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-boxcolor/
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-a6674203-921d-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-plan25672.html
Services - Paul Mitchell. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from
https://www.paulmitchell.com/our-products/professional-services/
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