Posts Tagged barbers
Posted on September 11, 2009 with 1 Comment
For small, large, and boutique salons, it is rare to not see a sign that says “Walk-ins Welcome”. But is this a good tactic for increasing and traffic and revenue? Let’s take a couple of minutes to discuss.
“Walk ins Welcome“provides an opportunity for the salon owner or manager to communicate to the world that you don’t need an appointment. While this certainly doesn’t ring an “ha-ha” moment and seems pretty obvious, the strategy is to avoid the notion by many that appointments are required to get your hair styled or cut at a busy or upper-end salon.
While it is true getting into one of the better salons can be difficult, there are generally stations and stylists available whereby you can fit-in folks who walk-in. The benefit is you are able to avoid what is a deterent to many potential customers for coming into your shop - namely, the necessity and hassle required to stop-by or call to schedule an appointment.
Recently, as business continues to drop during this recession, I have increasingly seen higher-end salons letting folks know that appointments are not required, and in fact, new clients are welcome at the drop of a hat.
Can this hurt your reputation, though? We asked several owners what their opinions were and the responses are not all that surprising.
We discussed this with what I would consider an “average” large beauty shop owner. On Fridays and weekends, his station salon is generally full - of stylists. These are mostly independents who have “rented” stations. Give they only have 3-5 appointments per day, getting a walk-in 2 or 3 times a day can be a significant boost in traffic. Additionally, this salon has a large “beauty shop” inventory of supplies. So, getting a few new customers also brings the benefit of boosting sals of shampoos, brushes, dryers, falt irons, et al.
The second interview we had was with a partner/owner in a very upscale salon in the heart of a high-end outdoor shopping area. Her perspective was her clientele came from word of mouth recommendations by satisfied clients and that her and her staff’s days were filled. In fact, promoting “walk-ins welcome” would do very little good since their salon was located on a side street with little or no high-volume foot ot car traffic.
So, the debate seems to fall on the side of promoting “no appointment needed” if…
- You are in a highly trafficked area - either pedestrians or vehicles
- You have excess capacity and time
- Your price points are within the range of most reasonable consumers
- You can benefit from ancillary beauty supply sales - combs, brushes, hairsprays, shampoos, blow dryers, etc.
- You and your staff are well-trained in the art of customer service
Posted on August 14, 2009 with No Comments
Publishing your prices to the world - competitors or prospective customers, alike - can be a good thing and, well, a not so good thing.
With a deepening economy and salon traffic and sales down substantially, the creativity fires are brewing - leading to many conservative as well as fringe techniques for getting more folks through the door.
Most recently I noticed one of the top boutique salons in Atlanta publishing their prices on their marque. Normally used for prophetic sayings or introducing new products, the sign clearly laid out all the prices they were charging for certain treatments…shampoo and style; shampoo, color and style, perms, et al!
While this may not seem too unusual, for this “top tier” exclusive salon, it was unexpected for me. Does it work? Well, yes and no.
The first argument is that you give away your pricing to your competition and you lose exclusivity. The first issue is competitors can get your prices easy enough with a quick call or having a “shopper” stop by the salon or in fact have their hair done.
Yet pricing exclusivity issue is another challenge. Exclusivity draws customers, and in some cases, repels them. The trick is to find the balance - which I believe is understanding what are the most common treatments in your area, finding a price point that will draw folks into the store, then keeping them (with service and a great hairstyle) for increased salon revenue?
So, how do you price the services?? I recommend running seasonal or situational sales - back-to-school, Thanksgiving, Halloween, wedding parties, etc. Whatever the occassion, make sure it is well publisized - on your website, in the papers, on your sign, or have a small sign made-up to stick in your lawn, outside the store or in your window.
Remember, as you consider pricing and competition, that the majority of customers will stay with and be loyal to their stylist once they find someone who works well with them and does a great job on their hair. Pulling someone away from that loyalty is tough, so make it easy with the right pricing and occasion.
The idea to keep in the back of your mind is that if you normally see 60 customers per week and each of them extend their stylings one week, you will lose about 240 stylings per year - or the equivalent of roughly one month’s worth of revenue. (Note- this assumes your clients get their hair styled once per month)
Price your services and consider your service specials accordingly to make-up for that lost traffic.
Tags: advertising, barbers, hair salons, increase profits, increase revenue, pricing services, salon management, salon revenue
Category: Community, Improving Profits, Traffic & Revenue, salon management
Posted on May 6, 2009 with 3 Comments
As a follow-up on our previous post regarding increasing salon revenue, last night (coincidentally) I saw a report on the local Atlanta news about salon owner giving away free haircuts to those who recently lost jobs.
11 Alive News a local NBC affiliate reported how a salon owner was reaching out to those who recently becam unemployed. I reported on this in previous blog as a technique to not only improve traffic but to help your community. Apparently from the report, all the stylists were excited to take part and response from customers was overwhelming - and heart-felt with gratification.
Needless to say, the two minute piece on the 7pm news has helped build traffic, loyalty and exposure - free exposure. While every owner who chooses to offer a plan like this will get similar FREE coverage, it might be picked on the radio, local or community paper, or by word of mouth.
The key to promoting, is, well, promoting. Let nearby unemployment agencies and churches know of your program. Drop-off leaflets at temporary agencies. They usually have large rolls of folks looking for work, and displaying or posting a professionally prepared flyer may often work well. Especially if you reciprocate. Offer to put some of their cards or a flyer in your shop. If folks are getting their haircut and are looking for a job, considering registering with a temporary employment service may help them find a job…everyone wins!
The cond part of the report focused on free styling for moms for Mother’s Day. An Atlanta-area salon hosted a Mom Pampering Day. The recruited several makeup artist, nail specialists, and spa staff to give free massages, nail treatments, and makeovers - along with a wash, cut and styling. Again, they got great, free press and exposure and judging from the video, the place was PACKED. Most salons provide some spa services. If you don’t, go visit a few to see if you can pull together a partnership for a day to promote everyone’s business. If they are slow, then they might jump at the chance to perform the services + they have their own prospect for promotion.
Posted on May 3, 2009 with 17 Comments
If you’re a hair salon owner, you have probably been asking yourself “How do I increase revenue, sales or traffic?” Here are some tips, advice and ideas on how you can weather the current economic storm and increase profit.
During the current economic crisis, sales and revenues for hair salons has plummeted. Many people are choosing to prolong cuts and styling, and product purchases have dried-up for all but the largest and heavily trafficked locales. With economic conditiions are what they are, increasing traffic is the primary concern. Consider several several of these successful ideas we have seen or heard about:
- Give away business (cuts) for free - There are many people in a tough situation and could use a helping hand. While this idea seems to go against the grain and purpose, promoting free (or nearly free) haircuts can give you a lot of free press and customer goodwill. Ideas we have seen are the “First Cut a Penny”. One salon owner has jars of pennies sitting around the the store full of pennies. The hope is if customers get friendly, curteous service, they will return..plus the jars of pennies are a great novelty. You can expand this idea to children, veterans, over the age of 65, or limit the offer to slow or off days when business is weak.
- Partner - Many successful reataurants and salons partner with local elementary, middle and high schools. Contant local administration offices to see how you can participate. This make require a small investment, but schools often have programs whereby partners are allowed to participate, advertising and promote their business. Chic-fil-a is a master at this and have lead to great success for many of their stores located near schools.
- Use discount coupons - I continue to be amazed how many folks look for and use coupons. Give all customers coupons for discounts on future services. We have seen quite a bit of success when coupons also include 2 for 1 or 50% discounts for hair products. It’s a great way to move shampoos, conditioners or styling aids off the shelves that might not be selling anyway.
- E-mail campaign - Though more of a long-term consideration, ask customers for email addresses when the registered for a cut or have them register online for promotions. Periodically use this campaign to announce discounts, holiday specials or servie specials - coloring, perms, products sales, etc. Be cautious not to use emails for other purposes (or sell them), and make sure propsects “opt-in” to your program to avoid violating spam laws.
- Website optimization - Make sure you have a website that is optimized for your location. We looked at a local salon’s site recently and found their meta data had not information that described their services or location. For those of you who don’t know what meta data is, it is the information search engines use to identify and classify your site. If you service downtown Atlanta or north Jacksonville, your meta data needs to say that…or, your site will be thrown in with the rest and you’ll have little chance you will be found for local products or services.
- Participate in local chambers of commerce - personally I have found this to be a bit of a drag, but for many, getting out there, mingling and getting to know local business people can be hugely helpful - especially in the long run. Many meetings allow you to do a “3 minute pitch” on your company, and announcing some sort of promotion can get you some pretty good free press. It’s all about networking.
I’ll talk about several other ideas (including buying wholesale hair products) in a couple of weeks or when we see things that really work. If you have ideas for increasing traffic, revenue or profits, please post a comment to help everyone. We would love to hear what has worked for you and we’ll happily refer to your information. Good luck.
