1. Reduce the number of missed ‘no-show appointments’. A common problem in the beauty industry is the volume of customers who do not turn up for appointments which equates to considerable lost revenue over the year. SMS/Email messaging is the perfect answer. You can send out emails or text reminders to your clients via their home/work computer or mobile depending upon their preference. An appointment reminder message is sent out automatically to them close to the time of their appointment due date – so they won’t forget.
2.Look at more at alternative ways to market your business and save money.E-marketing is a very powerful and cost effective way to market your beauty salon. It enables you to send out newsletters, special offers and loyalty schemes directly to your customers via their email address at no extra cost, you save on postage and/or printing costs too. The only investment is the time needed to design your promotional e-mail material it is so simple!
3.Invest in an on-line business management tool to help you save time and money .Using a business management system that offers an ‘on-line diary feature’ to enable your customer’s access to book their appointments direct is a great way to reduce down the volume of calls and work generated for reception cover. Business tools to analyse the productivity of your staff against work load and business demand is invaluable to ensure that your business is running efficiently and recruitment of staff is being spent wisely.
4. Ensure that your business software is not costing you in the long run in hidden costs.Check that you are not tied into lengthy maintenance & costly technical support contracts for your business software. There are a few companies now that offer business software on-line, saving you in set up fees, annual subscriptions, free maintenance and technical backup as well as data protection. You automatically get free upgrades to keep your software up to date and to switching over could not be simpler. You just register and pay on line and you will be up a running within hours not days. You also have technical support via email or phone so help is at hand as and when you might need it.
5.Reduce your reception overheads with a virtual receptionist.Staff overheads are one of the first things that get cut in a recession. An excellent way to compensate staff cuts but not lose on quality of service is to look at the virtual receptionist option. To ensure that you get adequate phone cover for your salon without having to overstretch your existing resources, you can opt for a pay as you go virtual receptionist that will represent your company. She will answer calls, take messages, book appointments and send out brochures and gift vouchers on your behalf. She is totally reliable and does not require holiday, sick or lunchtime cover, you simply use her as and when you need to – costing as little as £75 a month! A fraction of the cost of a full-time receptionist![/font]
6.Save on the cost of telephone calls Look at reducing your phone bills every quarter by installing VoIP technology. VoIP allows you make your phone calls over the internet at the fraction of the cost of a normal phone call saving you hundreds of pounds on your annual business phone.
7.Increase customer retention through improved customer care Ask yourself not what your customer can do for you but rather what you can do for your customer. Customers are driven by both emotional and practical needs – make sure you are satisfying both of these. Look after them by offering customer loyalty cards – stop your clients using your competitors, and reward customers with referral schemes.
8.Reduce material costs.Look to see where you can save money on basic essentials i.e. couch roll, tissues etc - source suppliers on-line and save money or go direct to the manufacturer and cut out the middle man. A little time spent on researching on the internet will reduce down your material and equipment costs. You can search via brand and model number and then go to price comparison sites to get the best deal.
9.Understand your customers needs better. Keep up to date with your customers, a good customer database is an invaluable investment to your business. It allows you to share information amongst your team improving knowledge and communication as well as customer confidence in the way you implement it. A database can identify customers needs – their likes and dislikes and will provide vital clues in helping you to cross sell other products and services you offer to increase customer spend.
10. Reassess your products and services.Look at all the products and services that you offer in relation to how much you sell and how profitable they are. At times it is necessary to eliminate treatments that are simply costing too much to operate i.e look at treatment time/materials/labour in relation to net profit. The treatments that are the high profit earners are the ones that you and your staff should be pushing make sure you all understand this. Look to see where you can improve on cutting costs without losing quality on your treatments i.e. can you cut down on couch roll usage, by using towels or tissues by using flannels or sponges – simple things can make all the difference in the long run.
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