10 lessons from 4,000 salon owners

10 lessons from 4,000 salon owners

With years of experience working with salon owners and their prospering businesses, we've gained a lot of valuable knowledge on what it's like to run a business in the beauty industry. Drawing upon the knowledge of experienced practitioners, we've created a list of the most important areas salon owners and managers should pay attention to.

1. Marketing fundamentals: good client relations are a must

Effective marketing is focused on what makes your customers happy. In order to know what it is, and to provide excellent services, you need effective customer communication. Maintaining lasting, positive relations with clients and getting to know them requires the following:

• asking questions
• listening
• taking note of important information

Actively communicating with your customers comes in handy in the long run. They appreciate being cared for and thank you by leaving great reviews on your business, as well as referring friends and family to your salon. Most importantly, they return again and again for your excellent service!

Do you record your customers’ important details?

2. Satisfied customers - your perfect brand promoter

Satisfied customers are your free and most effective advertisers, as well as your source of excellent reviews on your business and employees. A satisfied client will promote your business more proficiently than any advertisement. Unsatisfied customers are also important. Thanks to them, you get a better understanding of what you should improve and if your employees require any additional training. Giving your customers the power to speak freely of their experiences at your salon is one of the keys to success!

Do you have customer reviews up yet?

3. Time is money

It’s so important, but we’re almost always running low on it: time. And who wouldn’t want that extra hour a day? With a rising pile of tasks, we need all the time we can get to finish them all. That’s why every time-saving solution should be taken into consideration for streamlining daily tasks. And what better way than to do them automatically?

What tasks are you getting done automatically? Maybe it’s time to finally start.

4. Your super manager to the rescue

Managing the team, looking over finances, maintaining inventory levels, servicing machines, marketing, training, working with clients - and the list goes on… Managers have so many duties at once that it's hard not to believe that they are superheroes. And what every superhero needs is the perfect sidekick to help take the load off the super manager’s back. You can rest easy, knowing that the salon is being run and managed accordingly!

Do you have a superhuman sidekick to run and manage your salon?

5. Your team is your advantage

It’s no surprise that an effective team is key to a successful salon, and every salon owner knows how much training and motivation needs to be put into creating such a team. With a positive mindset and motivation, your employees will work more proficiently and with zest! And with tools for communicating with clients, calculating commissions or work schedule management, their work is better organized and chaos-free. Invest in your team!

How have you improved your team’s work effectiveness?

6. Paper is so 1990

We all dislike change, which is natural. Moving from traditional methods to more modern ones - from a paper calendar to an electronic salon management system - is a big jump for most people. Switching from a paper notebook to an online system may seem difficult and challenging at first. But having an open mind will instantly allow you to see the benefits of this modern solution. Our users agree: once you see all the advantages, you won't be able to imagine life without such a system!

Is your salon managed with a reliable system?

7. Top priority - always rebook

Although you don’t always have it in mind, the most important objective for every salon team is building a strong clientele, made up of loyal customers that are eager to return for your great services. And don’t let them leave without booking another appointment. If you forget to book their next appointment, remind your customers about your salon even after they’ve left and invite them for another exceptional service.

How do you urge customers to return for another appointment? Does marketing automation ring a bell?

8. Meet up online!

The Internet is the perfect place for reaching potential customers. Almost everyone uses the Internet - available on most mobile devices - some time during the day, either on the bus, in the waiting room, or in line at the local store. Your customers enjoy posting their before & after pictures on Facebook or Instagram, which is a perfect way to convince potential customers to book their first appointment with you! Which is why your salon should have easy access to online booking, so that you can be where your potential customers are - online.

Do you have 24/7 online booking available for customers yet? 

9. Retail matters

Your services are important, but they are not everything. Much of your revenue comes from the products and cosmetics your salon sells. You may be focused on providing excellent services, but recommending your products is a MUST. To be certain that your products get to be in the spotlight, motivate your team to promote them by offering well-deserved retail commissions.

10. The secret to salon success

Working with thousands of salon owners and managers for years now, we’ve come to understand what it’s like to run and manage a beauty business. After analysing much of the information we’ve been gathering, we came up with these statistics:

• ⅓ of a salon’s success is from exceptional services provided by a trained specialist
• ⅓ is from high quality customer service
• ⅓ is from effective managing and running of the salon and its team

What's the key to success, then? To keep a perfect balance between these three.

A few words of advice from us...

Although we are not beauty professionals ourselves, we are definitely experts on customer service and effective management. Throughout the years, we’ve learned the true meaning of both in the beauty industry. We will more than gladly offer you great advice and assistance with your new toolkit that will streamline your daily tasks and boost your business.