Caught In The Crosshairs: Subtle But Sure Ways To Boost Salon IncomeApril 21, 2020Salons are considered one of the safest and most fruitful ventures to put your money into. Most ladies and gents frequent salons. Therefore, it’s an industry that can never be fully saturated. Having said that, sales don’t just happen! As a salon owner, you know that every day is a gamble. Some days can be busy while others are a drag. Clients will keep coming back if your services are good and your customers have formed valuable relationships with your stylists. There’s also another integral piece of the puzzle: new clients! Efforts need to be made to direct new clients in the direction of your salon. It is crucial that your efforts to sell your salon aren’t so “in your face.” Hard selling rarely works, consumers want a product to speak for itself rather than big advertisements. Here are some proven ways to increase your salon’s income: Gift cards Who wouldn’t enjoy a spa day as a birthday present? Gift cards have worked particularly well in the fashion, lifestyle, and beauty world, yet not every salon has gift cards. 2016 saw $140 billion spent on gift cards alone! This selling technique is such a no-brainer and it will surely be loved by your clients. Not only is introducing a gift card system an excellent mode of selling, but it’s also a marketing technique for your salon. Clients are likely to buy their loved ones gift certificates to your salon if they love your services. This is your chance to wow a new client! Make sure gift card clients are given the same level of comfort and luxury you offer to your repeat clients. It’s your big chance to make a good first impression. Your salon also gets paid in advance when making a gift card transaction. Since gift cards usually come with an expiry date, even if the person doesn’t show up to your salon, you aren’t obligated to give the money back. Make it known to your clients that you sell gift cards. Often times, the gift card offer isn’t advertised well enough in the salon or online. Customers visit the salon and leave without any knowledge of this new offer. When a customer is paying for their services, you can let them know about the gift cards you now offer. Since Christmas is around the corner, we suggest you have this offer up and running ASAP! An addition tip: make sure you have a delivery and online payment system so your clients don’t have to purchase the card at the salon. This service can increase your sales by a significant amount. Referral program Referral programs work in favor of both the customer and the client. In a referral program, you offer a special discount, money off, free service, or free product to the client who brings in a new customer. The salon benefits from the extra revenue and the client gets a freebie. This technique can help market your salon via word of mouth and foster loyalty within clients. You can transform your salon from a budding business into a thriving establishment. Your clients, too, will enjoy having a friend to accompany them on self-care day. When choosing a reward to give your loyal client, you need to make well-informed choices. If you decide on gifting a service, it shouldn’t be time-consuming, nor should it use very expensive products. The safest choices are a blow-dry, hair straightening, eyebrow sculpting, neck massage etc. when deciding on a discount, it should enough to cover your costs and some profit too! As for products, body lotions, soaps, conditioners, and face masks are cost-efficient. Rewards system A rewards system is popular with many big brands. It doesn’t mean your salon can’t be the first to start it in the industry! With a rewards system, you can give clients a certain percentage of points on their total bill every time they visit you. Over time the points will add up enough to get them a service free of cost. This technique is a way of giving back to your customers while ensuring they buy your services often. Once again the percentage chosen needs to be decided carefully. If you choose too high a number, chances are you will end up spending a major chunk of your money in free services. 2-5% is where you should set yourself. Create a niche for your salon If you are an avid Instagram user, you will see many videos on restaurants, stores, and salons that have set their businesses apart from the crowd. They make sure that hype is created about their unique salon. Specialization is desired everywhere! We have a particular “go to” store for jeans while another store for evening dresses, the reason being? It’s the expertise the offer! Likewise, your salon should carve a niche for itself and focus on it. When you have people from all over town coming to your salon for that particular service, that’s when you know, you’ve made it! Do your market research and identify the gaps in the market. If a particular service is desired by clients and no salon is yet to offer it in your area, jump on such opportunities! Offer such services and train your staff to be the best at it. You can provide fun hair coloring services or a unique facial; you must have seen a video or two on social media. Consistent services When creating the menu of services to offer at your salon, make sure every service is exceptional. Many salons offer a wide array of services but only have a limited amount of staff working there. It isn’t possible for the staff you have employed to perform every single service well. Employ groups of your staff for different services. Train your staff on exactly what steps to follow in each service they provide. Every salon has their own unique way of doing things. They throw in additional steps to make a client feel more relaxed, e.g. a mini hand massage when clients come in for a gel polish. Services like massages, facials, manicures and pedicures should always be consistent. Such services usually rely on the effort put in by the staff. As a salon owner wanting to maintain a certain standard of service being provided, you need to design a process to be followed by every member so that no client complains. Excellent customer service Your staff should know the details of every service your salon has to offer on their fingertips. When a client is at the reception, it’s very unprofessional to have them scurrying around asking each other information the clients want. They must also be very clear on all policies your salon follows, cancellation policy, refunds, and discounts. With Salon Income Booster you can learn all such strategies and much more from our experts! We provide an online platform which was built to aid budding salon businesses. With our help, your salon can achieve the height of success it aspires to. We provide marketing solutions to boost revenue, provide strategies to resolve management issues, feedback on retail display and the best upselling of salon services. Download our e-book to get access to unparalleled information on all things in the beauty industry. If you want to build your salon’s popularity from scratch or restore it to its former glory, you’re in the right place!