Simple and Swift: 6 Ways to Upgrade Your Salon’s Profit MarginJuly 24, 2019Salon owners are passionate about their work, at least most of them! They want to put together a dream team of stylists that has all the solutions to client’s aesthetic troubles. They want stylists who know their products, who know their appliances and most importantly, who know what their clients love! Making it big in this industry is all about being the best of the best! It’s not just about the team; it’s also about the salon’s ambiance— the location, the storefront, the displays, seating, décor, paint, flooring everything counts. At the heart of the entire design process are the clients—they spend a good amount of their time here and pay top dollar for it! If you find yourself giving a head massage to a client near the blow dry area, you are dealing with a design flaw, your customers might not say it, but they definitely don’t like it. At the same time, it’s also easy to give in to impulses when designing your salon. You’ll want to buy the best flooring, have the largest flat screens installed and even purchase those high-tech automatic movement, heated massage chairs, but right now might not be the best time to give in to those impulses. Spending so much on aesthetic components of the salon in its embryonic stages will come back to haunt you sooner than later. Instead, you’re better off sticking with the basics and then gradually building your way up from there. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t add a unique touch to your salon or that you should skimp on quality. If you’re looking to make changes or take certain steps that skyrocket your profits, keep reading: Look Up Your Credit Card Payment Service Contract Accepting multiple forms of payment is something you do to make things for your customers. It can be a blessing and a curse. The curse being the fees you pay to the merchant service provider. And we’re sure you never bothered reading through the fine print before hiring the payment processing company! If you are bound by a contract or you have merely skimmed through the fee structure, you’re most likely paying too much. In order to keep your overheads low, you must read the fine print. It’s also a good idea to compare fee structures to see which service provider is giving you the best price. Reach out to at least two different merchant service providers. You can also look up ones that provide dedicated services for salon owners. Apart from low processing rates, also mask for if the equipment is free of charge and clear out any queries you may have over waive cancellation fees. It is essential that the company you choose is also giving you state-of-the-art services like NFC and digital wallet payments. Offer Online Booking And Payment Services If your salon doesn’t have a website then you are overlooking potential clients! The internet is a great way to make more money and improve profits. A well designed and functioning website can help you set yourself apart from competitors. It also works great at creating awareness in the industry, attracting clients and getting the word out for promotional offers. You can also post plenty of pictures so that clients have an accurate representation of your salon; this will give your salon an instant credibility boost and foster loyalty among new clients. Make sure your website has visible buttons to book appointments and clear forms to input information. Cut down the appointment booking process, making it as short as you can. Increase Prices Increasing prices might seem impossible right now, particularly if your services are already priced quite steeply. At the same time, raising your prices by even a small percentage will have a huge impact on your profits. You must be nervous about losing loyal clients and for that we suggest preparing to offer them good reasoning— inflation is your best bet! Do some number crunching to project your increase in profit by increasing prices. You also need to time your price change , for example, consider a 2% increase every quarter or a 4% increase on a biannual basis. Make sure your staff is well versed with the reasons behind such changes too. You don’t want them thinking that they don’t have a share in this pie. Your employees will also need to be familiar with all of this in order to give the right explanations. As a salon owner, you won’t always be available to answer such questions. Social Media Presence Social media platforms are the best channels you have to inform your clients about your salon. Your presence across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest will prove significant in driving sales and attracting customers. You can promote your salon with the help of paid ads which are displayed along the newsfeeds to reach out to new customers. You can advertise offers on your page to inform clients and also link back to your website. The world of social media has really opened up. With millions of users on platforms like Pinterest, Google Plus, Yelp etc. your business must be active on all such apps. Use vibrant images, exciting content and catchy phrases to keep your audience engaged. If your clients allow you to share their before and after pictures across your social media profiles, make the most of them—use hash tags and keywords to drive organic traffic through these posts and improve their rankings in search results. Our experts suggest using location and service hash-tags to improve social media presence, e.g. tag your hair dying picture with #Balayage #cityname #hairservices. Expand Your Services Offering new services is a tried and tested formula to increase your client base. It tells the customer that you are bang on trend. Clients are always looking for salons that offer the latest in the beauty world and giving them what they want ensures that they will keep coming back for more. The more items you get on your price list, the opportunities you have to increase salon revenue. Clients won’t need to switch between salons as they get every service they need under one roof. Start introducing a wider array of products, alternative treatments, new nail services etc. Improve Efficiency And Reduce Overheads Keeping track of your expenses is an integral part of salon management. To hit the nail on the head when it comes to efficiency, you must constantly seek out top quality products on the lowest rates possible. Look for the best bulk discounts on the market. Once you establish a good relationship with a vendor you won’t have any issues with supply. In addition to this, it’s also worth training staff members on using the products available at your salon. Educating them on the right quantities, the right application techniques and of course, the right products to up-sell goes a long way at improving efficiency. Are you a salon owner looking for actionable insight to drive sales and boost revenue? Contact Salon Income Booster. We provide marketing ideas, upselling techniques as well as strategies to increase income for beauty and hair salons.