How to prepare for the low season for beauty salon owners?

The main rule of preparing for a period of stagnation in a business such as the provision of services is timeliness. The sooner the head of a beauty salon begins to prepare for it, the better. It is best to start preparatory actions 1.5-2 months in advance, or at most 1 month in advance. If you approach organizational issues correctly, you can not only avoid the onset of the “dead” season, but also make this period of time quite profitable.

Photo: Agberto Guimaraes / Unsplash.com

It is worth describing in detail what exactly beauty salon owners will need to do in preparation for the period of stagnation. So.

Action plan

1. First of all, you should conduct a conversation among the salon employees. The purpose of the conversation is to convince the masters, administrator, consultant and manager to provide salon clients with information about services in accordance with a certain algorithm.

So, when talking with clients, salon staff will need to offer them to use additional services. However, employees should be trained to do this carefully and unobtrusively, so that the client does not have the feeling that they are trying to sell him an unnecessary service.

Photo: Kris Atomic / Unsplash.com

A manager can check the integrity of his employees, for example, an administrator. To do this, you can ask one of your friends to call the beauty salon and ask about a specific service, the price for its provision, and the qualifications of the specialists.

Based on the administrator’s response, it will become clear whether he is conducting the conversation with clients correctly and what mistakes he makes. After all, some administrators don’t even bother to introduce themselves (say their name) and voice the name of the salon - this also happens.

2. Also, the owner of a beauty salon will need to prepare an advertising campaign. This requires certain actions, namely:

• It is worth creating a detailed calendar indicating the schedule and timing of promotional events. On paper, it is recommended to record each action step by step, without missing a single, even minor, nuance;
• it is necessary to think about what specific services are to be advertised. You need to prepare all promotional materials in advance to carry out these actions. It is not recommended to advertise the beauty salon itself; it is necessary to focus the attention of potential clients on certain services;
• you should find partners who can assist in the advertising campaign. Then discuss with them all the terms of cooperation. These could be advertising agencies, printing houses, design studios;
• during the period of stagnation, you need to appoint a certain person who will be responsible for the advertising campaign, as well as manage it. In addition, you will need to make a list of all the people taking part in the campaign, such as advertising managers, couriers and even leaflet deliverers.

3. In practice, you should not apply a single system of remuneration and all kinds of incentives to all employees of the salon. After all, the worst masters can be undeservedly encouraged, and in the best masters the desire for high-quality performance of their duties can be “killed”.

Photo: Manu Camargo / Unsplash.com

However, you should not discuss every little thing that is not of great importance with all the masters in a row. We need to find a middle ground and introduce a simple and understandable wage system for everyone, which will consist of several steps.

For example, you can make an announcement in the salon that all masters will belong to one category or another - in accordance with their level of qualifications. In addition, it is necessary to clearly explain to all employees how this level can be increased.

As a rule, beginners start at the lowest level and strive in every possible way to improve their skills in order to move to the highest category and, accordingly, earn more. Work experience should also be taken into account. In other words, upgrade the category of those employees who have worked in the salon for a long period of time.

What’s the result?

All these methods will help avoid staff turnover. Beginning employees will clearly see the prospect of development and earnings. And more experienced professionals will begin to understand that if they leave the salon, even for a while, they will waste time. And missed days or months can be counted toward length of service and, as a result, “turn around” in a significant increase in wages.

If you approach organizational and preparatory issues competently and responsibly, you can be prepared for the onset of the “dead” season much better than your competitors. This will allow you not only not to lose customers, but also to significantly increase their number.