How to Grow your Business Through Service: An Interview with Dale of Everything Hair

Welcome to the StoreYa offices for an interview with Dale, the founder and owner of Everything Hair, a South African eCommerce business.

In this interview you will learn all about Dale’s philosophy of running a business, his marketing strategies, and how he plans on growing his business in the future.

Memorable Quotes

“Social media is our way of looking after our clients, and keeping our finger on the pulse of what’s going on with them.“
“When you respond to negativity on social, don’t do it because of social media, just do it because it’s the right thing to do. If you do that, then you’ll get rewarded. It’s sort of like the karma of social media.“
“Coupon Pop allows us to take people that are on our website and give them something back for joining our newsletter or joining us on Facebook. So we’re taking traffic and converting them in some way into a customer that we can interact with on an ongoing basis.“

You can either watch the interview below, or read the transcript:

Zack: Dale, why don’t you tell us a bit about your business?

Dale: Everything Hair is an online retailer in South Africa that sells high-end, top of the line hair products for the domestic market.

Zack: What are the main marketing platforms and channels that you tend to use?

Dale: Social networks are great for brand awareness and engagement. And then you have your search engine and display network advertisements. Those are the areas that I’ve focused on.

Zack: Could you tell us a bit about your social media marketing strategy?

Dale: I’d say one of the best things I’ve found about our social media strategy is that it is a great way of engaging with existing clients. It’s allowed us to get feedback about our business, reach out to our clients, and just to continue developing a relationship with people that have bought from us. It’s our way of looking after our clients, and keeping our finger on the pulse of what’s going on with them.

Zack: Interesting, so you’re saying that customer service is what you love about social media?

Dale: First and foremost, yes. Obviously it’s also a double edged sword. It’s great when things are going well, but if you mess up it can be very very precarious. You can get punished very quickly. So it’s about managing that. If something goes wrong, then you have to make it right. When you do that though, don’t do it because of social media, just do it because it’s the right thing to do. If you do that, then you’ll get rewarded. It’s sort of like the karma of social media.

Zack: Now I understand you’re also using a Coupon Pop on your website. Would you like to tell us a bit about that, how it’s gone for you, and the kind of results that you’ve seen?

Dale: Sure. Coupon Pop has been fantastic, because it allows us to reward our clients. It allows us to take people that are on our website and give them something back for joining our newsletter or joining us on Facebook. So we’re taking traffic and converting them in some way into a customer that we can interact with on an ongoing basis. Meaning that we’re taking a person that we may have lost, and never engaged with again, and now on some level or another we will always be able to reach out to them. That’s where it’s really been amazing for us.

Zack: That’s great. And I see here you’ve racked up some pretty impressive numbers – well over 1000 Facebook likes and email addresses gained. I was wondering what you did to create such an effective Coupon Pop?

Dale: Again, it’s just treating your customers correctly. Coupon Pop is fantastic, like I said. When we implemented it, it was about differentiating it from the rest of the page so that people’s eyes were drawn there. We realized that in South Africa people tend to browse for a long time and then leave the site, and probably never come back. So by making it draw your eye, and then offering a discount in order to encourage you to make your first purchase with us, experience our service, our support, and our fast delivery, we hope that with the fantastic customer service you get you will then become a repeat customer. Join our newsletter and you’ll get rewarded again. So that was our strategy.

Zack: That sounds like a great cycle that you have there where you engage them immediately with your service when they come in, you engage them again through social media and email, and then through your excellent customer service you create this circle of returning customers.

Dale: Yea, 100%. And what’s fantastic about the Coupon Pop that these are people that you know are interested in the brand, and in the products that you sell. People that are likely to engage with your store and buy from you. If they buy from you once they’ll buy from you again, just look after your customers.

Zack: Excellent point, one more question. You’ve got something great going now, but what are the marketing strategies that you plan on implementing to try to grow your business in the future?

Dale: Right now I’d say our priority is to add some sort of reward marketing. Let our clients talk about what we’ve done. Let them talk about the service we’ve given, and then reward them for doing that. Reward them for referring us to their friends and family.

(Lucky for Dale our Refer-a-Friend tool is exactly what he needs to put this reward marketing strategy into practice!)

Zack: So continuing with your strategy, service all the way.

Dale: Absolutely!

Zack: Excellent, thank you very much!

If you like what you hear from Dale and what he’s doing at Everything Hair then you should learn more about Coupon Pop here!

Zack Fagan

Zack is a social media enthusiast who loves all things digital. He is the inbound marketing manager at StoreYa where he spends his days searching for the newest social marketing scoop. If you’d like to chat with him, feel free to connect with him on any social platform.