Ruth Roche on Creating Charity Ties

ruth-roche-headshotAligning your salon or brand with a charity not only benefits the charity, but also benefits salons and stylists in many ways. Salons can host fundraising events for clients and encourage them to bring a friend to help increase new business or invest in a manufacturer’s charitable promotion to boost retail sales and increase conversations about haircare. Here are some other advantages:

  • A charity tie helps to increase clientele and retail sales. Research shows that 87% of consumers are likely to switch from one brand to another (price and quality being equal) if the other brand is associated with a good cause, so once your charity tie is established, make sure to communicate your salon’s support of a charity to your guest
  • Additionally, salons are able to announce all fundraising events locally to press by sending out media alerts and press releases surrounding the event, creating a buzz beforehand. Not only does this help get more people to the event to contribute to the cause, but the salon itself gets exposure to an audience it may normally not have a channel to communicate with. Salons can also announce the event on their website, and post links to the charity they are supporting.
  • Lastly, encourage team building within your salon between your staff and stylists while benefitting a cause. For example, if you are aligning with the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC), create a walk team at a local National Ovarian Cancer Coalition Walk to Break the Silence on Ovarian Cancer in September. It's fun and gives stylists and salon owners the chance to bond outside of work.

Ruth Roche is a salon owner, editorial stylist, platform artist and educator, whose work has appeared in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Vanity Fair, Interview, Self, More and Cosmopolitan. Her celebrity clients have included Sheryl Crow, Claire Danes, Lindsay Lohan, Kelly Ripa, and Mariska Hargitay. With almost two decades in beauty, Ruth has been honored multiple times by the North American Hairstyling Awards, including Master Stylist of the Year, and is featured in the newly released documentary, Stars Behind the Chair: The Leading Ladies of Hair. She opened Rare Salon in 2003.