Internet Marketing Communications Plan

Internet Marketing Communications Plan Charmian Solter October 24, 2013 Property of The S Curve

Table Of Contents • Tactics • Overview • Objective 1, 2,3, 4 • Key Points • Measurement • KPIs • Vendor Assessment & Recommendation • Additional Considerations • Implementation • Timeline • Considerations • Communication • Key Points • Summary • Conclusions • Next Steps Organizational Summary • Company Description • Mission & Vision • Business Goals • Target Customer Segment • Competition, Competitor Intensity • Industry Forces and Trends • Existing Marketing Strategy • Key Points Strategy • Strategy Overview • SWOT Analysis, Internal & External • Organizational, Marketing & Internet Goals • Internet Strategy • Key Points Property of The S Curve

Company Description Great Scott Salon is owned and operated by Scott Sachnoff. He is the sole stylist, so you will never have your hair done by an apprentice. With over 20 years experience in the beauty industry, he is a Master Colorist. Scott Sachnoff was expertly trained by Hans Wolf, head colorist for Schwarzkopfin Santa Barbara, California. After working for several years in California, Scott received an offer to train with Redken in New York, an opportunity he simply could not turn down. After some time on the East Coast, Scott met the woman of his dreams and decided to settle down in Texas. Great Scott Salon recently celebrated its one year anniversary at the Salons @ 1890 Ranch in Cedar Park. Property of The S Curve

Mission &Vision Mission To provide excellent hair services including styling, cuts and color. Assuring every customer walks out of the salon looking better than they walked in. Vision To be the most sought after provider of premier salon services in the Cedar Park, Texas area. Property of The S Curve

Business Goals • Top five organic search rankings on Yahoo, Google and Bing. • Recognized as premier hair stylist in Cedar Park. • 90% 5 star reviews. • Increase in new and returning clientele. • Increase traffic to website (website redesign.) • Increase engagement and following on social sites. Property of The S Curve

Target Customer Segment • Upscale neighborhood business or boutique-shopping center • Target customer segment is female, professional, or upper-middle class housewife between the ages of 26-65. • These woman have money to spend on high-end services and quality products. • Male hair styling services are available, however they are not the “bread and butter” of the business. Property of The S Curve

Competition Full service salons such as Breeze are a threat because they offer several services in one convenient location. However, they are impersonal. There are many stylists available at any given time. Blush this salon is locally run and has just a few stylists. They tend to be trendy and cater to teenagers through late 20’s. Great Scott must differentiate himself from all the others. Property of The S Curve

Competition He will do this by targeting clients that understand his experience level and training. Few stylists in the area have been styling for over 20 years, nor have they been trained by master colorists and styling academies on the West and East Coast. Both are regions that set the standard for style. A discerning customer will understand and seek out this level of expertise. I would also consider location. In order to establish Great Scott as a convenient hair salon for the targeted customer segment (women who have money to spend, make decisions autonomously and appreciate a quality cut and style) a different neighborhood might be more profitable. Property of The S Curve

Competitor Intensity • Currently competition is fierce. • The market is saturated with many stylists in the Cedar Park area. • There are new salon services popping up everyday as the area develops, expands and revitalizes itself. • Groupon advertises salon services almost every other day. • Yelp won’t keep good reviews unless you advertise with them. Property of The S Curve

Industry Forces & Trends Forces Trends Industry trends in Cedar Park, TX include: Housing independently contracted stylists in Full-service salons and day spas. Many of theses stylists advertise discounted services on Groupon, Living Social or Yelp. Company: One-man show. Limited availability at times. Must perform service, as well as market, set appointments and maintain bookkeeping. Economy: People still have limited discretionary funds to spend on beauty services. The Cedar Park area, while up and coming, houses a middle class population, which tends to spend less on these types of services. Social: Hair services are being viewed as more of a necessity, and trendy salons and day spas are becoming very popular. Property of The S Curve

Existing Marketing Program The existing marketing program consists of the web site and blog. The web site offers online appointments, but needs to be keyword optimized and more content produced for the blog/newsletter. Social media platforms are not being effectively utilized and improvement in the form of updates, content and images will help greatly. Email blast promotions are executed every couple of months, yielding positive results. Some suggested improvements would be to update the client list and add links to the web site, appointment link and social media platforms. Groupon promotions have yielded much interest, but resulting reviews can be damaging. Living Social, which services higher-end products and services may target the desired customer segment more accurately. Property of The S Curve

Key Points • There are many opportunities for improvement in the form of internet marketing, website redesign and overall brand positioning and company image. • Great Scott needs to differentiate from the competitionthough branding his unique skill set and targeting a specific female client base. • There are always forces out of your control, and trends that come and go, working within those constructs will ensure success. • Make the salon experience positive and relaxing. Build rapport by listening; make the customer feel special and they will tell a friend and keep coming back! Property of The S Curve

Strategy Property of The S Curve

Strategy Overview Based off of the SWOT Analysis (Internal Strengths and Weaknesses and External Opportunities and Threats,) we can identify the overall organizational goals and more specifically those of Marketing and Internet Marketing to develop a strategy to overcome the negative and enhance the positive aspects of Great Scott Salon. Property of The S Curve

SWOT Analysis Experience Organic search rankings #1 for Master Colorist in Cedar Park Competition Poor reviews Economy E-Marketing campaign New Website SEO Social media presence Brand to professional female clientele Repeat clientele Capturing market share Positioning-desired image Differentiating-what makes us special? Property of The S Curve

SWOT Analysis Internal • Internal strengths include industry experience and #1 Organic search ranking for Master Colorist in Cedar Park. • Internal weaknesses are capturing market share and repeat clientele. Differentiating from the competition and product positioning. Property of The S Curve

SWOT Analysis External • External opportunities and room for growth include: targeting customer segment, internet presence through content marketing, web site optimization and online reputation management. Focusing on these areas will garner great, measureable results. • External threats include some poor reviews on Yelp, immense competition and the economy affecting sales and pricing. Property of The S Curve

Organizational Goals • Revenue growth of 20%. • 25 new clients a quarter; 50 returning clients a quarter. Equals 20% Increase in local customer and market share. • 90% Four and five star reviews on Groupon, Yelp, Living Social, Google review, Yahoo local, Better, Business Bureau and Best of Austin Chronicle, and www.citysearch.com. • Overall increase in reach, internet presence and recognition as a premier hair salon in Cedar Park. Property of The S Curve

Marketing Goals • Rebranding of company image with creation of new logo and web site redesign complete by Q1. • 20% increase in market share of targeted customer segment: local, professional females ages 26-65 Q3. • 30% Increase in lead to sales conversions via all marketing channels Q4. • Effective promotions yielding 30% increase in new clientele and 15% increase in return clientele with 90% positive reviews Q4. Property of The S Curve

Internet Marketing Goals • 60% Increase in company presence on the Internet through content marketing. • Top 5 organic search engine rankings on Google, Bing and Yahoo for Master Stylist, Hair Salon in Cedar Park. • 50% Increase in website traffic. • 30% Increase in lead to sale conversion rate (appointment.) • 80% Increase in social media presence, engagement, following, likes and shares. Property of The S Curve

Internet Strategy • Website and logo redesign. Target our customer segment and appeal to them through brand reimaging and differentiating ourselves and service from the competition. • Optimize website with keyword phrases and content to increase traffic, create links to increase organic search rankings. • Improve website navigation and prominence of appointment link to increase lead to sales conversion rate (visitor-appointment made.) • Flood the internet with content marketing, getting the Great Scott name out there and producing links back to the website. Property of The S Curve

Internet Strategy • Current, keyword optimized content marketing in the form of blogs, promotions (mobile applications,) and email blasts. • Utilize local, promotions on Living Social, Yelp, Groupon. Put tags in all content that leads back to the website. • Online Reputation Management-social media presence and engagement. • Create content on the website, have a company page on all social media sites, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. • Actively engage with clients on social sites. Get people talking about Great Scott and the quality service they provide, thus creating referrals. Property of The S Curve

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Key Points • The overall goal for Great Scott Salon is to be recognized as a premier salon in Cedar Park, TX. • Effective branding of desired company image and differentiating from the competition will greatly help the ultimate goal of increasing customer and market share. • Focusing on internet marketing strategies including SEM, content marketing and ORM will produce measureable results. Property of The S Curve

Tactics Property of The S Curve

Tactics Overview In this section on tactics, I will discuss the strategy, tactic and rationale associated with Great Scott’s organizational goals and objectives for an effective online marketing campaign. • Increase in Market Share • Increase in Search Engine Awareness • Increase in Engagement on Social Sites • Increase in website traffic and appointment conversions. Property of The S Curve

Objective #1 Market Share • Objective- Increase market share through new and returning clientele. • Strategy–Target our customer segment and appeal to them through brand reimaging and differentiating ourselves and service from the competition. • Tactic-Revamp website theme and company logo. Utilize online and mobile promotions to reach new, local customers through Living Social, Yelp, and Groupon. • Rationale-In order to carve out our portion of the salon market in Cedar Park, we need to find our niche and stand out among the competition appealing to a higher-income, professional, female clientele. The new website and logo will accomplish this. Advertising promotions locally on Yelp, Living Social and Groupon will bring a lot of new faces to the salon and the goal is to keep them coming back. Property of The S Curve

Objective #2 Awareness/Ranking • Objective-Increase in awareness through search engine rankings. • Strategy-Flood the internet with content marketing, getting the Great Scott name out there and producing links back to the website. • Tactics-Create content on the website, social sites and online publications. Put tags in all content that leads back to the website, thus increasing Organic Search Engine rankings. • Rationale-We want people to know about Great Scott Salon. If the company name is on as many sites as possible, this increases visibility. We also want to show up first in search on Google, Bing and Yahoo. Property of The S Curve

Objective #3 Engagement • Objective-Increase followers, connections on social sites and engagement in the form of comments, likes and shares through community involvement. • Strategy- Hair makeover contest to spur engagement with clients on social sites. Get people talking about Great Scott and the quality service they provide, thus creating referrals. • Tactic-Hair makeover contest; contestants give their reason why they deserve a free makeover. The contest will be advertised across company social sites with emphasis on Facebook, Twitter and Website. • Rationale-The contest will get the community engaged on the Great Scott’s social sites. It will build a link between Great Scott Salon and the community he serves when the local population shares their personal stories as to why they deserves a free makeover. Property of The S Curve

Objective #4 Conversions • Objective-Increase website traffic and appointment conversions. • Strategy-Optimize website with keyword phrases and content. Improve website navigation and prominence of appointment link. • Tactic-Embed keyword phrases throughout content on the website (SEO.) Have appointment link in static header, so it is prominent at all times. • Rationale-Easier website navigation is going to please visitors, so they don’t bounce. Optimizing the website with keyword phrases will increase organic search rankings and increase relevant traffic to the site. A prominently placed appointment link available on any page is convenient for visitors and will increase the conversion rate of visits to appointments made. Property of The S Curve

Key Points There is a lot we want to accomplish with Great Scott Salon, but it is achievable with the right tactics in place. • We want to increase market share with brand revitalization geared toward the target customer segment, differentiating Great Scott from the competition. • Awareness of the hair salon can be achieved through increasing overall online presence, promotions and specific social media sites, increasing search engine rankings. • Great Scott wants engagement on social sitesand a link to the community he serves. This will be accomplished by kicking off a free hair makeover contest. • Lastly, with website improvements in navigation and efforts to increase traffic, conversion rates of online appointments made should be on the rise. Property of The S Curve

Measurements Property of The S Curve

Key Performance Indicators Property of The S Curve

Vendor Assessment Property of The S Curve

Vendor Recommendation Google Analytics is the vendor recommendation at this juncture. It is easy to install, simple to operate and has at a glance dashboard measurements. The data gathered on website traffic, unique visitors, bounce rate, duration on site, page views and number of return visitors is all useful for determining success of content, keyword phrases, relevance and resonance with the customer segment. Property of The S Curve

Additional Considerations Google Analytics has a mobile application, for convenient notifications and updates. It will be very easy to interpret data at a basic level. Deeper insights might be necessary further down the road, but for now, Google Analytics is free, easy to implement and will be utilized to measure initial progress on website traffic, and conversions. An online reputation management tool may become necessary at a later date, as social media sites grow in following and engagement. Property of The S Curve

Key Points • Great Scott has several tactics in place to achieve their goals. • These goals are specific and measureable and with the right tools in place, we can see if we are indeed on track. • Google Analytics will help us analyze the changes made to the website and measure target KPIs. • In addition, Online Reputation Management (ORM,) monitoring gains in followers, and engagement on social sites will help us measure success in that area. • These tactics in addition in creating content and increased activity on the Internet will help overall organic search rankings on the major search engines. Property of The S Curve

Implementation Property of The S Curve

Timeline Property of The S Curve

Considerations Property of The S Curve

Communication • Key Stakeholders Communicating Status/Issues • Outcomes Unless marketing becomes outsourced, communication will be between Scott Sachnoff, the owner/operator and anyone he may hire in the future. Increased market share, service/product awareness, clear company image and direction. Owner/Operator Scott Sachnoff Property of The S Curve

Key Points • By implementing all business goals by the end of Q1- November 2013,Great Scott Salon will be able to see measureable results beginning as early at Q2-February. • After the website overhaul, social media implementation, and hair makeover contest and promotions, appointments should start to increase. • Targeted keyword optimized content on several platforms, should increase organic search rankings as well. Property of The S Curve

Conclusion • Great Scott Salon has a wonderful opportunity to redefine its image and target a select customer segment through appropriate marketing channels. • By revamping the website with a new theme, creating a logo and optimizing the website and content, Great Scott can gain a foothold in the local salon market. • Utilizing social media sites by building and engaging with an online community will help with brand awareness, gaining market share in the form of new and returning clients, in particular referrals. • Great Scott has a bright future ahead making use of new media and internet marketing. Property of The S Curve

Next Steps • In the future, Great Scott Salon may want to invest in pay per click advertising. • Great Scott may also want to utilize analytics tools in addition to Google Analytics, that incorporate Online Reputation Management. • As applications continue to head toward mobile, push messages, Great Scott will want to continue to utilize mobile promotional platforms and perhaps incorporate text messages. Property of The S Curve

Internet Marketing Communications Plan