Research Analysis

Kandice Guerrera

PBR 560

Market and Consumer Research Analysis

December 6th, 2014

Full Sail University

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Company Overview:

Gina Bianca Hair is a modern, upscale salon with a tranquil and inviting environment to

provide a comfortable and relaxing experience for all. The salon is state of the art, brand new,

and available to all budgets! Gina the owner has been building her brand for about 4 years and

has established a great client base. However her salon, Gina Bianca Hair, has only been in

operation for 2 months and is steadily growing. With PR efforts Gina Bianca Hair needs a

marketing plan to increase brand awareness, and business growth. The goal for this Capstone is

to boost the amount of clientele going toward other technicians.

Gina Bianca Hair’s current situation has been building the brand. The salon has only been

opened for about 2 months and prior to the opening, Gina has been renting a chair for about 2

years. Gina has been constantly busy since the opening, and has plans on expansion. Prior to the

salon, Gina admits that she used to wash peoples hair out of her kitchen sink because you have to

start somewhere. Gina Bianca Hair’s connection with the community is they have done previous

events for the Independence Fund in CT, and Breast Cancer Awareness Extensions. Now the key

problem/ potential opportunity that this PR effort/campaign is addressing is a men’s cutting

campaign or a campaign to help grow the clientele of the other technicians. The opportunity that

this PR effort will be doing for Gina Bianca hair is creating brand awareness, increasing clientele

to stylists and makeup artists. Gina wants the organization to ultimately expand up to 5

locations! There are no current pitfalls that could be encountered unless a new salon opens

within 5 miles offering the same services for cheaper. The implications of this information can

improve Gina Bianca Hair and create great opportunities to help the business expand. The

overall goal of the client would be to create a campaign to expand the clientele of the other

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technicians working in the salon. My campaign moves this goal forward by creating a social

campaign through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Gina Bianca Hair’s image and reputation focuses on the salons motto every guest, every

time. This gives each client a great experience every time they enter the salon. The only PR

efforts that have been initiated are in house social media, as well as their spin the wheel for

holiday gift certificates. The communication channels that Gina Bianca Hair is currently using

are word of mouth, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The messages the salon is communicating

with the public are different before and after pictures of client’s hair, salon specials, and

sometimes a Q&A with clients who have questions about hair. Implications of this information

show that the salon has initiated some great PR efforts and just need some more help. Since the

salon just opened two months ago the salon has been busy so the time Gina has to initiate PR

efforts is very little. The current messages being projected from the businesses Instagram are

very effective. Most of Gina’s clientele are coming from Instagram! People see the work she

does and follow her page and next thing you know they are a client in her chair.

The implications of the current state of the business are based off of how many people

book an appointment and walk through the door. There are research efforts that need to be done

to determine the communication effectiveness. In order to see where Gina Bianca Hair started we

need to begin measuring analytics from Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram. These media

outlets will be monitored on a weekly basis. Since Gina has not set up Google analytics that also

needs to be put into effect for her website.

I believe that this campaign will continue to take Gina Bianca Hair in the same direction.

However, this direction they will be heading in will increase the clientele for the salon! Since

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people will feel more comfortable with other technicians doing their hair, Gina will be able to

flip appointments all day long because everyone is not just waiting for her to finish. This will

also show that the businesses team structure service works! I will be able to determine my

campaigns effectiveness on how many new clients and returning clients are visiting the salon. As

well as if the social media efforts are increasing daily.

Competitive Analysis:

The main market leader in the hair industry is Paul Mitchell. According to People (2004),

Paul Mitchell has worked on clients such as Gwen Stefani, Rene Russo, and Cate Blanchett!

However, Paul Mitchell provides hair care products that all salons can use. The main competitors

for Gina Bianca Hair are all sorts of box color. There are no salons in the area of Gina Bianca

Salon that are a direct competitor in terms of price and quality. (Cardona, 2000) However, box

color brands such as Ion, Loreal, and Revlon are competition. Gina Bianca Hair sets their salon

apart from other salons because of color products they use. Their products provide quality hair

color and lasts longer than box color. According to Confessions of a Cosmetologist (2014), hair

color should be customized to each person, your hair will feel like straw if you use box color,

and one size does not fit all. By going back and forth between box color and the salon is actually

damaging your hair. It’s time for clients to decide which they prefer more! (Colgrove, 2013) This

shows the disadvantages of box color to salon quality. Another aspect of Gina Bianca Hair that is

different from most salons is that they have a color bar.

SWOT Analysis:

Prior to opening the salon Gina didn’t consider a SWOT Analysis. A SWOT Analysis looks at

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a businesses current and forward-looking situation. It includes strengths, weakness, opportunity,

and threats. (Kokemuller, 2014) After conducting a SWOT analysis for Gina Bianca Hair the

results are as follows: Gina Bianca Hair’s strengths are that they are the only salon in their area

that are open on Mondays, along with their quality Paul Mitchell products. They are also one of

the only salons that have competitive prices for their services. A weakness of the salon is that it

only caters to women, and that most of the clientele who visit are looking just for Gina. Making

it harder for the other technicians to expand their clientele. An opportunity the salon see’s is

expansion. The expansion of the salon in the future can eventually be in 5 different locations.

Since the feedback and the growth of the salon are growing rapid, the original store doesn’t have

enough room. Lastly, a threat the salon is facing is box color products. Potential clients could be

choosing box color over salon quality causing the growth of clients to stay at a stand still. In

order for Gina Bianca Hair to set themselves aside from box color, and to show the down sides to

box color they should start teaching their fans over their social platforms the pro’s and con’s of

box color vs. the salon.

Conducted Research:

The primary quantitative research for Gina Bianca Hair has been through surveys through

social media, and email. According to 10 Tips for Creating an Effective Survey (2014), Online

surveys are an effective way for businesses to gauge customer satisfaction or measure the impact

of a marketing campaign. The Internet has provided market researchers with a dramatically more

cost- effective way of recruiting respondents and conducting surveys. (FULGONI, G. 2014)

These results showed that the survey was a success. Most participants from the survey were

captured in from social media. About 73% of clients from Gina Bianca Hair responded to the

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survey questions over Facebook, and 27% through email! This shows that Gina’s clients are

socially active. The primary quantitative research gave a better understanding of Gina’s target

audience. We plan to further conduct this research by gathering more data from the survey over

the next couple of days. From this information gathered we were able to quantify how many of

Gina’s clients were students, if they purchase salon products, how far they travel, their age, and

where they heard about the salon. The advantages of Gina Bianca Hair doing an online survey is

that it’s faster than the traditional research method, it’s cheaper, more accurate, easy to style and

more selective. (Smart Survey, 2014)

Additional qualitative research includes salon quality color over box color. These results were

gathered through personal interviews with each client Gina Bianca took on. She asked her clients

questions such as, “Have you used box color? What was your experience like? What made you

chose the salon over the box?” The answers from her clients were insightful and showed her

where she stands against her competition.

Secondary data gathered shows that Paul Mitchell salons offer professional services.

According to Paul Mitchell (2014), whether you’re in the mood for a subtle color shift or you

crave a complete transformation, the color artist at your Paul Mitchell Salon can create the

perfect shade customized for you. The secondary data is qualitative because it’s based off of

customer opinions. To go to the salon or to not go to the salon is usually the question. According

to Paula’s Choice (2014), it’s better to go to a salon to get your hair done because the matter of

experience and skill the stylists have. A professional colorist knows the ins and outs of dyeing

hair because of their training and daily experience. Doing your hair on your own is a messy

process and you have the hassle of worrying about if your hair is completely even with color.

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Even though it’s cheaper, is it worth it? Luckily, Paula is a Paul Mitchell hair color stylist and

knows the difference and quality between the different hair dyes. The secondary research I

would look into is to steal box color clients would be to gather primary data qualitative data to

back up salon quality color. I feel confident about the information provided by the source for my

secondary data because Paula is an avid hair blogger about Paul Mitchell products and services.

She stands by the brand, and the services they offer even if they are a little pricey. She’s used the

products, and knows the hassle of box color.

Graphic Representation:

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References:

10 Advantages of Online Surveys. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/articles/10-advantages-of-online-surveys

10 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Use Box Color. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://confessionsofacosmetologist.com/2012/01/27/10-reasons-why-you-shouldnt-use-box-color/

10 Tips For Creating An Effective Online Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/articles/10-tips-for-designing-an-effective-online-survey

Cardona, M. M. (2000). Paul Mitchell campaign. Advertising Age, 71(5), 44

Colgrove.(n.d) (2013, October 1). Hair Color: Box vs. Professional. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://www.loxabeauty.com/thelayer/hair-dye-box-vs-professional/

Dyball, R., Gage, E., Lombardo, J., McIntyre, S., Norman, P., & Tan, L. (2004). Shining On. People, 62(24), 152.

Drugstore Versus Salon Hair Color. (2014, January 1). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/hair-care-tips/_/drugstore-versus-salon-hair-color

FULGONI, G. (2014). Uses and Misuses of Online-Survey Panels in Digital Research. Journal Of Advertising Research, 54(2), 133-137. doi:10.2501/JAR-54-2-133-137 http://web.b.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fd4c2ede-a667- 4203-921d-36e114d55bda%40sessionmgr198&vid=13&hid=109

Kokemuller, (n.d.). The Advantages of SWOT Analysis in a Strategic Plan. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-swot-analysis-strategic-plan-25672.html

Services - Paul Mitchell. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from https://www.paulmitchell.com/our-products/professional-services/

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