At the intersection of love and people is the human need for connection. Between people and marketing, the human longing to feel recognised and engaged in ways that matter. And where marketing and love meet, we find authentic expression and real stories.

But there’s something really quite special at the intersection of a “love for love”, people and marketing. If you recognise yourself in that, like Kati Whitledge, you likely have an innate (or developed), profound understanding of the art of matchmaking. Marketing guru, podcaster, and the founder of mya, Kati’s core message at the Salon Owners Summit 2025 was clear: marketing is the key to business success—and it works just like dating and marriage.

The following insights stem from her refreshing talk, emphasizing the emotional connection behind consumer decisions and how salons can leverage this understanding to build lasting relationships with clients.

Marketing Is Like Falling in Love

Opening with a bold statement about how marketing can solve 99% of business problems, Kati quickly established the metaphor that would guide and carry her keynote from beginning to end:

“Marketing is like falling in love. It’s like marriage. […] Like marriage, marketing is driven by emotions. It’s fun most of the time, and it gets better when you work at it.”

She explained that marketing isn’t just about promotions and advertisements. While marketing exists to reach people, the best marketing deeply understands people—their needs, struggles, and aspirations. Much like personal relationships, we seek relationships with brands that make us feel seen, valued, and understood. Thus, marketing driven by love isn’t about tactics. It’s about creating messages that resonate, sharing stories that matter, and experiences that truly enrich people’s lives.

The Love Cycle of Marketing

For Kati, understanding the journey of finding and keeping a romantic partner is to understand a customer’s buying behavior and decision-making process. Like moving up the relationship escalator, moving through the stages to attain a client’s lasting commitment might appear straightforward. It is, however, layered with subtle complexities. Marketing like a matchmaker takes into consideration those nuances, creating a cycle that ultimately leads to a committed, repeat client base.

Let’s break it down:

• Desire – Clients must want what you offer.
• Discovery – Whether intentionally or not, they need to find you through social media, ads, word-of-mouth, a Google search, etc.
• Attraction – Clients reach the “I’m curious” stage where they’re happy to give you their digits and engage in conversation.
• The First Date – This is where they assess whether you are aligned with their hopes and expectations.
• We’re Exclusive – They interact with your brand.
• Marriage – They become loyal, repeat clients.

Exploring the Nuances

1. Desire is built through continuous exposure

Big brands like L’Oréal, Disney, and Amazon spend billions ensuring their products remain top-of-mind: “They do this because it creates desire, and we tend to prefer and desire what feels familiar. If you see something over and over again, it becomes familiar to you.”

While salons don’t have billion-dollar budgets, they don’t need them either. The principle —repeated exposure creates desire— remains the same, and because we are socialised and encouraged to look and feel our best (we can discuss beauty standards another day), Kati continues: “This piece of the marketing puzzle, this priming and conditioning process, we don’t have to do. It’s being done for you.”

2. To find a date worth keeping is a numbers game

Salons lose 30% of their clients each year to natural attrition. Without continuous lead generation, those clients don’t get replaced, and growth stagnates.

“The desire is already planted for us, but are they finding you?” Kati challenged the audience. Arguing that waiting for clients to find you is no longer enough, she shared personal dating experiences to bring her point to life: “When I put myself out there, I got a lot more in return than when I sat back.”

Hair and beauty businesses are often great at communicating and ensuring customers know their worth. However, making their desirability known to people who are not yet customers is often a different story.

To actively attract new clients, she recommended using Phorest’s Ads Manager feature —which helps salons generate leads— in tandem with mya —which converts them into actual bookings. 

3. You’ve got their digits; what next?

A potential client is curious and submits their name, email, and phone number through one of your forms or starts a conversation with you on social media: great! You’ve been invited to a speed dating round. One that holds you to a 5-minute response time.

Let’s say you meet that expectation. What next? Like dating, you keep asking questions, showing interest, and learning about them. Kati explains: “Exposure is at an all-time high, but trust is, for customers, at an all-time low. So it takes the average customer five to seven touch points between themselves and a brand before buying from them for the first time.”

The key is consistent follow-up and engagement—without it, leads will go cold. “Not all leads become buyers,” Kati noted, “but it’s a numbers game.” For example, with 200 leads and a 10% conversion rate, a salon can expect 20 new clients. While industry conversion rates hover around 10-15%, mya users see conversion rates between 35-55%.

4. You don’t get a second chance at making a first impression

If you play your cards right during the attraction stage of The Love Cycle, then you’ll find yourself getting ready for a first date. “Think back, how many first dates have you been on? How many resulted in more than a first date?“ asked Kati, a question she followed up with industry statistics showing that 65% of new clients do not return after their first visit. The main reason? Misaligned expectations.

Clients expect:

• Personalised attention – Make the experience easy from check-in to check-out and zero in on connection.
• Cleanliness – Appearance affects perception, so make sure what you project online is also true once a client is in your business.
• Expert guidance – Be the guide to help clients be the heroes in their own life stories. Give them a vision, not just for today’s visit, but for their future ones too.
• Results – Deliver consistency in your results with your standard operating procedures (SOPs).

5. What speed do they move at? 

Sharing the example of the difference between her and her husband, Kati then outlined two primary client types and the importance of knowing which category your clients fall into.

• Spenders – Impulsive, convenience and gratification-driven with a fear of missing out and/or being seen as cheap or uninformed.
• Savers – Cautious and risk-averse with a fear of being manipulated, wasting money and/or losing financial control.

Effective marketing speaks to both groups—making spenders feel special and savers feel smart: “All your marketing communications should have these two things in mind. Think about what’s in it for them. Why should they care? That’s how you build that relationship with them and communicate with them.”

6. Marriage takes work; so does a long-term client relationship

Nearing the end of her talk, Kati stresses the importance of nurturing relationships — both in the dating world and with clients: “What great lovers and great marriages have is a focus on communication, listening, and they don’t let the chivalry die.”

Knowing that clients leave when they feel ignored or unappreciated, she suggested:

1. Staying in touch – Send 3-4 emails per week to remain top-of-mind.
2. Listening to clients – Use surveys and reviews to gather feedback.
3. Showing curiosity and appreciation – Make clients feel valued and special, the same way you would on a “first date.”

She emphasised, “Don’t let the spark die with your customers. If you do these things, they’ll stay with you for life.”

Whoever Wants It the Most Wins a Client’s Business for Life

Winning and keeping clients requires a strategy—not just luck. With the right approach to marketing and client engagement, salon owners can build a thriving business where clients don’t just come once—they return for life. If you’re looking for additional depth and context to Kati’s keynote and her why, then you’ll love this PhorestFM episode, which serves as a reflection on innovation and entrepreneurship.

In addition to its North American presence, mya is now officially available in the UK and Ireland, empowering salons to navigate the full scope of the client journey and ensuring sustainable growth.

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Keep Learning from the Experts

Read more of the 2025 Salon Owners Summit Recaps.