Product sampling is one of the most effective ways to increase retail sales, hands down. Giving your clients the chance to try a product out at home makes it much more likely that they will purchase it in the future. Product sampling campaigns can be pricey, however, and that’s were sachets come in.

These tiny “micro-samples” are the perfect low-cost way to get new products in the hands of your customers. So, let’s look at why this approach works and how to put it to work, growing your retails sales

Why product sampling works

If you’ve ever used a milk_shake product, you’ll know that the smell alone is reason enough to want to use them all of the time. That’s actually one of the three pillars of the psychology behind product sampling campaigns. Offering clients, a sensorial experience—meaning inviting them to touch and smell the product—is one of the main drivers towards future purchase. Our haircare and styling products were designed to be enjoyable to use, so this strategy works perfectly!

The other two reasons that product sampling is so effective is risk aversion and reciprocity. Risk aversion points to the fact that offering a free product sample invites the client to experience the product at no cost to them. They literally have nothing to lose. There is no obligation for them, so they are more likely to give it a try.

Reciprocity refers to a handy bit of psychology that comes into play when this happens. While a client is under no actual obligation to purchase the product form you, they probably won’t feel that way. Human beings are conditioned to a reciprocal response. So, when someone gives you something or does something for you, you likely automatically feel obligated to “give back”. It works the same way with sampling.

The bottom line is that product sampling has been shown to increase purchasing both in the immediate and long-term. In fact, it’s been shown that 47% of people who try a product for the first time will go on to buy that product.

Make the most out of your sampling

There’s two parts to executing an effective product sampling strategy: in-salon and at-home.

During your appointments, you’ll want to select products that you can demonstrate with. For whichever products you plan on selling, allow your client to try it. A great method here is the “half-head” styling trick. If you are not familiar it basically means you demonstrate a product and technique on one side of your client’s hair and coach them as they style the second. This not only gives them a chance to try the product, it also gives them the confidence to use it on their own. Chances are you will make a sale on the spot.

The second part of a successful sampling campaign happens after the client leaves. If your client has not purchased the products that you used, go ahead and send them home with some samples, to encourage future purchase. If they have purchased the products that you used, include 2 or three samples of related products that you hope  they fall in love with. It’s the same approach that you see online, with “recommended products”, just in real life.

The key to making a future sale when sending samples home is to follow up. You can follow your own client communication guidelines here but keep it within 48 hours. A quick text, message, or email will not only show how invested you are in their experience but will also remind them about the product. Based on their response, you can either ask for the sale right then and there (and set the product aide for them) or adjust your recommendations for next time.

 milk_shake Sachet Product Samples

We have developed an easy way to get stated with product sampling in your salon. With 126 total sachets and an included display, the milk_shake sachet program keeps your product organized and on-hand in an eye-catching display.

This package includes 6 of each of the following products:

Incredible Milk, Volume Solution Shampoo, Volume Solution Conditioner, Moisture Plus Shampoo, Moisture Plus Conditioner, Sweet Camomile Shampoo, Sweet Camomile Conditioner, Color Maintainer Shampoo, Color Maintainer Conditioner, Deep Color Maintainer Balm, Energizing Blend Shampoo, Energizing Blend Conditioner, Normalizing Blend Shampoo, Purifying Blend Shampoo, integrity Nourishing Shampoo, integrity Nourishing Conditioner, integrity intensive Treatment, Active Milk Mask, Active Yogurt Mask, Silver Light Shampoo, Silver Conditioner.

Through our one-of-a-kind scents and amazing results, z. one concept products were made to fall in love with on the first try, making them perfect for sampling programs. Product sampling is a highly effective way to increase your product sales and sachets are a great first step.

Incorporating social media into your business building strategy can sometimes feel a bit like herding cats. There are so many different platforms and each has their own set of rules. While it’s helpful to understand the pros and cons of each, and how they can work for your business, today we are going to focus on one of the OG social media platforms: Facebook.

While at may have started off as a way for coeds to stay connected on campus, Facebook has evolved into an internet juggernaut. These days it works particularly well for reaching a specific audience, in a specific area. With tools like pages and groups, you can leverage Facebook’s algorithms to attract more clients to your chair.

Who You Are Talking to

Social media platforms are basically just digital meeting places. Each platform has it’s own unique style that caters particularly well to a specific audience. When Facebook initially launched back in 2004, its users were all university students. Now, more than a decade later, that audience has grown up. This makes Facebook a great place for attracting 35-54 year olds, particularly women. For salon professionals, this demographic generally makes up a substantial percentage of your clientele.

Facebook groups can work really well for getting even more specific with who you are reaching. There are groups and pages for specific towns and neighborhoods, which can be really useful for attracting new clients in your area.

When to Post to Facebook

Social media algorithms dictate what is shown, when and to whom and they can be really tricky to navigate. That being said, it’s not so much about how often you post as it is about posting high quality content that will get you a lot of engagement. We will get to that in just a moment, but the main takeaway here is: less is more.

It’s recommended that you only post on Facebook once per day, in order to stay relevant and show up in your followers feeds. On your business page, this will be people who “like” your page. You may want to play around with different times of day to post, but a great starting point is between 8a-12p. Facebook shows the highest user activity across the board around these times. That being said, your audience’s active times may vary a bit from the norm, so be sure to test out different times on different days to see when you get the most response.

What to Post to Your Page

In general, you will want to post examples of your work, with a healthy mix of other information thrown in. Obvious topics like specials and promotions are useful to share with your audience, but so are tips and tricks, beauty advice and a healthy dose of humor every now and again.

A lot of businesses spend hours strategizing their social media calendars and content, but at the end of the day, you’ll get the best response by being authentic. Try to imagine an ongoing conversation that you could have with a client and plan your social media posts that way. You’ll keep your current clients engaged and also attract new ones that are like-minded.

You don’t have to pour tons of time into creating a social media plan that works well for your business, if you take the time to learn how each channel works best and who it works best for. Facebook is one of the easiest platforms to learn, and one of the most effectively for salon pros, since it speaks directly to a prime audience for our industry. It’s time to dive in and start connecting!

These days it seems like creating a social media plan for any business just means doing a whole lot of everything. You need to be making fun, engaging, educational, valuable, relatable content while also remaining really approachable, inspiring and above all, totally authentic.

That all sounds exhausting.

When it really comes down to it, the best social media plan is the one that works best for your business. Your plan will likely look different from anyone else’s and you probably won’t have to do EVERYTHING, all of the time.

By identifying some key goals and unique aspects of your business you can build a social media plan that works smarter, not harder.

1. Know Your Goals

Not all social media channels were created equal. Some platforms are better at connecting, while others are best for selling. Which ones you decide to invest your time and money into depend largely on what you would like to achieve.

Are you looking to grow your clientele? Maybe you’re doing fine with how many clients you have, but you’d like to keep them happy and connected? Perhaps you are more interested in selling more retail products?

Facebook and Instagram are both geared towards growing communities, and integrating e-commerce. Since beauty services are so visual, many stylists flock to Instagram.  However, the locally based groups on Facebook can be a great place to find new customers and get your name out in the community. Neither is better than the other, they are just good for different things.

@coloredbyliz is a wonderful follow for education and inspiration on Instagram. This account has a great mix of content that works really well on this particular platform.

Main takeaway: Try to identify 1 or two main goals and choose the platform that is best suited to helping you achieve that goal.

2. Know Your Audience

You may feel like you know your clients on an individual level, but how often do you think of them as a group? While they may have a lot of unique qualities among them, all of your clients have at least one thing in common: you. There is a likely a similar aesthetic, style, or even shared value that is common to all of you.

Why does this matter? Because identifying some key unifying factors among your current clientele can help you create content to engage them. This approach will also go a long way to attracting new, like-minded people to your chair.

If you’re having a hard time coming up with similar or unifying traits on your own, you can always take notes! Jot down a few key points from conversations that you have with your clients during their appointments and soon enough you’ll likely notice some patterns. Bonus, if you start asking about their social media habits (what they like, who they follow, etc) you may pick up a few good ideas!

Main takeaway: Use your existing clientele to help you build an online presence that will resonate with current and future clients.

This is a big one and probably the hardest to tackle. Playing to your strengths is just good life advice and it is no different on social media. Start with your business strengths. Are you great at blond balayage? Maybe you’re the master of the angled bob or layered shag? Or are updos more your thing? Try to pinpoint a few main strengths to not only decide what to share on your profile, but also to begin building your hashtag and keyword library.

Not only will this help you show off your skills in the best light, but also to the audience who is specifically looking for someone of your talents. A great example of this is @shanaelissestudio, an Orlando-based independent stylist who knows how to show her serious blonding skills .

Next, start to think about your personal strengths. This is to help you narrow down the types of content you are going to be most successful at posting. Are you comfortable on camera? or do you prefer to let your work do the talking? Maybe your conversations skills are what set you apart. There are so many different ways to be present on social media that knowing what you are comfortable with is the best place to start.

Main takeaway: Start with what you know and are comfortable with and commit to growing from there.

Social media gets a bad rep for perpetuating stereotypes and promoting hustle culture. When it comes to creating an online presence for your business, you can be as involved as you want to be. The main goal of developing your business’s social media plan is to put it to work  for you. There is no one right way to be here,  just be honest with yourself and you will create the right online presence for you and your business.