Myths about competition in the beauty industry

Myths about competition in the beauty industry

Although we all agree that healthy competition keeps salons’ quality in check, no one is particularly happy to see a new business open across the street. You would much rather see the “healthy competition” open somewhere in the suburbs... in a different city. In a different country. Preferably two continents away. In all seriousness now - it’s hard to maintain a healthy approach towards your competitors. Social media are full of catchphrases about networking and uplifting. Closed groups and forums for salon owners are full of horror stories about backstabbing and playing dirty. What are the most notorious myths about dealing with competition in the beauty industry and what can you do to run your business successfully and without harmful tension?

#1 Myth: It’s all about the empowerment and cooperation

You read correctly. How many times have you seen that infamous slogan straight out of Instagram, "Succeeding is a journey, not a competition"? How many times have you heard that the industry should be a one big “sisterhood”, where we all empower and elevate one another, as we are all #entrepreneurs and #girlbosses? That it’s not about money, but about being a part of the community? Although heartwarming and uplifting, it’s not all necessarily true. It is about money. It’s not all about money, but the financial aspect of your job is very important - otherwise, you wouldn’t be running a business, but a charity.

Don’t get me wrong, cooperation and networking with other salons are great things, so feel wholeheartedly encouraged to do so. It’s the same story with mentoring - if you want to share your knowledge and expertise, go for it. However, you are here to make business, not to hold hands, sing and upload motivational pictures to Instagram. Respectful, mature and even cordial relationships with your local competition are more than welcome, but don’t let yourself be fooled - they are here to make business, just as you are. Manage your expectations and don't feel obligated to share secrets, collaborate or support other businesses in any other way, unless you genuinely want to.

#2 Myth: They are here to steal your clients

Well, it may not be entirely a myth, but it’s definitely a misconception. It’s not that when a new business opens nearby the first thought in its owner's mind is to claim your clients. They are here to simply make business… and actually, their target group may be different from yours.

You see, at first, they may attract many of your customers. People like to check out new salons, out of pure curiosity or to try something new. However, customers have different needs and therefore the selling point of the new salon may be either very attractive or completely unappealing to them. There are salons focused on delivering the most luxurious treatments, whereas others are all about innovation and specialise in looks that are very modern and avant-garde. There are those which focus on customer service, others prioritise keeping their prices as low as possible. You have cosy, homey salons, ones with an edge, kid-friendly, pet-friendly and many, many more. There are also those that focus on specific treatment options - such as hair salons which focus particularly on colourisations, wedding updos or blow dries. Each one of these will have a completely different target group, so even if you are a hair salon owner and you see another one opening in town - it doesn’t necessarily mean you will lose your clients.

#3 Myth: You should never recommend them

It may seem like the first rule for talking with your clients about your competitors is to NOT talk with your clients about your competitors. After all, why would you want to see you customer walk away and become a regular of the salon across the street? Well, in some cases it isn’t as bad as it may seem. Let’s say you are an experienced salon owner of a renowned PMU salon. Your business grew up to be focused on microblading. One day your client asks about permanent lip makeup. On one side, you would be able to perform the service - you have a license and all the needed papers. However, it’s not something you particularly love to do and you honestly feel that you are much better at doing brows. You would also have to update your stock, as you don’t have the pigments needed to do lips at the moment. And you know that there is a salon in town where they do breathtaking aquarelle lips. So you recommend it to the lady, as you are fully booked anyway.

If you are lucky, you just earned yourself an ally - now the salon which specializes in permanent lip makeup may want to recommend your services to people who want their brows done. You also dodged the bullet for potentially messing up service you don’t feel fully comfortable providing and also established an opinion of a genuine and trustworthy specialist. Sometimes it’s better to let go, especially if you are in a place where you don’t have to fight hard for every appointment. You can even build an official alliance with salons that may complement your services and mutually recommend one another. However, you have to be very careful and stay conscious as for whether the alliance does not bring you a loss. You will need detailed statistics on salon performance to make sure the mutual recommendations work as they are supposed to work. Booksy software gives you easy access to advanced statistics and reports on retail sales, bookings per month, services popularity and so on. It’s better to secure yourself with such a tool before you start forming any “recommendation alliances”.

#4 Myth: You should ignore them entirely

You always hear that you should keep your head above the crowd and ignore your competitors. Sounds like a piece of sound advice… but not entirely. Yes, running a great beauty salon is your priority and yes, you should focus on growing your business rather than comparing, badmouthing or sabotaging others. At the same time, you have to get familiar with your competitors’ offers. Maybe they provide a service that is a huge new trend and you lose many customers for missing out on it. Maybe they set a new standard for customer service and yours is no longer good enough. Maybe they took your best idea and freshened it up, making it even more attractive to clients. You need to know - not because you are a jealous spy, but because worthy competitors not only make you aware of new trends, but also encourage you to work harder and are a great source of inspiration. Once again, keeping your statistics in check is crucial here. Whenever you notice a sudden drop in your bookings, take a look at what’s up with your local competitors. Maybe it’s time to reflect on and freshen up your business.

Valuable competitors can truly keep you motivated and, if you are lucky, they may even become your friends and business partners. And if they prefer to play dirty? Well, it’s their loss - your approach will remain professional no matter what. Keep your statistics in check with Booksy and stop worrying about your competition - there is enough space in the beauty world for us all!