The Stylist’s Toolbox.com

I found this article on Newsday.com last week. It’s about how bakeries are having to evolve to stay afloat during the recession, but I saw some interesting parallels with the salon industry.  

Over the past several years, retail bakers both on Long Island and across the country have realized that they have to couple their passion for their traditional craft with an adeptness for business to survive and thrive.

“Before, you were successful and you just put the money in your pocket,” said Thomas Reinwald, a recent college grad who hails from a Huntington family of bakers. ”Now that the margins are getting smaller, you have to look at all the different aspects of your business. A lot of business owners see themselves as bakers first, but really you have to see yourself as a business owner first.”

Do you know what makes a great gift?

Not something useful or needed or even extravagant. No, the secret to giving a really good gift is to find something that demonstrates that you’ve noticed some small thing about the recipient that most of the world misses.

Something that shows that you really get them.

This idea of really getting it applies to your salon biz as well.

Think about yourself as a stylist for a moment. What business are you in? The easy answer is that you are in the salon business. And you are, BUT -

Have you thought about using email to stay in touch with  your clients, but  haven’t gotten started yet? Does putting it together seem too complicated? You are not alone. The vast majority of hair stylists are not emailing or texting to their clients, missing out on this great opportunity to market for free! But it’s not too late for you.  In fact, email could help you make a lot more money this year!

Here’s why –

How many businesses send you emails? A bunch, I bet.  A quick glance at my inbox would show you email from American Airlines, Off-Broadway Show Warehouse, Restaurants.com, ITunes, Pizza Hut and Gourmet Magazine as well as a number of newsletters from different groups I belong to. Why do they do this? It’s an inexpensive way to stay in touch with me with great offers and details of upcoming events. Even if I don’t read them all, I see their name every time I open my email. It’s useful information that is cheap for them to distribute and easy for me to read.

How can this work for you?

2008 is finally over. It was a tough year – fewer customers, spending less money, buying less retail and waiting longer between appointments. But now that it is finally gone, let’s look ahead to 2009. In the spirit of improvement and changes, I’ve got a few resolutions for the new year that can revolutionize your business:

Is your salon selling gift certificates? You should be. Gift certificates can be the biggest money making opportunity your salon has this holiday season. Easy to use and give, gift certificates can do wonders to grow your salon business.

It’s that time of year again when you need to start thinking about Christmas favors for your clients. This has become a pricy tradition, one where each year you end up spending $3 a piece for a chinzy ½ oz bottle of berry flavored lotion. You don’t really feel like you can opt out, since you have always given your clients something at Christmas, and you know that soon they will start appearing with gifts, bottles of wine and baked goods in hand. So you have been pouring over the catalogs desperately looking for that wonderful client “Thank You” gift that will show your appreciation, look impressive and still cost you less than a dollar each.

Salon Marketing 101

Marketing, sales and promotion seems to have acquired a rather bad name in the last few years, conjuring up images of a pushy guy in an orange plaid suit coat, sporting a bad combover.

Are you running a back-to-school liter sale this year? If not, why?

Are you afraid that nobody wants to spend their money right now? Well, the chains and the big retail outlets are running sales on their liters and you should be, too.

You might think that big retailers and chain salons have an unfair advantage because they can buy stuff so much less expensively than you can, but let me show you how you can leverage your retail dollars to run sales just like they do. You can be retailing like the big dogs in no time.

Do things seem a little tight right now? Stylists tell me that their clients are waiting longer between appointments and choosing lower maintanence haircolor so the results last longer.

Do you have a plan to grow your salon business during this rough spot? How are you going to find some new clients without spending a small fortune on advertising? I’ve got a couple of low cost ideas to help you bring in some new clients without breaking the bank, as well as some thoughts on keeping them happy, whether you a salon owner or a booth renter.

Photo by Lili Vieira de Carvalho

 How much did it cost you to fill your gas tank this week? Are you feeling the pinch? How about your clients? Are you seeing them as often as you’d like? Are you even seeing them often enough to make your car payment? True, the salons seem quiet and service and retail sales have slowed, but business isn’t as bad as you might think, even with the morning news screaming about $4 a gallon gas causing imminent financial ruin for everyone. 

The reality is much less dire than television might lead you to believe, but it is true that people are not feeling as wealthy as they once were. And while it is always said that beauty salons and liquor stores are recession proof, that doesn’t mean that the coming recession can’t hurt your business. People will always need their hair cut and colored, but when money is tight, they might find less expensive ways to get it done. In fact, service sales at chain and discount salons are at an all time high. Have you noticed all of the new commercials for do-it-yourself home haircoloring? Those commercials make coloring your own hair look easy and inexpensive, with salon quality results. I’m not surprised that people are tempted to try it. Don’t give discount salons and grocery store hair color the opportunity to pick off your clients! You’ve got some extra time on your hands, why not use it to implement a little recession proofing for your business?

1. Start to compile a list of your clients email addresses. You can call them and ask for their addresses, or ask them to fill out an updated client card when they come in, but the time to start communicating with them via email has come. It’s free, it’s easy and it’s a great way to stay in touch with them – by sending appointment reminders, special offers, newsletters (see below), or invitations to salon events. It’s also a wonderful way to touch base with those clients you haven’t seen in a while – send them a special offer to get them back in the chair. Creating an email database is easy to do – open a Yahoo email account and input the addresses as you get them, creating a special folder for your clients. Sending an email to 1 person or your entire list is as easy as pushing a button.    

2. Make a plan to get more $$ out of the people you have coming in. Are you getting 100% of the business from 100% of your clients? What would your day look like if your clients were getting all of their services from you? Do a random poll and ask 10 clients what services they have done at other places. You’ll be shocked at how much money you are allowing to walk out of your salon – for services you offer. Make a plan to capture a larger percentage of the business, through add-on services, free trials, or a new client offer. This alone can make a huge difference in your bottom line.  

3. Start emailing a monthly newsletter. It’s a fabulous way to keep your name in front of your clients, let them know you are thinking about them and provide an extra bit of customer service. Fill your newsletter with interesting tidbits and stories about hair, fashion, salon news, etc. Include tips for treating summer hair, or list 10 ways to make your haircolor last between appointments. Add an offer to the bottom to entice your clients in. You don’t always have to discount your services – sometimes simply alerting your clients to new services is a promotion in itself.

4. Run a promotion to get your clients in the door. Offer some added value to your usual services – free cut with a color, 6 free foils, complimentary brow wax, etc. Maybe they can’t afford to have everything done, but if you can it make it more cost effective to keep coming to you, you have a better chance of keeping them through the financial crunch. They want to keep coming to you – help them afford to do that. 

The good news is that recessions always end. Just by implementing a few small changes you can weather the storm with a strong client base and healthy bottom line.  

The Toolbox has many customizable tools to help you keep your business strong, including client newsletters, referral programs, in-salon signage, email blasts and service promotions. We can even build an email database for you. Click here for examples and more information.