We hear it all the time but what does it actually mean to attract your dream clientele and why is it important? I truly believe that hairdressing is an art form and sadly, it’s not really been treated as one until recently. How wonderful it is to finally see the industry change - no longer are we expected to do everything! I love this because even though we all went to hairdressing college or did an apprenticeship it does not mean that we are going to nail everything. Niching down and finding what kind of work drives you is honestly key. Hate packing in highlights? Me too queen, I’m a less is more kind of deal - But perhaps your nuts about all things blonde and find nothing more satisfying, how god damn cool, if there’s people like you out there then the clients I can’t serve, will have you. When we think about literally ALL other creative industries, you’ll see that there’s a niche. Whether you’re a musician, visual artist, writer, website designer, fashion designer, chef, graphic designer etc - you have a SPECIFIC aesthetic. So if you’re still doing everything behind the chair, I want to ask you - why? Niching down will absolutely make you happier, give you more balance and the ability to rise your prices. Here are my top 5 tips for reaching your target demographic.

1. Know your brand aesthetic inside out and be consistent with this throughout ALL of your messaging.

Do you have a brand kit? If not dolly, you need to nut this out NOW - head over here to take a look at ours, on us! You must have your colours, fonts, language and inspiration boards all planned out. The reason that this is important is because good and consistent branding will make you SKY ROCKET. Think about who you shop with - all of the best brands have an extremely clear aesthetic and tone, why should salons and hair stylists act any differently? If you can work this out, it’ll make your brand look and feel more EXPENSIVE and as it should, you are worth every single penny. Good branding creates a feeling for our customers, they become excited to shop with us because you’re giving them something they feel they need. Who does your client become after sitting in your chair? Create a brand so strong that people will be knocking down your doors to get in with you. Position yourself as the very best in your industry and show your customers that you’ve got something that they absolutely want and need. They should feel as though they become a better version of themselves once they shop with you.

2. Who are you speaking to?

You need to have a crystal clear vision of who your dream client is. Grab a piece of paper and jot down their age, sex, job description, where they hang out on weekends etc. Another great thing to do is write down other (non-competing) brands that they shop with. For example for me it might be; Oats The Label, local vintage stores, Cornerstone Stores (my fave cafe on the GC), Monday Swimwear, Sir The Label, Foile, Lucy Folk, A Little Company etc. Get an idea of what your dream clientele like - what they do on weekends, where they’re planning their next holiday to, are they married, do they have kids…etc. I know, it seems like a lot but TRUST me, if you can get clear on this, those people will find you. Like it’s some kinda woo woo magic.

3. Why do they need your services? What problems do you solve?

So we are in a service based industry, which means that we are there to… yep you guessed it, SERVE. What are the biggest problems that your target audience have when it comes to their beauty and hair regimen. I’ll use Paloma Roan as an example - We serve Brisbanes creative community of local go-getters and big dreamers. PR is a safe space for like-minded humans that were over going to hair salons that felt cold, too pretentious, upselly and like everything else. The reason PR has been such a success is because we’re ethical and sustainable while maintaining a strong focus on fashion/what’s cool. There’s never been a space for 70’s style bangs, shag cuts, modern (Los Angeles style) colour, groovy head painting and GOOD VIBES. You see, our brand is DIFFERENT and that’s what has grown us so quickly. We are a space that didn’t exist for our kinds of people before and when we’re solving their hair problems, we keep our mission/brand values at the core of everything we do. I’ll use one of my stylists as an example - Annie - Annie is a local cool kid with a fun shag hair cut, tattoos and she drives a cool car. She serves people that are similar to her and who like the same things that she does. Her days mostly consist of shag cuts, 80’s curls, coppers, mullets and mod pixie cuts. She rarely does anything else outside of this. Her clients pain points are obviously finding someone who specialises in just that - who is a master at this kind of vibe. Some problems Annie would solve daily are..

Taking care of curly hair and home styling
DIY fringe cuts/how to fix or how to nail it yourself
Maintaining tones for coppers and fashion colours
Styling shag cuts
Dealing with pesky hairlines/fringes

Try to make a list of some of your client concerns with your NICHE in mind.

4. Once you know the pain points - OFFER VALUE

As business owners and artists, we are bloody blessed to have social media in that it’s an easy way to reach your audience, literally ANYWHERE from around the world. Once you are clear on the above points - it should be easy to think up ways to offer value. The topics you think of will become your content pillars. Reaching and speaking to your audience has literally never been easier. What’s cool is that content can be stretched across so many platforms from your instagram to your email list to your website to your in-salon experience. If we use Annie again as an example she could begin thinking up valuable assets to teach and entertain her audience. She might do a tutorial on “At Home Mullet Styling” which she did do by the way, and it’s the most viral reel we’ve made TO DATE on our instagram account. That video achieved saves and shares which meant that not only did Annie position herself as a “guru” of mullets but she also reached new clients and followers. This kind of content has the potential to transform your career. I’m not kidding. The more in demand Annie becomes, the higher her price point will be. She’ll land opportunities with celebs that want a mullet cut and brand affiliations for editorial and educational work. Pretty cool, huh? IF she keeps up the theme of value exchange for a follow/like/save/share/in salon visit. Now at PR we have an email list, so all of the valuable content that we share on socials, gets repurposed and sent out to our newsletter members in a slightly different format. Your exercise is to sit down and write out solutions to your clients pain points and then to answer them either via your website, email list, social media accounts or in salon experience. Don’t be overwhelmed; recycle your ideas and grow your brand!

5. Generally speaking, our target clients are who we are or want to be - a community we want to be a part of. Embody your brand.

Lastly and most importantly, our target audience is generally a group of people who are like-minded to us and who have similar tastes and values. At least, I think the best brands hone in on this and live by it. I was speaking to a friend the other day and said, if we had a party for Paloma Roan and all of our 5 thousand clients, 10 thousand followers and 4 thousand email subscribers attended - I honestly think everyone would be friends and have a hoot. While PR is made up of a bunch of different personalities we are unified by the things that we have in common. My team have their own individual niche but as a collective we love fun, slightly vintage style, adore a fashion forward approach to hairdressing, prefer a minimalist, light-filled space with good vibes, are creative as hell, we’re passionate, multi-talented, ambitious and driven. etc etc - Be genuine when it comes to your brand. If I were to try and sell Sassoon style cuts in a crisp, ultra modern space with my bohemian nature and unruly hair, I really don’t think i’d be nearly as successful. Because people would look at me and call bullsh*t. Sometimes it’s as simple as, “my dream clients are basically me - at this point in my life” and that’s a bloody good place to start.