Successful salon management involves keeping a tight ship and making sure you know what your clientele wants. Here are several great tips to help you manage:
Trends
Keeping up on current hairstyle trends in your area is a must. Make it a priority to know what looks are trending so that you and your salon can stay current by learning new techniques to appeal to your market.
Look and Listen
Pay attention to your clientele. To what they say, and moreso what their body language says. What does it say if a customer says they love their new look, but you never see them again? Some people are hesitant to voice their opinion, so you have to watch them closely. If their body language is telling you something, or their facial expressions look concerned or disappointed, politely offer another option.
Pricing
While you may not want to offer your services at prices so low that customers see it as sub-par work, you need to make sure you aren’t charging so much that they can’t afford to come back a week or month down the road. Look for a balance between too high and too low.
Variety
Think about turning your hair salon into a full service salon. Look into offering facials and other spa services, as well as manicures and pedicures. Also, be certain you cover all of your bases with hair by offering cutting, coloring, styling, and texture services and even some specialties like extensions.
Dress Code
Set a dress code with clear and defined limits for your staff. If in doubt go for all black or even neutrals. In addition to helping hide hair color stains, black is a very universal color that is easy to fit into any wardrobe style.
Environment
Your customers are looking for a warm and inviting salon so that they feel comfortable. It’s important that you provide them with a welcoming environment that is clean and well kept. Remember that first impressions are everything!
Controlling Overhead
Another important factor in successfully managing a hair salon is to keep tight control of your overhead. Do your research and know what retail products your clientele will purchase to avoid having a surplus of merchandise.
Limit the number of employees your salon hires to just what’s needed and then hire accordingly as you grow. While it is sometimes a good idea to have stylists that specialize in a specific area, it is also important that most stylists have the necessary skills to meet most every customer’s needs.
You can also improve your bottom line by reducing office work or eliminating overly redundant employees. Ask yourself, are your stylists really too busy to take time between clients to tidy up themselves? That would lessen the need for a cleaning crew or for them to come as often. Also, consider salon scheduling software to help eliminate the need for a dedicated receptionist or as many receptionists.
What other ideas can you think of to help effectively manage your salon? Tips to Successfully Manage a Hair Salon
Successful salon management involves keeping a tight ship and making sure you know what your clientele wants. Here are several great tips to help you manage:
Trends
Keeping up on current hairstyle trends in your area is a must. Make it a priority to know what looks are trending so that you and your salon can stay current by learning new techniques to appeal to your market.
Look and Listen
Pay attention to your clientele. To what they say, and moreso what their body language says. What does it say if a customer says they love their new look, but you never see them again? Some people are hesitant to voice their opinion, so you have to watch them closely. If their body language is telling you something, or their facial expressions look concerned or disappointed, politely offer another option.
Pricing
While you may not want to offer your services at prices so low that customers see it as sub-par work, you need to make sure you aren’t charging so much that they can’t afford to come back a week or month down the road. Look for a balance between too high and too low.
Variety
Think about turning your hair salon into a full service salon. Look into offering facials and other spa services, as well as manicures and pedicures. Also, be certain you cover all of your bases with hair by offering cutting, coloring, styling, and texture services and even some specialties like extensions.
Dress Code
Set a dress code with clear and defined limits for your staff. If in doubt go for all black or even neutrals. In addition to helping hide hair color stains, black is a very universal color that is easy to fit into any wardrobe style.
Environment
Your customers are looking for a warm and inviting salon so that they feel comfortable. It’s important that you provide them with a welcoming environment that is clean and well kept. Remember that first impressions are everything!
Controlling Overhead
Another important factor in successfully managing a hair salon is to keep tight control of your overhead. Do your research and know what retail products your clientele will purchase to avoid having a surplus of merchandise.
Limit the number of employees your salon hires to just what’s needed and then hire accordingly as you grow. While it is sometimes a good idea to have stylists that specialize in a specific area, it is also important that most stylists have the necessary skills to meet most every customer’s needs.
You can also improve your bottom line by reducing office work or eliminating overly redundant employees. Ask yourself, are your stylists really too busy to take time between clients to tidy up themselves? That would lessen the need for a cleaning crew or for them to come as often. Also, consider salon scheduling software to help eliminate the need for a dedicated receptionist or as many receptionists.
What other ideas can you think of to help effectively manage your salon? 
Communication is a simple concept and in theory should be easily achieved, however in reality it’s one of the most difficult skills to master. More of an art form than a science; communication is about knowing how to express ideas.
When done verbally, as we usually do in salons, communication is more about how to listen, understand, encourage, and influence. Here are several techniques to help improve your communication skills.
Always Be Positive
Communication can be positive or negative through both verbal communication and body language. Listeners can sense negative thoughts and feelings and will tend to react accordingly, so think before you speak. Also, be conscious of your body language, as it’s more obvious than you think.
Be Enthusiastic
Passion comes through when a person is really excited about whatever they are talking about. It’s not really possible to win favor with someone when you are not excited about the topic yourself. Engage and enthuse your listener with your own excitement.
Side Step Being Condescending
Make every effort to avoid talking down to anyone, no matter your position or rank. Remember that employees are your greatest assets and for them to be enthusiastic for you and your business, they need to feel appreciated and part of the daily operations. Unhappy employees move on or become negative in the work environment, which in turn affects your daily operations and eventually your customers.
Listen, Listen, Listen
In order to communicate effectively, listening must be a big part of the equation, even if you disagree with the other person or persons. If you are not truly listening to the other side, you’ll miss opportunities to consider another perspective, but also to allow employees to contribute to the business and feel appreciated.
Keep an Open Mind
There is usually more than one opinion on any subject or way of doing any task. Being open-minded during the communication process means that you are considering the best option to whatever you are discussing. Effective communication also allows others to be heard and their ideas to be considered.
Be Thoughtful & Say the Right Thing
In business, people often forget the feelings of others. We all like to be treated in a certain way and employees and customers are no different. In addition to listening to contributions that others may have, also take the time to say; “please, thank you, and you’re welcome” at every possible opportunity (and mean it). A little appreciation really does go a long way!
In a nutshell, effective communication can improve your employee relations, your salon’s daily operations and your bottom line. It does not always come easy, but the end result is well worth the effort: Happier employees, happier work environment, happy clients, and eventually a better bottom line. Simple stuff!