Working to ensure your salon continues to grow is a surefire way to keep you ahead of the game. With over 900K salons spread across the US, beating out the competition is definitely a priority for your salon.
Before you begin your growth journey, it’s important to understand whether your salon is ready for it. If your market and industry is growing, you have the funds for growth and your clients’ demands are growing, then so should your salon.
But, how?
Let’s help get you started by breaking down the main ways to grow your salon business so that you can ensure your long-term success.
1. Get more clients
You might be thinking ‘thanks, I hadn’t thought about getting more clients’, as this tip seems obvious. But if it were that easy, your salon would be an enterprise by now. There are many different ways to attract clients to your salon:
Try a referral program
Gaining new clients might come in the form of rewarding loyal customers with a customer loyalty program. A friend referral program, where you reward someone for each friend they refer to your salon, will get your happy clients to spread the word about your services. This takes care of your marketing for you while building trust around your salon because the recommendation was given by a trusted friend. There’s a lot of power in word of mouth, and a good customer loyalty program can easily harness that power.
Give a swag bag to clients
Everyone loves getting free stuff! To sweeten your salon experience, consider offering clients a small token of your appreciation at the end of their visit. It can be something small like a branded comb, tester versions of your products, or even a gift card for their next visit. This doesn’t have to cost your business a lot of money and will definitely leave a smile on a new or existing client’s face.
2. Strengthen your online presence
Your online presence will help determine how successful your growth will be. With a strong online presence, where your salon can be found and interacted with, you can reach more clients and keep existing ones coming back.
Make it easy for new clients to find you
Making sure your salon is searchable on Google will majorly contribute to your salon’s growth. After all, most people who search for something, do it on Google and if your business pops up, it will definitely attract new business. Not only should clients be able to find your business on Google, but they should also be able to read reviews about your business. The more positive reviews you have, the higher Google will rank your salon and the higher the chance your salon will come up when searched. Bottom line: make sure your Google My Business page is constantly updated and optimized, and ask for reviews and post them on relevant sites.
Have a strong salon website
Your salon website is crucial to your business growth. Creating a sleekly designed site that tells your brand’s story and is inviting enough to your clients is the name of the game. In addition, your website should be one of the main ways clients can interact with your salon. For example, adding widgets to your site that allow clients to book, pay and view their appointments could mean a fuller calendar and eliminating late payments. Finally, you want a converting contact us page where your new and existing clients can easily contact you and inquire about your services.
Post on social media
Social media marketing is one of the most effective tools for salon businesses. Use platforms like Facebook (2.9 million monthly active users) or Instagram (about 1.5 million monthly active users) to engage with a wider audience and expand your reach. Post pictures and videos of your work, organize giveaways, highlight members of your team, interact with your audience by answering questions and comments, and be up to date on the latest trends.
3. Digitalize your salon
Going digital might sound scary, especially if you’re a small salon and just starting out. But digitalizing your salon business will help free up more of your time, and offer better experiences to your clients. Use the right digital tools to automate things like booking appointments, payments and client management and free up your time to focus on strategizing for growth.
Make booking a cinch
Use an online booking software, such as vcita’s, to automate your booking processes. With this tool you can send a link to clients asking them to book appointments on their own time, or even add widgets to your site that allow clients to book appointments. This means that while you’re working on one client, others can book your services without having to reach you on the phone. Without all the distractions and with all that freed up time, you can focus on growing your business. In addition, this practice is welcomed in today’s digital age, improving your clients’ overall experience.
Automate your email marketing
Firstly, if you don’t do email marketing currently, you should be. And if you are, good for you! No matter if you rent a chair at a salon or run your own, email marketing is what makes the difference between one time clients and loyal ones. Collect email addresses from each client that comes in and use a salon management software to automatically send them beautifully branded emails reminding them to come back. Send them emails wishing them a happy birthday (for that you’d need to collect a bit more information about them), a happy holiday, letting them know about a sale or discount you’re running, and more.
4. Learn to upsell your services and products
Upselling is when your waitress asks you if you want dessert at the end of a meal. It is a way of smartly adding services or products to what your clients are already buying. There are a number of ways to do this, here are two great ways:
Bundle services
Consider creating packages to sell. For example, you could offer a cut, color and blow dry as an exclusive packaged price. Packages and bundles are a great way for clients to come in wanting one thing and going for much more, especially if the price is reasonable.
Sell complementary services and products
If your clients are happy with your service, then they likely trust you. This trust goes a long way when it comes to adding products to sell during their appointment. Make the most of your time with your clients by using it to politely and professionally push your products. You can try to sell them products such as shampoos or services such as facial treatments, as they walk in or during small talk throughout their appointment.
Plan for a fuller calendar
Growing your salon business is an important part of staying ahead of the competition. By following these steps and freeing up your time from administrative tasks you can focus on growth. To succeed you need to find the right software, build your online presence, work on getting more clients and learn to be more of a salesperson. If you’re well equipped in these fields, there’s no stopping your salon.
