Guide For The Last Quarter Of 2018

How are we already half way through October, ahhh I really do not know how this has happened – do you? 

So you should hopefully be well on your way and tucked into the flow of your marketing plan for the last quarter of the year, right?

If you’re not, please do not worry. We have put together a brief guide of what you need to get done and have in place to ensure you have the best end to 2018

Services 

– Do you have all your services correctly displayed in your salon software?
– Check all your services are set correctly with the right times for each stylist.
– Ensure the prices for each of your team member are showing correctly. 
– Are you offering the right services in your salon to meet your clients needs?
– Are you giving your clients the option to book via your website? – If you’re not then don’t miss out on the mad rush throughout November and December.  Contact your salon software provider and your web developer to get you set up with online bookings asap. 

Upgrades

Upgrades can make a huge difference to your revenue and can be a great way to filling those little 15 minute gaps. There are a number of upgrades to offer depending on what the client is having.

Possible upgrades for hair services:

– Deep conditioning mask
– Blow-dry to a Cut and Blow-dry
– Half head foils to a Full head foils
– Express colour service

Possible upgrades for beauty services:

– File & paint
– Eyebrow shape
– Back, neck & shoulder to Full body massage
– Add Indian head massage

Online bookings

Do you give the option for your clients to book online?

We are all so busy these days, we know we need to do certain things through out our busy lives yet it takes us time to get round to doing things for one reason or another. So giving your clients the option to book online means that can be booking appointments with you while you are sleeping. 

Stripe is a great third party company very similar to Paypal that Salon iQ have partnered with to offer deposits when online bookings are active.

Of course you do not have to offer deposits when having your clients book online, it is just an additional security or peace of mind that the clients who book via your salon app or website do actually turn up for their appointment. 

Team 

Are your team buzzing and ready to go or are they drained?

I don’t know about you but nine times out of ten I end up getting sick around 23rd / 24th December – I pull out all the stops and just go for it, this really isn’t healthy.

It’s the time of year we can be doing the most clients, earning the highest commission and taking home a nice healthy pay packet to complete the year. However one thing I always keep at the front of my mind is customer care. 

We are not conveyer belts, it doesn’t matter how much you are in love with your job it can at times feel a little like this.

Tips I give to stylists/therapists to ensure that they have a smooth day;

Make sure you are allocating enough time for each of your clients

Carry out an in-depth consultation for every single client

Arrive to work 10-15 minutes before your first client arrives, to prep for your day

Prepare your lunch/refreshments the day before or prior to arriving at work

Ensure your tool kit is in full order – combs, clips, scissors, gloves, etc.

Check to see if your column is as utilised as it can possibly be

Utilisation

This is something you need to keep a close eye on all year round. Seeing 10 or 15 minute gaps in your team columns is nothing worse, What are they doing in those 15 minutes other than sitting in the staff room on their phones having another coffee and gossiping?

Exactly!

Often if you take a look through the day you will probably see 3 or 4 10/15 minute gaps, but this just isn’t enough time to book a client in – so book wisely and get your team to do the same.

Make it an exercise in the next team meeting perhaps, ask your team to pick out the gaps of wasted time in their own columns. 

Over a week or month once they have counted the number of gaps they have or added up the time, they should then see how many cut and blowdrys these gaps could accommodate if the appointments were booked better.

No show policy

Having a no show policy in place for your salons is key, if you haven’t yet got a system in place for your no shows, then now is the time to create one and action it. Many salon owners and managers are sceptical on having a no show policy as they see it as being bad for your business in the long run. This really is not the case we are living proof, that a no show policy actually reduces the number of clients not turning up for their appointments significantly. It is all about educating your client and informing them of why you are asking for a deposit. Many clients will automatically assume that you are pin pointing them and only asking them for a deposit and no-one else. So as long as you educate your team to really understand why deposits are being taken then you can be confident to say that they can then pass this onto their clients in the correct way. 

Don’t get me wrong, you will find the you have one or two of those clients that have been coming for years and years and won’t be happy with this. Have found with these clients, it’s about getting down to the level and listening to that they have to say. 

Promotions

Some salons have certain promotions to offer their clients throughout the week. When did you last review your promotions?

Have you thought about putting ongoing promotions on hold at busy times of the year such as at Christmas? December is such a busy time of year for many salons by default that you really should not need to promote your team towards the end of the year to ensure they are busy. 

Christmas Gifts

By now your reps should have had their festive meetings with you. Christmas gifts have never been so difficult to choose and give, gone are the days of writing a list and waiting until Christmas to get what you have always wanted. If you’re anything like me I always find that I end up buying for other people before myself. So gifts that you can offer in the salon really could be the perfect gift.

Have you thought about gift wrapping your Christmas sets or how about adding in a £5 or £10 voucher with any purchase over a set value? Stock up on your best sellers, on the majority of salon software you can run a report which shows you your best sellers – make sure you have these in stock before they sell out.

Marketing Tools

November and December can be one of the business times of the year for hair and beauty salons. Check the stock of the following of any marketing tools you give to your guests;

• Send a friend cards
• Appointment cards
• Gift cards
• Loyalty Cards
• Stand by cards
• Promotional leaflets

Do you have enough retail bags in stock from your suppliers? If not get your order in as soon as possible, often suppliers will have special designs for Christmas and New Year.

Website

Your website can feel like a huge project and it can be one that you create and develop but then forget about. It needs to stay up to date. 

• Is your home page showing the key areas of your salon business?
• When did you last check your website? Are your salon opening times up to date
• Do you have all your services available?
• If you show prices, are they up to date?
• Have you got online bookings displayed clearly?
• Is your team page up to date?
• Do your home page banners need refreshing?

The above are just some of the questions you need to be asking yourself to ensure your website is the best it can be before the busiest time of the year.

Prep for 2019

This can feel like the biggest job of all time. I don’t know about you but I love to really make a fresh start and prep for the new year as much as possible. BUT knowing where to start for the prep can be the tricky part. 

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