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To add more services or not? (Research results)

Feb 13, 2024, Update: Feb 13, 2024, author: Hairstrokes.com / Holistic PMU
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"Should you expand your services? If you're an artist thinking about offering more services, you're facing an important decision. This article breaks down the pros and cons of adding new services and provides a new way to consider this crucial choice. Whether you're still considering your options or ready to grow, this guide provides insights from experienced artists to help you decide wisely."

1. Background and focus


When exploring the world of beauty artists, especially those specializing in brow services, a perennial question arises: Should one focus intently on a single style or branch out to offer an array of brow styles? The dilemma of specialization versus diversification has long intrigued us, prompting an in-depth investigation in collaboration with the Powderbrows.com research team.

Conducting a study to uncover the truth, we engaged with 132 Powder Brows, Hairstrokes, and Microblading artists from diverse nations, subjecting them to comprehensive web-based surveys. Crafted to gauge their leaning towards specificity or versatility, these tests aimed to reveal artists' perceptions and how they aligned with clients' expectations. We delved further, soliciting insights from over 400 clients, to ascertain if artists' chosen strategies harmonized with customers' preferences.

2. Multi-income strategy


The Power of a Multi-Income Strategy

In brow business, it's clear that adopting a multi-income strategy prevails. The variance in earnings depending on the array of brow styles an artist offers is remarkable, ranging from a substantial 140% to an impressive 500% increase. This underlines that artists who diversify their offerings are positioned for greater competitiveness compared to those specializing in a single style. However, the answer to this question is often more intricate than meets the eye – it hinges significantly on the artist's brand associations. Let's delve into the nuances once again.

The 80:20 Rule

It's a familiar refrain in personal branding that 20% of artists typically command 80% of the earnings. While this doesn't necessarily imply that they capture 80% of the client base, these artists secure a more high-paying clientele, resulting in an 80% share of the overall income in their field. Imagine it as a cityscape view dominated by a cluster of towering skyscrapers in the urban center. The landscape appears solid from a distance, with select skyscrapers standing out. Analyzing this phenomenon reveals that elite artists in each region exhibit a more pronounced income gap than those who haven't established themselves as prominent brands. The disparity between the earnings of top-tier artists and their average counterparts in a specific region can be stark – often translating to a multiple-fold difference in income.

3. The Enigma of "The Best”


First, let's demystify the term "best" – in this context, it signifies the consensus among potential local clients. In other words, we're referring to individuals residing within a radius of 300 miles from the artist. This distance tends to be the maximum extent clients are willing to journey on average for new brows, specifically concerning Powder Brows, Hairstrokes, and Microblading techniques – beyond this, enthusiasm notably diminishes. A straightforward criterion prevails to earn a spot within the esteemed 10-20% of top artists in a given region: the artist must possess an expansive reach and noticeable discoverability. This translates to the artist's social media assets consistently engaging many potential customers during their consideration phase within the sales funnel.

Zooming in Even Closer – The Essence of Sustaining Reach

Delving further into this, the artist must maintain an ongoing reach that, contingent on the country and competitive landscape, generally ranges between 50,000 to 300,000 contacts each month. Our comprehensive analysis from 2015 in the realm of Powder Brows, Hairstrokes, and microblading aligns with previous research findings. While these numbers may appear formidable, particularly when juxtaposed with their organic reach, this is the requisite threshold.

But what does reaching entail? It's not about connecting with just any crowd; it's about tapping into your specific target audience – those individuals whose demographics, geography, and psychographics align with your target persona or "Avatar," as previously discussed. In regions or countries with populations under 3 million, the threshold of 50,000 is typically the minimum requirement to ascend to the ranks of top artists in the field. This signifies that your personal (or brow) brand needs to be exposed 50,000 times to individuals who mirror your ideal client profile.

This evokes the wisdom of Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass," where the Red Queen famously imparts to Alice: "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run twice as fast as that!" This sentiment profoundly resonates with the brow business landscape. Now, let's delve into how this sought-after reach can be attained.

4. Organic Reach


Striving for this Balance through Organic Reach

Achieving such reach organically is indeed possible. However, it necessitates a highly active posting strategy and a substantial base of organic followers. Allow us to illustrate with a tangible example. If an Instagram account boasts an ideally aligned following of around 50k, the median fake follower ratio and Audience Credibility stats indicate approximately 40k authentic followers. Yet, as Instagram doesn't readily disclose precise fake follower statistics, this implies that organically, your posts will also reach a portion of bots and even the "male audience from São Paulo (unless the artist is operating in Brazil)."

Pretty Fierce posting is needed

Considering the 2023 average organic reach, it's reasonable to estimate that each post will touch the screens of 400 to 1000 of your followers. However, this figure is tempered by the actual demographics of your followers and the presence of fake accounts. When considering these factors, the effective reach within your target audience becomes even more modest. This implies that to sustain such reach, the account owner must post approximately 50 to 100 times per month.

Facing the Drawbacks: "Impression Exhaustion"

Yet, this approach requires constant posting and the challenge of "impression exhaustion." The precise frequency with which the same individual can see the exact artist's content and still contribute to expanding the reach is complex to ascertain. Beyond a certain point, this phenomenon loses its effectiveness. Consider presenting the exact artist's account and posting to a single person 50 times within 5 days through 5 different Meta platform posts to elucidate. While the statistical metrics and post classifications might yield an impressive reach count, a significant portion of this reach should be labeled as "impression exhaustion."

This concept arises when the number of impressions surpasses a specific threshold (usually under 10) within 1-2 weeks. At this juncture, the potential for further reinforcement of the customer's belief that "this artist is among the region's finest" no longer increases. The convincing stage has been achieved, and any subsequent "over-convincing" becomes superfluous and unworthy of inclusion in the reach calculation.

Upside: All Social Media Assets and Organic Search Traffic

However, this perspective assumes that the reach is solely derived from one social media platform, Instagram. However, the scenario shifts for well-known artists with multiple social media accounts to leverage in addition to the potential traffic generated from Google searches. Hence, achieving the required reach isn't implausible, albeit contingent on two key factors: crafting engaging, high-quality posts and maintaining a substantial caliber of followers. The follower base must be authentic and not artificially boosted through tactics like "Win the Latest iPad" consumer contests. Such tactics fail to meet the threshold for the requisite reach essential for meaningful conversions.

5. Precision Targeting


Equivalent Reach via Non-Organic Means: Precision Targeting

  Now envisages a novice artist stepping into the beauty and, specifically, brow industry from an unrelated field, devoid of social media assets that align with the desired target audience. What implications does this hold? In scenarios where posts receive a paid boost, the opportunity for precision targeting substantially improves. Compared to the organic following, this kind of reach exhibits a somewhat "enhanced quality." This is because targeting can be honed with precision, allowing the exclusion of specific geographic regions (foreign locations) and demographics (age groups such as those under 18 or over 70 years old).

Crafting Compelling Content and Managing Costs

However, there are two essential considerations to bear in mind. First, having a substantial reach necessitates possessing engaging content to share. Second, there's the cost entailed in maintaining such a reach. Speaking of costs, they vary based on numerous variables, including the artist's location—some locales incur higher target audience costs while others come with a lower price tag. Furthermore, the activities of competitors play a role. If competitors are actively vying for attention, it escalates the cost of achieving the same reach due to an auction-like pricing dynamic.

On average, though, in many US states and European countries, attaining a potential audience of 50k individuals interested in Powder Brows, Hairstrokes, and Microblading typically incurs expenses ranging from USD 500 to USD 1000. However, as previously noted, this figure is considerably influenced by the level of competition. Notably, in larger cities with denser populations, you might need a reach of at least 100k or even 250k to effectively position yourself as a viable choice.

Regarding the fixed costs associated with operating as an artist in this field, it might translate into a recurring investment ranging from USD 1000 to 5000 per month.

Reach ≠ Conversion: A Crucial Distinction

Yet, it's imperative to emphasize that attaining reach is merely one aspect of the equation—it doesn't automatically translate to converting leads into paying clients. Achieving reach means that your brand and account come to the attention of potential clients. This feat can be accomplished through paid advertisements, a strategy that's prevalent in the beauty and brow industry.

In the context of conversion, your brand must stand on equal footing with competitors. Failing to measure up could render you "non-comparable" alongside alternatives. This insight stems from research encompassing over 12,400 customers conducted over the years. Thus, investing in high reach might not yield optimal returns if your brand lacks a robust portfolio and other foundational elements like experience and expertise—critical pillars in establishing yourself as a reputable brow artist.

Additional Observation

Seasoned artists with over a decade in the field have highlighted the importance of factoring current trends into decision-making about service selection. They've observed that most experienced pigmentation artists, with at least five years in the industry, can proficiently offer a wide range of services. This suggests that the issue isn't necessarily about "expanding" service offerings but somewhat about strategically "emphasizing" certain services to showcase the artist's considerable expertise.

Artists reach a point where they must decide which service to highlight as their specialty. This decision should be informed by continuously monitoring and anticipating industry trends. By doing so, artists don't necessarily need to change their range of services but can instead position themselves as experts in the next big trend. For instance, in 2023 and 2024, many artists are (re)branding themselves as masters of hairstrokes. This strategic emphasis allows them to stay relevant and sought-after without overhauling their service portfolio.

6. Conclusions


When you lack a customer base and possess weak or non-functional digital assets - such as ineffective accounts burdened with fake followers or a complete absence of followers - expanding your service offerings won't wield the "magical solution" that promises wealth and triumph. It won't even bolster your standing for your existing services. The initial focus should be establishing yourself as an authoritative artist in a specific field like Microblading, Combo Brows, Hairstrokes, or Powder Brows. Mere acquisition of new skills doesn't effortlessly translate into a boosted bank account.

However, if you've already solidified your reputation as a proficient artist in semi-permanent cosmetics, avoiding acquiring skills in related fields is an unwise move. On average, your likelihood of ranking in those associated domains within your region is remarkably high. Suppose you've completed a course from one academy and witnessed its efficacy. In that case, acquiring additional expertise, encompassing lip procedures, eyeliner application, diverse Powder Brows, Hairstrokes styles, and more is highly advisable. As clichéd as it may sound, it's akin to stumbling upon money on the street, waiting to be picked up (forgive the cliché, but it holds in this context).

To cement your status as an authoritative artist in the industry, the imperative is to "sustain your reach." Typically, depending on the region, the critical reach "required for top-tier survival" falls within the range of 50,000 to 300,000 when targeting specific demographics. For those without digital assets, this translates to a fixed expenditure of USD 500 to 3,000 to enter the competitive arena. However, without a reputable brand, this investment might not yield sufficient conversions to cover the associated expenses.
 
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