Managing a salon takes more than a space and a set of shears. Additionally, we all know how rapid the beauty industry evolves. To help professionals level up, we’re sharing salon management tips worthy of a browser bookmark. We’ve rounded up 11 salon management tips from experts in our industry to inspire your growth. Use these to enhance your guest experience, grow your salon, and continue upwards on your unique path to success.

1. Train employees in a quick and effective manner

Frank Gambuzza former president of Intercoiffure North America/Canada, an association for beauty professionals, and also runs four elite salons in the Knoxville area. With his level of experience, Frank understands the importance of a well-trained staff. To ensure your salon is running at its highest level of service from the start, Frank recommends hard and heavy training to weed out those who can’t withstand the pressure.

With a quick and effective training program, you’ll save money and develop a team who knows how to get the job done.

2. Make marketing easier

Marketing your salon doesn’t have to be time-consuming and expensive. Use the tools that you already have, such as your email list, and make it automatic and easy. 

For example, Montage Salon in Colorado Springs, uses the SalonBiz Communications Suite to save time while marketing.

Birthday emails are set to go out automatically, as well as overdue for service “We Miss You” outreach. This technology allows his salon to stay in touch with guests without having to do any legwork. The ability to set it and forget it is invaluable for the busy salon.

The same concept can be applied to attracting new customers at your salon. Consider sending out a “Refer a Friend” promotion to your longest-standing clients. You may be surprised by just how many new lifelong guests you gain. 

3. Invest in your amazing team

Your stylists are essential to the success of your business. Make it a point to invest in your team both personally and professionally. The strongest teams operate like families. Talk to your team in a way that reflects true concern for their lives and future career goals. 

When you understand and put the career goals of your staff as a priority in your business, you’ll immediately start seeing the benefits with more engaged and proactive team members. 

Want to truly level up their careers? Make a plan with your staff to help them reach their top career goals. We recommend reviewing reports with SalonBiz to track each stylist’s guest count, prebook percentage, and product sales. This will encourage everyone to set goals and reach their biggest milestones!

4. Observe by being a part of that team

Likewise, every job in the salon is integral to your success. From washing the towels to answering calls, each team member makes your salon successful. 

Get involved and be a part of the team by doing these jobs on a routine basis. This is the best way to see what’s working and what’s not, in order to implement changes that matter.

Plus, leadership starts with you! Your team will admire you for always being willing to pitch in.

5. Encourage empowered education

Known for his visionary approach to hair and beauty, William Edge is a name that resonates with many throughout the industry. When asked to share salon management tips with future generations, he noted that this craft requires more than just intellectual learning.

In order to go beyond a paycheck and cultivate a career, provide opportunities for you and your stylists to take their craft to the next level.

By offering expanded education and training opportunities to your team, you’ll cultivate a highly-skilled staff who can help you expand your services to guests. (And thereby increasing your revenue!) 

Not sure where to begin? Consider checking with your product vendors for any new service trainings or experiences you can offer to your team. 

6. Build in automation wherever possible

Life is busy for you and your guests. It’s essential to build scalable and automated ways to keep in touch. 

Your most important task? Create a system that confirms each appointment with your guests automatically. A true “set it and forget it” system allows your salon to run at peak efficiency while also maintaining constant contact with your guests. 

With SalonBiz, you can effortlessly set up automated appointment text reminders. 

At Frank Gambuzza’s salons, they use SalonBiz automated text message reminders to reduce no-shows. While it may sound surprising, some guests will leave a salon out of embarrassment if they’ve missed an appointment or two. For a salon owner or manager, this isn’t just the loss of precious time, but also a valued guest. 

Make it easy for your guests (and team!) to track and manage appointments with reminders and confirmation messages.

7. Create a gorgeous guest experience 

When it comes to salon management tips, retention is key. In fact, research suggests that if you increase retention by 5%, you may be able to increase profits by 25% to 95%.

Before you look at marketing efforts, figure out how you can create an amazing experience for the guests who are already in the chair right now. How you differentiate your salon will depend on your unique style and services, but it may include: 

• Offering complimentary snacks and drinks, like bubbly champagne and cute candy 
• Setting up an easy-to-use loyalty program that rewards guests for their product purchases
• Integrating small luxurious touches, like warm hand towels, mini scalp massages, or aromatherapy into their service 
• Asking for genuine feedback about their overall experience, including what they loved and what they would change 
• Sending out valuable gift card promotions that encourage them to bring in their loved ones for a salon day

8. Prioritize prebooking

Similarly, the best salons know that client retention is never an afterthought. That’s why prebooking is part of their day-to-day process. Prebooking is one of the best ways to keep your revenue stable and reliable. It’s important for each stylist to encourage guests to book their next appointment before they even walk out the door.

With salon management tools like SalonBiz, salon prebooking is easy. In fact, many SalonBiz users cite this capability as top salon management tip. The feature has helped salons increase their prebooking rates exponentially.

9. Be proactive about customer reviews

Love it or hate it, your reviews tell the story of what’s happening inside your salon. It’s just as important to have a strategy for encouraging your guests to leave positive reviews as it is to have one about handling negative reviews. 

Using a formal complaint procedure can help you fix potential issues right away so you can continue creating a great salon experience. Once you’ve resolved the issue, be sure to respond to negative reviews expressing concern and noting the next steps that you’re planning to take to make it right.

10. Hope for the best, while planning for the worst

Of all the salon management tips offered here, this is especially true during challenging or uncertain times. While we should always be hopeful, it’s important to be prepared.

Underestimating costs or overestimating revenue can put your business in jeopardy. Perhaps you’ve been wanting to splurge on a special decorative piece for the salon, but you aren’t sure if there’s room in the budget. Hold off until the time is right. It’s important to plan for the worst, which means no frivolous spending if the cash isn’t there. 

To always understand the financial health of your salon, consider using a solution like SalonBiz. Not sure where you stand for the month? There’s a reporting dashboard for that.

11. Invest in salon management software

Software is the best way to streamline salon management features to deliver a seamless experience for your guests. SalonBiz is a cloud-based solution to manage both the front-desk and back-office operations. 

Our fully integrated system offers the following:

• Payment systems to accept credit and debit cards and keep payment information on file
• A full communication suite to handle all of your email marketing, appointment reminders, text messaging, and more
• Inventory management and tracking for at-a-glance insights into product volume 
• Mobile apps for both your stylists and guests, guaranteeing a modern and elevated experience 
• Simple scheduling and rebooking with visibility into frequency of visit information for each guest 
• Financial reporting for a 360-degree view of your salon’s overall financial health 
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Above all, SalonBiz is cost-efficient and easy to implement. From promotions to booking to checkout, SalonBiz can do it all. Ready to check us out? Schedule a demo today.