Up against so much competition!

[hanzy85]

I'm in need of a little advice please geeks, our hair salon is family run and has been passed down by 3 family generations however a number of years ago another hair salon set up business next door of all places. We have added beauty to our services to increase clientele but a number of weeks ago another beauty salon set up business down the road. We are based in a very small village and luckily the majority of our current customers come to us on recommendation as we are well established in the community however we are finding it increasingly hard to get clients through the door and the competition certainly doesn't help matters. Do any of you geeks have any advice or are in a similar situation? many thanks xx

 

[BronzeBeauties]

I know its not ideal but maybe undercut them? Money off for new clients. Loyalty cards for existing customers and an all round good service. 1 night a week late opening?

 

[wonderwoman]

It is rather nice to hear that 3 generations of a hair salon!

All i can say is allocate money to education education education! Its all about refreshing your skills, adding to your skills and building up a repore of knowing what you're on about. Sometimes people can become complacent and get set into thier own ways, getting bad habits etc.

Dont be tempted to undercut or think about the competition....just do your own thing (its worked!)

Have you ever thought of mass campaigns outside the village, in the sense media-online advertisiment to pull people in... its about generating interest outside your location! Some great threads on here on how to promote your buisness! Good luck! xoxo

 

[souz]

i agree with wonderwoman, make sure all your staffs skills are up to date!

can you bring new products or treatments into the salon that are on trend at the minute and dont cost too much?

whats your usp?can you upsell that?

work on your existing clientele, this is often paramount to a businesses success, if you already have clients and you can get them to spend more, sell products, gifts, extra treatments etc.

even if they are only paying an extra £5 say for a head massage ( even send your shampoo girls on indian head massage course) or a mini shampoo/conditioner set or something. what about having an evening where you can show them how to achieve their hair style at home?

you dont necessarily need to do offers just offer more value for money if that makes sense? dont discount a treatment but make it seem like the same treatment they could have next door but with you they get more for their money.

 

[hanzy85]

Thanks for all your good suggestions, I guess we must be doing something right as we have stayed in business for over 50 years so far. It's easier getting people in for beauty treatments but much harder trying to get new clients for hair, maybe because people don't like to change hairdressers but some of our girls are trained in Indian head massage so we will definitely start incorporating that into shampoos etc. We do offer loyalty cards and our regular customers really are wonderful, it's just so hard trying to get new clients especially younger ones! We have one of our girls going on a course with Schwarzkopf soon and she is training to teach so she will be able to train our other staff on what she learns as the cost to send everyone would be far too much! Thanks again people xx

 

[carlytaylor1986]

Thanks for all your good suggestions, I guess we must be doing something right as we have stayed in business for over 50 years so far. It's easier getting people in for beauty treatments but much harder trying to get new clients for hair, maybe because people don't like to change hairdressers but some of our girls are trained in Indian head massage so we will definitely start incorporating that into shampoos etc. We do offer loyalty cards and our regular customers really are wonderful, it's just so hard trying to get new clients especially younger ones! We have one of our girls going on a course with Schwarzkopf soon and she is training to teach so she will be able to train our other staff on what she learns as the cost to send everyone would be far too much! Thanks again people xx

This is just my opinion, but the thing that gets me through the door of a hairdressers is the price on colour treatments. I have a full head of foils and in my old hairdressers I would spend near to £100 on a full head and cut. However, I now have a mobile hairdresser as I can't afford £100 just for my hair as Im looking to buy a place. She charges £40 for a full head of foils and £18 for a cut and blowdry, so immediately i am saing over £40! She is really good too and uses good products. So just make sure you charge to make a decent profit, not completely over the odds. Or perhaps have a "Foils Thursday"? Where you discount your foils on just a thursday? That's how to get the younger generation in unfortunately. How about offering things such as hair braids and feathers? The dip-dye look is popular at the moment, have a member of staff with that done, do your staff know how to create this look? Are your staff sporting the latest hairstyle? People will look at the hairstylist in question for inspiration. just a few pointers. hope you get more clients soon x

 

[lea2721]

I would say to get younger people in its not about having cheap prices its about looking trendy looking up to date in latest fashions thats what entices me to some where as a you.g person if i walk past and its full of older people sometimes that can put yojnger people off id agree with wonder women keep up to date go on courses etc and then show the skills what you have learnt x

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[Verve Designs]

Some good points- but It's really all just guesswork (not least by us!) until you have a real detailed look at your competition.

Have a read of this http://www.salongeek.com/biz-geek/199321-how-write-competitive-analysis-free-templates.html