Sooner or later, almost every hairdresser dreams about opening up their own salon. If you do so, you get to be your own boss and decide the critical details, something often impossible as an employee. You have complete control over who is employed there as well as the working hours. Most importantly, your income gets much larger than when employed, even after paying your staff.
Benefits aside, operating a business like this is not easy. Most importantly, you need to make a name for yourself and stand out from the crowd of your local competitors. It may sound hard, but there are several ways to elevate your hair salon above your rivals.
They range from purchasing specialized tools of the trade, using social media marketing, and offering a customer loyalty program to prioritizing customer experience and renovating your salon to a stylish design. Read the provided tips and become the most exquisite stylist in your region.
Buy Professional Tools and Equipment
Your average customer in your local area is already satisfied with the available options, so you need to be better than they are. To do so, you need to purchase specialized tools for your salon. It might cost you a lot of money initially, but it will be worth it in the long run.
For example, you can invest in a top-of-the-line hairdryer. This tool will not only dry your customer’s hair in half the time it takes an average one but also causes less damage to their hair. Another example of specialized tools is the flat irons. Instead of purchasing the cheapest ones, you should get the top-notch models on the market. These models are faster, more efficient, and cause less damage to your customers’ hair.
It is essential to provide your employees with sets of professional tools to boost their performance and the quality of their work. For example, acquiring tools like left-handed shears and swivel thumb scissors will ease the discomfort of repetitive strain injury (RSI) or carpal tunnel syndrome – the most common health issues among hairdressing professionals.
You can get more of the necessary equipment such as the best hair shears online or at your local hair salon supply store. If you do your research well, you will not get ripped off and get superior tools instead.
Use Social Media Marketing for Promoting Your Salon
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter are some of the best ways to promote your hair salon online. You can post attractive photos of your customers after getting their new hairstyles, write interesting articles about the latest trends, and share videos of how to style certain types of hair – all of these tactics will help you stand out among your competitors.
One of the most effective methods you can utilize on social media is taking photos of your customers’ new hairstyles and uploading them to your business accounts. This way, you will get more new customers through word-of-mouth publicity. If you nail it, you will become famous on social media sites, and people will see your photos even if they are not looking for a hairstylist nearby.
Prioritize Customer Experience
The following way to improve your hair salon is to prioritize the customer experience. If you want to attract and satisfy as many customers as possible, you need to make their visit as pleasant as possible. The easiest way to do so is by offering them the best customer service they can get.
Try to provide excellent customer service by always greeting your clients, smiling at them, and asking them how they feel today. This will let them know that you care about them and value their presence in your business. Offer them a warm towel and a small cup of coffee or tea before starting with the hairstyle.
If they have any problems or concerns, try to resolve them as soon as you can and offer a discount for doing so. Ensure that they feel that you want them to feel happy and satisfied and want their visit to be as pleasant as possible. You will not only increase your customer loyalty but also improve your reputation in the local community. And having a good reputation is the key to having more customers!
Offer Customer Loyalty Programs
One of the best ways to increase your income is by offering a customer loyalty program. This way, the return customers will return to you because they have a discount or just want to reward you for providing outstanding service. As your clientele grows, so will your profits.
In order to offer a loyalty program, you need a few things:
- a loyalty card system which tracks the purchases of your customers and gives them discounts based on their purchases made previously,
- a program that allows you to reward your loyal clients with gifts or complimentary products,
- an attractive rewards program that benefits your clients greatly
Rewarding your loyal clients is as important as the rewards system itself. If they see that you appreciate their loyalty and want to give them something in return, they will keep coming back – and recommend your hair salon to people they know.
Decide what kind of rewards you want to give them, and then find out what your budget looks like. The more generous you are with the gifts and rewards, the more clients will appreciate it and come back for more.
Renovate Your Salon to a Stylish Design
Last but not least, make sure that your salon is not only good at doing hairstyles but also looks good. You can achieve this by adding a few decorative details such as flowers or paintings on the walls or curtains at the window.
You can even go as far as redesigning the interior to fit a specific theme, such as the 1950s or boho chic. Just make sure that whatever theme you pick matches the neighborhood’s style and compliments the salon’s overall design.
As soon as you renovate your salon and offer something unique and stylish, many customers will prefer coming to your place over others. It may seem like an unnecessary expense at first sight, but it is definitely worth it in the long run!
Conclusion
In order to become the best salon in your area, you need to work hard and invest a lot of time and effort. It is a tough job, but a person who is passionate about their business niche can achieve incredible results.
If you do everything right, you will have a loyal client base and a smoothly running business. The only thing left to do is enjoy being your own boss and being proud of what you have achieved.