Salon Marketing for the Mens Hair and Grooming Market | Beauty Industry Trends

Earlier this week I wrote a post published on the Kabbage.com blog about three beauty industry trends that are hot right now along with specific salon marketing ideas and takeaways. The first of these trends is – in fact – big news not only because of the opportunities salons have to capitalize on the still-growing men’s grooming market but because this beauty industry trend actually made history.

Google think-tank writers on thinkwithgoogle.com first brought this story to the public, nothing that ““The market for men’s hair care is rapidly expanding. In fact, 2015 is the first year that there has been more interest in men’s hair than women’s hair on Google (by around 6%).”  The two top trending online searches related to men’s hair care include man buns and comb-overs; although the article is quick to point out that the comb-over style popular with men is much more circa 1950’s and 60’s (think Don Draper) vs. the bad rap that people like Donald Trump have given the term.

According to the article, the popularity of the man bun traces back to male celebrities who first sported the look (Jared Leto, Leonardo DiCaprio and Harry Styles) with the beauty industry trend emerging toward the end of last year. This trend is so popular that it even has it’s own hashtag and day of the week: #manbunmonday.

First emerging in California, searches for images and instructions for recreating men’s comb-overs is a beauty industry trend that has been coming on for a few years. Though the article doesn’t mention how well trendy men’s facial hair grooming styles work with modern comb-overs, it’s definitely something that hair dressers and salon owners should take note of.

3 Salon Marketing Ideas for Mens Hair Beauty Industry Trends

Remember that Men and Women’s Salon Preferences are Still Different

More and more men might be coming to the table in both embracing their inner style and fashion geeks and letting the outside world see that they care than ever before; but men and women are still different when it comes to their salon preferences. It might take time to get men who are accustomed to walking into the barbershop or salon to commit to a series of pre-booked appointments instead.

The first step in moving male salon clients from walk in to pre-booking could be to simply tell them how often they need to come back to maintain the look and keep it clean. Instead of asking if they want to pre-book, tell them that they should come back in 3 weeks and offer to give them the same time slot and send them a reminder text 3 days before.

Make Your Salon More Male-Friendly

Male clients may very well respond positively if you give them a different client experience than the one you provide for female clients. If your salon has traditionally catered more to women but you want to attract more male clients, take some time to research male-oriented salons, barbershops, gentlemen’s clubs and other traditionally men’s environs in-person and online. Think about whether you can re-imagine an area within your salon and give it a personality that would make your male clients feel more comfortable and catered to.

Leave Time for Hands-On Client Education

There’s a big difference between watching a skilled hair dresser with years of education and experience emulsify a small amount of a mystery hair styling product between her hands and quickly whip her male client’s hair into a man bun or comb-over and for that same male client to stand in front of the mirror the next morning trying to do the same thing. Make sure that male client appointment times are long enough that you can teach them, provide a step by step with commentary or even give them the opportunity to style their own man bun or comb-over while you watch and advise. Let them get the experience of working with the styling product, working it through their hair and creating the style themselves so that they’ll be more confident in keeping this look (and keep coming to you for maintenance and updates) for a long, long while.

 

You might also like: 6 Ways Salons Can Get the Attention of Holiday Shoppers

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