5 Long-Term Business Goals for a Salon or Beauty Business

Hair and beauty is a $43 billion industry. And, the segment is still growing. Whether it’s cutting hair, creating bold hair colors, or providing manicures and pedicures, salons and other types of beauty businesses offer clients an opportunity to transform themselves and their image.

If you’re passionate about hair care, may be thinking about starting your own salon. Or perhaps you’ve already started a salon or beauty business and are looking into the future. The success of your business depends on how well you can hit your goals. But what long-term goals should you be attempting to reach?

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day of your business, but it’s always important to have a bigger picture in mind. So here are five long term-business goals for any salon owner.

Consistently Add New Clients Monthly

While you might be happy with how things are, change is inevitable. Any salon will lose customers through no fault of its own. For example, some clients move far away, or a recession can cause money to become tight for many customers. In other cases, a client might simply decide to try a different salon and stay with that salon, even if there was no problem with yours. So, make it a goal to keep adding to your client list, even if you see no need for improvement.

Using online and offline marketing is one way to make sure that you are finding new clients. Another way is to offer 2-for-1 promotions. This type of promotion offers a current client and a friend the opportunity to take advantage of your services at a discount. This type of promotion is also great because you have the opportunity to satisfy your clients’ friends and turn them into regular customers.

Retain Employees

Your employees are the heart of your salon. They provide the top-quality service that your clients demand. When a customer brings a photo of a celebrity and says, “This is what I want my hair to look like,” your employees turn it into a reality or guide the client to a more suitable style. Do whatever you can to make your employees feel appreciated.

There are many ways to keep employees happy and motivated. Communication, creating growth opportunities, and a positive culture can help ensure good employees remain in the company.

Reduce Client Cancellations

While your salon may be happy to accept walk-ins, the truth is that client cancellations cost money and time. For as long as your employee is in the salon, they want to be paid for their services. They do not wish to be subject to a no-show client or frequent cancellations.

When scheduling appointments over the phone, read the details back. Here’s an example: “I have you scheduled on Monday, October 1st, at 1 p.m. with Gina.” This allows the client to hear the information from you in case there is any misunderstanding. It also captures their attention because people often multitask while on the phone.

Provide clients with a business card with their appointment information written on it. This helps clients remember their appointment as well as contact information where they can reach you quickly if they need to reschedule or cancel.

Text clients with their appointment information. Texting appointment information and requesting confirmation can help clients keep appointments. This will also help you plan ahead. If a client replies to your text requesting to cancel the appointment, you can reach out to other clients and let them know that there has been an opening in your schedule. You may be able to find another client that is more than willing to come in during the canceled spot.

Improve Customer Retention

Client retention rate can help you understand how well your salon is serving its customers. A client retention rate that is below 50% may indicate a problem. If your client retention rate is below this number, it is time to begin to find out why clients are not coming back.

Providing a great customer experience in your salon will help you boost your reputation and make your clients happy. You want to keep your customers coming back as much as possible. Any time a patron leaves your salon:

Walk them to the front desk as they leave. Thank them for choosing your salon.
Ask them if they’d like to schedule their next appointment.
Consider some type of Refer-A-Friend program, offering a discount to existing clients who refer people they know. It could be done through a text or emailed promo code, offering both people a discount.

Be sure to keep track of how many clients come back and how often. If you are not retaining at least 50% of your clients, work with your staff to find ways to keep clients coming back. Offer surveys and feedback options to help improve your overall service.

Launch a Brand/Salon Product

When your clients are happy, your employees are happy, and your salon is running smoothly, what else is there to do? You’ve reduced customer cancellations as much as possible, and you’re gaining new clients. The reputation of your salon is amazing. So what’s your next step?

Consider launching a brand or a salon product. It could be an exclusive label of salon products used by your in-house cosmetologists, like foundation, eyeliner, lip liner, or mascara. Many people in the hair care and beauty industries have started their own product lines. For example, a hair stylist, Brad Mondo, started his own YouTube channel and launched his hair care line, XMondo. The brand has gained traction by Mondo creating a vast online presence on YouTube. Mondo’s products are said to nurture hair during the coloring process rather than damage it. Mondo also offers vegan products, which gives it a unique advantage among hair color products.

So, what will your salon do? What kind of competitive advantage can you offer? Launching a brand in the online marketplace takes a lot of thought and hard work. Think about what makes your salon stand out. What do you do differently in your approach to hair care and beauty? Finding answers to these questions might help you launch something new.

Bonus Tip: There’s a lot of money to be made selling a product online, but you’ll want to do some significant research first. Check out our resource on How to Launch Your Own ECommerce Site if you think you want to set up an online storefront.

Wrapping It All Up

Working in the salon industry is a creative labor of love. You pour your energy into making people feel beautiful, and you wouldn’t do it if it weren’t worthwhile. Turning this profession into a business takes a lot of energy. Every entrepreneur needs to have good business goals. Your salon can thrive if you keep your long-term goals in mind. Adding new clients and retaining employees will keep your business strong. Reducing client cancellations and improving customer retention will help your salon stay profitable. Once your salon is steady in these areas, launching a brand could be an exciting adventure.

Erin Shelby is a writer and blogger based in Ohio. Follow her on Twitter @ByErinShelby

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