MINDING YOUR BUSINESS

BY LUCY MAZZUCCO

As we’re all dealing with rising costs from inflation, it comes as no surprise that many salons have lost clients due to price increases and lifestyle changes as a result of post-pandemic work-life needs. For some, they’re also struggling to retain staff who opted to go the freelance route during the pandemic or decided to leave the industry altogether.

Although work and life have started to return to pre-pandemic “normalcy,” many salon owners and managers are continuing to face struggles when it comes to boosting business in the salon, hiring staff and getting their revenue back on track.

“One of the biggest things we’ve felt is a change in consumer behaviour when it comes to client frequency,” says Janine Cannon, brand and business development manager for Zazou Salon & Academy in North Vancouver, B.C. “People are stretching out their time in between services to two to three months or longer. That’s why it’s so important for stylists to ask loyal clients for referrals to get themselves out there in the community as well.”

Power of Word of Mouth

While referrals have come a long way thanks to social media, it doesn’t change the fact that welcoming new people with open minds and fresh perspectives can help offset the loss of revenue and alleviate some of the stress that comes with losing existing clients. “Referral programs are a must,” says Karine Sabourin, a Quebecbased business consultant for Summit Salon Business Center. “New clients will want to pay your price right now and want to be with you now, so when their friends and family refer them to the salon, the new client is ready to spend on the experience.”

“In today’s market, consumers are a lot more educated when it comes to their needs and their wants,” adds Peter Ciardulli, owner of Toronto-based salon, Calia Hair and founder of Salon Smartz. “If we’re more prepared as a stylist, then we’re satisfying their needs and that’s when they come back in and when they start referring their family or friends to you.”

When it comes to referrals, going the extra mile and providing a special incentive for those who help attract new clients can go a long way, especially in light of inflation and the growing demand for added value from services.

Cannon says that referral programs and incentive packages can also be a great way to retain clients. “If a client refers a friend, they get $20 toward their service and their friend gets $20 toward their first service,” says Cannon. While discounting your services may not work for every salon owner or hairstylist, she adds that it can also help with retaining or bringing back clients who may have taken a break or started going to a new salon.

“We’re finding that clients who weren’t coming in for the past couple years are starting to come back,” she says. “Then, it’s more about the retention for us. We also have a rewards program in place where clients get points per dollar spent, and that really helps with retention.” clients to your business.

“Everyone has had to elevate their guest experience to a whole new level,” says Cannon. “[Clients] need to see what the added value is. We’ve been reaching out to those people who haven’t been back since the beginning of COVID and writing handwritten letters to them [to invite them back in.]”

Experience Matters

With the number of freelance and independent hairstylists on the rise, it creates more competition for traditional salons. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that salon owners are creating an atmosphere that will provide a memorable experience that their clients will appreciate. Doing so can not only help ensure that they want to come back but also help secure a referral and attract new

Scott Moon, founder of Salon S.O.S., a Montrealbased company that provides digital marketing solutions for salons and spas, also believes that the quality of a salon’s guest experience should always remain top of mind since clients don’t mind paying higher prices for services that make them feel special, which in turn can make it an easier adjustment when it comes time to increase your prices.

“People will always pay more for the experience,” he says. “Remember the law of supply and demand. In many cases, salons are fully booked based on the actual staff they have and they have lots of clients that want to book but not a lot of space for them. That means that the demand for the service is high and the supply—meaning your

Know Your Worth

availability of time—is low. When you’re booked out for a couple of months in advance, there may be more clients who are trying to get in and they can’t. You can very easily raise your prices, and if you end up losing some clients because of the price increase, it doesn’t matter because you have many who are trying to get in and who will be prepared to pay the right price for your service.”

“If we’re giving [clients] 100 per cent satisfaction when it comes to their service, most clients won’t have an issue with prices being increased in value per dollar,” adds Ciardulli. “If they’re not getting their value, then obviously there’s the risk of them not coming back to you. But if you’re providing them the service and the experience, then you know at that point that you can elevate your prices to meet the service that you’re providing at the same time.”

Planting the Seed

When it comes to retaining clients and building relationships with new ones, Ciardulli believes it’s important to always find ways to encourage their next visit.

Things to keep in mind when increasing your prices.

Price increases are sometimes a necessity but can also be a great way to help o set rising costs amid inflation. However, some owners and hairstylists continue to be hesitant to raise their prices if it means potentially losing some clients.

Cannon says communicating any price increases to clients ahead of their appointment can help with this transition. “Every time we talk to a stylist increasing their prices, there is always that fear of losing clients, but we always suggest keeping clear lines of communication and explaining why we’re needing to increase our prices and also what we’re investing in ourselves in terms of education,” she says. “It’s very demand-based, as well. So if people are booked out two to three months and they have that demand, then that means that it’s time to raise their prices and we always encourage raising prices on a regular basis so it’s not so much of a shock.”

She adds that while they can anticipate that at least 10 per cent of clients might leave [as a result of the increase in prices], it opens up opportunities with new clients. “If people aren’t willing to pay those prices, then perhaps that is just not what they value and what they want to spend their money on, but someone else will.”

Moon believes that when it comes to price increases, salons and stylists should seize the opportunity and simply go for it. “My flat advice is to increase your prices if you haven’t already,” he says. “Now is actually the best time because consumers are actually expecting that in 2023, prices for almost everything have gone up. You have to value your worth as an actual service. We are providing a high-level expertise service. But if you want to make it easier for clients to accept the price increase, maybe add something a little extra to the experience.”

“When someone is in my chair (or a stylists’ chair), I always encourage them to plant the seed for their next visit,” says Ciardulli. “If you’re wanting to do a balayage, you can say, ‘Well, the next time you come in, we can do it.’ At least this way, you’re always giving them reasons to come back and not leave to go somewhere else. That would be one of the biggest things as far as retaining clients.”

While we know the benefits that pre-booking clients’ next appointments can have for building loyalty and retaining clients, it can also help you build business by filling up your schedule and identifying any gaps that you may have to fill.

“Once you start getting your clients into the habit of pre-booking their next appointments, it’s always nice to see schedules being full in two to three months’ time,” says Ciardulli. “It also adds a little bit more security as far as knowing that someone is coming back to you.”

When it comes to growing your overall business, Moon believes there are two areas that should be focused on. “When you look at growing business, there are two things that happen,” he says. “Either you get the existing clients to spend more during their visits or you get more clients. If you focus on those areas and say, ‘OK, how can we get our existing clients to maybe spend a little bit more?’ it can help you prioritize your thoughts to put in place some quick-acting promotions or [incentives].”

Flexibility Is Key

As more beauty pros have opted for the freelance route over the course of the pandemic, it’s no surprise that salon owners have had to switch gears in terms of their hiring practices and adapt to their existing staff’s wants and needs.

“In terms of retention, people obviously want more flexibility,” says Moon. “That’s kind of a standard now. As a salon owner, it’s important to not only be aware of that but also open to that.”

“Some people want to work less days than they did before and want more time with family,” he adds, sharing that flexibility is important even though it may not be ideal, especially when their staff want to work fewer days or hours per week. “Three days a week is better than them completely leaving and having zero days a week,” he says. “When you’re already short-staffed as a whole, just be open. It might be easier to recruit people if you’re not expecting them to work full time—five days and 40 hours a week—or whatever the case may be. Maybe you’ll end up having a couple of part-timers that fill the space of a full-timer.”

As a salon owner himself, Ciardulli believes that having someone work full time at the salon five days a week is an outdated mindset now because more people have been prioritizing a work-life balance since the pandemic. “We’ve had to change our mindset to make sure that we’re accommodating them and understanding their needs as well,” he says. “If you’re condensing a work schedule down to four days a week, having [hairstylists] fully booked from morning to night will make them more inclined to enjoy the worklife balance model.”

Building a Safe and Supportive Space

When it comes to hiring the right candidates and retaining existing staff, it’s important to ensure that they feel supported in the environment they work in.

As a result of the pandemic, some hairstylists have dealt with mental health struggles, and many of them are still navigating ways to cope with them. “Many people have dealt with stress, anxiety and depression over the past couple of years,” says Moon. “Offering some support— perhaps benefits that include access to a therapist—could really set you apart as a salon and show that you’re creating an open, caring and trusting environment for people. I’ve spoken with a few salons that have really put some energy and effort into that, and they seem to be getting a great response. Their teams are feeling really well supported as a result, and that can obviously help with retention in the long term.”

Along with prioritizing mental health, keeping employees’ personal and career goals in mind can be another great way to show support and ultimately help with retention.

“We try to cater to their goals and their personalized needs and then when they do hit those goals, they have that monetary gain of growing,” says Cannon. “We also really encourage education, so we have an education point system and a ‘Most Outstanding Player’ who does the most education for the year. We sit down and encourage them to sign up for various education classes that are offered either at our salon or through our suppliers.”

PRO TIP: FOR SALON OWNERS WITH STYLISTS WHO PREFER A MORE FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULE, CONSIDER SHARING STATIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE 10 STATIONS IN YOUR SALON AND ONLY EMPLOY 10 STYLISTS, CONSIDER HAVING SHARED STATIONS FOR STYLISTS WHO PREFER TO WORK PART TIME, WHICH WILL ALLOW YOU TO HIRE OTHERS TO HELP FILL IN THE GAPS.

When it comes to your team’s individual and collective goals, Sabourin also believes it’s important to keep track of them to ensure that they are achieved. “Owners should meet with everyone on their team once a month to make sure they achieve [their goals] and try new ways to be happy in their salon’s culture.”

Getting Social

When it comes to maximizing business in the digital age, staying active and consistent on social media is key to growing both your clientele and your team.

“Social media is where a lot of people are spending their time, so if you’re not actively present, then you’re not going to get nearly as much attention and people seeing your brand, services, products, company and logo,” says Moon, adding that social media is non-negotiable for salons who are looking to hire or attract a younger demographic. “A lot of salons have lost staff to go work on their own in a suite, rent a chair somewhere or work out of their homes or left the salon because they feel that the salon owner hasn’t been doing enough from a marketing standpoint to make the salon attractive enough to clients.”

“Once upon a time, social media was sort of like a suggestion to help keep yourself productive, but now I tell everyone it’s basically a requirement of the job,” adds Cannon. “Everybody has it now, and it’s sort of expected of clients because they want to be able to see your work and sometimes bring your work in as inspiration.”