I'm in a Price War with competition.

[danni0509]

hiya girls
right so im having a bit of a problem that i hope you lovely people can help me resolve...i do acrylic nails (i do this mobile) i originally charged £20 for a full set and nail art was at an extra £2 charge...things were running smoothly and i was getting a lot of bookings until.....a girl in my area starting charging £10 for a full set since this im having next to no customers booking in with me :cry: i have lowered my pricing to £18 for a full set nail art done for free but i am still getting no way near the amount of work i was getting i trained real hard on my course and have spent a lot of time effort and money and now i feel like it is for nothing!! i advertise correctly (facebook page, flyers, word of mouth etc etc..) yet still nothing!! this girl who is charging £10 has a facebook page which i have had a nosey at and she is fully booked and a lot of my customers have gone to her :cry: anyway im going to stick at the acrylics and hope things pick back up but im also going to offer rockstar fingers/toes and crystal manicure/pedicures...i know nobody in my area offers these services so im hoping this will bring me more work in!!!!
do any of you ladys do these?
are they popular?
and finally how much do you charge?
thanks for taking the time to read girls and sorry i have rambled on but you seem to give good advice so hoping you can help me
thanks again x

 

[mizzy_dizzy]

10 a set and mobile ??? Hummm she wont be covering costs, and making a profit ,
Don't worry I've seen MANY near me do this not as low s 10 though normally 15 or so .....you know what? Hold tight they soon vanish! Or put there prices up.... Or the clients notice the difference in quality and come back anyway ....
Maybe introduce something new or a new offer ? Shellac is fab if you can get hold of NY , or do a summer nail art offer ....don't put your prices down though as you will sell your self out doing this...if anything put them up a bit 20 is to low.... For each client you do compared to hers it becomes a case of less work more money .

 

[tigi]

I cant see how on earth she can sustain herself at £10. it will only be a matter of time until she has to start ordering products etc...

You see the customers she has are with her for her price, there is never any loyalty with customers like that. she will raise her prices and then hey presto......customers vanish.


We all love a bargain, of course we do but what is important is that you maintain your cool and hold your nerve. She is cheap, who wants to be known as cheap???? Value for money, yes, cheap er no thanks!!!!!!

You are doing the right thing by diversifying, looking at other treatments to offer.

Its incredibily hard to not panic and reduce your rates ( a salon has opened up a few doors down from me and is offering nails cheaper than me, good luck love. I am not interested in a price war ) AND neither should you!

Be your standards high, your head up and level and cool and be ready to pounce once her bubble bursts........

I dont mean that in a cruel way, but there is no sentiment in business, just dont lower yourself to price wars... it never ever has a happy ending.

tigi

 

[geeg]

You need someone to explain to you that your thinking is ALL wrong regarding your pricing.

Cheap prices attract cheap clients who will always leave you for someone cheaper.

PUT YOUR PRICES UP AND LET FOLKS KNOW YOU ARE WORTH IT IF YOU ARE. Only in this way will you attract clients who care about the job your are doing and who are willing to pay for quality.

Don't believe me??? TRY IT. At this point you have nothing to loose as you are already losing all these cheap clients who wouldn't know quality if it bit them in the ass and could care less as long as it's cheap.

Minimum charge for a full set should be 35.00 and it is people who are charging unrealistic prices (yes even you at 20.00) who are ruining it for yourselves big time.

Those of us charging more and delivering quality are doing just fine even now in times of financial turmoil. Be brave .. step outside of the box you have got yourself into .... but remember you must deliver on your promise and be worth what you charge. Sounds like you have worked hard to learn how to do good nails .. well now is the time to charge for all that hard work and to recoup the outlay you have made in money and time to perfect your skills. :hug:

 

[tigi]

do you know what never ceases to amaze me is why people even enter a price war....there can be no winner. not even the client wins in the long term as the companies involved either HAVE to stop eventually, or are not around to make a choice.

I would love to have a meeting with my local competitors and say, hey guys all we are doing is hurting ourselves..... lets get together and come to an agreement. ( not price fixing which is different) but lets talk the talk and then walk the walk.

Nails of £10 tans for £5.

at this rate ill be better off on a minimum wage job ................

I want to be known as value for money not cheap!!! Cheap is tacky............

of course prices fluctuate in cities etc, but this is getting silly.

What can WE do on salon geek TOGETHER. there are thousands of us. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, so why dont we?????

 

[nailtech7]

just a few ideas why not do flyers on offers like recommend a friend and recive a gift or some money of their treatment! or get your nails done and recive your toes for half price for 3 months or so. offer things that this girl doesnt do that make people go WOW. iv just ordered the minxs kit! always give your clients the feeling that they are in a well experinenced set off hand, they will soon wonder if someone is charging £10 they will have less experience!

also to make any money this girl must need to do a lot in a day to me sounds like she will rush clients.
good luck hope all turns out well

 

[Mandita8601]

definatley put your prices up. The girl charging £10 a set isn't making money and won't be doing them for long. Good luck. If the clients want nails that cheap they can go to the chemist and buy stick on ones. Wouldn't have me sitting for over an hour putting them on for them

 

[shuntersue]

If i was you I would put your prices up slightly, or remain the same if you are unsure at the moment, and offer a loyalty scheme. 20% off first treatment, or 5 treatments get one free, or 10% off if they introduce a friend.

Its worth a try.

£10 a set - I wouldn't even get out of bed to do those! and, to be honest, if I was paying that for a set, I think I would be suspicious!

Keep plugging away, don't be disheartened.

 

[persianista]

Am gonna reply from a purely COMMERCIAL point of view, so please dont all take offence or jump on me!

I totally agree with all the above that you should hold firm on your prices, not give anything away and look at new treatments. All great advice.

I would also advise you to look at the demographic of these clients, then aim your advertising upwards a few notches. Target wealthier areas, aim for slightly older clients and target people who value quality and reliability as opposed to price.

It sounds (although I may be wrong here) as if you are targetting the most budget concious clients, then wondering why they desert you for somebody cheaper. Not all clients are like that. If you aim for better off people and do a great job, they won't be swayed by saving a tenner.

 

[mum]

I agree with all the comments! You are selling yourself far too cheaply! You're not creating any client loyalty!!??

To lose all your clients to a £10 per set girl? Unless she is doing this as a trainee it is just tacky and your clients don't know the difference. This is up to you to educate them and give them fabulous nails!

Diversify to provide something different and bring the clients in but concentrate on fabulous nails that your clients cannot possibly give up for a tacky £10 set!

 

[Abby]

Hi, If I may assist you in an idea that is taking off very well where I am. Its called "upgrades". How it works is offer a free introductory service to the booking customer and when you are with your client, you do the free service such as a free hand massage (maxium time 15 minutes) and Tell the client if they would like to upgrade to the next nail service such as a full set, fill , water manicure etc. at your competative price. Why? because your a professional and the client needs it in your professional oppinion.

I was a mobile service also and found clients went where ever the price was cheapest despite what products were applied on the nails. I am a CND Master Nail Tech, and alot of times other techs can not compete with a title like that or the service I was trained exclusively to give by CND.
I also train techs how to sell and market their services.

 

[danni0509]

Thanks for your replys girls, much appreciated, i have sat for a couple of hours this afternoon with a pen and paper jotting down all sorts of ideas and special offers here is what ive came up with...

First thing tomorrow i am going to all the shops in my town and all the gyms, nurserys etc...and putting my flyers in there windows.

I am contacting my local telegraph to enquire how much it will cost to run a small ad in the paper.

I have 20 new photographs to upload to facebook, gorgous pics too so hopefully that will attract the crowd

I have decided to set my prices at £20 per set and charge £3 for nail art rather than giving the nail art for free...(in my area the shops dont charge much more than £22-£25 for a full set of acrylics!) so im keeping my prices at that for the minute which i am happy with.

I am just about to order the minx kit so that will be added to my treatment list also i am going to offer rockstar fingers/toes and im also going to offer crystal mani/pedi.

I am also going to stop doing familys nails for half price!! i know they wouldnt do this for me so they can start paying full price im sick of ripping myself off i trained damn hard for this so i am worth what i charge if people dont like it then they can piss off!!

 

[shuntersue]

Good for you . good luck xxx

 

[angel fingers]

Thanks for your replys girls, much appreciated, i have sat for a couple of hours this afternoon with a pen and paper jotting down all sorts of ideas and special offers here is what ive came up with...

First thing tomorrow i am going to all the shops in my town and all the gyms, nurserys etc...and putting my flyers in there windows.

I am contacting my local telegraph to enquire how much it will cost to run a small ad in the paper.

I have 20 new photographs to upload to facebook, gorgous pics too so hopefully that will attract the crowd

I have decided to set my prices at £20 per set and charge £3 for nail art rather than giving the nail art for free...(in my area the shops dont charge much more than £22-£25 for a full set of acrylics!) so im keeping my prices at that for the minute which i am happy with.

I am just about to order the minx kit so that will be added to my treatment list also i am going to offer rockstar fingers/toes and im also going to offer crystal mani/pedi.

I am also going to stop doing familys nails for half price!! i know they wouldnt do this for me so they can start paying full price im sick of ripping myself off i trained damn hard for this so i am worth what i charge if people dont like it then they can piss off!!

good plan !
if you take one and 1/2 hours to do a full set at £20, why would you want to work one and 1/2 hours to earn £10?
she must be nuts, she could earn more at macdonalds. theres no way she can stay in business at that price.

 

[Nailz73]

You could also try a wedding package ?? Shellac party ?? (not that i do shellac yet ) but just a thought.. its pretty quick to apply etc..

 

[savannahg]

Ok..SO I HAVE TO TELL YOU...GEEG is right...i charge 40.00 for a full set of nails...I have a place in town that charges 28.00 and then a new girl that just moved to town that was charging 20.00 for a full set of nails...remind you these guys use tips, i sculpt. well i had lost a little bit of business but let me tell you the clients that had went to her came to me and said that her nails lifted, didnt last long, were horrible..so i look at it this way...you get what you pay for...If you have to ask your self did you spent all that money to learn to do nails for nothing...YOU futhered you education..YOU are better than 10 a full set..if you want to make your self stand out do a few nail art designs on some nails to show of...or Add some glitter to a clear powder and make a new color, YOU have to make you self stand out from others.

 

[danni0509]

thanks for all the replys girls, i am really thankful for your comments, i have got 4 days off work this week as im having a mini procedure done on my varocise veins on my leg (ouchhh!) and i have to rest for a few days afterwards.. so i have all the time to sit and think about new special offers/ideas etc...shall let you know what i come up with! thanks again x

 

[BobSweden]

I can understand when techs are new and have lower prices while they develop both their skills and confidence, in many ways this is like an old apprenticeship. But there has to come a time when you value your time and want to recover your investment - selling too cheap does neither.

I firmly believe that there are customers out there that are willing to pay more. For busy business women, the two main issues are good looking nails and reliability. If you also work out of hours and are convenient to get to (or you visit) then that's an added bonus.

However, to attract these quality customers you have to have confidence in your work, make good and reliable nails and project a total image so that your perceived value in their eyes matches your prices.

Never sell yourself short - there are always people who try to 'buy' business with low prices, but they always attract disloyal customers who will jump to the next lowest offer. Instead, develop your perceived value through continuously developing your skills and offering a wider range of services. Try to develop a uniqueness in your market that is easily understood and visible (if you can't justify your prices in one short sentence, you will have lost the prospective customer).

What ever the economy does, there are always people with money. Right now they are not throwing it away as before, and looking for value - but they are there and just waiting for you to persuade them!

Good luck!

 

[fozzyo]

Three words I was introduced once ... "dominant buying motive".

Everyone will evaluate a product or service and have their own criteria that they will use to choose who to use for that service. Out of all the criteria they will use there will be one that is the deal maker / breaker, the most influential decision - the dominant one.

For a lot of people this is money. And it is automatically assumed that it can only be one way - down, the cheaper the more likely they are to be attracted. For a lot of people it goes the other way ... a lot of clients won't go to someone charging 10, 15, 20 or even £25 for a full set of nails!

Why? Because they are too cheap! Clients will evaluate your service on how you value your service. If you think you use the best products available and have invested in yourself and your skills people will pay for that. If you charge cheap rates what does that say about you and your belief in what you offer?

Don't forget one of the most successful advertising slogans of recent years ... "reassuringly expensive".

And that is what good nail techs who use the best products should be. Market yourself as being expensive ... you cost more because your better and your product is better!

I make it hard for myself, in my area I am probably the most expensive for male waxing and I don't have any high-street presence because I work from home as a "Private practice". I find a lot of my clients like and prefer that and pay for it. I have to work a whole lot harder to get clients ... but it pays off when they come, and keep coming time after time.

Four things to remember when pricing:

1) Believe in your products, your training and your skills
2) Most people's dominate buying motive is price ... that doesn't always mean cheapest!
3) With a high price comes the highest quality product and service
4) People will pay for better

Good luck!

 

[Sharpster]

A really good way to promote yourself is in the local newspaper - here is how to do it without having to splash the cash. Call up your paper and ask for the promotions department and ask them what you would have to do to offer a competition or a reader offer in their paper. Most papers will ask for a buy one get one free offer or a half price offer or will request a price to a particular value.

When you do this type of thing you get around 100 words about yourself with the offer plus your logo and a picture - it's a really great way to promote yourself and a good offer to do could be 'Pay for a full set of nails and get your first infills for free' or you could do a competition and giveaway 10 free sets of nails which could potentially get you 10 more customers who will need infills doing two weeks later.

Plus if you do a competition you can ask for the data from the competition giving you a whole load of interested people for you to canvass.

Obviously this is going to cost you your product and time but it will get you noticed without having to pay for really expensive advertising.

If you do this then remember to put a closing date on the offer so people aren't storing up loads of vouchers to keep producing everytime they want their nails done!

Hope this helps x