Kelly Seet had always wanted to run her own business and in 2019, she took a leap of faith and opened her first business.
Kelly set up Belle and Clair – a beauty and wellness store focusing on eyelash extensions, perm, facials, massages and waxing. Their future plans include diversifying into cosmetic products such as facials, moisturizing creams and make-up.
Uncertain on how to go about launching the newly set up business, Kelly reached out to SME Centre @SMCCI, where she was referred to Mike Krishnan, one of our Business Advisor.
During their first meeting, Kelly explained her plans of launching a grand opening of Belle and Claire. However, the company’s website was undergoing development and she needed advice on how the team could turn to alternative marketing platforms to attract new potential customers to the launch.
Customer acquisition and retention
Mike suggested Kelly to explore social media marketing through platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Mike also recommended Kelly to consider a loyalty programme as a strategy to help acquire new customers as well as retain existing ones.
“Oversaturated market makes it difficult for SMEs to stand out. To stay ahead of the competition, small companies without big marketing budgets need to focus on building a solid customer base. One way to do so is through loyalty programmes,” shared Mike.
Kelly also shared the need to purchase a POS system to cope with their inventory management. Mike recommended that she purchased a POS system and tap on the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) to defray its costs.
Mike realized that Kelly needed to develop a plan and steer her business towards that direction to ensure success. He suggested that Kelly formulate a Business Plan that would entail various components such as SWOT analysis, Vision & Mission, Marketing plan as well as financial projections.
Mike spent the next few sessions with Kelly creating a business plan that would ultimately fulfil the company’s objectives as well as chart its milestones towards growth and scalability.
“Mike’s assistance came at an important time when Belle and Claire was first starting out and needed a sense of direction. Hence, devising a business plan was important as it acted as a compass to ensure that we were on the right track,” explained Kelly.