Another year is underway, resolutions were made, and hope for a more financially successful year is in the air. While it’s great to be optimistic about what lies ahead, we all know that what actually gets you from a resolution to a result are the actions you take to make things happen. So let’s take a look at the 3 major areas you will need to work on in your salon to improve your performance and profits over the next 12 months.

New Client Generation

There are lots of things you can do to get new clients into your salon. Consider some of the following ideas and tick off the ones that you think might work well for you.
  1. Join forces with another business in your area that shares a similar target market and do a joint letter box drop. Be sure to make a special offer to pique the reader’s interest and have your brochures printed professionally on both sides (one side for each business).
  2. Enter into a joint venture with another business with similar clients to your own. Ask them to refer clients to you and you do the same for them. Each business needs to supply vouchers from the other business to gift to their clients.
  3. Start a client referral program and reward your clients for sending friends and family members to you.
  4. Build your male clientele by giving each of your female clients a gift certificate that can only be used by the man in her life.
  5. Find out what groups and associations operate in your area and offer to do free presentations for them. Make sure each person who attends receives a gift bag with a small salon voucher inside.
  6. Offer to write articles for your local newsletter and establish yourself as an expert in your industry.
  7. Have an open day or special promotional day and ask your clients to bring along a friend. Keep it fun and provide specials on the day. Offer a reward for each friend who comes along.
  8. Revamp your website to make sure it’s the number 1 client attraction tool it should be. If you haven’t done so already, try adding a downloadable ‘New Client Voucher’ to get the visitors to try you out.

Client Retention

Existing clients are truly your VIPs. They provide the repeat business that pays your expenses and keep your doors open. Never fall into the trap of taking your VIP’s for granted because they are not chained to your salon and can move on at any time. Check out the following ideas to improve your client retention.
  1. Communicate regularly with your clients to keep them up to date about what new and on offer in your salon. A monthly newsletter is a must.
  2. Send a birthday card with a salon voucher. Everyone loves to have their birthdays acknowledged.
  3. Treat your existing clients like you would a new client each time they visit. It’s a fact that existing clients will spend about 50% more at each visit than a new client will.
  4. Run an ongoing re-booking promotion so that clients are enticed to re-book before leaving your salon.
  5. Implement a loyalty reward program. Clients love to be rewarded for their loyalty to you.
  6. Consider a membership program that keeps clients coming back all year long.

Revenue and Profit Increases

Just a little bit extra earned every day can make a huge impact on your yearly profits. Just imagine if you could earn just another $50 per day in services. Over 1 year, operating 5 days a week, your salon could take an additional $12500. That sounds like a mighty fine holiday to me. Try implementing a few of these ideas to generate that additional income.
  1. When’s the last time you increased your service prices? If it’s been more than 12 months, then the time has come to bite the bullet and raise your prices. Remember, you are not offering cheap, you’re offering value. Understand and embrace the difference between the two.
  2. Learn how to sell some extra services to each client. Most clients don’t purchase anything extra because it’s not offered to them. During the booking process is the perfect time to offer that ‘little extra’ service that will put extra $$’s into your bank account.
  3. Always keep an impulse purchase display on your front desk. Clients will often purchase a little extra something if the price is right. Change your display to something new every 4-6 weeks so returning clients will have something new to look at (and purchase).
  4. Get your roster under control and don’t pay for staffing hours you don’t need to. Wages are one of the biggest expenses in every business and chances are it’s the same in your business too.
  5. Look for ways to minimise general expenses. While I’m a big believer in outsourcing when necessary, it’s important not to spend money on things you and your team members have time to do yourselves.
  6. Stop discounting and start value adding. The path to business hell is littered with salons who continuously discount their services.
  7. Focus your marketing efforts on services that make you a healthy profit. These are often the ones that offer retail opportunities as well.
  8. Provide direction and accountability for your team members by setting daily goals and providing monthly rewards.
As you can see, there are loads of things you can do to revamp your business and get things moving in the right direction. Just one small improvement implemented each week in your salon could equate to thousands of additional dollars in your pocket each month. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get moving. You’re not a rock!