increase business turnover - Susan Routledge Consultancy

There is often a myth in our industry that discounting is a way to lure new clients through your door, and also a way to get lapsed clients back in to fill our appointment books to overflowing.

I am sure if you have tried discounting that you know that it simply isn’t that easy and can backfire in so many ways.

I have witnessed some great salons fall from grace and ruin their reputation by trying to grow their client base with deep discounting.

Discounts, inadvertently show your client that you can afford to do their treatment for a far lesser price, or else how could you be doing it?
I see treatment offers slashing up to 50% off. That treatment will never have the same worth to a client at full price ever again, and more often than not, it kills sales of that treatment forever and causes cash flow issues for the long term.

The deal site model is sold to businesses as a popular route to gain new clients but please, please be extremely careful!

A lot of these new clients will constantly be chasing the next latest offer, with little chance of ever becoming loyal to any one business.

During periods of deep discounting, you will often see your loyal regular clientele running for the hills. The change in how the business has to run to cope with demand, can totally change the salon ambience and team dynamics…

I have seen lovely salons literally turned into conveyor belts for little or no gain whilst trying to accommodate deal site or discount offers.

So what can you do instead…

Address the underlying issues

Look firstly at why you think you need to give discounts. Rather than chasing new clients, look in depth at why you aren’t retaining existing clients, ask for honest feedback and act fast to fix any issues. It is far easier to make past clients raving fans again with a little TLC, rather than constantly chasing new business.

Always have a reason

Any offer needs an explanation or reason behind it. This way a client can understand the discount. The offer could be a new treatment launch, salon anniversary, client birthday, refer a friend scheme or rebooking incentive.

Plan Ahead

Be proactive rather than reactive. Plan your marketing calendar well ahead so all offers are structured throughout the year. This way you can create a constant salon buzz, and excite and delight your clients with upcoming special treatments and events. This also gives clients a great reason to talk about your salon and to recommend your services to friends.

Use Add-ons

A common mistake is to run a promotion on an unpopular treatment thinking it will draw clients in, but a far better idea is to run a promotion on a busier treatment linking it to an add-on, upsell offer including the less appealing treatment.
Doing this will give your existing clients a real sense of value by allowing them to try a taster of the less popular treatment and also it will generate extra business to an already established and popular treatment.

Get Help from Suppliers

Suppliers can be a great resource of free gifts, sample products or discounted products to add value to your treatments. Also ask your suppliers to help you to promote with events, workshops etc too

Here’s to your great business success

Susan x

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To efficiently increase business turnover, I suggest you take at least one day out and totally dedicate it to looking at your business from the outside.

You need to make a list of as many areas as possible you can look at in your business, and I suggest initially you do this alone – as you are the only person who truly knows your business.

I want you to look at each area as critically as possible.

I am going to look at the most obvious first point of reference, and this of course is your finance within the business.

Firstly look at the money you have coming in.

Is it stable amounts or are there huge fluctuences from day to day or week to week? Try to work out ways in which you could look to maximise and make the week flow better.
Are there any days where you can’t accommodate clients? It may be that on certain days opening later and offering later appointments may be better.
It could be that you could offer a special offer every Tuesday if that is a quiet day leaving more space for appointments on busier days.

The more ideas you come up with, the better your chance is to increase business turnover.

They may not be your most popular options but you are in a service business and you need to work to fit in with what is best for your clients.

Your staff may have a bit of a moan too, as no one likes change. Make sure they understand WHY you need to make changes and that it is helping to secure their employment too, and they will soon understand.

Once you have a clear picture of what you have coming in and where you can make improvements, then you need to look at what is going out – your costs. You need to evaluate if everything is necessary…honestly!

The bonding staff night out once a month to the local restaurant may have to be a girl’s night in!

You need to really grill down your stock too.

Check with your suppliers to if you can reduce your minimum orders, or extend your credit terms. It is so much better to sell your stock before you have to pay for it. Always pay your suppliers on time too to maintain the best relationship.

This also may be a golden opportunity to look at your utility suppliers. It is so easy to carry on paying for gas, electricity, phone etc but changing companies can save you literally hundreds of pounds.

You can do this yourself, or you can use an independent utilities consultant who can give you no obligation quotes. It’s all far easier than you think. Once you have looked at utilities then knuckle down every expense and where you can change and improve.

This exercise can be very liberating, but it initially can be very daunting – and even upsetting.

Once you have compiled your improvements then you may feel comfortable to move forward with them or check with your accountant the best ways to implement them.

5 Ways To Better Salon Sales Without Discounting

So what can you do instead…

Effective Tips to Increase Business Turnover

Susan Routledge works with salons, spas and clinics to help them to get the most out of their businesses. You can contact Susan here>>

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