So you’re thinking about opening up a salon but you’re not sure how to stand out from the crowd? Are you wondering what it is exactly that makes a salon successful? It’s important to understand before you take the leap and start your own business to ensure it’s as successful as possible. We’ve worked with a lot of really great salons over the years and there are a few key things that they all have in common.

1. A great management team. Whether you’re considering a large salon with a bigger management team or taking on the day to day yourself, you need to make sure whoever is in charge is truly passionate. Passion goes a long way. Be sure you’re ready to work late nights and put your personal life on the backburner until your salon is up and running. If you’re truly passionate then it won’t be an issue and before you know it your salon will be a smashing success.

2. A beautiful location. You know how they say in Hollywood, ‘Location, Location, Location!’ Well they say it for a reason. It is so important to the success of your business. When you’re scouting for a place be sure that you’re not right next door to any competitors and ideally the location is either very walkable or you have ample parking for all those potential customers. In addition to where you’re located, be sure that you take the time to make it visually appealing to customers as well. They want to come to your salon and feel relaxed and comfortable and the more beautiful it is the better they’ll feel (and the more likely they are to come back).

3. A varied service offering. You may be a fantastic stylist but the fact is there are a million salons (okay that may be a slight exaggeration) with similar service offerings. You need to provide them with different options and establish what your point of difference is. Whether it’s laser or light therapy or massage, a point of difference gives your customers a reason to pick up the phone and make an appointment. In order to stay one step ahead of competitors you may want to consider the following equipment:

a. The Spectrum Lumiere (Operating in both IPL & SHR) provides great hair removal options and even features a thermo electric cooling system.
b. The Dana Magnum Q-Switched (the world’s first twin-pulse system) allows you to target large pores, blemishes, freckles, acne and helps improve skin tone.
c. The Spectrum Smooth (the latest in Fractional RF technology) helps with wrinkle removal, skin tone brightening and face lifting.

4. Great marketing. With so many people doing research online before they take the leap and book an appointment it’s really important to have a strong online presence whether it’s through social media or your website, you need to be online and doing it correctly with relevant, interesting and frequent posts to get attention and gain new customers.

5. Outstanding customer service skills. The fact is, if you or your team aren’t treating your customers as great as you should be then they won’t be your customers for long. Any great business needs a strong customer base that keeps coming back and the key to that is providing great service. Go out of your way to make your customers happy and always be kind and they will go out of their way to use your services, even if you’re not in the most convenient location or whatever other minor problem there may be. Customers are more apt to go out of their way to use your services if you make them feel good about it.

Think you’ve got what it takes? We’re sure you do! To help you get started, here’s a link to download our latest ebook, Marketing for Your Salon. Good luck and we can’t wait to visit!