Fayshell is building cult status as Sydney’s must-visit beauty destination, predominantly through marketing strategies implemented via social media. Hannah Gay catches up with owners Katelin Gregg and Ella James, one year since opening their first space, to hear of their successes.
Ella and Kaitlin, 12 months ago I interviewed you on the opening of Fayshell’s Bondi salon. At that stage, was opening a second location already on the cards for you?
“Back then, we were already very keen to open our second location however did not think that it would be this soon. Within six months we had already signed the lease for our second location and just about to commence construction.”
Why open at Neutral Bay?
“We had a lot of interest from the North and customers that were travelling over the bridge to visit us, so it just felt right that this would be the next location.”
Your Neutral Bay salon is noticeably larger! Can you run through the biggest differences between this and your Bondi space?
“You are correct. Neutral Bay is about double the size of Bondi. The core vibe and theme of the salons are the same, however the key differences are that Neutral Bay is much bigger with four treatment rooms and an express treatment room. This will give us the option to introduce further treatments later in the year. We also have enhanced a few features including the LED wash station, reapply bar and a bigger waiting area for comfort.”
Across both sites, how many staff members do you now have on the books?
“14.”
The business operate on a membership model. Have you opted to increase your service prices in the last 12 months due to interest rate hikes, staff wage increases, and so on?
“We have not lifted our prices in the last year.”
Fayshell has always appeared to have a strong relationship with influencers, media and brands as a means of creating brand awareness. Do you see that developing relationships with people of influence has contributed to your business’ rapid success? Why or why not?
“We really value the relationships we have built within the media and brands across this industry. It has been beneficial, alongside other marketing strategies, to use influencers and brands that have a similar target market demographic to gain new clients and members! We like to work on long term relationships rather than a one-off appointment, as social media is so saturated these days I feel like customers need at least five to seven touchpoints with a brand before they even trust it!
Having media in has also showcased our brand from the perspective of the consumer. This allows new clients to build trust and gain insight into what their experience might be like before committing to the appointment.”
Have you ever hired social media and/or marketing strategies or support?
“We had a bit of support for social media at one stage last year for creating video content which was super helpful, however currently we have decided to do everything in-house.”
What other strategies have you implemented to help generate new and returning customers?
“For us, we only have focused on social media to bring in new clients. My (Kaitelin’s) main role is social media, and to be honest sometimes my screen time is up to eight hours per day!
On top of that, making sure that our customer journey experience from start to finish is next to none is our biggest strategy, as this encourages word-of-mouth marketing and helps spread the Fayshell love faster.”
Is it too early to ask what plans Fayshell has in store for 2024?
“Our lips are sealed… Although, I (Katelin) might have let this slip in a previous question! Plus, we are currently in development of something… I will leave that open to interpretation.”
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