The competition in Singapore is definitely steep for many businesses which includes nails salons. We interviewed Janet from 3D Nails, as featured in our writeup, Nail Salons in Singapore that are Rocking Their Social Media Strategy, to find out more about her secret to success for 3D Nails.
Location is key: how to make your business more visible
One of the reasons that drove Janet and her partner to start 3D Nails was to provide a good and affordable nail services to her group of existing clients. Hence, when it came to sourcing for a location before opening 3D nails, one of her major concerns was to find a place that was going to be highly accessible for her customers. She believes that a location that is easy to access will help her to bridge the gap between both her existing customers as well as new customers.
Janet also shared that although her shop is located within the same area as a busy coffee shop with high footfall, it’s located at one corner and may not be highly visible. To counter this, one of her strategies was to put up a standee outside of her shop to attract more customers and highlight the shop’s service offerings. Since starting her business, she has tried many different ways to attract more customers. Amongst the ideas that she’s tried, she found that distributing flyers was no longer as efficient as compared to digital marketing.
Embracing social media for the first time
While Janet has been working closely with influencers to reach a wider audience, Janet shared that handling 3D Nails’ Instagram account and Facebook page was a brand new thing to her when she first started her business. It was under her relative’s recommendation that led her to meet an influencer who helped her to create both her Instagram and Facebook accounts before she started engaging influencers.
She added that it was only after more than 3 months that she started to see the results of engaging influencers. Janet feels that collaborating with influencers has definitely helped her to expand her business and reach a new audience. Janet’s advice to other businesses considering to use influencers in their social media strategy, is to be patient and allow 3 to 6 months before seeing any results. Another benefit of working with influencers is that they have an eye for detail—this leads to more creative photos posted on social media which Janet can repost on 3D Nails’ feed.
Staying updated with skills for the future
Janet believes that her business would not be as good without the help of social media marketing as most people these days consume a lot of information on digital platforms. If she would have done something differently, it would have been to start working with influencers earlier on when 3D nails was set up. Learning more about digital marketing as well as photo editing are other skills she wish she had picked up earlier.
She also added that one of her regrets was to feel inadequate to join any nail art competitions. If she could turn back the clock, she would not miss any chance to join them. Hence, she also advised entrepreneurs not too be too harsh on themselves. Sometimes, we are our worst enemy.
Besides social media marketing, Janet noted that it is also very important to be constantly upgrading her skills and nail designs to ensure that she keeps up with current nail trends. One of her biggest work satisfactions is to see customers walk out of her nail salon with a smile on their face admiring their newly manicured fingers.
Smiling customers are the biggest reward
One American customer visits 3D Nails whenever she’s in town as she mentioned that she couldn’t find anywhere else that provides the same level of services as what she’s experienced at 3D Nails. To Janet, customers like these are her biggest rewards and gives her motivation even if she need to skip her meals or work long hours.
Making customers feel at home is important to Janet as well. When the haze hit Singapore, Janet added an air purifier to her shop to take care of her customers. She believes that little touches like this and treating all her customers like friends yet providing them with the best of her services and professionalism will help keep customers returning.
Rewarding loyal customers
In order to thank her customers and to attract potential new customers, Janet also runs monthly promotions according to seasonality and what her customers have given feedback to her about. She believes that digital marketing, taking in feedback as well as up keeping good quality at 3D nails are all the factors to lead to her success in her business.
Moving forward, she hopes to expand her business to a bigger and more comfortable space for her clients. She hopes to continually upgrade so that her clients always receive the best of services she has to offer.
Get more inspiration for your business by reading these Small Business Success Stories.