Women go to hair salons every day looking for that perfect cut. Frequently they’re nervous, whether they’ve been there before and especially if it’s their very first time. For many, their hair is their crowning glory, so understandably they want to entrust to a hairstylist who will not damage it in any way and will give them something spectacular and that won’t embarrass them.
When women make an appointment at a salon, they’re expecting to be treated well, to get a five-star cut and to maybe pick up some products, so they can maintain their look. These places are more than just haircut establishments.
A beauty salon is a place where women go before a big event like a New Year’s Eve party. It’s a place where they go with their girlfriends sometimes or host bachelorette events, and they look forward to their visits, so they can be indulged for a couple of hours, or longer.
For these reasons, when you decide to open a salon, keep those things in mind. Too many salons miss the mark in various ways. See that you don’t by following these tips.
Offer Styles for Special Occasions
Since most women visit their salons before attending a special occasion event like an office party or a wedding, make sure you have hairstylists who are skilled at creating these styles. The more stylists you have available who can provide clients with services such as hair extensions to create a winning wedding hairstyle, among other original hairdos, the happier your clients will be and the more they will return to your salon.
Think of the revenue you could generate just from brides alone. Her entire bridal party could become customers if you play your cards right and deliver an outstanding service. Coincidentally, the wedding business like the salon business is virtually recession-proof, so you’ll always have a steady stream of clients.
Stay on Trend
Many salons choose to stick to a limited “menu” of traditional style offerings and services that no longer cater to all the needs of today’s customer. Now, the latest hair trends include styles and ideas that many women may want but not may be able to get because their local salon doesn’t offer it.
If their local salon can’t give them what they want, they may have to travel quite a distance to go to a salon that can give them the style they’re looking for.
That’s a mistake that you don’t have to make. If you have at least one great stylist who can do great hair extensions, for example, you can make your business more desirable to both new customers as well as old. Salons that stay on trend, like the Elle B salon, keep customers happy and can be seen as more relevant and “with the times” overall than salons that lack a greater variety in contemporary choices.
Don’t Lesson the Value of Product Selection
The retail products you sell at your salon shouldn’t be a side note or afterthought; rather, look at them as important supporting players. In fact, give as much thought to this component of your business as your style offerings.
You can make a hefty profit that’s ongoing from the sales pouring forth from a shelf of high-quality products that keep your customers looking salon chic long after they leave the salon. In fact, the profit margins that come from retail products can be much higher than those of even your core services, according to “Retail Management for Salons & Spas.”
If a stylist recommends the best product for a customer, for example, the best product for them to keep their new color job looking sublime or the best product for their dry hair needs, then that can help the customer tremendously, and the customer won’t soon forget that.
Keep Stylists Looking Like the Very Best Representatives?
Too often, salons forget that stylists should always look like the very best representatives of the salon, which they are. New customers especially are evaluating your business to a very large degree based on how they see the stylists’ hair done: Is it well cut?
Does it look healthy? Does it look modern? They’re looking to see if the stylists really know what they’re doing. It’s a fail when a stylist doesn’t really look the part since potential customers could be discouraged.
The bottom line is you want people to feel comfortable knowing that they’ll be in good hands with your stylists, advises Nick Arrojo, the author of “Great Hair: Secrets to Looking Fabulous and Feeling Beautiful Every Day” and the former makeover hairstylist on the TLC show “What Not to Wear.”
With most towns and cities having multiple salons for people to pick from, you can’t afford to miss out on these fundamental tips for driving sin new customers.
