Salon Management Tips from SalonBiz Software

In today’s economic climate, consumers are cutting back on frequency to restaurants and services. This current trend effects a salon’s overall income and shrinks the value of the color business. For instance, a client that maintains their color in a timely manner will be a better visual advertiser for the salon and thus produce more visits and guest referrals for long-term sustainability.

Ideally, for many color services, clients should return within a four to six week period. However, each visit represents an added expense to the average household budget and more and more people are cutting back on visits in today’s economy.

How are we going to increase a client’s salon visit under these circumstances without losing clients to a lower price-point salon and without discounting services?

A maintenance plan is the answer.

So what is a maintenance plan? Well, it is an overall list of services, procedures and scheduled visits needed to maintain the clients color needs within a calendar year. Maintenance plans, along with a well-defined color menu (with every option possible listed), allow stylists to pick and choose services that are more affordable for the guest, rather than discounting services, which may weaken the salon’s long-term brand-image. More importantly, it allows for more frequent visits to the salon, which increases traffic flow and overall revenue.

The HeadMapping service menu in ColorBiz has 28 different options available to clients. These options can be used either in combinations to create customized looks or as individual services for the maintenance plan to accommodate the client’s hair color and budget needs. In regards to ColorLights (ColorBiz’s highlight’s service menu), HM offers 8 different partials and one full service option, which increases communication between stylists and guests, eliminates gray-area in pricing, and allows clients to receive excellent services on a budget.

For example, service providers’ can downsize from a Full Panel Division AB $110 (more of a partial) to a Full Panel Division A $90 (less of a partial) to save the client $20. Also, for in-between double process colors, service providers can also add a second Newgrowth/ColorBalance service to the maintenance plan, to extend the Colorlight service and make it more affordable for guests with gray coverage.

In the revised maintenance plan, the client is not paying $185 every 5 weeks. Rather, the client pays $185 every 15 weeks, with the lower-priced services inbetween, extending the life of the hair color and the maintenance plan. This plan would save the client over a $100, depending on the service and get them in within the 5-week cycle. In the long term, the client comes in more frequently and the salon generates more income.

Below is an example of $100 service visits in a year and what they represent in terms of dollar amount.

12 week maintenance plan = 4 visits a year
4 x $100=$400

10 week maintenance plan = 5 visits a year
5 x $100=$400

8 week maintenance plan = 6 visits a year
6 x $100=$600

6 week maintenance plan = 8 visits a year
8 x $100=$800

5 week maintenance plan = 10 visits a year
10 x $100=$1,000

4 week maintenance plan = 12 visits a year
12 x $100=$1,200

3 week maintenance plan = 16 visits a year
16 x $100=$1,600

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