With the Internet playing an increasingly big role in Americans' lives, it's more important than ever for salons to have a strong Web presence. That's why Hair Venture owner Guy Kennett recently revamped his Weston, FL, salon's Web site, hairventure.com. Since the launch, the average number of hits per day quadrupled and the number of new clients doubled, according to Kennett.
Kennett has devoted special attention to developing the most visited pages. "The opening page has to be spectacular," he says. "With 70 percent of visitors on the site for 30 seconds or less, you really want to capture the customers and keep them interested." The site supports online appointment booking and saves contact information so Kennett can keep his salon's newsletter database up to date. "My busiest day in October was the same day I sent out an e-mail blast," he says.
Kennett regularly updates his blog and MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr accounts with the latest news, specials and pictures. "I also would like to provide offers unique to Twitter, like a free cut and color to the first person to call in and mention the post," Kennett says.
Kennett also makes sure his Web site is ranked high among searches by utilizing key words and listing his site on online directories and noncompetitors' sites. In addition, he links everything from the newsletter to the blog directly to his site in order to increase traffic.
What's next for hairventure.com? Says Kennett, "Mobile, Spanish and e-commerce versions." —N.R.