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That Awkward Moment When a Client Asks For a Discount

Beauty salons are a place women visit on a monthly basis to feel and look good. While many women take out the time to visit a salon to maintain their hair, skin, and nails, others enjoy the relaxing treatments and ‘me time’ it provides. According to SBDCNet, $20 billion are spent every year on salon treatments. The target market for salons and spas is women between the ages of 35 and 64.
Salon owners need to work hard to maintain their businesses and make it thrive; it’s a day to day struggle. Salon sales have only increased by 3% since 2016, meaning that margins remain slim for salon businesses.
Clients don’t consider these factors and will often ask for discounts. Here are some of the more common reasons for why they do so:

Financial problems

We’ve all been there at some point. With daily living expenses skyrocketing, many of us live paycheck to paycheck every month. A client may have lost their job, their investments, or they could be dealing with an ailment that’s burning a hole in their pocket.
Most clients will be upfront about the financial problems they’re facing. Listen to them and then decide if you want to help them out with a discount.
If someone has been made redundant and is looking for new opportunities, maintaining their look can even help them secure a job. Giving such a client a discount will earn your salon respect and loyalty from that client. Such a client will surely come back to you in the future.

Deal hunters

Some people enjoy the thrill of getting a good deal on a product or service. Whether they can comfortably afford the full price or not, they like haggling with salon staff to get the cheapest possible rates for the services they require. They’ll even promise to keep coming back to your salon if they get what they want.
In reality, such clients just want to see the bare minimum they can pay and get away with. Giving in to such clients can cause some major problems for your salon in the future. Clients can get their friends/family to show up at your salon expecting discounts too. Their haggling can disturb the experience of other clients in your salon as well. This could cause a feud and result in them bad mouthing your salon, tarnishing its image in the long-term.
Don’t give into such clients. They don’t have a reason to ask for a price break. You need to keep in mind the efforts of your staff and the experience you provide, which is worth the price you charge. Giving such clients discounts can affect the morale of your staff as well.

Famous clients

One thing that not many people realize about famous faces is that they’re not used to paying for anything. Once celebrities and influencers become popular, they expect to be treated like royalty. They think of their time as money and expect free services. In fact, they may even expect you to pay them for a visit.
If you’ve ever dealt with a famous client, you’ll notice that most of them expect special treatment and discounted rates. It’s up to you to decide if you want to indulge them by giving them a discount. Once again, you need to be careful with famous faces; they can turn the tables on you if they don’t get what they want. Always have proof of what happens when a celebrity visits your salon.
On the other hand, you could use this as a promotional technique. Ask them if it’s okay to take a picture of them, ask them for a shout-out on social media in exchange for a discount. When it comes to beauty bloggers, offer them free services if they review your salon on their blog. You could also give them a promo code which can earn them money and earn you more clients.

Top responses to a discount request

“What are you looking for in an offering?”

Sometimes, clients will straight up ask for a discount when trying to book an appointment. They usually ask for an estimate and then expect a discount. Tell them that you want to first understand what they’re looking for in an offering. This will give you the opportunity to recommend the best services to them and a calculated discount. Denying a client a discount straight up will portray a negative image of the salon.

“Is the pricing a major obstacle for you?”

Your salon’s pricing won’t be affordable for every client. If a client’s request comes in right after finding out about your prices, it’s a clear giveaway that it’s out of their budget. Denying them services will result in them walking away. As a salon owner, it’s completely up to you if you want to allow a discount to such a client.

“What would be a reasonable discount?”

In our experience, offering one-off discounts is a good way to build a business. A salon owner will need to judge a client’s motives before agreeing to a discount. Is the client a one-time customer or will they use this discount as a way to come back?
Ask the client what their expectations are out of a discount. This way, you can calculate if the discount they’re expecting will dig into your profits. If they’re asking for anything over 20%, it’s pretty unreasonable. Meet them halfway on their demands.

Looking for more advice on making your salon a success? At Salon Income Booster, we cater to businesses and help them increase hair and beauty salons income and salon retail merchandise for optimum growth. We provide everything from marketing strategies to income generation, we provide end-to-end solutions to all salons.
We also assist new businesses in the industry with their investment plans by offering consultation.

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