USP of a beauty salon - instructions for creating

It can be difficult to stand out in the crowded beauty industry, especially with new salons opening up all the time. Identifying what sets your salon apart from the competition is essential to attracting and retaining customers. Making a unique selling proposition (USP) is the next step in this process.

A USP is the essence of what makes your beauty salon stand out from the competition, not just a clever catchphrase. It makes clear to potential customers the unique advantages and experiences that your salon provides that others do not, making it easier for them to decide why they should pick you over the competition.

We’ll look at creating a strong USP for your beauty salon in this post. We’ll examine some real-world examples to get you motivated and offer helpful advice on figuring out and articulating what makes your salon really unique.

Contents

What is a USP
Is it true that there are no sales without a USP?
How to compose
Mistakes in compiling
Examples for the beauty industry
Questions
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USP for a beauty salon
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A simple way to create a USP for a beauty salon

What is a USP

In English, USP stands for unique selling proposition. A company’s competitive edge that sets it apart from competing offers, goods, and services is known as its unique selling proposition.

In short, a unique selling proposition (USP) is what sets you apart from the competition and encourages a customer to choose you over the salon across the street. The first person to discuss the necessity of a USP was Ted Bates’ founder, Rosser Reeves. The man discovered that sales of goods and services need to be justified; customers need to know why it makes sense to purchase from this company.

Additionally, Reeves identified three principles for a USP, which marketers and business owners still follow today:

An offer made for the purpose of selling a product or service should encourage a purchase, and not just share information. You can"t just say – "We are a beauty salon on Tverskaya" – such a statement does not explain anything, does not encourage anything;
The offer must be original, non-trivial. A common USP for a manicurist is "Sterile instruments", and for a beauty salon – "Customer focus and high level of service". How many identical offers are there on the market? That"s right – thousands. Formulate the offer not with banal phrases, but with a twist, originality. Even "customer focus" should be presented in an unconventional way – "We work 24/7, are happy to answer questions and brew the best coffee". The meaning is one, but the perception is different;
The offer should change the mind of even a skeptic. Of course, we are talking about the target audience – it is useless to change the position of a student if you have a barbershop for bikers.

What makes a USP necessary?

The offer becomes part of the advertising campaign, regardless of the platform – from radio and billboards to targeted and contextual advertising;
The formulated USP is used on the website or in the blog – this is how a potential client who comes to the site learns about the uniqueness and attractiveness of the organization;
For communicating with clients – often a unique selling proposition helps in resolving conflict situations or when working with objections.

Although USPs are well-known and actively promoted by marketers, advertising agencies, and salon owners, there is another aspect of businesspeople that commits one of two errors:

They do not formulate a USP. The hairdressing salon "U Svetlany", in a residential area, which has existed for 40 years, will not think about the USP – the client base is developed, there is no strength, time, money for promotion;
They formulate the USP incorrectly. As mentioned above, customer focus and individual approach are not a unique selling proposition; 15 more salons within a 3-kilometer radius work with similar statements.

It happens that salon or studio owners, manicurists, and eyebrow artists are happy to develop a unique selling proposition (USP), but they wrongly think that their services end there and that their instruments are sterile.

The first thing to realize is that developing a unique product that has never been offered before does not automatically qualify it as a USP. It suffices to transform ordinary or commonplace objects so that they represent the specifics, attributes, and philosophy—rather than just words—to create a unique selling point.

Not required; this does not imply "cannot." The proprietor of Dannie Lea Hair Design made the decision to provide a service that at the time no salon in England provided. In addition to installing a system and providing alcohol to each customer, the man also changed the name of the services to reflect the new work schedule; customers were now signing up for "a haircut plus tonic" instead of a haircut. Later, other beauty salons adopted this feature as a great USP; champagne and wine started to appear in the luxury and premium segments.

However, we start with lower labor costs and use what is already available to create a USP. The offer’s primary defense could be:

Speed of work;
Quality of dyes, gel polishes or other materials;
Extensive experience of the masters or their regalia – Champion in artistic nail painting, for example;
Additional, gift, bonus services;
Terms of service – absolute silence, spacious office;
Guarantees – confirmation that the client will get the desired result;
Positive emotions from the visit;
Solving the client"s problem – selection of shampoo, free consultation of a cosmetologist with diagnostics and selection of care, individual rejuvenation programs;
Location, equipment, features of the operating mode and more.

The offer is presented in a way that allows the client to select it from hundreds of offers, even though it is not and most likely won’t be unique.

Is it true that there are no sales without a USP?

Before we get into how to create a USP, let’s talk about a challenging subject: is a unique offer really necessary, or can a company be founded and run without one?

For forty years, the aforementioned hair salon "U Svetlany" has been cutting hair for the occupants of surrounding homes; they don’t have a unique selling proposition. The proprietor did not research, evaluate, or create his offer; however, it is evident that it is unique because they have previously provided hair services for multiple generations of neighbors. No, this won’t draw in people from elsewhere. But this is a special and noteworthy offer for the locals.

Global reach should not be used to judge an organization’s uniqueness; if the offer only sets it apart in the region where the target audience resides, that suffices.

At the market, there are many vendors selling tomatoes, but each customer chooses who to purchase from. Why?

Price. 20 sellers sell tomatoes for 70 rubles, and one – for 50. The buyer, for whom the main pain is the price, will buy, where it is cheaper;
Service. All merchants are sitting with gloomy faces, and one smiles and invites to taste ripe tomatoes. Here, buyers will be those who appreciate the service, like to chat;
Bonuses. Out of 20 sellers 1 gives a package as a gift or offers an apple with a bonus. This seller will be economical and perspicacious, they, as in the first example, focus on the price, but they are attracted even more than a bonus – it helps to feel that both an apple and tomatoes have received an apple and tomatoes – it is profitable.

It is evident from the example that there is a special trading offer available even in the tomato market. UTP assists the customer in selecting a good or service; in the absence of special offers, the customer would be overwhelmed by options.

Finally, keep in mind that the USP will only be effective for the target customer, to whose needs it is tailored. Promoting a 300 ruble manicure to businesswomen is pointless because they are more concerned with time savings than money.

How to compose

Here are some step-by-step guidelines for creating a USP:

Select segments of the target audience. There can be one segment – if you have a narrow-profile organization or several for more flexible organizations from the client"s point of view. Segmentation includes dividing clients by gender, age, place of residence, income;
Study the target audience. Identify what needs potential clients have, what fears prevent them from making an appointment at the salon, what pains are covered by the services of the salon, studio, office. To study the target audience, use observation – see what attracts current clients, what stands out in your salon more than anything else. It also does not hurt to conduct a social survey;
Search for an offer that can solve the problem of the target audience, cover its pains. If the client cares about speed of work – offer a manicure with a design in an hour, if the price – a manicure with a coating for 900 rubles. Of course, all proposals should be within the framework of the concept and business model of a specific organization – if your most budget manicure costs 3,000 rubles – do not offer a similar service cheaper. In this case, look for other arguments for the USP;
Analysis of competitors" proposals. Look at what competitors offer that are somehow connected with you – by location, target audience, price segment. This is not necessary to repeat someone else"s USP, but to get your bearings and understand what has already been offered, and in what direction it is advisable to develop.

Upon gathering data, it’s time to develop a USP. There are various formulas for creating a USP that work well for solariums, hair salons, salons, and other businesses:

Solution to fear. The emphasis is on the client"s main fear and its solution:

"Escape from black in a single process without yellowing"

Demonstration of the uniqueness of a service, product:

"Saratov’s first eco-beauty salon"

"The only fixed-price beauty salon in Russia"

Guaranteed results:

"One procedure for a flawless blonde, or we’ll refund your money."

Feature of the product, service:

"A manicure that keeps your nails intact"

If there are multiple segments, it is crucial to develop a unique selling point for each one. We advise creating multiple options while creating a unique selling proposition, then selecting the best one.

Mistakes in compiling

Unreliability. Don"t write that you are "The first makeup artist in the city from Goar Avetisyan" if dozens of girls from your region have already trained with her. The information must be reliable, otherwise there will be consequences. First – the wrath of competitors and their clients, second – attention from the FAS, since unreliable information is a direct violation of the Federal Law "On Advertising";
A template offer. A unique approach, sterile instruments, a high level of service, low prices – all these are templates that potential clients don"t even read;
Creation of a non-targeted USP. As mentioned above, the client is offered what he needs. It is useless for a makeup artist to attract the attention of men, and for a premium salon manicurist to attract clients who want a manicure for 300 rubles. When creating a USP, focus only on the target audience and do not try to cover everyone at once – this will not work.

Examples for the beauty industry

USP for a hair salon or beauty parlor. Typically, the language is modified and these kinds of deals are tailored to other industries, like cosmetology, makeup artistry, styling, and image creation.

The next option is for salons, nail salons, and manicurists.

Lastly, permanent makeup artists and makeup artists. These USPs can also serve as a foundation for lash artists and eyebrow artists.

Every example provided is meant only as a source of inspiration and knowledge.

Questions

Can a USP be a promotion? For instance, paraffin treatment combined with a manicure as a gift.

No, a promotion is an offer with a finite validity period, whereas a USP is a long-term, perpetual offer.

Should the USP be changed, and if so, how often?

As long as the competitive advantage mentioned above is maintained, the USP is typically created once and remains unchanged for ten or even twenty years. If the offer was written badly from the start and doesn’t work, if the market has changed and the feature is no longer competitive, or if the organization’s policy has changed and the USP is now meaningless, then it makes sense to modify the USP.

If there is absolutely no imagination, then who can create a USP?

USP doesn’t require creativity. To create an offer on your own, simply follow the instructions provided. If it doesn’t work out, get in touch with an advertising agency or freelancers on exchanges. But remember, you are the one who knows your business the best.

I’m going to use social media to advertise hair Botox. In this instance, what should be the USP?

A USP can be broad, describing a salon, solarium, barbershop, or studio overall, or it can be specific, focusing on one particular service. It’s critical to realize that these ought to be distinct USPs.

Use the same guidelines to develop a USP for a procedure, but concentrate on the traits and attributes of a single service rather than the company as a whole.

Leave a comment below with your suggestions for USPs!

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Step	Example
Identify your target audience	Focus on busy professionals who need quick but high-quality services.
Highlight what makes your salon unique	Offer organic, cruelty-free products for a more ethical choice.
Emphasize convenience	Provide online booking and flexible hours to accommodate clients" schedules.
Showcase your expertise	Promote a team of highly trained technicians with years of experience.
Provide a guarantee	Offer a satisfaction guarantee, such as a free touch-up if needed within a week.

Developing a compelling Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is crucial for any beauty salon hoping to make a name for itself in a competitive marketplace. It takes more than just providing cosmetic services to differentiate your salon from the competition and convince customers to choose you.

Concentrate on your strongest suit when creating your USP. Emphasize these features, whether it’s superior customer service, customized treatments, or a distinctive atmosphere, to craft a message that speaks to your target market. A strong USP should speak to your target audience’s needs and desires directly, be memorable, and be easy to understand.

Recall that your USP goes beyond a simple slogan. It ought to show in every facet of your salon, from the caliber of services you offer to the way you communicate with customers. By continuously fulfilling the promise of your unique selling proposition, you’ll develop a devoted clientele and position your salon as a reliable and top option.

To stand out in a crowded market, a beauty salon must develop a unique selling proposition (USP). A compelling USP draws attention to the things that set your salon apart, such as its distinctive atmosphere, premium treatments, or outstanding customer service. You can draw in and keep devoted clients who appreciate what you have to offer by concentrating on what makes your salon unique and making that information obvious to prospective customers. Offering organic products, a posh experience, or individualized consultations are a few examples of how your salon can stand out from the competition.