The Secrets of Successful Salon/Clinic Owners who are Bucking the Downturn Trend!

By Chrissy Alger

Hello everyone, I am Chrissy Alger, Founder of Freedom Mastery coaching for the Hair, Skin and Beauty Industry…

I was a Salon Owner, and now I am a Salon Marketer and Salon Coach having successfully ran my own Salon business from start-up- NOT as a technician and purely as someone addicted to business… I am actually a psychologist, who decided to do something different and venture into the salon industry space under the guise of wanting to do more to promote health, wellbeing, and self-confidence (all the things we get when we spend time in a Hair or Beauty Salon).

Start-Up Businesses are hard work. Especially when you cannot do the work yourself. So, over the years I have had to learn all of the business strategies known to man to keep my business afloat and to stop myself from going bankrupt!

During COVID, my Melbourne-based clinic was completely shut down. It was not an ‘economic downturn’ it was a complete elimination of my business operating as it had been.

A complete pivot of the business meant that for the entire lockdown period, we actually made more money than the comparable trade period before lockdown… Yep, I made MORE money…. CLOSED!!!

So, I know a little bit about downturns, navigating market fluctuations and bulletproofing your business from less-than-ideal economic climates!

So read on, and I’ll share a few of my secrets…

The shifts and changes to the economy, disposable income and budgets of your clients definitely have an impact on your business...

But it’s highly likely that the impacts are highlighting problems that were already there…

Which I know might be a bit of a hard pill to swallow, but I’ll tell you what I mean by this...

If you were a bit relaxed in your approach to treatment or client journey mapping in your business before market fluctuations, you are likely to be experiencing clients cancelling, not rebooking, or stretching out the appointments right now…

If your consultation was not structured, inconsistent, and not geared towards increasing motivation and commitment from clients before market fluctuation, it’s likely they are now spending less…

To maintain high levels of commitment and motivation from your clients, secure revenue growth and profit, and a business you still love no matter what… a number of things need to be present... And they needed to be present BEFORE the market started to waiver…

I want to share with you the success pillars of clinic and salon owners that are still experiencing growth in their business right now, regardless of the market fluctuations.

Mindset Matters:

One of the most significant obstacles faced by business owners during market fluctuations is mindset. The tendency to adopt a victim mentality, blaming external factors for business challenges, can be detrimental. The business owners who are doing well right now, shift their focus towards identifying solutions and opportunities within their control. They reframe challenges as opportunities for innovation and adaptation. These business owners are empowering themselves to navigate market fluctuations more effectively, and it’s all coming from their strong mindset.

Strategies that are protecting revenue and growth:

Robust Booking Policies: Implementing and consistently enforcing strong booking policies can mitigate the impact of appointment cancellations and no-shows, which have increased in the economic downturns. Successful clinic and Salon owners are extending appointment confirmation times to 72 hours, which enables enough notice to refill appointments that have been cancelled. They have been enforcing late cancellation policies to ward off no shows and revenue lost from these. Some have also shifted from deposit collection to credit card security in their booking security process. This strategy enables the client to provide a booking security without having to deposit funds (which they may not have) in advance of their appointment time. Therefore, decreasing the likelihood of cancellation due to budget restraints.

Optimizing White Spaces: Rather than viewing white spaces in the appointment book as lost revenue, clinic/ salon owners have been leveraging these gaps to provide additional value to existing clients. By reviewing client files and identifying opportunities for upselling services or products, clinic/salons can upgrade clients into white space by extending service times through upsell.

Subscription Style Treatment/Service Planning: Offering Subscription Style Treatment/Service Planning incentivizes clients to commit to long-term treatment plans, and also provides a steady stream of revenue and client loyalty. By breaking down treatment plans into manageable payment schedules and offering exclusive benefits, such as discounts or complimentary services, the clinic/salons doing this right now are experiencing good client retention and profit protection.

Focus on Relationship Building: Building strong relationships with clients is key to overcoming hesitance and fostering trust. Clinics/Salons doing this well are offering follow-up support sessions or review appointments in the instance that clients are resisting rebooking into further treatments, these are done complimentary. Demonstrating this commitment to client care and providing opportunities to revisit plans and home care prescriptions on a second visit, has been found to strengthen the trust and client relationship. This then leads to higher levels of commitment from clients, especially new Clients.

If you need more help with implementing these strategies, there’s a few ways you can get some further support from me with an upcoming free masterclass ‘Bulletproof Your Business’ and an upcoming event on ‘Ditching the Downturn’ email me at chrissy@freedommastery.com.au for more details