Hair Care News

Add a Free Facial to Increase Salon Sales

Posted on September 21, 2009 with No Comments

A good friend of mine owns one of the largest hair salons in north Georgia.  Owned and run by he and his wife, they have experienced a measurable drop in volume and sales in the past 18 months.

Theirs is a full service salon offering color, perms, straightening, and serve both women and men.  In the past, they also offered facials along with foot care and fingernail work.  The first thing they noticed was business dropping in these ancillary services – primarily because they were not considered necessities per customer feedback.

Regardless, during “good” economic times, these services sold well and were considered by many a very relaxing way to complete a salon experience – not necessarily competing with a spa or day spa, but a nice supplement to services and a very nice add-on for additional revenue.

Something you might consider to increase salon revenue, is to offer a promotion of a free facial periodically.  While this may not be a tactic you want to offer daily, picking a day or two a month might be a big draw to bring in some very tired customers looking for a renewal.

The cost can be minimal relative to a big boost in sales.  Setting up a station toward the back of the store may be as easy as putting up a few screens and there should be plenty of massage experts who would be willing to work a dy or two a month for some additional exposure.

If you have an outdoor display, post the promotion or foot the bill for a $50-$100 banner that you can display.  For those salons who have tried this, promotions have ranged from “free” to “free with a perm or styling”.  Again this may not be an answer to an overall increase in permanent traffic, it’s a service that will probably bring in new customers and boost loyalty of your current customer base.

Walk-ins Welcome? Is this a good Strategy?

Posted on September 11, 2009 with No Comments

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

Should You Publish Prices to Increase Salon Revenue?

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.