Get confident about salon retail

Being confident about the retail products you offer to your clients is the key to generating a successful retail income stream for your salon. So how do you achieve this? Ryan Fox, salon management consultant explores what it takes to have salon retail confidence. Retailing in the salon has always been a difficult area to improve and most salons generate less than 10% of their income from product sales, despite the potential demand. Look at it this way: virtually everyone uses some form of haircare product, the most popular being shampoo of course. Most will also use a conditioner and many will use at least one styling product on a regular basis. What type of retailer are you? The first thing to decide is what type of retailer you are and decide who your target market is. You are probably not attempting to appeal to the mass market. You are more likely to be aiming at the speciality or even exclusive end of the market. This is because you have products that people can’t get everywhere. Product Offering Your clients are likely to be looking for more advanced product options, special features and a higher level of service. You are in the perfect position to be able to offer this but you must offer the whole package. This means firstly choosing the right product range that suits the image of your salon and the type of clients you attract. Special Features Professional salon products are generally different from high street consumer products and usually contain better quality basic ingredients and specialist ingredients that have a genuine purpose for being there. It’s really important to highlight these features when explaining the product to the client, as this is what makes them different and justifies the high price. Pricing Strategy Don’t try and compete on price with high street and discount retailers, you won’t win. Instead price yourself competitively, which usually means using the recommended retail price. Focus on other elements of the marketing mix like higher quality products, nicer store settings, client service and the overall experience which create higher value for which the client will pay more. Product Knowledge In order to provide the higher level of service that is expected when selling professional salon products the team must get to know the products inside out so they are able to highlight the special ingredients and features of the products. They also need to know which products to recommend for each hair type or condition and which products help achieve which looks. It’s all about results for the client, so if the product doesn’t do what you have said it would then they won’t buy it again and you will have lost some of your credibility. Full Service At this level the client expects you to handle everything so all they have to do is choose to take the product. This means that the strength of the relationship and the personal recommendation by the stylist is the key to the sale. That’s why it’s really important to ask open questions in the consultation about the clients product use and homecare routine and then use this information along with in-depth product knowledge to recommend the right products. Get physical Some people will look to buy online but use your physical advantage. You actually have the product there in front of the client, so use it on them and show them how to use it to create the look. They can feel the product, they can smell the product and you can put the actual product in front of them that they can buy. You can then physically take it to reception for them so all they have to do is select. Make it easy and more clients will buy. Ryan Fox is a hair and beauty salon consultant who improves salon performance through training and innovation. www.umbrellaconsulting.co.uk