Posted on May 25, 2009 with No Comments
The ISBN (International SpaSalon Business Network) is holding it’s 2009 Annual Conference May 31st, June st and June 2nd at the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island.
If your company owns multiple salon/spa locations, attending ISBN’s Conference gives you your best chance to stay on top of the many changes our industry is experiencing, especially important in these difficult times. Our association offers salon and spa owners an opportunity to belong to an inclusive network of companies that shares information and ideas. ISBN
The Keynote Speaker will be John Paul DeJoria the CEO of Paul Mitchell. The conference will highlight workshops, a “Link-Up lounge” for making and re-cementing industry contacts, and will kick-off with a golf tournament. Registration ranges from $395 to $995. Follow this link for more information and registration.
Considered a great online destination for the hair salon owner, ISBN does a great job focusing on business management…particularly in these difficult economic times when traffic and profits are down and costs continue to increase.
Tags: conferences, education, hair salons, increase profits, increase revenue, increase traffic, profitability, recession, Symposium, workshops
Category: Community, Improving Profits, Shows & Conferences, Symposium
Posted on May 6, 2009 with No 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 1 Comment
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.
