Growing your established business is a little different than building a business from the ground up and grassroots marketing is great for both stages. Grassroots marketing costs less and focuses on a target audience that you can demonstrate your services to that become clients and also spread awareness of your business through word of mouth. I love the personal connection piece and relationship building side of grassroots marketing and that is why I use it in my business after 10 years of being in business.

Being in business now for 10 years I have had experience of doing both. I started my business in Providence Rhode Island in 2013 from the ground up after working in Boston and building a clientele there for 10 years.  Boston is about an hour drive and as we know, driving far distances is not a favorite thing to do in New England. So, this meant I would start my business from scratch. 

First, thing I can say is this is not easy but it’s not easy for any business. I would recommend having at minimum of a years’ worth of funds to sustain your business and your personal finances as you’re building. During this period, it’s important to keep a positive mind set. You’re in the building phase and it’s normal to have losses. If you need some more tips on mind set I wrote a blog on it as well.

Ok, so here are some grassroots marketing strategies to help build your clientele that worked for me.

1. Get word of mouth flowing by offering facials to local professionals

Introduce yourself to other professional in your area and let them know you just opened a spa in the area and make business small talk. Let them know you would love to give them a complimentary facial so they can get to know you and experience your new spa. It’s important to make sure you are focusing on the right people that have a similar target market. If your target market is upscale with high disposable income you could focus on offering a complimentary facial to hair stylists from upscale hair salons (that don’t offer spa services), workers in customer service at upscale retail stores, high end jewelry stores, restaurants, boutique gyms or yoga studios and even holistic health practitioners or dermatology offices. The point is to focus on people who are working with the public and will most likely talk about their amazing experience and spread the word and recommend you; and maybe even become a client themselves. Let them know you would love a review or shout out on google and social media as well if they enjoyed their treatment.

2. Invite local bloggers in for treatments

Research local bloggers in your area that serve a similar target and send them an email introducing yourself and ask if they’d be interested in coming in for a treatment in exchange for a blog about their experience. I’d also highly recommend including a social media post, story, and most importantly a Yelp review in the exchange. If your business is not yet on Yelp, I’d highly recommend it. Yelp is one of the biggest ways new clients find my business. You can also use these reviews to post on social media and your website. 

3. Hold events by partnering with other businesses with similar target markets

This can be pop up spa events at high end yoga studios, retail stores, hair salons, etc. that have an established clientele. The goal is to tap into the network of established businesses while providing value for their customers. Established businesses will have large email lists that they can use to promote the event and will draw a larger crowd than if you offered a solo event. At the event be sure to offer a short demo of your most popular treatment (maybe a 10 minute facial), a gift bag with a gift card to come to your spa and some free samples of your products. You will also want to capture their email so that you can market to them in the future. A good way to do this is through a raffle. Offer a raffle for a free facial, maybe an add on, and products. To enter, they will write down their name, address, phone number, and email. You can also use their address to then send a handwritten card to stay in touch and thank them for attending the event.

4. Partner with other businesses to build your social media

Research other established businesses in your area (that have a similar target market) that have a decent social media following and ask if they’d be interested in partnering for a contest. An example could be for Mother’s Day the contest could be a high end restaurant offers a complimentary $100 gift card and you offer a 60 minute Facial. To enter, participants must follow both businesses, tag three friends, and like the post. This will bring new clients into your spa and give you a chance to retain them and build your followers on social media to market to them in the future.

5. Build your email list

We already talked about how you want to capture emails through events. You also want to be sure to have a consultation form to fill out for any new guests to your spa that includes their email. You can also create a valuable free workbook, or download such as a guidebook to glowing skin on your website. To receive the workbook they must enter their email and the free guide will be emailed to them. If you are unsure how to do this, contact your website host and ask for instructions.

6. Build awareness of your new business

You can do this by hiring a Public Relations rep (they may be willing to barter a portion of the cost), or you can go it alone. I’d recommend starting with a PR rep because you will learn so much in the process about how to manage this on your own if you choose to. If you choose to do it alone from the start, some good ways to gain awareness of your new business is :

• Research events in your area and if you can’t participate by offering a pop up, ask if you can donate gift cards to include in there gift bags. 
• Research the names and contact info of editors of local magazines. Put together a pitch for a topic you think would be beneficial to their readers such as “Top 5 Ways to Care for Summer Skin” and send your pitch to the editor. Editorials are not ads, they are free for the business owner.
• Get involved in the community. If there are events within your community, try to go and be involved. Make small talk, network, talk about your new business, and have your business cards handy. You can also take pictures and post on social to show the different causes that may matter to others as well and that you care about being involved in your community.