Building salon success

Building salon success beyond the City Centre is a thing! Let’s hear from Coco McMahon, Rainbow Room International Bearsden Director who says that with more clients prioritising convenience, community and premium local experiences, suburban salons are proving they can compete with, and often outperform, city-centre locations. In their experience, building relationships, reputation and community has been the key to the salon’s long-term success…

Benefits of location

We asked Coco to share what benefits do you think there are to having a salon outside the city centre?

Having a residential salon in a location like Bearsden instead of a city-centre salon can give you a lot of strategic advantages. We’ve seen this especially for the kind of premium, relationship-led salon culture that we value at Rainbow Room Bearsden. Being in one of the more affluent areas in Glasgow has allowed us to build a higher-spending residential clientele than a city-centre salon might have. Our clients have less time to travel and are therefore more likely to invest in maintenance appointments between colour services, visit more regularly and seek premium experiences rather than discount pricing.

As we are local, we also provide free parking, which is helpful for families, the older generation and clients having longer appointments. They don’t have to worry about catching a train or using public transport. for many people this is less anxiety-inducing as they know they have their car and an easy way to get home. However, as Bearsden is very well connected to Glasgow city centre by train, we can also attract clients from the West End and the city itself, as we’re easily accessible without a car.

Being part of the local community has also helped us build an extremely loyal clientele, who we can wholeheartedly say would never go anywhere else. They don’t just come into the salon to have their hair done – they come for the social experience and the relationships they have built with our staff over the years. Because of this, our clientele is generational, and even clients who have moved away return when they’re visiting their parents or other family members who still live locally.

Becoming part of the local community has also allowed us to establish trust within Bearsden and build a strong word-of-mouth reputation, which is extremely important in a smaller community where everyone knows everyone. We receive more referrals from existing clients than we do through social media.

After 17 years, our local brand recognition has become a real asset. We’ve built a reputation for high standards, luxury hair and being somewhere our clients can watch our staff grow – from assistants through to stylists on the salon floor, building their own loyal clientele.

Community vibes

We moved on to asking Coco how do you tap into the local community to build your database?

For a salon like Rainbow Room Bearsden, community connection is what builds the strongest long-term client base. This is especially true outside a city, where people value familiarity, trust, and local reputation. It has helped the salon feel woven into the community, rather than simply somewhere to get your hair done.

Many of our clients are teachers or members of their schools’ Parent Teacher Associations. This allows us to donate prizes for local school and charity fundraisers. Not only does this allow us to support worthwhile causes within the community, but it also introduces new people to the salon through complimentary style dries and treatments.

We’ve discovered that our loyal clients are our best marketing team and, as I mentioned previously, they’ve helped us develop personal relationships with the community and the families who live here.

Building a strong community salon has made us an important part of people’s routines. Clients return because they feel known, remembered, welcomed, and understood. We’ve created a professional atmosphere without it feeling cold.

Our younger team has also been extremely important in building our client base. Clients have watched many of our younger stylists grow from strength to strength, both professionally and personally. For many, it’s been rewarding to build relationships with them while they were assistants and then watch them develop into successful stylists. It also means clients have familiar faces they can confidently book with if their regular stylist is on holiday or unavailable, knowing they’ll always be well looked after.

Making the difference

We asked Coco how would you say the atmosphere in the salon differs from a salon in the city centre?

A salon in a suburban area like Bearsden can offer a very different emotional experience for clients. It is usually less about rushing and more about the comfort, trust and consistency clients feel. I also think this more relaxed atmosphere helps new clients feel less intimidated and less anxious than they might in a faster-paced environment.

Many of our clients have integrated us into their everyday lives. They’re often coming from work, lunch with friends or the school run, making the experience feel more routine rather than an ‘in-and-out’ appointment squeezed into a lunch break. This has helped build client loyalty, as people feel able to relax and open up instead of constantly watching the clock.

From a marketing perspective, this has created stronger loyalty and greater trust, particularly with colour services, and our atmosphere itself has become an important part of the overall salon experience for many of our clients.

Building salon success

Coco shared with us the proudest milestone or biggest success story since becoming director of the Bearsden salon…

The most important thing for me as a salon director would have to be my team’s success. Watching them build their client bases and develop deep, meaningful relationships over the years has been our biggest achievement.

I’m proud to say we’ve created a relaxing environment where people feel safe enough to share everything. This includes their worries, grief, difficult times and even their happiest moments. In a world where it’s very easy to get lost in social media and the image people project, I think it’s important that we stay connected in a meaningful way. Our salon provides an authentic atmosphere where people can truly be themselves.

Advice for you

And finally, we invited Coco to share advice to anyone looking to open a salon outside a major city?

Opening a salon outside a major city can be incredibly successful, but your mindset must be different from opening in a busy city centre. You’re not competing for footfall; your main goal is to build a reputation and become part of the local community.

One mistake I think many people make is assuming a residential salon should feel less premium, when in fact the opposite is true. People don’t want to travel miles for luxury; they want convenience and trust. If they can find both where they live, they’ll choose that over travelling into the city centre. Clients still expect high standards – they simply want them in a more comfortable environment.

Another piece of advice I’d give is that your community reputation is your most valuable marketing tool. Getting involved in fundraising for local schools, charities and community organisations is a great way to build your reputation. Not everything needs to happen on social media. Word of mouth will always be the number one marketing tool you can use in your business, and the best part is that it’s completely free.

Your clients will bring their families and friends, helping you build a like-minded clientele who genuinely enjoy visiting your salon. That’s why it’s so important to focus on loyalty rather than constantly chasing new clients. Loyal clients become your biggest advocates, and they also feel part of your journey and your growth.

People love to see local businesses succeed, especially in their own neighbourhoods, and they want to feel part of a community. I think that’s something we do really well at Rainbow Room Bearsden.

Thank you

We’re grateful to Coco McMahon, Rainbow Room International Bearsden Director, for being open and sharing the experience of making a salon in a non-City Centre location successful. It’s this passing on of lessons learned, and joys discovered, that makes hairdressing special. Thank you!