4 effective ways to gain additional customers
Discover 4 effective ways to gain additional customers for your tattoo parlor.
How to promote a tattoo parlor that is not located on the main street in the city, does not have a giant billboard, and does not participate in all conventions organized in the country?
Let’s be clear: you have a marketing budget and want to promote your salon. Still, you also want to see how these activities translate into the number of booked slots. This article shares our secrets and proven methods for attracting customers to tattoo parlors. We have cooperated with salons from Europe and for over 4 years. Here is a unique dose of our knowledge that we can share:
1. Marketing for a tattoo parlor starts with a tiny decision: What will make this studio different?
What would your grandma, who has never been interested in getting a tattoo (unless you have such a laid-back grandma, congratulations!), say she imagines about the salon you work in? She would say it was a place in a dark basement plastered with posters of skulls and roses.
This is more or less the standard view of tattoo parlors, to the point that we don’t notice their ads on social media – because they are all the same and obvious. The amazement that something looks different than usual makes us stop scrolling and pay attention.
Ask yourself questions:
-> What do customers praise you for most often? Then, find your differentiator through their reviews, and use their own words from Facebook reviews to attract more customers.
Here’s how we improved marketing for one tattoo parlor in Europe (currently one of the most popular).
Jungle Tattoo was born out of a passion for tattoos. The owner has created a unique, cozy space full of living plants. In such an environment, you can create a masterpiece on your skin. The artists working in the studio specialize mainly in realistic-style tattoos. They have several years of experience and thousands of completed projects. They are always happy to advise people who want to get their first or next tattoo, including a cover. This is a crucial part of the business as it keeps customers returning to the studio, and I highly recommend it to friends.
A specific theme: the jungle, which is not necessarily associated with a tattoo parlor, made us break the pattern. In addition, we had the opportunity to use this theme on the website and in communication.
What’s next?
To build a unique differentiator for a tattoo studio that will help you promote services in your city, you need to create a clear message that answers the question:
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„Why should a client get a tattoo done at my studio and not a competitor’s?”
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List as many reasons as you can think of. Ask your artists and, importantly, your clients. Below is a short instruction on how to do it even more precisely.
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How you can do it in a professional way that will help you stay ahead of the competition?
Conduct a short interview with the right questions:
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Identify what people value most about your studio and service. Making a design and a tattoo involves many stages, but which are really important to your clients? Ask the most loyal ones why they return to get another tattoo at your place.
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Use these conversations to understand the needs your new customers come to you with. Discovering what exactly drove them to find your studio, contact you, and then get your tattoo done helps you understand the customer journey and their motivation.
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Find a space worth developing that will be your distinguishing feature and take your marketing activities for a tattoo parlor to the next level.
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Who are your customers? Discovering that your clients are, for example, IT specialists and mid-level employees aged 35-50 may be quite a revelation. Identifying their characteristics will help match your marketing strategy to your tattoo parlor. Why did your customers leave you (and go to your competition)? It is also essential information that can help you improve the level of your services.
2. A marketing budget for a tattoo parlor differs from a fireworks budget. Don’t burn it. Check what brings results and intensifies your activities in these areas.
Combine this with the right business metrics for your studio.
See the example and result below.
Business challenge: how to fill each artist’s calendar months ahead?
The studio struggled to attract new clients despite its location in the city centre, unique design, great artists with a fantastic portfolio and price competitiveness. Now 90% of artists have their calendars booked 3-6 months ahead. During 3 years of cooperation, we have managed to handle over 32,000 inquiries (the number is still growing).
Business metric: Signups via Messenger/Instagram Direct/WhatsApp.
Business Challenge: How to Get More Tattoo Inquiries?
Metric: Number of messages sent
Business Challenge: How to increase the percentage of signups from received messages from Messenger?
Metric: Percentage of enrollments (sales performance).
Business Challenge: How do I increase the click-through rate of my studio’s ads?
Metric: Link click rate
Business challenge: How to increase the reach and recognition of a tattoo studio?
Metric: Ad impressions and unique ad reach
If you need help with any of these metrics, please contact us.
3. How to promote a tattoo parlor through the profiles of the artists working there?
For two years, more and more tattoo studios and independent artists have started to promote their profiles. Hence, we receive inquiries from our clients: „Is it better to promote a tattoo parlor or an artist’s profile?”
Answer: It is worth testing both approaches and then reviewing them regularly.
A given ad can generate great results on the studio’s fan page and be utterly disappointing on the tattoo artist’s account. And conversely. Why? Here are some possibilities:
Recipient. The profile of a statistical tattoo studio follower is usually radically different from that of a person following an independent artist. For this reason, a practical solution may be to conduct various marketing activities within individual media.
Novelty effect. New solutions tested within a given social media account may arouse greater interest among recipients, translating into cheaper ranges when promoting and higher click-through rates. Scientists say that novelty effectively attracts attention. Our curious minds gravitate towards originality. This is a natural inclination, the awareness of which allows you to practice better marketing.
Price matters. Independent artists often offer lower prices than studios. So when trying to advertise a tattoo studio using an artist account, it’s worth remembering.
4. Use the power of your satisfied customers’ opinions.
Opinions on Google, on the website, and in the content of advertisements are your absolute must-have!
Recommendations and word of mouth are the driving force behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions. However, only about a third of tattoo parlors use this customer acquisition channel.
If you don’t invest in testimonials, be sure to read this: Behavioral research conducted by Granify has shown that social proof (in the form of, among others, opinions) is sometimes more decisive in online purchasing decisions than low prices.
Customer loyalty expert Fred Reichheld reports in his book „The Ultimate Question” that companies have doubled their revenue by increasing overall brand endorsements by 12%.
If recommendations are so valuable (in a quantifiable way!), then why not invest more energy in obtaining them? As part of personal observation, the issue of references is neglected by entrepreneurs. They generally do not consider that customers form opinions about them and then share them with others.
Remember that some potential clients can be overwhelmed by the excess of offers from
tattoo studios and the deluge of their advertisements. Such people will respond much better to an order from someone they trust. The impact of recommendations is most significant when consumers choose a given service for the first time or when its price is relatively high.
Consider one more critical piece of information. The Google Zero Moment Of Truth report presents research according to which buyers use an average of 10.4 sources of information before buying. Have you already guessed which sources buyers will find most persuasive? According to Econsultancy, 63% of visitors are more likely to purchase when a site includes reviews from other customers, with reviews driving an average of 18% more sales.
After implementing our suggestions at home, we are curious about your opinion and conclusions. Moreover, if you want to go further and reach higher, don’t hesitate to contact us. We will gladly help you prepare and implement a promotion plan for your tattoo parlor.
Let us know your budget, and we will determine what results we can deliver. (we hope that your salon’s schedule can withstand this occupancy!)