Every stylist dreams of owning a huge hair salon business. But the initial days are the toughest where you have to constantly prove why you should be here. There on, growing your small salon into a popular one isn't an easy job. A fully occupied hair salon is every salon owner's dream, no matter how difficult it is to manage tasks inside. Well, most of us have a good hair day by chance, but having great hair every day is only possible with regular hair salon appointments. But how can an entrepreneur handle all appointments smoothly? Plus, there are payments, billings, and customer satisfaction to take care of. It is not feasible for salons to hire someone to track daily appointments, measure performances, and analyze business growth. But there are surely ideas to do it all by yourself without wasting your resources or being weary in the process!
If you are an entrepreneur wanting to break into the hair and beauty salon business, here are four essential tips and ideas to get yourself going and to scale your hair salon business.
Be inclusive and diversify your client base
Any hair salon runs and gains popularity because of its clientele. The number and type of clients you serve are determinants of your hair salon's success. Today, with numerous hair salons to choose from, customers usually flock to salons that serve individuals of all genders and ages because they do not have the time to make separate appointments for themselves, their kids, or their friends at different hair salons. Here are some ways to attract more numbers. So you must diversify your client base to include men, women, and kids.
There are also certain sub-points that you should focus on, like
Strategize a referral system to get more clients
Referral systems, when implemented correctly, may be hugely beneficial to service-based businesses like hair and beauty salons. It not only rewards and pleases your existing customers, but it also brings new ones to your doorsteps every day! However, before designing a referral program, be certain the incentive you are providing is worthwhile. You might, for example, provide a 20% discount on any of your services to a current customer who brings in three new clients.
When it gets tricky to get new customers, increase the frequency of visits
There are times when you will see fewer customers at your hair salon, especially during weekdays. A good idea to boost your income is to increase the frequency of visits of your existing clients. You may convince your clients to get a hair spa or special treatment that necessitates more sessions. It will make your clients visit your salon more than usual. Aim for a standard of three visits per month for each client and see how it impacts your revenue!
Oversee your hair salon business with an online appointment & booking management software
Managing a hair salon is a painstaking task and you cannot simply hire too many managers, otherwise, it will exhaust your budget. On the other hand, appointment bookings are vital for hair salons. But, manual processes of maintaining registers and excel sheets are time-consuming. Moreover, customers do not have the time or inclination to call up hair salons for manually scheduling an appointment. Hence, most of them prefer to book appointments online at their convenience. To benefit from such circumstances, access a free online appointment scheduling software like Picktime, which gives you an online calendar with a color-coded view to set your and your employee's real-time availability. You can also monitor your staff's work schedule, appointments, leaves, and allocate salon resources to them. Sync your external Google/Outlook/iCloud calendar with the online calendar to avoid scheduling conflicts.
This online scheduling app does not require installation; it is accessible via any web-enabled device. Also, it facilitates 24x7 flexible self-scheduling of appointments for your customers which eliminates the hassles of maintaining outdated registers. You can create a personalized online booking page for customers to self-book appointments. They just need to check the slot availability from the calendar, choose a free slot and click on the Picktime-enabled booking button on your booking page. You can even make the booking page available on your salon website.
This online scheduling system also accepts payments from customers via credit cards, PayPal, Stripe, or Square. Picktime also sends automated email and SMS reminders to your customers and staff to ensure they never forget or miss an appointment. It is also capable of raising digital invoices and auto-generate feedback forms. Picktime's dashboard provides detailed business reports that you may use to assess your business performance.
Find out other sources of revenue
Join hands with reputed beauty brands and make a deal with them for selling their professional range of hair care products to you. You can also contact beauty experts and strategize in-house hair care products like shampoo, serum, hair masks, and oils. Tag those products as exclusive and promote them. Convince your buyers to try out those new products and incentivize the campaign with offers like buy 2 shampoos and get a free haircut.
Another source of income can be selling beauty magazines and guides that are exclusively available on your salon's website. You can even film videos of hair treatments being done in your salon and upload them on YouTube. Opt for other ways of generating income like sponsoring local fashion events and college fests.
Build your online reputation through social media
Connect with people worldwide via social media. Create your business accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Regularly post updates, highlight your staff, amenities, and services. You should also declare monthly winners of in-house contests like employee of the month. Do not forget to shoot attractive studio tours, self-care videos, and the latest information on trending styles. Create a YouTube channel for your hair salon and upload those videos to your channel. Collaborate with social media influencers and ask them to promote your products and services on Instagram and Facebook. You can invite them over and shoot a vlog for your YouTube channel.
Follow all these tips to make your hair salon business reach new heights. Before ending, here is another pro-tip. Always seek honest reviews from your clients and customers. You may also research to understand what more customers desire. You may also put up a suggestion box inside your salons for customers to propose new services and products they would want to see in your hair salon. After getting suggestions, plan effective strategies to implement those suggestions that align with your business goals and fit your budget. Do not forget to measure the outcomes continually to understand where to focus on. With constant measuring and corrections, you are bound to succeed.