When it comes to retaining existing customers and attracting new ones to your salon, there is no more powerful influence than a proper salon management system. Salon management involves a series of procedures that a salon business takes to ensure smooth operation and growth of the business. Your salon business may be running smoothly, but with busy hands all over, hair salon management can be trivialized. In this article, we will highlight 10 actionable tips for managing your salon business. Following these tips can help you improve your salon business. Let’s roll!
1. Manage your in-salon experience
The first thing you want to put in place is your customers’ satisfaction. A happy client is not just a returning client, but also a brand advocate. When it comes to your salon management system, we consider:
- Making your clients happy
The key to customer retention is keeping them happy. Here are a few ways to go about that:
- Offer quality services
- Deliver personalized experiences e.g. remember everything about your clients like skin type, color formulas, etc.
- Use eco-friendly salon equipment
- Communicate effectively with your clients – this will build a bond between you and them
- Ensure your business environment is clean
All of these will go a long way in ensuring your clients are comfortable. And, once they are comfortable with your salon business, their trust in your services will increase automatically. What’s more, happy clients will willingly review your products and services after each appointment.
- Dealing with unhappy clients
Salons are a place where different kinds of people meet. Don’t let it surprise you when you have to deal with a disgruntled client. It is part of every business. Instead of losing your mind, you want to be patient, calm, and show empathy. Learn why the client is acting the way they are and do everything within your power to improve their look before they leave your salon.
2. Salon staff management
While communication with clients is effective, salon staff management is similarly effective. Every business or organization has its dos and don’ts, and that includes your salon business. Where there is no law there is no sin. It can be difficult to manage a salon team which is why it is important to put rules in place that obliges all your team members. Here are a few ways to get there:
- Be bold to talk up your team inside and outside of the salon.
- Conduct regular staff meetings – this could be daily, weekly, or biweekly. During this meeting, you want to allow your staff to express themselves.
- Train them on the latest salon techniques and how to use modern salon technology.
- Enroll them in salon management courses to grow their skills and improve their knowledge.
- Praise and recognize them when they perform well. Scrutinize and correct them when they underperform.
- Take actions early to solve conflicts.
- Setting up a roster is a great way to promote responsibility among staff or team members.
- Team-building activities like volunteering, playing chess, etc. helps to motivate employees.
- Keep the employees connected to the salon by seeking their opinions on sensitive matters, engaging them at work, requesting feedback, and what goals you have set for each of them.
- Establish a panel for handling conflicts.
Seamless communication with staff and clients is the core of effective nail salon management. Your employees will feel underpowered if your salon employees aren’t sure what their roles are, or how to reach out for assistance when dealing with an issue, it’ll be difficult for them to feel empowered.
3. Offer rewards for referrals
While some happy clients will generously refer their friends and loved ones to your salon, others may not find that a priority. But, with a little incentive, you can turn them you’re your brand advocate. Who doesn’t like a reward? The concept is to introduce an incentive to make it worth their while to recommend you. You don’t need something elaborate that will ruin your profit. A good deal like a free cut after 2 referrals can be a good deal.
4. Simplify your appointment booking process
Customers love to have everything on a silver platter. As such, you want to offer your clients a seamless booking experience using online booking software. Online booking software is designed to make appointment management easier for salon owners. They ensure keeping track of daily appointments and last-minute cancellations, group appointments, self-reschedule, and book recurring. What’s more? Salon owners can use this tool to send automated email and text reminders to clients so they don’t miss their appointments.
5. Cross-sell your customers
Your current customers have the potential to spend more in your salon in the long run. This is why customer satisfaction is a top priority for any business. Convincing them to buy from you is the hard part, earning their trust continually is the harder part. But, when you have clients who trust your brand and service, it becomes easier to cross-sell. What does cross-selling mean? Cross-selling simply means recommending other/related services you offer in your salon. Let’s say John is used to cutting his hair for years. You might suggest he tints his hair as a way to change his look. If he buys the idea, you have successfully cross-sold it to John. He will pay you for cutting and tinting his hair. When cross-selling, try to introduce the extra service logically. Also, ensure you do not overly pitch sales to your existing customers.
6. Upsell your customers
Upselling is a marketing technique that involves encouraging a client to purchase a comparable higher-end service than the one in use. If John buys a hair cream worth $14 from your store, you can introduce the one for $22 for him to buy. If he buys, you have successfully upsold to John.
7. Marketing campaign
Sometimes when I search for big companies like Facebook on Google, I see ads. I wonder why a platform as popular as Facebook still advertises. I found out they understand the power of marketing. They are happy for the billions of users in their database, but they believe there is more. This is the attitude of successful business owners. Even if you boast 95 clients per day, there is always more. Marketing your salon business will always boost the profitability of your business. Consider the following strategies for marketing your salon business:
- Incorporate loyalty programs as an avenue to appreciate your clients – do this by offering discounts.
- Keep your clients in touch by sending personalized SMSs and emails during birthdays, festivals, etc.
- Introduce a salon membership program to attract new clients to allow clients to get your services regularly, but at discounted rates.
- Come up with personalized offers like birthday discounts, etc.
8. Monitor daily salon operation
Looking after operations is an integral part of hair salon management. As a salon business owner, you want to ensure that your employees resume work on time and perform their daily tasks accordingly. You also want to check their attire and hygiene, as cleanliness is crucial within the salon. Other important responsibilities are:
- Tracking product inventory
- Keeping records up-to-date
- Tracking order supplies
- Managing the salon software
- Scheduling regular maintenance for your equipment, to name a few.
These should be done by the hair salon manager daily.
9. Handling client feedback and salon reputation management online
While you are confident in the type of service you offer, you also want to know what your clients feel or think about your salon business. How do you go about your salon reputation management?
- Collect feedback from clients by asking them [word of mouth] or using questionnaires.
- If you get positive feedback from your clients, encourage them to share it on social media. This will boost your brand reputation and drive more customers your way. You can add a little incentive to encourage more clients.
- Handle negative feedback by asking questions. You want to know why they are not satisfied. Could it be the way your employee attended to them? Could it be your salon environment? Could it be poor communication? Each time your salon receives negative feedback, you want to respond to negative reviews immediately and appropriately. Analyze the reason behind those negative complaints and take responsibility for improvement.
10. Keep the salon consistent
From your salon business logo to the furniture, uniform, linen, paintings, and salon equipment, every detail needs to be kept consistent. Clients particularly pay attention to your salon equipment so should you. What kind of salon equipment are you using? Are they of high quality and durability? If not, you can try Omysalon, the professional salon equipment supplier, specializes on spa, barber, massage, mani-pedi, and skin-care equipment. They are a fast-growing salon equipment company that is committed to providing professional, durable, and reasonably-priced salon products for salons, spas, massage parlors, and skin-care businesses. You may visit OmySalon.com for more information.
Conclusion
The salon business is uniquely personal, so salon management is crucial to any salon owner. Most people underestimate the power of maintaining the smooth operation of their salons, but I assure you, the consequences can be devastating. In this article, you have learned ten effective salon management ideas to drive more customers. Don’t you think it is time to start applying these right away?
