Me, my hairdresser & the marketing conundrum

Having worked with clients for the past 12 years in Lebanon and the region, one thing is clear: most of them are family-run businesses. And let’s be honest—the contrast between working with family vs. working with employees is huge.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Family businesses are a cornerstone of the economy, and many have done stellar work in their industries. But here’s the thing: when we work directly with employees (who don’t share a bloodline with the business), there’s usually less hesitation and a whole lot more clarity.

Take one client, for example. No matter how many recommendations we made, he just couldn’t get on board. Why? He was stuck in his comfort zone, used to doing things his way, and terrified of rocking the boat. It left us tied up in knots and, frankly, pretty frustrated.

Then something happened: I went to the hairdresser.

He convinced me to change my haircut. And suddenly, no matter what I did, I looked… well, let’s just say not how I wanted to look. When I told him how upset I was, he started explaining the “technicalities” of the cut, why he did it, and why it suited me. And guess what? The more he explained, the more annoyed I got.

And that’s when it hit me. We sometimes do the same thing with our clients. We bombard them with marketing jargon, convinced that if they just understood our side, they’d see the light. Meanwhile, what we’re not doing is simply being empathetic.

Here’s the link with my haircut: business owners are as close to their business as I am to my hair. All I really wanted from my hairdresser was empathy. Maybe our clients want the same thing from us: a little empathy, a little understanding, and sometimes a little extra hand-holding.

Because if a haircut can shake my confidence, imagine what a brand-new strategy, a rebrand, or a shift in communication can do to a business owner who’s deeply attached to “how things have always been.”

At the end of the day, our job isn’t just to bring in the data, the trends, or the shiny new ideas. It’s to understand the people behind the business. To meet them where they are. And to sometimes say less “trust me, this is the right cut” and more “I get why this feels scary—let’s go through it together.”

A little empathy goes a long way. In marketing, just like in haircuts, it might be the difference between a client walking out frustrated… or walking out smiling.