Keeping Your Salon Growing

Now might be the time to focus on building your salon’s business. Such a claim might seem strange considering this last year’s consistent health anthem to limit face touching and time spent indoors in public.

For salons facing shutdown mandates, how can you grow as a business with the CLOSED sign dangling on the door? Defying logic, salons have found creative ways to grow – even while offering no in-person services. Since business as usual is off the table, it’s time to brainstorm new cost-savvy services to provide.

Consider these three areas of growth opportunities:

Inventory Management

The products you use have a certain shelf life, usually between six months and one year. Yet, due to running at lower capacity or booking fewer clients, you aren’t going through as much product like you used to. In what other ways could you move that product off your shelf before they expire?

Some businesses are answering that question by expanding their services. They are creating takehome kits for curbside pickup with instructions and scheduled Zoom walkthroughs. With little investment, suddenly these salons have added a new service and touchpoint with their clients, all while managing a halted inventory.

Then there are salon owners who are staying informed on local and state health mandates. Staying in the know about upcoming policy changes can help you strategically plan orders. Many informed studios have been able to anticipate changes and accept pre-orders for future appointments to keep a revenue stream. If restrictions are about to loosen, you can estimate the bump in business and order with expiration dates and shipping fees in mind. Instead of thinking in terms of month by month, think quarter by quarter, or even six months down the road. This strategy frees you up to spend less time on inventory needs and more time on growing your clientele. Plus, most product suppliers discount based on order size, so you’ll save money with lower costs per product and fewer shipping fees.

Speaking of shipping, bundle anything hazmat all into one big order to last you as long as possible.

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Bundling hazmat products together saves you hundreds of dollars that can go to finding creative offerings for your clients stuck at home. Depending on your product supplier, you could potentially bundle all the hazmat products you need to just two orders a year.

Another creative way to save on shipping or expand your business comes down to networking with other local salons and distributors. Some product suppliers offer a Find-a-Distributor feature that can help you find ways of getting your products at more friendly shipping rates. If a supplier doesn’t offer this feature, then ask their customer service teams to do some digging for you. Considering how each studio’s needs are different, you may also end up having extra inventory that a neighboring business is after. Networking with other nearby salons and distributors may prove to be another way to move inventory and expand your business in ways you haven’t before.

Social Engagement

Whether your salon runs at lower capacity or is temporarily closed, increasing your web game can be one of the most cost-effective routes to steady growth. Social media gives you the chance to stay in touch with your loyal clients and connect with a wider potential client pool.

Salons have found success in taking their expertise virtual with exclusive tutorials, stylist trainings, styling videos, and “Ask Me Anything” live video chats. People at home are fumbling around with what you know how to do best. So, your posts will immediately have high value and gain the trust and recognition of future clients who may never have discovered you otherwise.

Social media events and posts are also fairly easy to plan out and hold in comparison to inperson venues. If you’re newer to social media, try setting simple, achievable goals at first, such as connecting with 10 followers or friends per business day. Ask your clients about what content they’d find most helpful. Before long, you can find yourself working up to seeing your stylists become brand ambassadors, featured experts at trainings, or paid sponsors. All of which will grow your brand awareness and may even include receiving free product.

Sanitation Protocols

In the short span of a year, several salon owners and their stylists have basically become public health experts. They’ve invested in cleaning supplies to disinfect each workstation before and after appointments. Seats, tools, towels, capes, you name it. If it has a surface, it could use a disinfectant. So, several salons keep a healthy stock of tissues, soap, disinfectant wipes or sprays, and hand sanitizer. Many businesses are also plugging in more air purifiers, setting up partitions to create “pods” around each chair, and going so far as to hire a full-time cleaning staff.

While all of these extra measures require more spending on your part, it’s much more than just an insurance policy to stay open. Your clients will see how much you care about them and your stylists, and your bond with them will grow stronger. Not to mention, they’re likely to spread the word to their friends and family about the cleanest, safest salon to go to.

But supplies are only half the battle of keeping your business going strong. The other half deals with policies for your stylists and their clients to stick to. Emphasize the importance of rescheduling clients who feel unwell, and give your staff sick pay if they feel unwell. Several salons urge their stylists to practice healthy habits and have created policies in case they’ve been traveling or exposed to someone who has tested positive.

It’s good to invite clients to wash their hands when they arrive, to store their phones during the appointment, and to bear with you as you go over CDC safety guidelines. In fact, it’s best to hang hygiene reminder signs where they’re unmissable. When it comes time to send them out the door, offer them a hearty wave and smile to stand in for the handshakes, hugs, and high-fives in your salon’s near future.