How To Make Your Beauty Salon Stand Out From Competition
/Keeping your salon, up-to-date and enticing new customers to try your services isn’t always easy. This article will suggest ways to help you stand out from your competition and stay relevant.
Why Is It Important to Stand Out?
The beauty industry is booming post pandemic and customers have a wider range of choice than ever before when it comes to beauty salons and service providers so it’s more important than ever to make sure your beauty business stands out. If you want to ensure that you’re retaining and attracting new clients in 2023, you need to have a clear business plan for the year ahead and know what you can offer that other salons can’t. Not only will this help your business succeed but it will also help your profits too as over half (58%) of customers are prepared to pay more for a better experience. Here are some tips for making your salon your clients’ first choice every time.
Create That WOW Moment
To know how to wow your customers, you have to understand who your target audience is and how you can make the best first impression. Are your clients looking for a personal service where they feel valued and appreciated? If so, remembering names and key details and offering loyalty schemes and discounts could be vital to keep them coming back for more.
Or do your regular clients value convenience and efficiency? In which case, having plenty of parking, making sure appointments run on time and giving customers multiple options for payment and booking might be most important.
You only have seven seconds to make a good first impression so you need to work hard on getting that right straight away, whether it’s in the outwar appearance of your salon, the way you set up your waiting area, how you greet clients when they arrive or the complimentary drinks you offer.
Choose Your Products Wisely
Your beauty services will only ever be as good as the tools and products that you use in your salon so choose these carefully and don’t be tempted to scrimp as this may affect your results and customer satisfaction. Be sure that the products you choose such as wax strips are up to the job and if you have issues or aren’t happy with the results, don’t hesitate to switch supplier.
You might also want to consider if your products locally sourced or from UK based suppliers and if you can improve upon the sustainability and environmental impact of your business.
Look Outward
As well as looking inward at your business and where improvements can be made, you also need to look outward too. This means checking out your competition and pinpointing what they’re doing well or areas for improvement and translating those lessons to your own salon. Consider first impressions, online presence, social media accounts and booking systems so you get a sense of the full customer journey from start to finish.
Be aware of what’s going on outside of your industry too and the factors which may affect your business on a wider scale such as supply-chain issues, the rising cost of living or general health and wellbeing news that may impact your clients.
Stay Current
It’s important to stay up-to-date with the trends and the beauty industry in general. Read widely and attend regular training networking events whenever you can so you’re aware of what is happening in the industry and what’s new. For example, natural beauty has been the focal point for many this year, with no makeup make-up looks particularly popular. Wellness is also big news after the pandemic, with many people turning to beauty treatments that are pampering and have physical or mental health benefits.
Knowing what clients are looking for right now is essential but it’s also a good idea to be prepared for upcoming trends so you can anticipate what your customers might want in the near future and be ready to offer it to them.