strategies.

Segmentation

• Lifestyle
• Fun-Seeking
• Family Stage
• Trendy
• Status Seeking
• Sports Enthusiasts
• Conservative
• Socially Responsible

Hair Salon Demographics

Gender Profile

Targeting the right gender for your salon is another step in being successful.

While most hair salons probably see themselves as catering for women, there is a significant market share to be gained by appealing to men too.

Unisex salons do very well in many places, largely because their owners understand how to respond to their clients' needs.

Identifying which gender or genders you wish to cater for is an important part of determining your salon target market. It will affect everything from setting budgets, to the type of staff you employ, to the additional stock and styling equipment that you will need.

Of course, there is always potential to try and appeal to more than one target market relating to gender, but, at least at first, it is a good idea to focus on one demographic and concentrate on delivering services to meet their needs.

Age Group Profile

Making sure you are targeting the right age group within your salon is critical, as this will also impact the design and the services you offer within your salon.

Style & Creativity

Another important part of conducting a hair salon market analysis is to decide upon what kind of hair styling you are going to offer. This might be based on the demographics of the area in which you are setting up.

For example;

if there is a large African population in the area, then that may mean you offer services based on the issues associated with African hair, such as straightening.

If the average age of the population of the area is in the senior range, then a more 'mature' approach to styling will be required.

Equally, if the local demographics are dominated by young people with plenty of disposable income, then a more fashion conscious approach is necessary.

Your target market salon business plan needs to account for stylistic needs of your local customers. A city centre salon will have a significantly different approach to styling than a venue located in a prosperous rural village. Urban styles tend to differ somewhat from styles in rural areas.

All this must be assessed before you move onto the next stage of your salon business plan, which is the important step of setting prices.

Price Range For Your Salon

There are three different types of classification of price models which you should target your salon for:

• Premium
• Low cost
• Value

The prices you charge are central to the whole service you provide as a business. Prices need to be set according to the region, gender and preferred styles of your customers.

Prices always need to be set at an appropriate level so that your customers can afford them, while also balancing up your budgetary requirements, and your profit margins.

The price is usually one of the first things that a potential customer wasn't to know about. Lower income areas will require lower prices, otherwise customers will simply shun your salon.

Equally, in more prosperous areas, potential customers need to feel that they are receiving something which is good value for the money that they are spending.

How you set your prices will depend on how accurately you have gauged your target market. It will also be a central factor in how potential customers view your salon and whether or not they will give it a try.

Lastly,

It will also determine whether or not customers become regulars or not. It can be hard to shift a perception amongst customers once it has been set.

It can also be very difficult to retain customers if you put prices up too quickly in the wake of realizing that they were too low when you started.

How Did You Define Your Salons' Target Market?

Identifying your salon target market is a crucial step towards running a successful business.

Carrying out some hair salon market segmentation will allow you to refine your marketing strategies, and streamline your business plan to ensure that your salon is successful.

What Target Market for Hair Salon Examples Do You Have?

Hair salon market segmentation marketing strategy for hair salon Psychographic Behavioristic Reason/occasion for purchase? Number of times they’ll purchase? Timetable of purchase, every week, month, quarter, etc.? Amount of product/service purchased? How long to make a decision to purchase? Where customer purchases and/or uses product/service? Price – premium, low cost, value Product – premium, mid-range, basic Promotion – high-end, friendly and approachable, professional/conservative Distribution – extensive, selective, exclusive.

And if you love these ideas or have some other ideas that you've used in the past to promote your salon business, why not share it with the Zolmi community in the comment section below. We would also be delighted to answer your questions, as well.

Citations

Distance factors and target market selection: the moderating effect of market potential
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02651330911001332/full/html

A program for implementing market segmentation
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/08858629710157931/full/html

A framework for marketing management
https://toc.library.ethz.ch/objects/pdf03/e01_978-1-292-09314-7_01.pdf