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In this article:\nDecide what products to sell\nWill you warehouse your own products or dropship?\nCome up with a memorable business name\nSteps to set up your online store\nYou’ve decided that you want to start selling products online. That’s a great step towards starting or growing your own small business.  \nBut maybe you’re not quite sure what you need to do to get started. In this article, we’ll guide you through the things you need to be prepared for to start an eCommerce store for your small business. \nWhat will you be selling?\nFirst, you need to know what you’ll be selling. If you’re looking to start an online-only store, you should already have products in mind that you want to sell. \nOr maybe you already have an established business and just want to reach more customers by opening an online store as an extension of your brick-and-mortar shop. \nEither way, you’ll need to figure out the answers to these questions to have a successful online store. \nWhat is your niche?\nYou need to determine where your product fits into a consumer’s world. Is it a necessity, convenience, something they want? What is the general category of your product? Is the market already saturated by popular brands?\nSelling a product online in a niche that already has a heavy amount of brand loyalty, for example, headphones (Sony, Beats, Skullcandy), will be very difficult because people won’t be searching for a new place to shop from. They’ll go to the brands they like and are familiar with. \nBut in a niche where there isn’t a lot of brand recognition, like sweaters or water bottles, there’s a lot more opportunity for people to consider new brands and stores to purchase from. \nWhat costs will be associated?\nDetermine the costs that will be associated with manufacturing, packaging, and shipping your products. This will help you to figure out a cost that will be profitable for you. \nWho are you targeting?\nYou need to know your target audience. You need to understand how they think, what they like, their spending habits. This will help you to choose a price and design your product in a way that is appealing to them. Be as specific as you can.\nDecide to dropship or stock your own inventory\nNow you know what you are selling, but are you going to warehouse your inventory yourself, or are you going to dropship your products?\n\nLet’s go over both of these options. \nDropshipping\nDropshipping is the process of sending an order to a manufacturer or wholesaler who then ships the product directly to your customer. You don’t actually store the product yourself, but purchase it from a third party and they ship it to your customers. \nThis is a great option for online stores, particularly if you don’t have a large space to keep your inventory. Anyone can use dropshipping methods to get their eCommerce store up and running. \nThis sounds pretty enticing. But there are cons associated with this method as well. \nWhen a customer wants to make a return because the product wasn’t right for them or there was a mistake with their order, that falls back on you to figure it out. It’s your business, and your product, so you need to work with the manufacturer to determine the processes to fix the problem. \nThis can take a lot of time when you’re working through a third party and it can cost a lot of money to return the product, especially if the manufacturer you’re using is overseas. \nComing up with a good return policy can help offset any of the negative impacts that this might have on your business. \nThis is particularly true today, with so many huge eCommerce brands and companies offering free, no-questions-asked returns and exchanges. It’s difficult for smaller companies to provide the same level of service due to lower volume and higher relative costs.\nStocking your own products\nWarehousing your own products and shipping them yourself seems to have three obvious disadvantages:\nPurchasing inventory costs money in advance\nStoring that inventory costs money (and takes space)\nPacking and shipping products costs time and money\nWith dropshipping, all of that can be outsourced and save you a lot of time… but it can be prohibitively expensive.\nThere are some major benefits to stocking your own products: \nReturns are easier and faster because you handle these directly with your customer rather than through a third party\nYou can add more custom branding to your packaging (brand awareness is huge!)\nDelivery times are generally shorter\nYou know your products better than any third party\nBetter profit margins are possible when you purchase products in bulk and store them yourself\nThere are pros and cons to both of these solutions. You need to decide which works best for your business model and what will help you scale your business. \nCome up with a business name and domain name\nYour online store will need a business name (which you may already own) and a domain name for your website. \nYour domain name is the URL that customers will use to access your online store, and it can have some impact on how well customers can find your store when doing a search online. \nIf you already have a business name for a brick-and-mortar store, that’s great. Try to find a domain that fits well with your brand. \nIf not, follow these tips for choosing a business name for your online store:\nFollow any state guidelines for business names\nDon’t pick something that is too similar to a competitor\nChoose something that is intuitive to spell and pronounce\nChoose a name that is actually available as a .com domain name (duh)\nChoose something unique\nBe consistent with your branding/products\nDon’t limit yourself unnecessarily with your business name (maybe you want to expand your product offerings in the future, so don’t choose a name that limits that)\nOnce you have your business name, you need to choose a domain name for your online store. If your business name is available as a domain, then that is generally the best option from a branding perspective. But there are some other things to consider when choosing a domain name:\nChoose a “.com” domain preferably, if you are selling within the US or internationally\nAvoid brand names and product names that are owned by other companies (even if you sell those products)\nBe unique, but also make it easy to spell and pronounce\nIncluding a keyword can help your website be more searchable online (but again, don’t limit yourself by adding a specific keyword if you plan to expand your offerings later on)\nFind your eCommerce website builder\nOnce you have your products and your business and domain names figured out, it’s time to find the right website builder for your online store. \nThere are several eCommerce solutions that you can choose from, so do your research to find the one that will work best for your business. \nwoman using tablet showing ecommerce fashion store\n\nWe’ve listed a couple of our favorites for you to get started. \nEcwid\nFrom a cost and usability perspective, Ecwid is one of the best online store builders you can find. \nEcwid is an awesome resource for selling products online across multiple platforms—your website, social media, Amazon, Google Ads, POS, mobile apps, you name it. \nAnd, if you have 10 products or less, you can use their free plan (however we recommend their Venture or Business plan for more features). \nAll you have to do is create an account and get started. There are no fees to start and no transaction fees (although Ecwid does partner with outside payments processors who will charge a nominal transaction fee for card payments).\nFor all Ecwid plans, you can add your products to your current website or get a free instant site.  \nEcwid plans:\nThe Free plan includes 10 products that can be added to an online store.\nThe Venture plan is $15/month for up to 100 products. It allows you to add products to a Facebook shop, Instagram store, and mobile POS. You can also add discount coupons, get automated tax calculations, inventory management, and advanced SEO tools. \nThe Business plan is $35/month and allows up to 2500 products. This plan comes with product filters and variations for customers to easily search through your store to find exactly what they need. \nThe Unlimited plan is $99/month and lets you have an unlimited amount of products and has a Square POS integration. \nShopify\nShopify has a drag-and-drop store builder that makes putting your online store together easy and fun. \nYou can choose from several free themes, customize your colors and fonts, and everything is designed to be friendly for mobile devices, too. \nPlans for Shopify:\nBasic Shopify starts at $29/month and allows unlimited products, discount codes, and 24/7 support. (Recommended for new startups without a brick-and-mortar location)\nShopify starts at $79/month and includes everything from the basic plan, plus gift cards and professional reports. \nAdvanced Shopify is $299/month and includes advanced reports, third-party calculated shipping rates, and up to 8 store locations. \nMany other platforms for setting up an eCommerce store are out there, so read up on your options and find the one that will work best for you. \nPick your eCommerce template and customize it\nDepending on the eCommerce solution that you choose, you will likely have a template to choose from, or at the very least some customizations you can make to it. \nThe design of your online store is important. It helps set the tone for your store and helps to establish your brand. So make sure to customize the messaging, colors, images, and fonts to the full capabilities you are allowed with your platform. \nAdd your products\nOnce you’ve customized your online store, it’s time to add your products. For every product, you’re going to want to include the following items:\nName\nPrice\nCategory\nWeight (if applicable to determine shipping costs)\nFiles (if selling digital products)\nDescriptions (avoid jargon, complex sentences, cliches) \nProduct images (high-quality images are a must here. Get a professional photographer if you need to)\nSet up payment methods\nAfter you’ve added your products, you need to set up your payment methods. Determine what options you will have connected with your online store and how your customers will be able to pay for their orders. \nIt will be good to research different payment processors and methods for accepting payments prior to setting up your online store. Here are some questions to ask when conducting your search:\nWhat are the fees? Are there any additional transactional fees or percentages kept from orders?\nIs it a highly recognized source that customers will trust?\nA few popular payment options to look into that are easily integrated into most eCommerce solutions:\nPaypal\nStripe\nSquare\nApple Pay\nWhat about security?\nOnline store builders generally come with built-in SSL certificates, meaning your customers’ information will be encrypted to ensure their online shopping experience is secure. \nFigure out shipping policies\nNow that you have your products and payment methods figured out, you need to make sure that you can ship your products to your customers in a cost-effective and customer-friendly way. \nHere are some questions to consider as you set up your shipping rates:\nWill you offer free shipping?\nWhere are you shipping to and from? \nAre there specific places you won’t ship to? \nWill you ship outside of the United States?\nWhat are the costs to ship outside of the US or continental US?\nConsider the following shipping options and determine will work best for your business. \nFree shipping\nIf you choose to offer free shipping, it’s a good idea to increase the price of your products to include the costs that you will incur for shipping. Free shipping is an enticing selling point to the customer. You just want to make sure that it’s still a profitable option for you, too. \nFlat rate shipping\nFlate rate shipping is the same price for every product or order. No matter how many things the customer orders, their shipping is only a flat fee of your choosing. \nThis is also an enticing selling point for customers if they will be making large, bulky, or heavy orders. Be sure you can cover the costs and still make a profit.\nReal-time quotes\nReal-time quotes calculate the shipping fees in real-time based on the size, weight, and destination of the product. This is a great method for transparency for your customers and helps you to cover the costs better if you offer products of varying sizes and/or ship to locations with varying costs.\nLocal pickup\nIf you have a brick-and-mortar store, you can add an option for your customers to come pick up their online orders at your location. Additional options like this can be a good selling point, especially for local customers. \nRate by order\nRate-by-order shipping is a great option to reward your customers for spending more at your store. For example, you might offer free shipping on orders over $50 (or whatever threshold you decide will still be profitable). \nShipping services\nYou’ll need to pick a reliable courier to deliver your products to your customers. Some popular options include USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Most online store builders also have partnerships with specific couriers to give you better shipping rates and discounts. \nfedex truck on the road for shipping ecommerce\n\nTroubleshoot your store, and publish it when you’re ready\nNow that you have all of the above figured out, you should thoroughly test your store. Look through all of your products and make sure they are set up how you want them. Ensure that there’s a good flow from browsing to checkout. Test ship some orders to yourself or friends.\nUse this list to help you test everything before publishing your online store:\nDoes everything actually work? Go through the entire checkout process a few times\nAre the prices displaying and calculating correctly in the cart?\nTest your payment processor\nIs your content all there and correct? No typos? Have someone proofread your site\nDoes it work on mobile?\nTest across multiple browsers\nDouble-check your settings (language, currency, time zone, store name, contact, order settings, product settings)\nWhen you’re confident that your store functions properly and you are satisfied with the look and feel of it all, then publish it! \nThe last step is to start marketing your store and getting it in front of more customers online and in person. \nSome handy small business marketing resources for you:\n\nThe small business marketing success guide\n\nWhy Instagram Stories are the most underrated small business marketing tool\n\nTop 10 best practices for small business email marketing\n\n\nWhy small business email marketing should be your top priority\n\nBuild your online presence and work for more online reviews\nOnline reviews are a great way to help improve your eCommerce store’s reputation, \nimprove local SEO\n, and gain new customers. Make sure you stay on top of your online reputation.

How to set up an eCommerce store for your small business

In this article:\nClaim your Google My Business listing\nRespond to reviews\nWays to encourage more online reviews\nDon’t incentivize reviews\nTry reputation management software\nOnline reviews are crucial in today’s digital world. They are a huge conversion factor for new customers because they help to set you apart from your competition. Even bad reviews can help you convert more customers to your salon—depending on how you handle them. \nGetting new reviews doesn’t always come easy though. Even though some bad reviews can be good, you don’t want those to be all you get, and happy customers just don’t think to leave reviews as often. So, what can a salon owner do to get a good review?\nLet’s take a look. \nClaim your Google My Business listing\nYou can’t get Google reviews without a Google business listing. It’s also going to be difficult to get new customers without a Google business listing, so this should be an important first step in any business’s digital marketing strategy.\nIf you’re not sure where to get started, check out \nhow to claim your Google business listing\n.\nOnce you have a Google My Business listing for your hair or nail salon and have full access to it, you can then receive and respond to customer reviews. \nRespond to reviews\nAnother important step into getting more reviews and converting new customers is responding to your reviews. This is especially crucial for a business that helps its customers to look and feel better about themselves, whether that’s a barbershop, nail salon, or all-in-one beauty salon. You don’t need bad reviews going without responses. You should always respond to a review within a day or two of receiving it, so make sure your notifications are turned on. \nWhen you get a good review, leave a personalized thank you message for the customer that left it. This will help them feel appreciated and more likely to come back as well as show future customers how friendly and responsive you are. \nWhen you do get a negative review or two (and you will), it’s just as important—if not more so—to respond to them. Let’s say a customer leaves a review about a hairstylist royally messing up their new look. This is your chance to respond and invite them to come back to get it fixed on the house or try to smooth the problem over another way. \nLeaving a professional and friendly response on a negative review helps you look good and shows that you’re willing to resolve issues if they come up. \nEncourage customers to leave reviews\nOkay, here’s the step that shows you how to actively acquire new reviews for your hair or nail salon. Now that you have your listing set up and you’re in the habit of responding to your reviews, it’s time to ask for more. Here are a few ways that we’ve found impactful. \nAsk for reviews\nNot always the most effective, but asking for reviews is still a good way to get reviews on Google. Invite your customers to leave you a review on Google when they are grinning from ear to ear and in love with their new look. This plants a seed in their mind and the next time they’re on Google, they might just take you up on that ask. \nNever ask for a “good” or “positive” review, though. Just let customers know you value their feedback.\nStrategically place “Rate us on Google” signs in your salon\nAdd a visual reminder that your salon is on Google and that you’d love for your customers to leave reviews and engage with you online. A sign on the way out the door or on the mirrors at each booth are a good place for these. \nSend links to customers\nMany salons interact with their customers via text or some other messaging platform. Take advantage of that relationship and use it to ask your customers to leave a review for your salon. This invite should come from their stylist or nail tech and should be appropriately timed. \nSimilar to asking for reviews in person, you want to time the invitation at the opportune moment for your customer, like shortly after they leave their most recent appointment.\nYou can include a short link that directs the customer directly to your Google reviews. Many reputation management solutions offer review invitation features that are well worth considering, too. \nShould I offer rewards or buy positive reviews?\nNever buy reviews or offer incentives for customer reviews. For example, offering to put a customer into a raffle or giving them a gift card for leaving you a good review on Google is a bad business practice. \nThe reason for this, other than it being against Google policies, is that it discredits all of your positive reviews, even if they weren’t all bribed. If people learn that you “paid” customers for reviews, then how can they trust that those are real experiences?\nAlso, if Google does get wind that you’re using these “black hat” practices to get your reviews, they can penalize you by deleting your reviews or removing your salon from its search engine entirely. \nThe best way to get reviews is to provide excellent customer service and to encourage your customers to leave reviews in the ways that we mentioned earlier. 

How to get more Google reviews for your hair or nail salon

In this article:\nStart brainstorming\nSolve a problem\nDon’t look for a completely unique business idea\nStart doing something\nTalk to professionals\nDo market research\nDetermine the costs\nDetermine the time commitment\nTalk to your personal network\nStarting a business is a big decision and a great step toward independence in your career. Before you can start a business though, you need to have a solid idea to get off the ground. \nComing up with a business idea and deciding the type of business you want to run is the most important part of starting a business. We’ll walk you through some important steps in determining what kind of business you should start. \nStart brainstorming about small business ideas\nWhen you start your own business, you should make sure it’s something that you’re passionate about and enjoy. This will help you find the motivation to keep it going when times get tough. \nSo, to find your passion, start brainstorming. \nGet a sheet of paper or jump onto a Google doc and make a list about yourself. List the things that you really enjoy doing and things that you’re good at. These can be things like “I’m really good with kids,” “I enjoy talking to people,” “I’m organized,” “I’m great at strategic planning,” etc. \nOn another page, make a list of things that you really don’t prefer to do or aren’t particularly good at. Maybe you’re great at talking to people one-on-one but you don’t like talking to large groups or making big presentations. Write those things down. \nLet the creative juices start flowing and keep writing until you have an expansive list of things about you that can help you to determine the perfect type of business for you to run. \nman brainstorming for small business startup ideas\n\nYour idea for small business should solve a problem\nUltimately, your business idea should solve a problem for someone—and it doesn’t have to be a problem that no one’s ever solved before. \nIf you’re good at landscaping and lawn care, look at what it takes to start a lawn-care business. It’s been done before, but it’s perfectly fine to enter into a market that has some competition. \nThink about a common problem that people have and will have for many years to come. Then, come up with an idea that solves that problem, whether it’s a new way of fixing an old problem or the same way that other businesses are already solving the problem (just better). \nDon’t look for a completely unique small business idea\nThis may seem like an odd suggestion, but most ideas that you come up with aren’t going to be totally unique. You might think of some grand idea only to go look it up on Google and someone is already doing it. That’s OK!\nBusiness ideas that are already in use are proven to be successful, and competition is a necessary aspect of the free market. If you think you can excel with a business idea that someone else has already started, then give it a try and look for ways that you can make it better. \nOn the other side of this coin, if you start a business that is \ntoo\n unique, consumers probably won’t know that it’s even a service or product that they need and won’t think to look for it. \nIn this online world, coming up with a business that people already need and are searching for is going to help you immensely. \nWe aren’t trying to discourage you from being unique, we just want to bring up these points for your awareness in your search for the perfect business idea. \nA unique business idea can succeed if you’ve done the research on the need/desire for it and know how to market it well. For example, an existing \nsmall business idea can work in a small town.\n The people in that town would probably appreciate a regular laundromat if they don’t already have one!\nStart doing something\nDon’t just wait around for an idea to fall into your lap. Start doing something. Maybe you don’t have your business idea totally figured out, but you know what you’re good at doing, so do it.\nStart freelancing and taking on side jobs that relate to specific skills that you enjoy using. Use those side gigs to determine if you’d be interested in starting something like that full-time. \nYou might find that you don’t enjoy doing those things as much as you thought you did, or you may decide that you’ve hit on a great idea and have a great place to start from. \nTalk to small business professionals\nWe cannot stress this one enough. Talk to a lot of professionals who have started their own businesses or who help run businesses in the industry that you’re interested in. \nYou don’t have to do this all on your own, nor should you. Plenty of people have started successful businesses before you, so take advantage of their experience and ask questions to help guide you in the right direction. \nUpon talking to people in your desired field, you may decide that this is the perfect route for you, or you might find out that it’s not at all what you thought it would be. \nYour local chamber of commerce or SBA association can be a big help in networking with local businesses and getting you talking with the right people.\nDo market research\nAs you start to really narrow down the ideas for your new business, do a lot of market research. You need to determine if your business idea is even a viable solution for the demographics you would serve in your specific location. \nHere are some questions to look into during this process:\nWho would benefit from this business idea? \nIs there enough demand in your target location to provide profits?\nHow would your business solve your target customer’s problem?\nWhat would motivate consumers to choose you over competitors?\nWho would your competitors be?\nHow does your audience view your competitors?\nWhat are your competitors doing to get customers?\nHow would people purchase from you (online, in-store, through affiliates)?\nHow would you reach your target audience (marketing strategies)?\nDetermine the costs of starting a small business\nIf there seems to be a good demand for your business idea and it makes sense from a market research perspective, then it’s time to determine if it makes sense for you personally from a financial perspective. \nWhat will the costs be for you to start up this business? Will you be financing everything yourself, or will you be seeking out investors or loans?\nDepending on the type of business you are starting, there could be a decent amount of capital that you need to get off the ground. So make sure you know what your costs will be before diving all in. \nDetermine the time commitment of your small business idea\nAlong with costs, starting a business also requires a huge time commitment. Maybe you’re starting small as a side gig, so it only takes a small amount of your time at first. But as you get more clients, that could change quickly. \nDetermine what kind of time will be necessary for the business idea you’ve come up with and plan accordingly. \nIf you don’t have the time to devote to getting this business idea into action, then it might not be the idea for you, or it may not be the right time to start a new business. \nRun your small business idea by your network\nWhen you have thought through your new business idea or even before this point, you should run your idea by your personal network of people that you trust. Talk to friends, family members, mentors, and get their thoughts on your idea. \nSometimes when we get a new idea, we get so emotionally invested in it that we haven’t thought through all of the risks that could come with it. \nTalking to people you trust and letting them give their feedback can help bring up points that you didn’t think about. 

How to decide what kind of small business you should start

In this article:\nFree local advertising ideas for your salon\nClaim your online listings\nCustomer reviews\nSocial media\nWebinars and videos\nShare your knowledge\nAnd much more!\nEvery business needs advertising in order to gain new customers and increase profits. But it isn’t always an easy or inexpensive task to take on. \nWe know how important marketing and advertising is, and we want to help you get started. So, we’ve come up with a list of several free and effective ways that you can advertise your hair or nail salon.\n1. Create and claim your online directory profiles\nTo improve your online visibility and take advantage of the power of online reviews, you first need to create and claim your online directory profiles on Google, Bing, Yelp, and so many others.\nAdding your salon to these directories not only helps you get found by customers who are searching those directories, but it also helps the search engines to verify that your information is accurate across multiple trusted sources.  \nCheck out these tutorials to get started:\nHow to claim your Google My Business listing\nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\nHow to create and claim your free business listing on Yahoo\nHow to create and claim your Bing business listing\nHow to get your business listed with the BBB\nHow to add your business to Citysearch and claim your listing\nHow to create and claim your free business listing on Manta\n2. Get and respond to customer reviews online\nWhen you have your online profiles set up, you can start getting customer reviews on those profiles.\nCustomer reviews are crucial for gaining even more customers for your salon. And the quality of your reviews can really make or break your business. \nHere are a few ways you can encourage your customers to give your salon an online review:\nAsk them for one. After you provide a great service and your client is just thrilled with their new look, ask them if they’d be willing to share their experience with others in a Google or Facebook review. \nPut up “Rate us on Google” signs throughout your salon. These can be on the front door, at the checkout desk, or even cute stickers on the mirrors. This will remind customers that you would love to hear from them. \nText your customers an invitation or reminder to leave your salon a review with a direct link to your Google listing or Facebook page. \nWhen you do start getting reviews, be sure to respond to all of them within a day or two of receiving them. Say “thanks” to those who leave good reviews, and if you ever do receive a bad review, respond politely and professionally.  \nGo deeper: \nHow to respond to negative reviews\n\n3. Set up a free website for your salon\nBeyond your free directory listings, you should absolutely have a website for your salon. And you can totally create one for free!\nSome free sites that we like to use include the following:\nWix\nSquarespace\nGoogle My Business\nKeep in mind that if you do want to have your own domain for your website or will have a web hosting service, you might incur some small fees. But you definitely need a website. Read \nwhy every small business needs to have a website\n.\n4. Improve your local SEO\nSetting up a website and adding your salon to online directories are both key steps to improving your SEO (search engine optimization). This is how you show up higher in the search engines. \nThere are several other free ways that you can improve your SEO:\nWrite awesome content on your website about your staff and services\nStart a blog\nOptimize your website for specific key phrases\nGet other websites to link back to yours\nOnce you’ve done those, check out our guide: \n15 free tips for better local SEO\n \n5. Create a blog on your website\n\nStarting a blog\n is a great way to provide more content that you can use to advertise your salon, and, as we mentioned, it can help improve your SEO too. Adding fresh, new content to your website on a regular basis sends great signals to the search engines. \nHere are a few ideas that you should definitely steal for your blog:\nHow-to articles and videos\nNew trending styles\nHair/nail care tips\nBest new products to try\nNew products you are selling\nAsk your employees if they’d be willing to contribute one or two blog posts every few months and you’ll have plenty of regular content to share. \n6. Get on social media\nWe cannot stress the importance of social media enough. Hair and nail salons can really capitalize on so many opportunities from these free channels. \nMany people are reaching out to salons directly on their social media channels, particularly Facebook and Instagram. \nFor such a visual profession, social media is the perfect place to show off your work and gain new customers who are looking to mix up their style. \nHere are a few tutorials to create your social pages:\nFacebook\nInstagram\nLinkedIn\nTwitter\n7. Partner with local businesses\nPartnering with other businesses in your community can be a powerful strategy for obtaining referrals and new business. You could partner with local bridal boutiques, wedding planners, or even florist shops to offer combined deals on your complimentary services. \n8. Try some email campaigns\nGive email campaigns a try and see how they work with your clientele. Be sure to write a really compelling subject line and keep your email short and to the point. \nThe most successful email campaigns usually offer some kind of promotion or deal for your customers to get it on. \n9. Get in contact with your chamber of commerce\nYour local chamber of commerce is a great resource to take advantage of. They want to help small businesses in their community succeed, so typically they will offer marketing resources and add your salon to their website to help get the word out. \n10. Participate in community events\nVolunteering in your community is the perfect way to get connected with new customers and spread awareness of your salon. People like to see local businesses getting involved and giving back to the community they live in. \nHere are a few ways you can do that:\nVolunteer at a 5k\nParticipate in holiday parades and events\nHelp with city cleanup projects\nProvide free haircuts to veterans\nThere are so many ways you can get involved. Just find the right opportunities for your salon and go for it!\n11. Host webinars and Q&A sessions online\nWebinars and online Q&A’s can help you provide value to customers and non-customers alike. Start a Facebook Live video to share tips about hair care, answer common questions that customers have, or show viewers how to do a certain technique that everyone should be able to do. \nThings like these videos and blog posts that offer some value to others are great ways to show that you know your stuff and that you are passionate about what you do. \n12. Offer fun deals\nEveryone loves a deal. Tap into this reality and get attention. \nOffer cool and fun deals. You could do back-to-school specials, bridal deals, or any number of discounts that work for your client-base. Get creative and start a new promotion to catch people’s attention and get new customers. \n13. Start a referral program for your salon\nLet your current customers advertise for you by creating a referral or customer loyalty program. Offer a discounted service for a current customer if they refer a new client to you, and offer that new client the same deal. \nLearn more with this article: \nThe 6 elements of an effective customer loyalty program\n14. Create short promotional videos \nPeople are visual. That’s why we spend so much time scrolling through social media apps. We like pretty pictures and cool videos. Take advantage of that by creating some promotional videos for your salon that show off your work. \n\nBiteable\n is a popular (and free) video software that we like to use. \n15. Start a YouTube channel for your salon\nCreate a YouTube channel for your salon where you can share all of the cool new videos that you just produced. Tutorials, promotional pieces, webinars–all of those are great for sharing on your YouTube channel. \nLots of people love to look up hair and nail tutorials, so you may even produce a video that goes viral and gives your salon a lot more attention. \n16. Share your salon’s testimonials online\nWhen you get new reviews online, share them. You can share reviews across social media channels or put a review feed on your website. \nYou could also create videos of customers sharing their testimonial of your salon. These appeal to that visual side and help add a more personal touch to your salon by allowing customers to see someone sharing their experience, rather than just reading about it. \n17. Put up flyers\nFlyers still have their place in the advertising world. Create your own flyers to advertise your new promotions or openings at your salon. Place these in high traffic areas like grocery stores, college campuses, and even your own shop. \nCanva\n is a great free resource to use for creating professional flyers. 

17 free local advertising ideas for your hair or nail salon

In this article:\n6 ways to get an unresponsive client to communicate\nWhat if your client has an unpaid invoice?\nIn the world of working with clients, especially widely over email, there are always times when a client will go radio silent and you can’t get a response out of them. Maybe they’re just super busy, maybe they’re avoiding you. Without talking to them, you can’t know what their situation is. \nWe want to provide some tips to help you reach those clients and keep their project flowing and productive. \nEstablish your mode of communication from the beginning\nBefore you ever start a project with a client, or right at the start, ask your client how they want to correspond on the project, payments, etc. Maybe they are traditionally very hard to reach over email and prefer phone calls or text messages. \nAsk your client what they prefer and notate that in their file so that any member of your team who works on their project knows how to reach them. \nPlace a clear CTA in your messages\nIn any message that you want or need an answer from your client, make sure that it is clear what you are asking for (or that you are even asking a question). \n“Can you please approve this article so we can move forward?” is much clearer than “Whenever you approve this we can continue”. \nReread your message or ask a team member to read your message to make sure that the call-to-action is obvious. \nOnly ask one question\nSometimes we get in the mindset of “I have to get everything listed in this one email” and it shows. When a client receives an overwhelmingly long message because we thought it would be more efficient than sending multiple emails, they may only respond to the first question, or not at all!\nIf you want all of your questions answered, it’s often better to just send one question in each email, unless there’s a question that’s very directly related to the answer of the first. \nIt is okay to send multiple emails. We would recommend starting a new chain for each new question with its own subject line. Sending multiple questions in the same email chain before the client has had a chance to respond causes the same issue as sending one long email. \nFollow up with your clients\nDon’t just send an email once and assume your client hates you when you don’t get a response. Follow up with them if you haven’t heard back in a reasonable amount of time (this time may depend on the deadline of the project or which client you’re working with). \nIt often takes a couple of tries to get a client to respond. \n\nDon’t feel like you can only follow up via email. If you’ve sent a few emails and haven’t heard back, try giving your client a call. They may have been busy and your emails got buried in their inbox. \nSchedule a meeting\nSometimes it is difficult to get a client to respond to you until you get them in a room to talk about their project. If you’ve attempted getting a response multiple times and all you have is crickets chirping on the other end, try scheduling a meeting with your client. \nOn the next message you send, don’t even ask them your question, just say that you’d like to schedule a meeting to discuss/review the project. Sometimes it can be helpful to provide a specific time and date so they can say whether or not that works for them. \nIf you find that works, then consider scheduling meetings or phone calls with that particular client when you need some questions answered. \nKnow when it’s time to let them go\nAfter you’ve sent several messages over the course of a few months or longer with no hint of a response, it may just be time to let the client go. It’s possible they went with someone else for the project or it just became a low priority for them and they’ll come back when they’re ready to move forward. \nDecide with your team what that timing looks like and when it’s okay to stop reaching out to a client. Send one last message that indicates “This is the last message we’ll send.” Maybe the urgency will get them to respond, maybe not. \nWhat if my client hasn’t paid their bill?\nIf you’ve tried all of these avenues for getting a client to respond and pay their invoice with you and multiple messages and phone calls over at least 30 days, there may be nothing YOU can do. You might need to get a debt collection agency involved. \nYou might like this: \n6 common small business cash flow problems and how to solve them\n 

How to get a client to respond to you: 6 proven ways

In this article:\nWhat is SEO for small businesses?\nHow to optimize local SEO for your small business\n4 free ways to show up better in local searches\nHow reputation management software can improve SEO\nSEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a buzzword that every business student learns to parrot and consultants toss around like they know how it works. But what is SEO and how do you optimize it for your local business? Does SEO even matter for super-small shops? We’ll tell you below, and show you the free steps you can undertake to improve your ranking in local search.\nThe truth is, local SEO definitely matters. Some stats for you: nearly 9 out of 10 of people conduct \nonline\n searches for \nlocal\n businesses, 97% of people read online reviews for local businesses, and most of your potential local customers trust those reviews as much as a personal recommendation from family or friends. \nSo whether you run a roadside taco stand, a pet grooming truck clinic, a pressure washing business, a nail salon, or any other local business, you need to be paying close attention to online reviews and to how you show up in online searches.\nIn relevant terms for small business, the process of improving your rankings in these searches is effectively “SEO.”\nWhy local SEO is vital for small businesses\nOne reason local SEO is vital is that, according to a recent report from Google, \n“near me” searches\n have increased by 200%. A “near me” search takes place when a (usually) mobile phone user searches stores, restaurants, hairdressers, auto repair, ATMs, gas stations, dry cleaners, and whatever else “near me.” \nThese specific, “near me” searches, as well as more organic mobile searches, are exploding in popularity, which can mean a nice jump in business for you—if you know a few key ways to show up better in these local search results. (See our list below)\nWhy SEO for larger firms is big business\nFor larger businesses, SEO has become somewhat of a dark art because search engines like Google are very tight-lipped about what exactly determines search performance and rankings. The truth is nobody outside of Google (and likely very few people \ninside\n Google) really knows exactly how Google’s SEO algorithms work, particularly as they are constantly being updated and Google refuses to tell anyone the details.\nThere are “best practices” and commonly understood techniques to improve website SEO: Optimize and be consistent with indexing and key terms on all pages. Don’t try to “game” the system. Don’t repeat content. Don’t stuff pages with keywords or farm worthless links. Don’t attempt to be what you are not… or Google will ding you and you’ll actually show up WORSE than before.\nHowever, once those are done, the nuts and bolts of how to actually achieve further improvements are nebulous, which is why there are hundreds of “SEO companies” that will be happy to take your money in exchange for attempting to boost your enterprise webpage’s performance and/or your ranking in search results.\nFor small, local shops, paying for professional SEO services may not make sense\nOn the other hand, for small businesses without a strong, high-value e-commerce website with hundreds or thousands of indexed pages, “enterprise SEO” and its associated costs don’t make sense. \nThat being said, there are several easy-to-undertake things that small business owners can do to optimize and improve their business’ rankings in local search results, which is of course what really matters for small, local auto shops, hair salons, dentists, restaurants, dog groomers, etc. \nFour free tips to improve local SEO for your small business\n1. Claim all of your business pages\nBefore you can optimize your online presence, you need to OWN your online pages. Review sites like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor allow reviewers to post content about your business \neven if you haven’t created a page there\n, and will continue to collate future reviews on that page until you officially claim it.\nSo, even if you have no interest in building a website for your business, it’s vital that you claim your business listings on all the relevant review sites. (For example, restaurants should also claim their OpenTable pages.)\nHow to claim your Google My Business listing\nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n2. Complete all the optional fields and add quality photos to your business profile on review sites\nIn our article “\nThe top 5 things every small business should include in their Google My Business listing\n,” we go into greater detail, but the TL;DR version is: fill in as much information as possible—including all the optional content fields—and add some attractive photos to represent your business. All else being equal, the business with more information and relevant detail in its business profile will likely rank higher in a search than one with less.\n3. Read and respond to all reviews\nAccording to a recent article by Chatmeter.com, Google has confirmed that “responding to reviews improves your local SEO.” Just exactly what they mean by “confirmed” is open to some interpretation, but it does seem clear that Google acknowledges the importance of being actively involved with the online review process in boosting local search rankings.\nApart from that, it just makes good business sense to reply to your reviews. In addition to simply being polite (if someone says “thank you” or “can you help me with a problem?” to you in person, do you respond to them or ignore them?), responding to all reviews shows your current customers you value their opinions, and shows potential customers you are actively engaged in the business and that you take feedback seriously. This improves loyalty and attracts new customers.\nSmart business owners also see reviews as valuable insights into their customers’ experiences. Large businesses pay millions to learn what their customers think… but you can get those insights for free from online reviews. Your customers may point out legitimate issues in your products, services, or facilities, and you can learn from them and take steps to improve.\nThe best reason? As we discuss in our article on \nhow to respond to Google reviews\n, studies show what when businesses start replying to reviews, they increase both the total number of reviews received and their overall rating. And a better rating means more money in your pocket.\nAccording to a Cornell report, a one-star increase in your rating can increase your revenue by up to 39%.\n4. Work to get more reviews\nNotice we didn’t say “buy reviews,” “bribe people for good reviews,” or “write fake reviews.” These hacks could get you in hot water with the review sites or, even worse, the Federal Trade Commission.\nThe best way to get more reviews is to simply ask—but ask in the right way. Don’t ask for a “good” or “5 star” review. Don’t promise discounts or free products in exchange for a good review. Just find ways to get feedback from your customers and encourage them to share their experiences online.\nGo deeper: \nHow to get more reviews\n\nSources:\n
\nhttps://www.chatmeter.com/blog/google-confirms-responding-to-reviews-improves-your-local-seo/\n

144 articles found in “Marketing”

How to set up an eCommerce store for your small business

How to get more Google reviews for your hair or nail salon

How to decide what kind of small business you should start

17 free local advertising ideas for your hair or nail salon

How to get a client to respond to you: 6 proven ways

The simple (and free) method small businesses are using to climb local search rankings

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