I airbrush and that alone draws teens in. I don’t like doing artificial nails on girls younger than 16; however, I will for prom and special dances. I think that one of the reasons I draw a younger clientele is because I stay up-to-date with all of the latest trends. I always have all of the new colors in several lines of polish, and my polish color choices always have a lot of fun, bright colors and glitter. That’s what teens really like right now. -- Cindy Davis, Visible Changes Salon (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
I am usually very direct in my marketing attempts no matter what the age of the targeted group. Find out who’s who in the local teen hierarchy and make an effort to meet them. Usually a mother will send one in for a service for a special occasion. That’s a great opportunity to do a little research. Keep a few teen oriented fashion magazines around. If they just “happen” to be opened to a picture or article featuring bare, well-groomed toes, there’s your opening to get them acquainted with the idea of pedicures. If prom or graduation is around the corner, talk to the girls and get the guys involved too. I took a gamble and invested in some medium price-ranged nail charms this spring that featured a lion’s face (school’s mascot) and the number 99. Even some of the guys had sculpted nails put on one finger so they could wear their new charms. I suggested that they could always be converted into charms for neck chains later. I think communicating with any group that you want to attract is the key.--Audrey Lulow, Nails By Audrey Lulow (Woodbury, Tenn.)
At our salon, we contact the area high schools and get an ad in their school newspapers, fliers at football games, or programs at plays and other school activities. This works well – especially at prom time. We get great feedback from it.--Anna Hamlet, Salon Duvall (Richmond, Va.)
To attract teen clients, I put our fliers at the local high schools offering a discount with their student activity card. I also place fliers on the local grocery store’s “ad boards” offering specials for upcoming dances.--Jeanna Nentwich, Jeanna’s Nail Studio (Salt Lake City, Utah)
We advertise to teens by targeting the dance and prom season. Makeup, skincare, and especially nails are advertised from proms at a lower price than our regular prices. This really draws them in. Once they are in the door, the staff tells them what we have to offer and we also ask them to tell a friend. Now our prom and dance season is booked well in advance. The secret for us is we work as a team in giving the teens the best “in style” looks possible.--Sharlene Stewart, Merle Norman (West Chester, Pa.)