How Salon Owners Get Scammed by Marketing Companies and How to Avoid It – Part 1
Once your salon has a website, you become visible online. And unfortunately that visibility attracts marketing companies.
Many salon owners receive calls, emails, and even letters in the mail offering marketing services.
Some are legitimate. But many rely on pressure tactics designed to make business owners feel confused or worried enough to buy something quickly. A little awareness can help you avoid most of these situations.
Here are four things to be on the lookout for:
1 – The “Google listing” phone call
One of the most common marketing calls salons receive sounds something like this:
“Your Google listing isn’t optimized.”
“You need to verify your listing today.”
“We noticed issues with your profile.”
The caller often sounds official. But these calls are usually just sales pitches. Google does not charge businesses to manage their listings, and they do not cold-call salons to sell services. If someone calls claiming to be from Google, it’s wise to be skeptical.
2 – Domain renewal letters
Another common tactic arrives in the mail. Salon owners sometimes receive official-looking letters that say something like:
“DOMAIN REGISTRATION EXPIRATION NOTICE”
The letter may look like a bill and create urgency. But in most cases it is simply a solicitation trying to get you to transfer your domain to another company at a higher price. Before paying anything, log into your actual domain provider and check your renewal status. And remember, most domains are already set to auto-renew.
3 – Guaranteed Google rankings
If a company promises they can guarantee your salon will appear at the top of Google’s normal search results, it should raise questions. Search rankings change constantly. Google decides which businesses appear first based on many factors, and no marketing company can fully control that.
The only place you can guarantee visibility is with paid ads, where businesses pay Google to appear at the top of search results.
When someone is talking about your regular (also known as organic) search results, legitimate SEO professionals usually focus on things like:
• improving your website over time
• creating helpful content
• building strong Google reviews
• making sure your business information is consistent online
Those things can absolutely improve where your salon appears in search results, but they take time and steady effort. Promises of instant rankings in regular search results are rarely realistic.
4 – Agencies that hide what they actually do
Some marketing companies charge monthly fees but provide very little transparency. If you’re considering hiring an agency, it’s reasonable to ask questions like:
• Who actually writes the content for my account and where are they based?
• How often is work done on my website?
• What results should I expect to see? How will we measure success?
Clear answers are a good sign. Vague answers are a reason to slow down!
The Bottom Line
Running a salon already takes a lot of energy. The last thing you need is to spend money on marketing services that don’t actually help your business grow.
A little knowledge goes a long way!
And with the right systems in place, many salons already have powerful tools built into the software they use every day. Features like automated reminders, client communication, Google review requests, and targeted email marketing can help you stay connected with clients and keep your schedule full without needing complicated outside marketing programs.
SalonTarget was designed with this in mind. Instead of forcing salon owners to piece together multiple systems, we bring booking, communication, and marketing tools together in one place so you can spend less time worrying about technology and more time focusing on your clients and your team!
