14 September 2024
As a salon owner, you’re likely tracking a variety of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to gauge the health and growth of your business. While metrics like client retention and your average frequency are vital, one often overlooked but equally important KPI is your average bill per client.
In this blog post, we’ll explore why your average bill is a critical KPI and share the top three strategies to increase it, ultimately boosting your salon’s profitability using your appointment booking system.
The average bill, represents the average amount spent by each client per visit. This KPI is crucial because it directly impacts your overall revenue and profitability. By increasing your average bill, you can significantly enhance your salon’s financial performance without necessarily needing to attract more clients or increase the number of appointments.
Maximising Revenue per Client: Higher average bills mean more revenue is generated from each client, allowing your salon to grow its income base without the added pressure of increasing the number of clients you look after each day/week. This is especially important during slower periods when client volume may not be as high.
Improved Profit Margins: By upselling services or retail products, you can boost your average bill while also improving profit margins. Many add-on services or upsells and retail products have higher margins, meaning a larger portion of the revenue from these sales contributes directly to your bottom line.
Client Experience: Clients need more than just a good haircut these days, encouraging clients to try additional services or purchase recommended products can enhance their overall experience, leading to higher satisfaction and increased loyalty. When clients feel they’re receiving extra care, they’re more likely to return and even refer their friends/family to you.
Now that we have gone through the importance of focusing on your average bill, let’s explore three effective strategies to help you increase it.
One of the most effective ways to boost your average bill is by upselling and cross-selling services. Upselling involves upgrading the service your client is already booked in for, i.e Upgrading a half head foils to a full head foils or upgrading an express facial to a luxury facial, while cross-selling refers to offering complementary services during their visit.
For example, if a client comes in for a haircut, you could suggest adding a deep conditioning treatment or a scalp massage to their appointment. Similarly, if they’re booked for a facial, you could recommend an add-on like a specialized mask, eye treatment or file and polish.
To successfully upsell and cross-sell, your team should be well aware of the various options in making personalised recommendations to their clients. They should be able to identify opportunities based on the client’s hair or skin type, concerns, and preferences. Importantly, the approach should always be client-centric—presenting the additional services as a way to enhance their experience rather than simply increasing the bill.
Reports or a dashboard on your salon booking system will be able to help you monitor this per team member and for your salon overall.
Retail sales can significantly impact your average bill, and salons that excel in this area often see a noticeable boost in their revenue. Clients who leave your salon with the right products to maintain their look at home are more likely to have better results, which translates to higher satisfaction and loyalty.
To increase retail sales, ensure that your team is knowledgeable about the products you offer and can confidently make recommendations based on the client’s needs. Position retail products near your reception area to encourage last-minute purchases, and consider displaying the products you recommend directly in front of them while you blowdry their hair or when they are getting ready to leave their treatment room.
Additionally, you can create special promotions or loyalty programs that reward clients for purchasing retail products. For example, offering a discount on a future service when they buy a specific product can incentivize them to make a purchase and return for another appointment.
Your salon booking system is a great tool to help you follow up with clients to promote retail sales even when they have left the salon. SalonIQ’s salon booking system does just that through its homecare recommendation system.
Introducing tiered pricing for your services can be an effective way to increase your average bill. By offering different levels of service—basic, standard, and premium—you give clients the option to choose higher-level team members, and you’d focus on getting those team members utilised first with additional services and upsells.
For example, a basic haircut might include just the cut, while a premium package could include a consultation, a deep conditioning treatment, and a blow-dry. The key is to clearly communicate the value of each team member so that clients see the benefit of choosing a higher-level team member. You could share the team members expertise or specialist treatments to promote or share recent feedback.
Tiered pricing not only gives clients more choices but also encourages them to spend more by opting for the enhanced service. Make sure that each tier is priced strategically to maximise profit while providing perceived value to the client.
Focusing on your average bill as a KPI is essential for maximizing revenue and ensuring the financial health of your salon. Make sure you monitor the average bill for each team member and for your salon overall.
Get your team to focus on their average bill and set a goal to increase it by a certain date with ideas on how they can do this. Overall this benefits the team members too, they do not need to focus on additional clients but instead upsell to their existing clients.
Your salon booking system holds all of this information making it easy for you to monitor. SalonIQ has a mini team member dashboard which shows a snapshot of your day at the point of logging in.
By implementing strategies like upselling and cross-selling services, promoting retail products, and introducing tiered pricing, you can increase your average bill and drive growth without relying solely on attracting more clients.
Remember, the goal is to enhance the client experience while boosting your bottom line. When done correctly, these strategies will not only increase your average bill but also strengthen client satisfaction and loyalty, creating a win-win situation for both your salon and your clients.
Call a member of our team today on 01892 280 123
