How To Attract A Man

In the 18-or-so months since The Brass Rose in Blairstown, N.J., has opened its doors, owner Rosemary Weiner has seen its male clientele increase from 5%-10% t about 25%. “I targeted men from the very beginning,” says Weiner. “After all, people go to the salon first and foremost for relaxation, and you have a whole tense gender out there.” She began with the basics to put a man at ease. The décor incorporates warm eathtones and cherry wood, while the private massage rooms provide extra-long tables and man-sized robes, shorts, and slippers. Beyond addressing the physical comforts. Weiner attempts to understand the psychology of the male. “Men want to relax and distress too, but they feel they have to justify it,” she says.

Alongside The Brass Rose’s lengthy and lavish service menu, she prints a separate men’s brochure—a simple trifold offering no-nonsense service names followed by brief descriptions. “What we call the ‘baseline’ manicure is actually our standard Brass Rose manicure; we just changed the name and shortened the description, as we did for our massages. We’re in a rural area with a lot of laborers so we also offer a more elaborate ‘reconstruction’ manicure, which we describe as an intense treatment fro rough, callused, and dry hands.”

Weiner says her best opportunity to market to men occurs when they came in to buy gift certificates for their wives. “This is our opportunity for face-to-face marketing. We talk to them and point out our men’s brochure. We also do a lot of advertising for Father’s Day to get the women to buy gift certificates for the men. the men come in the first time waving their certificates as if to make sure everybody knows that’s the only reason they’re there. Then we get them to rebook,” she says.

Further evidence of The Brass Rose’s targeted marketing efforts is its “Club Spa for Men.” “The bottom floor of the salon is open to both men and women, but the top floor the spa, has only one locker room which is not coed. So we stated ‘Club Spa for Men’ from 3:00 to 9:00 on Sundays when the guys have the run of the second floor. They already want us to extend the hours,” she says. And yes, they are just as chatty. Weiner reports that most conversations begin with the ultimate in justifications, “My wife sent me.”