Connecting to customers online with Optus: Matisse Art for Hair

Matisse Art for Hair is a hair salon located in the residential suburb of Zillmere, Brisbane. Popular among locals, Matisse Art for Hair offers a range of hair and beauty services to its clients including colouring, cuts and styling, as well as facial waxes, spray tanning and Keratin semi-permanent straightening treatments. Odette Lithgow, the sole owner of the salon, took over the business around 20 months ago, and with her full time apprentice, has since been committed to offering her clients the best possible service and pampering experience.

More for Less with Optus

Matisse Art for Hair was an established business which had been in operation for around 30 years before Odette purchased it in December 2008. Initially continuing with the business’s previous providers, Odette found she wasn’t happy with the fixed line phone service, and wanting a provider she knew she could rely on, in June 2009 switched to Optus which she had used previously.

“I had always found Optus easy to deal with, and having a provider which offers reliable service is important when you’re running a small business because you don’t have time to worry about phone service or billing issues,” Odette commented.

“I chose Optus for its reliable service, but I was surprised to discover its offering was also a lot more cost effective than the previous provider’s plan. Our monthly phone costs have almost halved, and we also receive internet as part of the plan, which was not included previously. Now I get more but pay less, and the savings on our phone and internet costs mean I have more left to invest back into the business,” Odette concluded.

Taking business online

Optus provides Matisse Art for Hair with a fixed business line with 20c local calls as well as a fixed mobile internet allowance.

“The internet has become vital to our business,” Odette said. “Our client database is stored on a server in New Zealand so the connection enables us to access and back-up our data each day. It also allows us to better manage our relationships with clients. We can send scheduled appointment reminders as mobile text messages and as well as notify customers of any time changes.”

The staff at Matisse Art for Hair also use the internet to research new hair styles and products, so they’re always up to date with the latest industry trends.

Innovating for future social activity

Despite admitting she’s not extremely ‘Tech Savvy’, Odette has also successfully utilised her internet allowance to grow the business’s online presence through Facebook. Odette believes the Facebook page, which she set-up just four months ago, has already helped to build better relationships with existing clients as well as attract new ones.
Optimistic about the potential social media had to offer her business, Odette set up the Matisse Art for Hair Facebook account by way of recommendation from a friend.

“Facebook is a great option for small businesses because it’s so affordable. It offers our business the ability to share information about promotions, launches, product specials, hair tips and new services with our customers and people who are really interested,” says Odette.

Odette believes her business’s most successful use of Facebook was for a recent promotion around their Indian Scalp Massage service.

“We posted the promotion and some information on the Facebook page, and customers would visit the page and comment on how much they loved the treatment. The comments posted resulted in both online recommendations for the service and more bookings. It was great to see such direct results and our customers sharing their feedback with each other on our page. It reinforces the power of word of mouth and shows this also exists online.”

Odette says she would like to further develop her online skills to take advantage of the benefits of social media for her business, especially as she views it as one of the few ways to publicise a business without having to pay for it.

“I want to expand our use of social media in the near future so we can continue to create greater brand awareness online and reach even more potential future clients,” she concluded.

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