There are lots of ways salons tweak the colour department to nail down efficiency and profitability, but this never solves the root problem. These tweaks wouldn't be necessary if you could use technology to guarantee efficiency and profitability. The arrival of Vish has made it possible to price for profit in every service, facilitate stock ordering and control, and make life easier for the team.
Here are the five hacks you can say goodbye to with the introduction of Vish…
1. Keeping Charges Simple
Most stylists agonise over pricing their services and often fall into the trap of undercharging. Data shows that one in five colour services result in no profit due to over-mixing, over-application and charging for the wrong service. Busy stylists don’t recognise they’ve bust the threshold on product usage and don’t have time to update the front desk to amend the bill. This rift in communication results in clients paying exactly what they did on their last visit despite receiving an upgraded service. Giving colour away for free is unfavourable for profitability and forecasting. But when colour is dispensed using Vish technology, the amount is captured in the system and communicated automatically to the front desk. A small charge can then be added to the bill to cover additional product costs and guarantee profit for every service.
2. Counting Box Tops
This mundane task is practically the only way to monitor colour use, but it’s dull, often inaccurate, and time-consuming. The other option is simply reordering the same colours each week, resulting in a bloated inventory. But if every gram of colour is weighed on the Vish Bluetooth scale, it is recorded on the system. When reordering is due, a quick check on Vish shows exactly what colours have been used and how much you need to refill those shelves. Stock control is streamlined, saving time and freeing up cash for the business.
3. Bucketing the Waste
The jar full of colour waste in the backroom is a daily reminder of where your profits go, but it doesn't get to the heart of the problem. You can't use this homogenous mix to identify any training gaps among the team or have any idea of its value. One ingenious salon owner tried to get on top of colour waste by introducing colour-coordinated bowls. Left unwashed until closing, they showed who had the most waste but not what they were wasting: was it expensive tint or cheaper lighteners? But such micro-management is unsustainable in the long term, so the owner brought in Vish. She can now monitor who over-mixed and the exact cost of every drop of waste and deliver training where needed.
4. Guessing the Formula
Even seasoned stylists forget to write down formulas despite having rituals around their service. It's easy to get distracted in the moment. Other hacks, like putting up reminders at the colour bar don't guarantee it will happen. So it's a guessing game when the client returns keen to have the identical colour they had three months ago. And if the original stylist is off, their colleague can’t step in to cover their absence if they don’t know the formula. But Vish does, and this is often the number one benefit named by stylists. Number two is being liberated from note-taking but still having the data to change up the colour when needed to keep their client keen.
5. Avoiding Over-Complication
How many stylists rein in their creative energy because the risk of mixing more mid-service could lead to inconsistent colour? Remembering quantities of each shade when there are two or more is a nightmare, especially if formulas are only written up after the appointment. So all that creative ambition is thwarted by the fear that any remix might not match the original. It’s a difficult choice - mix more than you need and create waste or stick to simple, unadventurous formulas. But when measured using the Vish Mix More function, detailed formulas are recorded and easily replicated. Plus, Vish does all the maths, so you can weigh 25% or 5% without stumbling over ratio recounts.
Curious what efficient stylists are using as a benchmark when mixing up colour? Click here to download the free Vish mixing guide that shows what to mix per service, verified by the most efficient stylists in the UK.
This is a sponsored post in partnership with Vish.