Meena Kulkarni has been running Meena's Beauty Studio in Kothrud, Pune for eleven years. For most of that time, her business came from neighbours, referrals, and regulars who'd been coming since she opened. She had no website, no social media presence, and no online booking system.
The problem: relying on walk-ins in a changing market
"COVID taught me that I couldn't depend on foot traffic alone," Meena explains. "When we reopened, some of my regulars had found other salons that were easier to book. I realised I needed to be findable online, not just in the neighbourhood."
She tried asking her nephew to build a website. Three months and several arguments later, there was still no website. A friend told her about Growthzi.
Launch: from signup to live in one evening
Meena signed up on a Tuesday evening, described her salon in a few sentences, and had a full website. Service menu, pricing, photo gallery, booking form, and Google Maps embed. Live before she went to bed. "I couldn't believe it. I kept refreshing to make sure it was real," she says.
She added her Google Business Profile the next day, linking it to the new website, and uploaded 12 photos of the salon interior and her work.
The results over six months
- Month 1: 18 online enquiries, 11 converted to bookings
- Month 2: 34 online bookings as the Google listing gained traction
- Month 3: 67 bookings. First month where online surpassed walk-ins
- Month 6: 214 monthly bookings, with 70% of her calendar now booked online
What made the difference
Three things drove the growth: the website gave her credibility and a place to send referrals ("I could finally say 'check our website' instead of describing everything over the phone"). The booking form reduced no-shows by 40% compared to WhatsApp bookings, because customers who book online commit more seriously. And the Google listing put her in front of people searching "salon in Kothrud" who had never heard of her.
"I spent eleven years building by word of mouth. Growthzi put me in front of people I never would have reached," Meena says. "I only wish I had done it sooner."
