As a salon owner, we know you are incredibly busy ensuring that your hair or beauty business thrives. Whether your time is spent out on the floor dealing with clients, spent in the back office with your nose in accounts, or practising your craft – there is little time to spend thinking about the offline methods of salon marketing as well as networking. In today’s post, we are discussing why hair and beauty trade shows are good for business and worth the effort.

Salons Direct at Salon International 2019

Here at Salons Direct, we regularly attend trade shows to ensure we are bringing you the best possible supplies to use at your salon. For 2019, from October 5th – 7th, we will be exhibiting at Salon International – the number one trade show for hairdressing professionals – alongside Pulp Riot, Elchim and Framar.  Why not join us at stand K140 to find out more?

Related: Should You Be Entering Salon Industry Awards And Competitions?

The more you put into a trade event, the more you’ll get out…

Even if you can’t attend a trade show yourself, it is important that your brand name and talent is being represented at the leading industry events for your sector. Ask around the salon to see if anyone would like to attend a show – it’s a great excuse to network, meet contacts and give your social media presence a boost.

It’s worth remembering that it isn’t a day off work, but a fun day that will hopefully give something back – whether that’s a simple conversation with an influential stylist, or discovering a new product that could revolutionise the way you work.

Finding relevant events…

Depending on the kind of salon business you are, there are a number of events tailored to your industry. The first step is discovering which trade events you feel would be useful to you.

Here are a few of the most popular here in the UK. We recommend checking on their respective websites for event dates and to register your interest.

By pre-registering you can save time and money – most trade shows allow you to register for free or to be in line for discounted tickets which could cost you between £10 and £30 per person if paid on the day! Another benefit of pre-registering means that you don’t miss out on event-related news and offers. And, if the email contact becomes annoying at any point, you can always unsubscribe.

We would also recommend pre-registering to skip any long queues on the day and get straight into the exhibition. More time for networking and less time stood around!

The art of networking…

Approaching people you’ve never met before can be extremely daunting but remember, everyone is there for the same cause. Be sure to mingle with as many people as possible, whether they are representing brands, other salons, or a supplier – everyone has something to share – including you!

We also recommend hopping onto Twitter and Facebook to see if you can pre-arrange to meet up with people. You can usually search for relevant hashtags to find other, like-minded people discussing events and looking for people to meet up with. Don’t forget to pack your business cards and sell yourself and the salon you represent well! Meeting suppliers face to face is a great way to forge new deals on your favourite products as well as helping them better understand the needs of the salon owner.

Keeping an eye on industry innovation…

Trade shows and exhibitions are great ways to learn about new and upcoming industry innovations. Perhaps it’s new equipment that will save you time and money or better methods for managing your client databases – we recommend taking a look at the exhibitors listing before the event so you can have a deeper look at their product offering and whether or not it’s worth you having a conversation with them.

Your networking continues even after the show…

We always recommend following up with anybody interesting you have met at the trade show. Whether you simply follow them on Twitter, drop them a tweet or a considered courtesy email, show that you care – we can guarantee your name will stand out from the crowd.

Most importantly have fun at the events you attend, you might even bag yourself a freebie or two!

Time for more from Salons Direct?

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