Your salon's team is its driving force, but you shouldn't forget other important aspects for your business to be a real success. For example, if your staff isn't well trained or the products you use aren't good quality, your business's success is on borrowed time.
Invest in your staff's training
We know that finding the right staff for beauty salons is perhaps one of the trickiest tasks in this business.
On the one hand, you need staff who are professional and responsible. On the other hand, it's also essential that they have training suited to the services you offer.
This is the most basic part, which you surely already know and take into account, but we want to go one step further. There's a part that's also key, and that's “building a team”, and this involves two things:
1.- Every beauty salon should have its own work protocols and procedures, its own “way of doing things”. This is important, not only because all your employees will work the same way, but also because it's a value that will set you apart from the competition. Your staff shouldn't just be trained and work according to your methods and procedures, they also need to understand and embrace them, so they become part of how they work.
2.- “Building a team” is another of the keys. Getting your staff to work like a well-oiled machine, supporting and helping each other, all rowing in the same direction and sharing a common goal with yours: making the business run smoothly. To achieve this, motivation is important, as is generating a sense of “belonging to a team”, involving them in decisions and results, and setting guidelines that foster a good working “atmosphere”.
All this will have a very positive impact on the day-to-day running of the business and, without a doubt, on its results too.
Prioritise quality over low costs when choosing products
Sometimes, in the pursuit of maximum profitability for treatments, we make the mistake of prioritising cost over quality when choosing products. We should always seek a balance between quality and price and never let down clients who have come to us with quality-price expectations.
Bear in mind that today, clients have a lot of information, know the products and treatments, and can tell whether or not they're quality, not to mention the problems we could cause a client by using low-quality products. For example, a cheap gel polish could cause an allergic reaction or damage a client's nails, or simply not last, leading them to decide not to return to your salon.
It's just not worth it!
What we do recommend is tailoring treatments to your target audience and looking for the best product options so that, without losing quality, you can make your treatments profitable. Fortunately the range is wide and there are many options on the market.
On this point, don't hesitate to ask us for advice; one of Seena Owell's mottos is to source quality products at the best price, which has led us to work with many brands, and even to have our own.
Focus on the right clients (loyal vs potential)
Focusing solely on attracting new clients is a mistake. Bear in mind that if you already have a list of loyal, recurring clients, you should do everything possible to keep them, and this should be the cornerstone of your marketing strategy. Don't forget that a client who already knows you is more likely to book more services and invest in your salon than a potential one.
You can offer them gifts in the form of free services every certain number of treatments as a way of rewarding them so they feel you appreciate their loyalty. This will help you have a fixed income every month.
Of course, you can also run promotions to attract new clients, with the aim of growing. A good option is 2-for-1 campaigns aimed at getting clients to recommend your salon to a friend. This promotion will bring your client in with someone who doesn't yet know you, and after trying a service they'll probably love it and become a regular. For this promotion, we recommend services with a low product cost so you can still make a profit on the services.
Offer personalised solutions
It's important to understand each client's needs so you can offer and advise them on the most suitable treatment. To do this, follow this approach:
- Ask
- Listen
- Advise
Offering a personalised solution tailored to their needs is one of the keys to client satisfaction and loyalty, and it will help you stand out from the competition.
Don't forget informed consent
Taking care of every detail in your salon but not protecting yourself legally in the event of an incident is another major management mistake made at beauty salons. Having your clients sign an informed consent form when appropriate will save you far more trouble than you might imagine, and it's a simple step.
First, you need to properly inform the client about the treatment, what it includes, what it doesn't, how it will be carried out, etc., and make sure they fully understand what the results will be (let's avoid overly high expectations). Then offer them the consent form to sign.
We recently published a post with all the information about informed consent forms; we're leaving it here in case you're interested in reading it:
We hope these tips help you grow your business.
Leave us a comment letting us know if you already apply any of these tips at your beauty salon, or if you have other ideas about mistakes to avoid at a beauty salon.
If you found this interesting, feel free to share and comment.
If you'd like personalised advice on any of our products or on carrying out services, feel free to contact us:
- Chat on the website
- Phone: (+34) 91 421 30 59
- WhatsApp: (+34) 618 578 678
- By email: info@seenaowell.com
