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The hair salon industry is a competitive one, with there being at least two hairdressing salons – and sometimes many more - in each shopping centre. Even if you are located in a small town or smaller shopping centre, you’ll always face competition. If you are considering opening your own hair salon, you may be wondering how to stand out from your competitors. You may be focusing on setting up your salon with gorgeous French décor or instead offering super cheap prices, but whatever the case, you should find a way to increase profit and gain customers. Or maybe you’ve been in business for a while, and you are looking for inspiration on how to gain more clients. Below we have compiled some tips to help add value – and clients – to your hair salon.
Getting out into your community is a great way to promote your business, whether it’s your local school or community group. Consider offering your services as prizes at the next school fete, for example. Maybe you could sponsor your local soccer club’s grand final or offer a special promotion during your community’s Christmas celebrations.
You could also offer gift cards for clients to buy. It’s a great gift for that person who is difficult to buy for! Even if the gift recipient never arrives for their hair cut, you have still been paid. Create easy signs in your shop window so that anyone walking past will notice, and let all your existing clients know. You can have a range of gift cards available, whether it’s a simple dollar value, or for a specific service, such as a cut, an up-do for a special occasion or a colour.
Create a social media account to promote your business. For example, you can use Instagram to post images of recent haircuts and promote your business to a wide audience. You can team up with other businesses in a similar area to yours and help promote both business together to the same audience. You could launch a joint promotion in conjunction with a nail and waxing salon, for example, offering beauty makeovers. Or you could team up with a formal dress shop and offer 20% off an up-do when they purchase a dress.
When thinking about advertising and promotion, always remember to think about who your ideal client is, and make sure your offering is something they’d be interested in. There’s no point in offering the latest in funky celebrity hairstyles if your main market is ladies over the age of 50.
You can also trial using paid social media advertising, which allows you to target specific demographics in your location. If you’d like to target females aged 18-30, you can create an advertising campaign that will target this group specifically.
A referral program can be a powerful idea! One of your regular clients recommends you to someone else, and they can both receive a discount at their next appointment. This gives your regular clients an incentive to refer their friends and family members to you. When you decide what your discount will be, ensure that you suggest a program that works for both you and your new client. You don’t want too large a discount that you will be at a loss, but you still want something that appeals to your client. Consider your profit margin and figure out what works best for you and your salon.
You could also consider providing discounts for customers that return, by offering a loyalty card. For example, every tenth visit, a client receives a product or service for free. Or you could consider offering a discount when a client books their next appointment with you right there in the salon.
In the digital age, if you aren’t online, you won’t be found. Do you have a website as a minimum, that tells potential clients about who you are, what services you provide, and where you are located? Make sure people can easily contact you from your website by calling or sending a message. You can even implement an online booking system on a website – and you can advertise any special offers or promotions you have going at the moment. A website is a minimum requirement if you want your hair salon to be successful.
Ensure your website is mobile friendly, well-designed and free of misspelt words or incorrect punctuation. Also display your services clearly so that clients can easily find what they’re looking for – whether it’s a cut, colour or new style.
A website is a great place to show off who you are – your online personality. Are you a salon that specialises in the very latest in cutting edge style, or do you offer a soothing, relaxing experience? Do you offer additional services such as massage or beauty? Do you sell products? A good website will be able to show off everything your salon does.
Having a successful salon is also about giving great haircuts, and this often starts having great quality scissors. Start by getting your quality scissors here, and then think about how you can add value to your salon.
Whether it’s through a website, social media, referral programs or loyalty cards, there are plenty of ways you can add value to your salon.
