Benjamin Golley sees the beauty in everything. A lifelong resident of Alton, Illinois, Golley opened his beauty supply shop, Today’s Beauty, in a former hardware store in Alton’s Little Mexico neighborhood in 2000.
Golley, who operates Today’s Beauty with his sister Angela Grubb and his son Jordan Golley, knows that his business offers more to the community than affordable prices on hair and skin care products. On top of friendly service and knowledgeable advice, Golley wants everyone who comes into Today’s Beauty to look their best, so they will feel their best, and channel that empowered feeling into their lives.
“Beauty is universal,” Golley said. “When you look good, you feel good, and then you do good.”
Golley added that, as a black-owned and -operated business in the community, Today’s Beauty set a fantastic example of entrepreneurship to local young people.
“There are very few black-owned businesses in Alton. I want to be an example to young children,” he said. “It’s so great to tell a positive story about a community that doesn’t get a lot of positive coverage.”
Golley, a former chairman of the Alton Community Relations Commission, doesn’t just want to make a profit with Today’s Beauty Supply; he wants to make a difference. He opened a second store in 2005, but after five years, he realized it didn’t leave much time for community work and closed that location.
“I don’t want the business to feel like a job — I want it to be more than that,” he said.
This is why Golley opened Today’s Place, a space for community service and education, including mentoring, tutoring and events.
“We’re a business, but we’re also focused on helping the community,” he said.
Deluxe can relate to that. The driving force behind Small Business Revolution is to help small businesses which in turn support their respective communities. This is why Today’s Beauty was one of six businesses chosen to be a part of season 3 of Small Business Revolution — Main Street and receive support to help their business thrive.
Recently, a competitor opened a new, larger store less than 2 miles away from Today’s Beauty. It doesn’t boast the experience and personal touch that Golley and his family bring to their customers; however, Today’s Beauty saw a 30 percent decrease in revenue, putting the shop at risk of closing its doors.
Similar to Golley’s goal for his customers, the Deluxe team realized that Today’s Beauty needed a branding and marketing makeover, so the business could look good and do good — and make money doing so.
Beauty (branding) is in the eye of the beholder
The outside of Today’s Beauty didn’t match its warm and friendly inside. The Deluxe team wanted to accentuate Today’s Beauty’s best features, and it all started with a logo.
Designing a new logo
A logo is crucial because it’s often the first interaction a potential customer has with a business. Today’s Beauty didn’t have a logo. It had a generic blue banner with white lettering outside the store, which didn’t convey beauty supply or any brand position at all. The lack of logo meant Today’s Beauty was missing out on this important connection with potential customers.
The Deluxe team began designing a logo for Today’s Beauty, one that would communicate warmth, elegance and — of course — beauty.
Old logo v. new logo
The new logo is clean, upscale and bright. It’s an iconic circle shape that offers great flexibility — it can be used on merchandise, or it can stand alone as a social media profile image.
Packaging, apparel and print: Make it work
Once the new logo got the thumbs up, the Deluxe team added it to new retail packaging such as branded bags and tissue paper for customers, T-shirts for the staff, and print marketing, including business cards and postcards.
T-shirts, retail packaging and print marketing — all featuring the Today’s Beauty logo — help project a professional image.
“Our new logo has been a big hit with our customers,” said Golley. “I already need to put in for a reorder for T-shirts!”
Extreme makeover: Website edition
Since the shop doesn’t sell its beauty products online, Today’s Beauty didn’t have a website. But a website is for more than just e-commerce: It adds legitimacy to a business and lets customers know they can trust it.
A website is a perfect opportunity to tell the story of Today’s Beauty. The shop offers something that customers can’t get from big-box stores or online retailers: advice and expertise from someone who understands you.
“Amazon can’t give you a hug,” said Golley.
The website highlights the store’s offerings, including a variety of African-American hair and skin care products as well as trends, customer testimonials and a contact page. But, more importantly, the website showcases Golley’s values: Today’s Beauty wants you to feel good about yourself, feel empowered and take that feeling into the community.
New website
“When I look at the website, it makes me smile,” Golley said. “The Deluxe team did an amazing job!”
Email marketing
A website is also a terrific way to encourage customers to sign up for an email newsletter or promotional offers. The Deluxe team worked with Golley to create an email marketing campaign. As Today’s Beauty builds up its customer list, Golley and his team will be able to share news of upcoming events, new products, big sales and beauty tips.
Here’s an example of a Today’s Beauty email:
Online listings: Rockin’ that new look
Of course, Today’s Beauty’s new logo needed to strut its stuff in online listings, too. The Deluxe team helped Today’s Beauty claim its listings on Google My Business, Yelp and Bing. All of the listings needed to be correct and consistent, including the address, phone number and hours of operation as well as updated photos, to increase their rank in local search.
Additionally, it’s important to respond to reviews. It shows that a business cares about its customers, that it’s listening to them and addressing any issues.
Google My Business (before)
Google My Business (after)
Yelp (before)
Yelp (after)
Social media: Stylin’ and profilin’
When it comes to beauty supplies, it’s important to stay on top of trends. Social media is an excellent tool for following what’s hot and sharing how-to videos to help customers achieve their desired look. Along with promoting your products and sales, social media helps legitimize a business.
The Deluxe team set up Today’s Beauty on Instagram and Pinterest, which are ideal for an image-centric beauty supply store. The team also helped Today’s Beauty get its Facebook page verified, so when potential customers search for them, the page is more likely to rank at the top.
In addition to showcasing the shop’s products and promotions, the Deluxe team worked with Golley and Grubb on how to best speak to their social media audience. Instead of using the same old beauty and fashion quotes from Coco Chanel or Audrey Hepburn that a lot of businesses rely on, Today’s Beauty focuses on its African-American customers with images and quotes from Beyoncé, Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and more.
The results: Every makeover deserves a big reveal
After all these marketing changes were put in place, Today’s Beauty saw an increase in online traffic and social media interactions and impressions. Today’s Beauty has more than doubled its monthly numbers with 2,192 searches, 6,580 total views on Google Maps and Search, and 224 total actions, including 65 phone calls.
“As we talk to the new faces we see visiting our store, they tell us that they’re finding us thanks to our correct information on these platforms,” said Golley.
The Deluxe team didn’t just put up a website and freshen the logo: Golley said that the revitalization left him with knowledge and great ideas that he will be able to use to market his business for years to come.
“I got an opportunity to tell my story and share how I felt, and Deluxe listened,” he said. “With our new branding, Today’s Beauty is a household name in the Alton community now, and for that, we can’t thank Deluxe enough.”
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