From our research over the last 26 years in the salon and spa industry the most overlooked sources of profitable revenue growth is your current customer base.
While many salon/spa owners beat the drum espousing the importance of current customers, I have found that very few companies have a comprehensive current customer growth strategy that is communicated, monitored, and enthusiastically embraced by the entire organization. How about just a GOOD Referral Program?
Call MIKAL for a FREE 8 Page Referral Contest Idea Kit at 800-448-5420.
The first steps for getting more sales out of your current customers -- ranking your customers by sales and profitability and developing your Best Customer Profile.
Use your MIKAL Customer Ranking Report and run it with every criteria and print just 2 pages (not a ranking of ALL your clients) Once you have identified your best customers, you need to teach your employees to know who they are and to provide them with techniques and tools to uncover customer preferences and make every customer interaction count!
Five Techniques for Teaching Your Employees to "Grow" Your Current Customers
#1: Broadcast your Top Customers throughout the Organization
The first critical step to involving your team in growing currents customer is to share the Best Customer Profile. Be sure to include your Best Customer Profile as a primary part of your new employee orientation. We all talk with new employees about procedures, polices, company history and specific job duties. But rarely, if ever, do we let them know who are current best customers are, why they are important, and the profile characteristics of our best customers. These customers are the lifeblood of the organization and need to be top of mind with everyone. On an ongoing basis, broadcast your top customers throughout the organization. Everyone from the receptionist to the Salon/Spa Owner should receive a monthly "best customer case study" that provides an overview of one of your best customers, why the company is important, what its current status is and the value of that customer.
Use the MIKAL Advanced Daily Action Report to get a report of your best clients each day based on number of visits, service sales, retail sales, and loyalty points accumulated. Call MIKAL at 800-448-5420 for a sample report!
#2: Build Your Customer Preference Profile
The Customer Preference Profile was by far the most powerful tool we used to get more revenue from current clients. To build your Customer Preference Profile meet with your team and make a list of data elements you would like to capture for each customer. Many salon/spa owners have asked me, "What type of information should we collect?" Beyond the obvious contact and demographic information, you want to capture information that will help you and your team sell more to your best customers. For our salon and spas, we want to capture customers' age, marital status, credit card usage, home ownership, type of car/vehicle driven, age and gender. The ultimate goal is to have your team complete a Customer Preference Profile on each customer over time.
#3: Train Your Employees to Be Detectives
You have developed your Customer Preference Profile -- which addresses the "what" you should capture and the "why" -- to sell more to your current customers. Now comes the "how" Our primary training objective is to teach our employees to think of themselves as detectives -- to decipher the needs of current best customers and to sleuth out new best customer prospects. Provide your employees with key questions they can use in in daily phone and e-mail exchanges, in face-to-face interactions, in online surveys, etc., that will assist them in completing the Customer Preference Profile. Get all employees involved in thank-you notes, surveys, and visiting client sites.
#4 Keep Tabs on Your Customers with the Customer Activity Report
To help employees uncover new opportunities we developed and use theCustomer Activity Report. This report provides a snapshot view of the specifics of the relationship history with each customer, the number of transactions we had, its average transaction value, its last purchase date, the age of the customer, and its active status. This tool is particularly helpful in recapturing possible customer defectors and assists in timing marketing communications to the customer's buying patterns.
#5: Increase "Share of Customer"
Probably the most valuable tool after the Customer Analysis Report. This tool was one of the key drivers behind our efforts to sell more to our current customers. The objective here is to move your customers across your products and services lines and capture 100% share of your existing customers' salon/spa.
The first step is to make a grid that lists all your company's products and services across the top and the annual potential customer spend value of each product line. The last column is the "total spend" value if a customer purchases all of your products and services.
Next, list your top customers down the left side of the grid. Indicate which customers are buying which products and the customers' annual spend. If the total annual spend value per customer for all of your products is $2500 per year and your current customer is spending $1000 on a few product lines, you have the opportunity to capture an additional $1500 per year from this existing customer! And this is a cost effective sales opportunity as you will not incur customer acquisition expenses.
These five techniques have truly transformed my salon/spa. The focus on the value and potential of current customers across the organization helps us to maintain stellar customer and client retention rates, to cut sales expenses, and to achieve the easiest path to new revenue growth!
Call MIKAL for more marketing ideas and a FREE Recession Buster E-book at 800-448-5420 and www.mikal.com
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Cash Flow Ideas for Salons and Spas
Successful Cash Flow Management
Cash management is ultimately about cash flow -- and very few salons and spas are awash in cash. Even successful, growing salons and spas are vulnerable to cash flow problems because they tend to add employees and inventory rapidly. This may quickly deplete the company coffers and lead to cash shortages.
Because having cash at the right time is so important, salon and spa owners must pay close attention to cash management. Here are some tips for saving money and managing cash flow:
Make financial projections. Forecast both expenses and anticipated revenues for at least the coming year. This will help you predict when you're likely to have cash and when you're likely to need it. You should also maintain a cash reserve if possible.
Create contingency plans. Have several budget projections, including best case and worst case scenarios, and think about how you might respond. In the event sales don't take off as expected or there's some unforeseen problem, you'll be better prepared.
Keep a lid on spending. One of the most common problems with new salon and spa is the owners' tendency to spend freely. There's no need to have lavish offices or expensive furniture. Remember, you're in this for the long haul: You should try to get as much value as possible out of every transaction, whether you're leasing office space or stocking the company kitchen.
Keep inventory low. Don't stock inventory based on your fantasy of what you think you'll be selling in six months. Instead, stock only what you know you can sell in the short term.
Lease, don't buy. Another good way to conserve cash is to lease equipment instead of buying it. Although leasing can be more expensive in the long run, it helps you avoid laying out a lot of capital all at once for things like office furniture, computers and copiers.
Delay hiring employees. Try to improve the productivity of current employees (without burning them out), use independent contractors and consider outsourcing certain nonessential functions. Employees are expensive, so you should put off adding permanent hires as long as you can -- or at least until you're earning the revenue to support them.
Go without a salary. Some experts recommend stockpiling a year's worth of living expenses before going into business. Admittedly, this may be difficult, but you should at least avoid paying yourself an excessive salary. Too many salon and spa owners waste cash by paying themselves big salaries without the revenues to justify them.
Speed up customer payments. Try to get customers to pay in advance with gift cards, series sales and incenntives like discounts for prebooking appointments, and adopt more effective collection techniques for deadbeat customers.
Don't be wasteful. Recycle and reuse what you can -- for example, boxes, computer discs and file folders. The savings may not be large on any given item, but they can add up!
The MIKAL Corporation 513-528-5100 www.mikal.com
Cash management is ultimately about cash flow -- and very few salons and spas are awash in cash. Even successful, growing salons and spas are vulnerable to cash flow problems because they tend to add employees and inventory rapidly. This may quickly deplete the company coffers and lead to cash shortages.
Because having cash at the right time is so important, salon and spa owners must pay close attention to cash management. Here are some tips for saving money and managing cash flow:
Make financial projections. Forecast both expenses and anticipated revenues for at least the coming year. This will help you predict when you're likely to have cash and when you're likely to need it. You should also maintain a cash reserve if possible.
Create contingency plans. Have several budget projections, including best case and worst case scenarios, and think about how you might respond. In the event sales don't take off as expected or there's some unforeseen problem, you'll be better prepared.
Keep a lid on spending. One of the most common problems with new salon and spa is the owners' tendency to spend freely. There's no need to have lavish offices or expensive furniture. Remember, you're in this for the long haul: You should try to get as much value as possible out of every transaction, whether you're leasing office space or stocking the company kitchen.
Keep inventory low. Don't stock inventory based on your fantasy of what you think you'll be selling in six months. Instead, stock only what you know you can sell in the short term.
Lease, don't buy. Another good way to conserve cash is to lease equipment instead of buying it. Although leasing can be more expensive in the long run, it helps you avoid laying out a lot of capital all at once for things like office furniture, computers and copiers.
Delay hiring employees. Try to improve the productivity of current employees (without burning them out), use independent contractors and consider outsourcing certain nonessential functions. Employees are expensive, so you should put off adding permanent hires as long as you can -- or at least until you're earning the revenue to support them.
Go without a salary. Some experts recommend stockpiling a year's worth of living expenses before going into business. Admittedly, this may be difficult, but you should at least avoid paying yourself an excessive salary. Too many salon and spa owners waste cash by paying themselves big salaries without the revenues to justify them.
Speed up customer payments. Try to get customers to pay in advance with gift cards, series sales and incenntives like discounts for prebooking appointments, and adopt more effective collection techniques for deadbeat customers.
Don't be wasteful. Recycle and reuse what you can -- for example, boxes, computer discs and file folders. The savings may not be large on any given item, but they can add up!
The MIKAL Corporation 513-528-5100 www.mikal.com
Fall Marketing Ideas for Salons and DaySpas
GETTING THE MOST
OUT OF YOUR FALL
Now that summer is over (depressing isn't it?) it's time to get back down to business and get into the business of fall. Now is the time to crank up the business of beauty. Here are a couple of ideas to get you and your staff back down to business:
$ Get a staff meeting together and go over these ideas. See what ideas generate the most excitement and appoint people and set dates for getting the projects going!
$ Clean the salon/spa from top to bottom. Paint a few walls and make a few small changes. Move some plants and displays. Decorate for the season!
$ Have everyone get dressed up. I don=t mean formal but every summer people get a little casual. It=s time to change our look and the change should be professional and upscale.
$ Get into the fall colors. Make sure your make up is right for the season and coordinates with your new look! Get the staff together for a make up session and new fashion review.
$ Start your Referral Contest October 10th and end it on December 20th. Pick your prizes, do your precontest mailing/e-mail now, and get the signs up in the salon/spa. Call us for a free 11 page Referral Contest planning book. How would 50-100 new customers sound in the next 60 days?
$ Get your front desk staff to commit to cleaning up the customer data base in the next 60 days. All of your regular customers will be in by the holidays. Run a list on your MIKAL system of all customers with Invalid addresses. The goal is to verify every customer=s address in the next 60 days. Check on the progress by running the Invalid Addresses report for all Last Visits in the last 7 days each week. The report should be blank every week if the front desk staff is cleaning up the list!
$ Get your Gift Cards on order NOW! Call Betsy at Custom Plastics at 800-334-6488 for a free sample kit. Order the Gift Card option is MIKAL's SMS software and ask for our free information pack on promoting gift cards. Gift Cards will make a huge difference in your holiday sales over the old gift certificates. NOTE: beware of companies giving you gift cards for use with their Internet or bank card systems. The costs for the processing of the card every time it is swiped become a huge expense and if a customer loses their card there is no way to cancel that card and charge the balance up on a new card. Call us at MIKAL to make an informed decision.
$ Draw up a list of outstanding bills (that you owe). Make sure you pay off these bills during the increased cash flow period in the fall and holidays before you take on any more debt. Don't spend that gift card income before the redemptions start happening in January!
$ Increase your color service prices now just before the holiday season. This will give you an additional boost to your income and the customers are coming in for that popular service during the holiday season.
Now is the time to move into the Fall season with a new look, new ideas, and new promotions for increased sales and profits!
Please call us for additional information on the Referral Contest, Gift Cards, Pricing ideas, or your comments. Have a great fall season.
Fred Dengler
MIKAL
513-528-5100 email us at sales@mikal.com Website: www.mikal.com
OUT OF YOUR FALL
Now that summer is over (depressing isn't it?) it's time to get back down to business and get into the business of fall. Now is the time to crank up the business of beauty. Here are a couple of ideas to get you and your staff back down to business:
$ Get a staff meeting together and go over these ideas. See what ideas generate the most excitement and appoint people and set dates for getting the projects going!
$ Clean the salon/spa from top to bottom. Paint a few walls and make a few small changes. Move some plants and displays. Decorate for the season!
$ Have everyone get dressed up. I don=t mean formal but every summer people get a little casual. It=s time to change our look and the change should be professional and upscale.
$ Get into the fall colors. Make sure your make up is right for the season and coordinates with your new look! Get the staff together for a make up session and new fashion review.
$ Start your Referral Contest October 10th and end it on December 20th. Pick your prizes, do your precontest mailing/e-mail now, and get the signs up in the salon/spa. Call us for a free 11 page Referral Contest planning book. How would 50-100 new customers sound in the next 60 days?
$ Get your front desk staff to commit to cleaning up the customer data base in the next 60 days. All of your regular customers will be in by the holidays. Run a list on your MIKAL system of all customers with Invalid addresses. The goal is to verify every customer=s address in the next 60 days. Check on the progress by running the Invalid Addresses report for all Last Visits in the last 7 days each week. The report should be blank every week if the front desk staff is cleaning up the list!
$ Get your Gift Cards on order NOW! Call Betsy at Custom Plastics at 800-334-6488 for a free sample kit. Order the Gift Card option is MIKAL's SMS software and ask for our free information pack on promoting gift cards. Gift Cards will make a huge difference in your holiday sales over the old gift certificates. NOTE: beware of companies giving you gift cards for use with their Internet or bank card systems. The costs for the processing of the card every time it is swiped become a huge expense and if a customer loses their card there is no way to cancel that card and charge the balance up on a new card. Call us at MIKAL to make an informed decision.
$ Draw up a list of outstanding bills (that you owe). Make sure you pay off these bills during the increased cash flow period in the fall and holidays before you take on any more debt. Don't spend that gift card income before the redemptions start happening in January!
$ Increase your color service prices now just before the holiday season. This will give you an additional boost to your income and the customers are coming in for that popular service during the holiday season.
Now is the time to move into the Fall season with a new look, new ideas, and new promotions for increased sales and profits!
Please call us for additional information on the Referral Contest, Gift Cards, Pricing ideas, or your comments. Have a great fall season.
Fred Dengler
MIKAL
513-528-5100 email us at sales@mikal.com Website: www.mikal.com
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Camp MIKAL Sucess Stories
Success Stories from Camp
Great Ideas you need to be using NOW!
Success Stories from Camp MIKAL 2008
Employee exit and customer recovery story: One of the attendees had 2 stylists and a receptionist leave the salon about 120 days ago. She immediately cranked up the MIKAL 4 letter program and started marketing to the customers. Her first call was from one of the stylists who left - IRATE about the letters! In the first 90 days over 60% of the customers had come back to the salon at least one time. The next visit is being tracked to see how many of the customers the salon keeps. Either way the stylists who left had no revenue for their first 90 days at their new salon. Since they were new the stylists who left couldn't afford to give complementary services!
Gift Card Story: One of our owners reported brisk gift card sales through the spring and summer. His secret to consistent gift card sales was two fold. He has cards that are advertised as precharged for $25 and $50 on a rack at the front desk for quick grab and go sales. He also bonuses the front desk for any gift cards sold during the off season. The front desk gets $1 for every $50 card sold from June 1 to August 15 and October 1 to November 15.
Add on service story: two of our managers were talking about the Preceptionist upsell and add on systems now available in SMS. One reported that add on sales had increased over $50,000 in 2008 with the bonus paid to the front desk staff totaling almost an extra $4000. She said everyone wins with the service staff getting extra commission and the front desk staff enjoying a weekly bonus equal to a dollar an hour in extra pay!
Be one of the many success stories for Camp MIKAL 2009.
Call to reserve 800-48-5420
August 1-3 2009
MIKAL Software and Consulting Clients only pleas
Great Ideas you need to be using NOW!
Success Stories from Camp MIKAL 2008
Employee exit and customer recovery story: One of the attendees had 2 stylists and a receptionist leave the salon about 120 days ago. She immediately cranked up the MIKAL 4 letter program and started marketing to the customers. Her first call was from one of the stylists who left - IRATE about the letters! In the first 90 days over 60% of the customers had come back to the salon at least one time. The next visit is being tracked to see how many of the customers the salon keeps. Either way the stylists who left had no revenue for their first 90 days at their new salon. Since they were new the stylists who left couldn't afford to give complementary services!
Gift Card Story: One of our owners reported brisk gift card sales through the spring and summer. His secret to consistent gift card sales was two fold. He has cards that are advertised as precharged for $25 and $50 on a rack at the front desk for quick grab and go sales. He also bonuses the front desk for any gift cards sold during the off season. The front desk gets $1 for every $50 card sold from June 1 to August 15 and October 1 to November 15.
Add on service story: two of our managers were talking about the Preceptionist upsell and add on systems now available in SMS. One reported that add on sales had increased over $50,000 in 2008 with the bonus paid to the front desk staff totaling almost an extra $4000. She said everyone wins with the service staff getting extra commission and the front desk staff enjoying a weekly bonus equal to a dollar an hour in extra pay!
Be one of the many success stories for Camp MIKAL 2009.
Call to reserve 800-48-5420
August 1-3 2009
MIKAL Software and Consulting Clients only pleas
Monday, June 29, 2009
Salon and Spa Recession Buster Ideas
Welcome to the MIKAL Recession Buster System
We have major challenges in this economy in the following areas:
- Building Staff
- Increased Costs from Vendors
- Client Loss and Loyalty Problems
- Loss of Sales Revenue
What is your plan to overcome these challenges?
The MIKAL Recession Buster System see more at www.mikal.com
The MIKAL Recession Buster System is a software package that integrates features that will drive your business marketing and management to the next level. Many of these ideas can be done, have been done before, or have been done by someone else but NOT at the same time with a consistent strategy!
Let’s learn how other successful salons and spas use the MIKAL systems to grow their businesses in these challenging times.
Fred Dengler, Co-Founder of MIKAL thoughts on this all new Recession Buster business approach:
Over the last four years I have been involved in teaching more business management classes that in the previous ten years. I have also audited many other consultants’ classes. From this exposure, research, and combined with the all new features and reporting power of MIKAL SIX I have developed the only software in the industry that directly uses the most powerful tracking, reporting and marketing tool in the industry and combined this tool with the strategies and systems needed to revolutionize your business.
We have to ask in your business – where is the WOW?
MIKAL will design the Recession Buster Success Plan based on your goals – sales, staffing, and systems – to create your new approach. Three major areas of your business will be evaluated and a customized plan based on your goals will be created using all new marketing and management strategies
Sales Goals
Staffing Goals
System implementation Goals
Competitive goals
We get serious about your Sales goal – increase sales and profits. We will research and evaluate every option you have in your business to increase sales and profits. Learn how to implement incremental sales. Evaluate your service menu to maximize profits. Find out new ways to create an add on environment. Redesign your retail sales strategy to eliminate the stress of closing sales and increase retail sales to up to 30% of your gross sales. Use all new evaluation systems to make sure every service is profitable – or eliminated!
Your Service Menu
Service times
Time line the client experience
Service Prices
Your Retail Menu
Retail Consultations
Surveys and marketing
Compensation and Follow up
We help you achieve your Staffing goal – grow the team, and create the culture for success. Using your MIKAL reports and a new approach to evaluating performance and profitability examine your present staff and learn new strategies to help them grow your business. Learn how to hire and train new employees that become part of the new improved culture in your business and how to get your new staff booked and busy in 90 days – or less.
Staff Goals build business goals
Staff sales analysis
Staff break even analysis
Staff scripting
Surveys and systems
Staff follow up
We implement Systems that work – the customer processing system for success – scripting and monitoring. Use the all new time line concept to chart every service in your business. Discover every possible event that can be used to increase customer satisfaction and retention. Examine your services in a whole new way.
The Client process – a wow at every turn
The service provider process
The follow up process
First we have some questions for you:
What is your business? __________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Knowing your numbers will give us the insight and power to make decisions. Having clear financial goals makes it easy to evaluate marketing and staffing opportunities, weak areas, and expenses. In most cases we make decisions based on less information and more gut feel or heart. In today’s environment we can’t afford to do that and make mistakes. We also can’t wait to long to change a direction or strategy if it is not working.
We deal with limited resources every day. Only so many hours in the day, so many employees, so much money to spend on marketing and staffing, only so many clients and price points that can only be changed to some degree because of competitive forces.
See more at www.mikal.com
We have major challenges in this economy in the following areas:
- Building Staff
- Increased Costs from Vendors
- Client Loss and Loyalty Problems
- Loss of Sales Revenue
What is your plan to overcome these challenges?
The MIKAL Recession Buster System see more at www.mikal.com
The MIKAL Recession Buster System is a software package that integrates features that will drive your business marketing and management to the next level. Many of these ideas can be done, have been done before, or have been done by someone else but NOT at the same time with a consistent strategy!
Let’s learn how other successful salons and spas use the MIKAL systems to grow their businesses in these challenging times.
Fred Dengler, Co-Founder of MIKAL thoughts on this all new Recession Buster business approach:
Over the last four years I have been involved in teaching more business management classes that in the previous ten years. I have also audited many other consultants’ classes. From this exposure, research, and combined with the all new features and reporting power of MIKAL SIX I have developed the only software in the industry that directly uses the most powerful tracking, reporting and marketing tool in the industry and combined this tool with the strategies and systems needed to revolutionize your business.
We have to ask in your business – where is the WOW?
MIKAL will design the Recession Buster Success Plan based on your goals – sales, staffing, and systems – to create your new approach. Three major areas of your business will be evaluated and a customized plan based on your goals will be created using all new marketing and management strategies
Sales Goals
Staffing Goals
System implementation Goals
Competitive goals
We get serious about your Sales goal – increase sales and profits. We will research and evaluate every option you have in your business to increase sales and profits. Learn how to implement incremental sales. Evaluate your service menu to maximize profits. Find out new ways to create an add on environment. Redesign your retail sales strategy to eliminate the stress of closing sales and increase retail sales to up to 30% of your gross sales. Use all new evaluation systems to make sure every service is profitable – or eliminated!
Your Service Menu
Service times
Time line the client experience
Service Prices
Your Retail Menu
Retail Consultations
Surveys and marketing
Compensation and Follow up
We help you achieve your Staffing goal – grow the team, and create the culture for success. Using your MIKAL reports and a new approach to evaluating performance and profitability examine your present staff and learn new strategies to help them grow your business. Learn how to hire and train new employees that become part of the new improved culture in your business and how to get your new staff booked and busy in 90 days – or less.
Staff Goals build business goals
Staff sales analysis
Staff break even analysis
Staff scripting
Surveys and systems
Staff follow up
We implement Systems that work – the customer processing system for success – scripting and monitoring. Use the all new time line concept to chart every service in your business. Discover every possible event that can be used to increase customer satisfaction and retention. Examine your services in a whole new way.
The Client process – a wow at every turn
The service provider process
The follow up process
First we have some questions for you:
What is your business? __________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Knowing your numbers will give us the insight and power to make decisions. Having clear financial goals makes it easy to evaluate marketing and staffing opportunities, weak areas, and expenses. In most cases we make decisions based on less information and more gut feel or heart. In today’s environment we can’t afford to do that and make mistakes. We also can’t wait to long to change a direction or strategy if it is not working.
We deal with limited resources every day. Only so many hours in the day, so many employees, so much money to spend on marketing and staffing, only so many clients and price points that can only be changed to some degree because of competitive forces.
See more at www.mikal.com
Staff training ideas for salons and spas
Re-Indoctrinate Your Staff
While it's important to indoctrinate new staff, it is just as important to create a process by which you're constantly re-indoctrinating your existing ones.
Salon/Spa Owners and managers often expend significant effort, time and money to indoctrinate new staff. However, sometimes they fail to close the door behind them and re-indoctrinate their current staff.
Whether you are experiencing growth or even seeing a decrease in headcount, your most critical asset is still your staff. And re-indoctrination is your tool to retain superstars.
The focus of the re-indoctrination process begins before the stylist/staff joins your company, and it doesn't end until he or she leaves your organization. The major components of re-indoctrination include on-boarding, "water cooler" coaching, goal setting, performance evaluations/stylist/staff development, and living the salon/spa’s vision, mission and values.
On-Boarding
You've just hired a new stylist/staff. The offer letter has been sent and the new hire paperwork is ready for his first day. Now your Indoctrination efforts must begin in earnest. Once the person has accepted your offer, you have to ensure she will report for first day. Depending on the time frame between the offer and start date, you may need to have several conversations with your new stylist/staff, reassuring the candidate of her decision to join your company.
One method of cementing your initial relationship is to send the new hire paperwork to them ahead of time. Have them read and sign the documents prior to their start day.
After the new stylist/staff arrives, she goes through your orientation process. Orientation is a welcoming event, an event that must encompass more than just processing the new hire paperwork and providing general introductions. In this tender phase of a new relationship, you set the tone for the stylist/staff and help her confirm her decision to join your company. On- boarding continues as you introduce her to her new role -- what the job is and how it needs to done to be successfully executed. This is the time where you work hard to remove the new stylist/staff's fears, worries and anxieties of making the transition to your company and start the retraining of any bad habits from their last salon/spa employment.
On-boarding can last days, weeks or even months, depending on the role and individual. It's your job as a re-indoctrinator to make the stylist/staff comfortable, set expectations, explain, help, guide and direct her on a continuum to success.
On-boarding is a critical component during an new hire. First you must re-indoctrinate (get commitments) from your existing team. That means everyone from the top to the bottom of your organization. Personal, one-on-one conversations are best. And conduct them face-to-face whenever you can. Whether it's a written or verbal commitment, solidify your foundation and re-indoctrinate your current staff before you attempt to indoctrinate your new team members.
Water Cooler Coaching
You've finished your on-boarding process, and the stylist/staff is happy and productive. Now comes your next phase of re-indoctrination -- water cooler coaching.
This form of coaching is a conversation at the “water cooler,” in the hallways or in private. This applies when you observe positive or negative events. Having an immediate and candid conversation with the stylist/staff strengthens positive behavior; it also makes the stylist/staff aware of the negatives that need to be changed.
Positive coaching is simple and direct. Speak with the stylist/staff immediately. It's OK to do it with others around. Congratulate the stylist/staff specifically on what he did; ask for his input on how he handled the situation. Let him confirm the positive experience, as this will reinforce his behavior. Again, commend him and ask that he repeat the behavior. This is another step in your re-indoctrination process.
Not everyone will be the “perfect” stylist/staff. Sometimes corrective coaching has to occur. This, too, is another opportunity to re-indoctrinate your stylist/staff. You have to clarify the objective with the stylist/staff. You may recommend extra training. You may work with the stylist/staff to remove obstacles to deliver the desired results. The message you send must be clear and specific. This is a caring conversation, as it reinforces that you want the behavior to change. And remember to meet in private for these re-indoctrination events.
Performance Reviews and Stylist/staff Development
Your re-indoctrination activity continues whenever you conduct performance reviews and discuss career planning. Performance reviews are meant to summarize the events of a specific period of time. This must occur every week in the form of follow up on goal setting with your evaluation reports. Other meetings might occur in the first 90 days, every six months or annually. Bear in mind, performance reviews are exactly that -- a review of a specific period of time. Now is not the time for surprises; it's a written summary of past known events. Reviews are a strong mechanism to ensure staff remain on-board with you.
Re-indoctrination also occurs with your stylist/staff's career planning discussions. Career discussions are future focused. These are the discussions where staff further commit to your organization with their personalized growth plans. Likewise, you display your commitment to their future growth by providing processes, resources, and avenues for growth. The key is stylist/staff involvement and making stylist/staff development an stylist/staff-driven process. Their buy-in and self-accountability helps cement your continuing re-indoctrination efforts.
Vision, Mission and Values
These are often overlooked ways to re-indoctrinate your staff on a daily basis. Living your vision, mission and values begins with each leader and must spread throughout the company. Staff must see, hear and understand how and why these areas are important. Staff who know, understand, communicate and live your salon/spa’s vision, mission and values are committed staff. Hence, they re-indoctrinate themselves to your company each and every day.
The net impact of re-indoctrination is you will see a more committed workforce, decreased turnover, increased productivity, more stylist/staff referrals, happier customers and, most likely, improved margins.
What are you waiting for? Take your first step today to re-indoctrinate yourself. Then implement the process throughout your company.
While it's important to indoctrinate new staff, it is just as important to create a process by which you're constantly re-indoctrinating your existing ones.
Salon/Spa Owners and managers often expend significant effort, time and money to indoctrinate new staff. However, sometimes they fail to close the door behind them and re-indoctrinate their current staff.
Whether you are experiencing growth or even seeing a decrease in headcount, your most critical asset is still your staff. And re-indoctrination is your tool to retain superstars.
The focus of the re-indoctrination process begins before the stylist/staff joins your company, and it doesn't end until he or she leaves your organization. The major components of re-indoctrination include on-boarding, "water cooler" coaching, goal setting, performance evaluations/stylist/staff development, and living the salon/spa’s vision, mission and values.
On-Boarding
You've just hired a new stylist/staff. The offer letter has been sent and the new hire paperwork is ready for his first day. Now your Indoctrination efforts must begin in earnest. Once the person has accepted your offer, you have to ensure she will report for first day. Depending on the time frame between the offer and start date, you may need to have several conversations with your new stylist/staff, reassuring the candidate of her decision to join your company.
One method of cementing your initial relationship is to send the new hire paperwork to them ahead of time. Have them read and sign the documents prior to their start day.
After the new stylist/staff arrives, she goes through your orientation process. Orientation is a welcoming event, an event that must encompass more than just processing the new hire paperwork and providing general introductions. In this tender phase of a new relationship, you set the tone for the stylist/staff and help her confirm her decision to join your company. On- boarding continues as you introduce her to her new role -- what the job is and how it needs to done to be successfully executed. This is the time where you work hard to remove the new stylist/staff's fears, worries and anxieties of making the transition to your company and start the retraining of any bad habits from their last salon/spa employment.
On-boarding can last days, weeks or even months, depending on the role and individual. It's your job as a re-indoctrinator to make the stylist/staff comfortable, set expectations, explain, help, guide and direct her on a continuum to success.
On-boarding is a critical component during an new hire. First you must re-indoctrinate (get commitments) from your existing team. That means everyone from the top to the bottom of your organization. Personal, one-on-one conversations are best. And conduct them face-to-face whenever you can. Whether it's a written or verbal commitment, solidify your foundation and re-indoctrinate your current staff before you attempt to indoctrinate your new team members.
Water Cooler Coaching
You've finished your on-boarding process, and the stylist/staff is happy and productive. Now comes your next phase of re-indoctrination -- water cooler coaching.
This form of coaching is a conversation at the “water cooler,” in the hallways or in private. This applies when you observe positive or negative events. Having an immediate and candid conversation with the stylist/staff strengthens positive behavior; it also makes the stylist/staff aware of the negatives that need to be changed.
Positive coaching is simple and direct. Speak with the stylist/staff immediately. It's OK to do it with others around. Congratulate the stylist/staff specifically on what he did; ask for his input on how he handled the situation. Let him confirm the positive experience, as this will reinforce his behavior. Again, commend him and ask that he repeat the behavior. This is another step in your re-indoctrination process.
Not everyone will be the “perfect” stylist/staff. Sometimes corrective coaching has to occur. This, too, is another opportunity to re-indoctrinate your stylist/staff. You have to clarify the objective with the stylist/staff. You may recommend extra training. You may work with the stylist/staff to remove obstacles to deliver the desired results. The message you send must be clear and specific. This is a caring conversation, as it reinforces that you want the behavior to change. And remember to meet in private for these re-indoctrination events.
Performance Reviews and Stylist/staff Development
Your re-indoctrination activity continues whenever you conduct performance reviews and discuss career planning. Performance reviews are meant to summarize the events of a specific period of time. This must occur every week in the form of follow up on goal setting with your evaluation reports. Other meetings might occur in the first 90 days, every six months or annually. Bear in mind, performance reviews are exactly that -- a review of a specific period of time. Now is not the time for surprises; it's a written summary of past known events. Reviews are a strong mechanism to ensure staff remain on-board with you.
Re-indoctrination also occurs with your stylist/staff's career planning discussions. Career discussions are future focused. These are the discussions where staff further commit to your organization with their personalized growth plans. Likewise, you display your commitment to their future growth by providing processes, resources, and avenues for growth. The key is stylist/staff involvement and making stylist/staff development an stylist/staff-driven process. Their buy-in and self-accountability helps cement your continuing re-indoctrination efforts.
Vision, Mission and Values
These are often overlooked ways to re-indoctrinate your staff on a daily basis. Living your vision, mission and values begins with each leader and must spread throughout the company. Staff must see, hear and understand how and why these areas are important. Staff who know, understand, communicate and live your salon/spa’s vision, mission and values are committed staff. Hence, they re-indoctrinate themselves to your company each and every day.
The net impact of re-indoctrination is you will see a more committed workforce, decreased turnover, increased productivity, more stylist/staff referrals, happier customers and, most likely, improved margins.
What are you waiting for? Take your first step today to re-indoctrinate yourself. Then implement the process throughout your company.
I'm Back
Sorry my blogging slacked off in 2008. It was a rough year in many ways.
But I am back now with tons of new ideas and info for salons and spas.
Tune in and turn on. Call me or e-mail me with questions.
800-448-5420 fredd@mikal.com
Thanks for reading
Fred
But I am back now with tons of new ideas and info for salons and spas.
Tune in and turn on. Call me or e-mail me with questions.
800-448-5420 fredd@mikal.com
Thanks for reading
Fred
Salon and Spa Front Desk Operations Ideas
All About Marketing – 2008 Success Club
If you want to increase your sales and margins (sales per customer) in 2009, you need to understand the customers= perceptions, buying trends, and competitive environment. They have changed.
The importance of the positive customer experience has never been greater. Customers are tense, some are even angry about the society and environment they find themselves in. Time is at a premium.
Customers are experiencing an information overload. The Internet purchases have increased dramatically while in-store purchases have dropped, and we have a slowing economy!
How can we create an environment that satisfies customers and develops new loyalty?
We need to re personalize our business to the way customer=s want to buy. Each customer and every customer event (transaction) needs to be a positive one.
We need to look at every event in our customers= relationship and make sure the quality, consistency, and follow up is there. At the same time we need to make sure our customer experience is differentiated from our competition and the differences are clearly communicated.
Advertising to the customer of the new economy means:
Coupon offers can still work but they must have a specific dollar value, not a percentage off.
Customers want to feel that they are getting something extra for the price.
Giving an add on service or retail product free with a service is effective.
Customers want real value for the price stress long term effects of a product or service.
SERVICE MENU IDEAS
-or-
How to Double the Average Customer Ticket
In traveling all over the country working with salons and spa I get to see all types of service menus. It is amazing the impact of a good service menu can have on your salon or spa. Now I am sure you have a service menu with nice graphics and a great layout. Those areas are a given in most salons and spas these days. But the difference between a nice (good) service menu and a GREAT service menu is how much the service menu $ells for you!
Let me give you an example of this idea in the restaurant industry. David Frey tells the following story:
“ In my local town (Friendswood, TX) there is a privately owned sandwich shop that prides itself in offering more sandwich variations than any of the fast food restaurants in town. The owner is a friend of mine and he was mentioning to me the other day about how slow his sales were. Knowing that I was a marketer he asked me if I had any suggestions. I Asked My Friend to Show Me His Menu...
I looked at the menu and immediately spotted a major problem. I told him, "How would you like to increase your sales by 30% with the exact same amount of customers that currently come through your shop?" His eyebrows rose with interest. I mentioned to him that he was making the same mistake that many business owners make in not only the food industry but in most industries. He said, "I'm listening David."
Now I had his attention. (And I hope I have yours too.)
What I Told My Friend to Do...
As I looked at my friends menu it was packed with different types of sandwiches with all kinds of side dishes and about 12 different drink options. There were a lot of options. In fact, there were too many options. I told my friend to do 4 things...
1. Remove 30% of the sandwich and drink offerings on his menu.
2. Create 5 different bundled "value offers" such as a drink, sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Then increase the price by 30%.
3. Put a big red starburst on the menu next to two of the sandwich bundles. The first one should say "Voted # 1 in Flavor by Our Customers" (highest price) and the second one should say "Today's Special" (lowest bundle price).
4. Stock up on the ingredients for the two value bundles that had the red starbursts next to them and decrease the stock of the other sandwiches.
He was courageous enough to test my recommendations and low and behold, the average transaction value of his sales increased by around 20% (Not the 30% that I had hoped for but close.)”
David is a marketing consultant who works with many different types of companies. We can use his idea in our salons and spas. Read his book “Best Marketing Practices” for more ideas.
The idea presented to the restaurant owner can be modified slightly to work with our salons and spas. It is critical that we simplify our message to our customers and make it easy to do business with us. It is also important to make the services we offer easy to communicate for our front desk and easy to sell for our service providers.
Using these ideas and rules for menu and service development could double your average sales ticket without adding one new customer. That brings up another important fact:
With the number of customers shrinking in a slower economy and the competition increasing for those customers it is important to have the customer getting every possible service from us.
It will increase our retention and increase our sales dollars!
A smart marketer once said, "Confused Minds Always Say NO!" It's true, when you provide too many options to a customer then they get confused and often decide not to buy anything at all.
This marketing principle plays out in many different ways. Read the following examples of how you can implement this important marketing principle:
Example 1 - When asking for referrals, instead of saying, "Do you know anyone who would benefit from my services?" you say, "Is there someone you work with who might enjoy our services?
Example 2 - When selling multiple items, whether on your website or in your ads, or sales posters at your salon/spa always position your best products as "Top Seller" or "Todays Special" or "Best Value."
Example 3 - When advertising retail items only focus on one or two offers or one offer per category. Have a product of the month. Get your distributor to help with a discount you can pass on and free samples to give out. Get free backbar products to use to promote the product of the month.
Example 4 - When in a face-to-face selling situation, find out your customer’s needs and offer only one, or at most, two solutions. Give the customer two options to choose between.
Example 5 - When creating different price points for different packages of goods make one price an obvious choice. Put together a spa sampler for $99. Don’t allow swapping of services in the package.
Get back to your core services. If you have not done a hydrotherapy massage in 4 months get it off your menu. Delete it from your product classes. Take it out of your service inventory! If you direct your staff to concentrate on your core services and script them on selling, supporting and providing those core services you will be more successful.
Promote the things that make your core services unique. You always provide the service with a consultation. You run on time. You have special training in these areas. You have a great track record in the core service area with referrals, awards, and recognition.
Let’s take a haircut for example.
Many salons derive 40% of sales from cutting hair. How can you make your haircut unique? You offer a scalp massage with the precut shampoo. You have a quick conditioner that helps with your cutting technique.
Trademark your core service or name your core service to differentiate it. Your haircuts could be called precision cuts, the perfect haircut, custom cut, or whatever you think matches your core service. You use razor, clippers, or shears based on the look you want to achieve. You always style the hair so no customer leaves without a great look (and an advertisement of your work). You always do a consultation with the cut. You always prescribe the products to maintain the style and show the customer how to use them. You offer to do a free style training if they get home and can’t achieve the style. You always offer a survey card after the service and give a follow up thank you call or mailing.
When you have your core services look at add on services you can bundle with your core items to create a higher average ticket. Upgrade the quick conditioner to a deep conditioner for just $6 more. Add the paraffin treatment to the manicure for only $12. Do a nail art item with every manicure for a special price. Upgrade to a French manicure with hand massage for only $12 more. Combine a mini facial with your massage for just $30 and it only takes an extra 15 minutes. The options and opportunities are endless. They just need to be easy, uncomplicated, and provide a true value for the extra few dollars.
What can we do to get the Front Desk to generate more income, rebookings, and higher retention?
Let=s look at an example of how we can satisfy the customer, create consistency, include following up, and differentiate our business from the competition.
Use the booking of an appointment as an example. Most salons and spas have an interaction when a customer calls for an appointment like this:
The customer calls and asks if they can have an appointment with Mary for next Monday. The receptionist looks and says yes, gets the customer phone number and hangs up.
Now let=s use the model we discussed above to maximize the customer experience during the booking. The customer calls and asks for an appointment next Monday with Mary.
The receptionist says she will check and asks if the customer knows about the salon=s current specials. The customer says no what are they? The receptionist offers a special service that has a unique name (not a conditioning treatment - a hair rejuvenation process) that complements the service being booked and the customer wants to add the service.
The receptionist also asks the customer if they would like a phone or e-mail confirmation and the appointment is booked. The follow up is the confirmation call or e-mail. Look at the difference in the results.
With the new approach the customer is given options, an add-on service is booked, the service has a unique name that the competitors don=t use, and the customer receives a confirmation call. We must create this process with every step of the customer experience.
Using the strategy shown above for creating positive customer contacts will increase your sales and margins because of the upsell, increased customer loyalty by booking added services and naming the services to make them unique, and providing a confirmation call.
You can use our Preceptionist Upsell program to do the add on and upsell items at the time of the appointment and really make the whole system work!
Start with a few services
Script script script
Role play role play role play
Bonus the upsells
Support the upsells with e-mail marketing and table talkers
Celebrate the receptionists that do the upsells – run and post the reports!
Give the appointment booking staff the ability to upsell services to customers. McDonalds doubled their French fry sales at the drive thru window just by asking "will that be a large" when people ordered French fries! Have your appointment booking staff recommend a conditioning service at half price to every haircut customer, or a manicure for half price with every chemical service. Have the receptionist code the appointment for the service and give the receptionist a $ .50 bonus when they upsell the extra service. That way the services you are trying to build are "upsold" and the receptionist has the ability to make an extra $ 1.00 to $ 5.00 an hour!
Offer Slow times first – what an IDEA!
We recommend the use of the Red Yellow Green booking procedure. Define when your most booked days and hours are. These are Red times. Define your medium booked days and times. These are Yellow times. Define your least booked days and times. These are your Green times.
Note: don’t confuse this with your Green Booking times in MIKAL!
If Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. are your least booked times, these should always be offered to the customer first. These are your Green times and need to be filled as a priority! Get the customer to "buy into" the time by mentioning that the operator is slower then and will have the extra time to give the customer some extra attention. If the customer cannot fit into a Green time offer the customer a medium booked day/time selection. This is a Yellow time. If a Yellow time is not acceptable, as a last resort book the customer into a Red time (like a Saturday morning). Most Red times fill quickly, and a successful salon is great at filling the Green times first!
Check the appointment book for WHO booked the slow times and add up the number for each receptionist. Whoever gets the most (or most per hour worked) gets a bonus or dinner for two. Track this monthly. It will also show you (and the receptionists) who is not booking the slow times!
Price Inquiries An Untapped Marketing Area:
All prospective customers asking services and prices should be entered into your system and immediately sent a price menu and a gift certificate valid during their first visit.
Your employees should get the person's name and address before giving any pricing information over the phone. Tell the prospective customer that you need it to send out a detailed price menu and a special new customer gift certificate. The only people who will not give you their name and address are your competitors who are calling around doing price checks!
Just think the day after the customer calls to check on your prices they get a price menu and a gift certificate in the mail. How many of the other salons or spas they called checking on prices will have sent them anything?
What is your present script when someone calls for a price check?
Organize Your Product Displays and Increase Sales:
All retail products need to be labeled with the price. It is also suggested that the salon spa name and phone number be printed on the price label. This makes for a larger label but it shows the customer the name of the salon/spa every time the product is used.
The retail display area needs to be available to customers for examination of the product. Any shelf talkers or product information sheets should be available.
The retail display area needs to be merchandised by product line with each line receiving display area based on the line's contribution to total retail sales. If line XYZ accounts for 60% of your sales the line should receive 60% of your shelf space. If line ABC accounts for 8% of your sales the line should only receive 8% of your shelf space.
Four Corner Your Retail Area
Partnering with your distributors to increase your profits and their shelf space:
When the distributor for line ABC wants more shelf space, he/she can EARN the space by increasing sales as a percentage of total product sales. Ways of doing this include more education, distributor sponsored retail promotions, free samples, an aggressive back bar shampoo and conditioner program, and consumer advertising sponsored by the manufacturer and distributor. Use your Shop Performance Report – Retail Categories to see the percentage each distributor is contributing to sales. Note: also check the Inventory Cost Report for margin – some are not truly 50%................
Even with MIKAL inventory control systems in place keeping inventory carry costs down is a BIG job! Use these ideas to keep your retail products profitable.
A recent conversation with a salon owner reminded me of how much some small (and not-so-small) salons/spas struggle with dead professional inventory. My salon owner related how, slowly, gradually, over time, the percentage of dead retail and professional inventory had grown. And as it was growing, the problem was thought to be modest, because the rate of growth appeared to be modest, so modest measures were taken to deal with it.
An extra markdown here, a special promotion there, but still there seemed to be more of it this month than there was last.
Finally, when the sheer amount of retail and professional inventory involved became inescapable, and the dispensary was so full the door would not open all the way, and the realization came that the measures to deal with it weren't close to being sufficient, the whole thing started to feel overwhelming.
So if you're looking at a build up of dead retail professional inventory, and feel a little overwhelmed by the enormity of it, here are a few ideas to help you get started turning it into cash.
LOW HANGING FRUIT. This is the most desirable retail and professional inventory, the most marketable, and the easiest to sell and turn into cash quickly. It's the quick win. Start here. Break out a size, or item, feature it on a sales table, sign it $ALE, price it to move now 40% off (and no commissions!), and get your cash. When that item sells through, break out next item. If you've been struggling with tight cash flow, this is like a tall cool drink on a hot summer day. Most importantly, if you feel like you've been losing the battle, it's nice to get a win and feel like you're finally making progress. Note: put the sales table in a place where client have to trip over it to check in or cash out.
SLUDGE. We all know intuitively what sludge is: It's the bottom, the worst, the oldest, most shop-worn, most outdated. And it's toxic! When you see it mixed in with or merchandised near low hanging fruit, it makes that look like sludge as well! So get the sludge off the sales floor, away from the rest of your dead professional inventory, and most importantly, away from you customers. The ugly truth is that sludge has little or no market value. It doesn't merit the time and effort necessary to try to sell it. Think about donating it to charity. The resulting tax deduction is one tangible benefit you will receive; another benefit is that the rest of your dead professional inventory won't look quite so bad and will likely be more highly valued by your customers. In the end, if you can't find a charitable organization to donate your sludge to, donate it to your dumpster.
DEVELOP MERCHANDISING AND SELLING STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT ON YOUR REGULAR BUSINESS.
The last thing you want your store to look like is that it's going out of business. You want to protect the brand integrity of your store. This is why a slow, steady approach works best, so that your dead professional inventory never represents more than a small piece of your overall offerings. For some salons/spas, it may be a small feature just off the front of the store, or perhaps a dedicated table or rack on a traffic aisle further back in the store.
The Product Consultation and Prescriptive Sales Approach
I hear from owners and managers “Our retail stinks. Everyone is in a rut. They don’t talk retail, they don’t sell it. Our clients are buying shampoo somewhere! What can we do?
If you want to increase your sales and margins (sales per customer) in 2009, you need to understand the customers= perceptions, buying trends, and competitive environment. They have changed.
The importance of the positive customer experience has never been greater. Customers are tense, some are even angry about the society and environment they find themselves in. Time is at a premium.
Customers are experiencing an information overload. The Internet purchases have increased dramatically while in-store purchases have dropped, and we have a slowing economy!
How can we create an environment that satisfies customers and develops new loyalty?
We need to re personalize our business to the way customer=s want to buy. Each customer and every customer event (transaction) needs to be a positive one.
We need to look at every event in our customers= relationship and make sure the quality, consistency, and follow up is there. At the same time we need to make sure our customer experience is differentiated from our competition and the differences are clearly communicated.
Advertising to the customer of the new economy means:
Coupon offers can still work but they must have a specific dollar value, not a percentage off.
Customers want to feel that they are getting something extra for the price.
Giving an add on service or retail product free with a service is effective.
Customers want real value for the price stress long term effects of a product or service.
SERVICE MENU IDEAS
-or-
How to Double the Average Customer Ticket
In traveling all over the country working with salons and spa I get to see all types of service menus. It is amazing the impact of a good service menu can have on your salon or spa. Now I am sure you have a service menu with nice graphics and a great layout. Those areas are a given in most salons and spas these days. But the difference between a nice (good) service menu and a GREAT service menu is how much the service menu $ells for you!
Let me give you an example of this idea in the restaurant industry. David Frey tells the following story:
“ In my local town (Friendswood, TX) there is a privately owned sandwich shop that prides itself in offering more sandwich variations than any of the fast food restaurants in town. The owner is a friend of mine and he was mentioning to me the other day about how slow his sales were. Knowing that I was a marketer he asked me if I had any suggestions. I Asked My Friend to Show Me His Menu...
I looked at the menu and immediately spotted a major problem. I told him, "How would you like to increase your sales by 30% with the exact same amount of customers that currently come through your shop?" His eyebrows rose with interest. I mentioned to him that he was making the same mistake that many business owners make in not only the food industry but in most industries. He said, "I'm listening David."
Now I had his attention. (And I hope I have yours too.)
What I Told My Friend to Do...
As I looked at my friends menu it was packed with different types of sandwiches with all kinds of side dishes and about 12 different drink options. There were a lot of options. In fact, there were too many options. I told my friend to do 4 things...
1. Remove 30% of the sandwich and drink offerings on his menu.
2. Create 5 different bundled "value offers" such as a drink, sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Then increase the price by 30%.
3. Put a big red starburst on the menu next to two of the sandwich bundles. The first one should say "Voted # 1 in Flavor by Our Customers" (highest price) and the second one should say "Today's Special" (lowest bundle price).
4. Stock up on the ingredients for the two value bundles that had the red starbursts next to them and decrease the stock of the other sandwiches.
He was courageous enough to test my recommendations and low and behold, the average transaction value of his sales increased by around 20% (Not the 30% that I had hoped for but close.)”
David is a marketing consultant who works with many different types of companies. We can use his idea in our salons and spas. Read his book “Best Marketing Practices” for more ideas.
The idea presented to the restaurant owner can be modified slightly to work with our salons and spas. It is critical that we simplify our message to our customers and make it easy to do business with us. It is also important to make the services we offer easy to communicate for our front desk and easy to sell for our service providers.
Using these ideas and rules for menu and service development could double your average sales ticket without adding one new customer. That brings up another important fact:
With the number of customers shrinking in a slower economy and the competition increasing for those customers it is important to have the customer getting every possible service from us.
It will increase our retention and increase our sales dollars!
A smart marketer once said, "Confused Minds Always Say NO!" It's true, when you provide too many options to a customer then they get confused and often decide not to buy anything at all.
This marketing principle plays out in many different ways. Read the following examples of how you can implement this important marketing principle:
Example 1 - When asking for referrals, instead of saying, "Do you know anyone who would benefit from my services?" you say, "Is there someone you work with who might enjoy our services?
Example 2 - When selling multiple items, whether on your website or in your ads, or sales posters at your salon/spa always position your best products as "Top Seller" or "Todays Special" or "Best Value."
Example 3 - When advertising retail items only focus on one or two offers or one offer per category. Have a product of the month. Get your distributor to help with a discount you can pass on and free samples to give out. Get free backbar products to use to promote the product of the month.
Example 4 - When in a face-to-face selling situation, find out your customer’s needs and offer only one, or at most, two solutions. Give the customer two options to choose between.
Example 5 - When creating different price points for different packages of goods make one price an obvious choice. Put together a spa sampler for $99. Don’t allow swapping of services in the package.
Get back to your core services. If you have not done a hydrotherapy massage in 4 months get it off your menu. Delete it from your product classes. Take it out of your service inventory! If you direct your staff to concentrate on your core services and script them on selling, supporting and providing those core services you will be more successful.
Promote the things that make your core services unique. You always provide the service with a consultation. You run on time. You have special training in these areas. You have a great track record in the core service area with referrals, awards, and recognition.
Let’s take a haircut for example.
Many salons derive 40% of sales from cutting hair. How can you make your haircut unique? You offer a scalp massage with the precut shampoo. You have a quick conditioner that helps with your cutting technique.
Trademark your core service or name your core service to differentiate it. Your haircuts could be called precision cuts, the perfect haircut, custom cut, or whatever you think matches your core service. You use razor, clippers, or shears based on the look you want to achieve. You always style the hair so no customer leaves without a great look (and an advertisement of your work). You always do a consultation with the cut. You always prescribe the products to maintain the style and show the customer how to use them. You offer to do a free style training if they get home and can’t achieve the style. You always offer a survey card after the service and give a follow up thank you call or mailing.
When you have your core services look at add on services you can bundle with your core items to create a higher average ticket. Upgrade the quick conditioner to a deep conditioner for just $6 more. Add the paraffin treatment to the manicure for only $12. Do a nail art item with every manicure for a special price. Upgrade to a French manicure with hand massage for only $12 more. Combine a mini facial with your massage for just $30 and it only takes an extra 15 minutes. The options and opportunities are endless. They just need to be easy, uncomplicated, and provide a true value for the extra few dollars.
What can we do to get the Front Desk to generate more income, rebookings, and higher retention?
Let=s look at an example of how we can satisfy the customer, create consistency, include following up, and differentiate our business from the competition.
Use the booking of an appointment as an example. Most salons and spas have an interaction when a customer calls for an appointment like this:
The customer calls and asks if they can have an appointment with Mary for next Monday. The receptionist looks and says yes, gets the customer phone number and hangs up.
Now let=s use the model we discussed above to maximize the customer experience during the booking. The customer calls and asks for an appointment next Monday with Mary.
The receptionist says she will check and asks if the customer knows about the salon=s current specials. The customer says no what are they? The receptionist offers a special service that has a unique name (not a conditioning treatment - a hair rejuvenation process) that complements the service being booked and the customer wants to add the service.
The receptionist also asks the customer if they would like a phone or e-mail confirmation and the appointment is booked. The follow up is the confirmation call or e-mail. Look at the difference in the results.
With the new approach the customer is given options, an add-on service is booked, the service has a unique name that the competitors don=t use, and the customer receives a confirmation call. We must create this process with every step of the customer experience.
Using the strategy shown above for creating positive customer contacts will increase your sales and margins because of the upsell, increased customer loyalty by booking added services and naming the services to make them unique, and providing a confirmation call.
You can use our Preceptionist Upsell program to do the add on and upsell items at the time of the appointment and really make the whole system work!
Start with a few services
Script script script
Role play role play role play
Bonus the upsells
Support the upsells with e-mail marketing and table talkers
Celebrate the receptionists that do the upsells – run and post the reports!
Give the appointment booking staff the ability to upsell services to customers. McDonalds doubled their French fry sales at the drive thru window just by asking "will that be a large" when people ordered French fries! Have your appointment booking staff recommend a conditioning service at half price to every haircut customer, or a manicure for half price with every chemical service. Have the receptionist code the appointment for the service and give the receptionist a $ .50 bonus when they upsell the extra service. That way the services you are trying to build are "upsold" and the receptionist has the ability to make an extra $ 1.00 to $ 5.00 an hour!
Offer Slow times first – what an IDEA!
We recommend the use of the Red Yellow Green booking procedure. Define when your most booked days and hours are. These are Red times. Define your medium booked days and times. These are Yellow times. Define your least booked days and times. These are your Green times.
Note: don’t confuse this with your Green Booking times in MIKAL!
If Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. are your least booked times, these should always be offered to the customer first. These are your Green times and need to be filled as a priority! Get the customer to "buy into" the time by mentioning that the operator is slower then and will have the extra time to give the customer some extra attention. If the customer cannot fit into a Green time offer the customer a medium booked day/time selection. This is a Yellow time. If a Yellow time is not acceptable, as a last resort book the customer into a Red time (like a Saturday morning). Most Red times fill quickly, and a successful salon is great at filling the Green times first!
Check the appointment book for WHO booked the slow times and add up the number for each receptionist. Whoever gets the most (or most per hour worked) gets a bonus or dinner for two. Track this monthly. It will also show you (and the receptionists) who is not booking the slow times!
Price Inquiries An Untapped Marketing Area:
All prospective customers asking services and prices should be entered into your system and immediately sent a price menu and a gift certificate valid during their first visit.
Your employees should get the person's name and address before giving any pricing information over the phone. Tell the prospective customer that you need it to send out a detailed price menu and a special new customer gift certificate. The only people who will not give you their name and address are your competitors who are calling around doing price checks!
Just think the day after the customer calls to check on your prices they get a price menu and a gift certificate in the mail. How many of the other salons or spas they called checking on prices will have sent them anything?
What is your present script when someone calls for a price check?
Organize Your Product Displays and Increase Sales:
All retail products need to be labeled with the price. It is also suggested that the salon spa name and phone number be printed on the price label. This makes for a larger label but it shows the customer the name of the salon/spa every time the product is used.
The retail display area needs to be available to customers for examination of the product. Any shelf talkers or product information sheets should be available.
The retail display area needs to be merchandised by product line with each line receiving display area based on the line's contribution to total retail sales. If line XYZ accounts for 60% of your sales the line should receive 60% of your shelf space. If line ABC accounts for 8% of your sales the line should only receive 8% of your shelf space.
Four Corner Your Retail Area
Partnering with your distributors to increase your profits and their shelf space:
When the distributor for line ABC wants more shelf space, he/she can EARN the space by increasing sales as a percentage of total product sales. Ways of doing this include more education, distributor sponsored retail promotions, free samples, an aggressive back bar shampoo and conditioner program, and consumer advertising sponsored by the manufacturer and distributor. Use your Shop Performance Report – Retail Categories to see the percentage each distributor is contributing to sales. Note: also check the Inventory Cost Report for margin – some are not truly 50%................
Even with MIKAL inventory control systems in place keeping inventory carry costs down is a BIG job! Use these ideas to keep your retail products profitable.
A recent conversation with a salon owner reminded me of how much some small (and not-so-small) salons/spas struggle with dead professional inventory. My salon owner related how, slowly, gradually, over time, the percentage of dead retail and professional inventory had grown. And as it was growing, the problem was thought to be modest, because the rate of growth appeared to be modest, so modest measures were taken to deal with it.
An extra markdown here, a special promotion there, but still there seemed to be more of it this month than there was last.
Finally, when the sheer amount of retail and professional inventory involved became inescapable, and the dispensary was so full the door would not open all the way, and the realization came that the measures to deal with it weren't close to being sufficient, the whole thing started to feel overwhelming.
So if you're looking at a build up of dead retail professional inventory, and feel a little overwhelmed by the enormity of it, here are a few ideas to help you get started turning it into cash.
LOW HANGING FRUIT. This is the most desirable retail and professional inventory, the most marketable, and the easiest to sell and turn into cash quickly. It's the quick win. Start here. Break out a size, or item, feature it on a sales table, sign it $ALE, price it to move now 40% off (and no commissions!), and get your cash. When that item sells through, break out next item. If you've been struggling with tight cash flow, this is like a tall cool drink on a hot summer day. Most importantly, if you feel like you've been losing the battle, it's nice to get a win and feel like you're finally making progress. Note: put the sales table in a place where client have to trip over it to check in or cash out.
SLUDGE. We all know intuitively what sludge is: It's the bottom, the worst, the oldest, most shop-worn, most outdated. And it's toxic! When you see it mixed in with or merchandised near low hanging fruit, it makes that look like sludge as well! So get the sludge off the sales floor, away from the rest of your dead professional inventory, and most importantly, away from you customers. The ugly truth is that sludge has little or no market value. It doesn't merit the time and effort necessary to try to sell it. Think about donating it to charity. The resulting tax deduction is one tangible benefit you will receive; another benefit is that the rest of your dead professional inventory won't look quite so bad and will likely be more highly valued by your customers. In the end, if you can't find a charitable organization to donate your sludge to, donate it to your dumpster.
DEVELOP MERCHANDISING AND SELLING STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT ON YOUR REGULAR BUSINESS.
The last thing you want your store to look like is that it's going out of business. You want to protect the brand integrity of your store. This is why a slow, steady approach works best, so that your dead professional inventory never represents more than a small piece of your overall offerings. For some salons/spas, it may be a small feature just off the front of the store, or perhaps a dedicated table or rack on a traffic aisle further back in the store.
The Product Consultation and Prescriptive Sales Approach
I hear from owners and managers “Our retail stinks. Everyone is in a rut. They don’t talk retail, they don’t sell it. Our clients are buying shampoo somewhere! What can we do?
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Salon and Spa owners - more effective interview ideas
Salon and Spa Owners - Be Interested, Not Interesting in your Interviews!
The purpose of interviewing is to learn more about the service provider or receptionist; her skills, knowledge, education, experience, and cultural fit; and assess her interest in your salon/spa. Then why do interviewers talk so much?
Two factors that are critical to professional networking, developing mutual relationships, and influencing people are the art of listening and the genuine interest in other people. This is especially true when you are a recruiter or interviewer.
The purpose of interviewing is to learn more about the service provider or receptionist; understand the service provider or receptionist's skills, knowledge, education, experience, and cultural fit; and assess the service provider or receptionist's interest in your salon/spa. Then why do interviewers talk so much?
I know interviewers are excited to talk about their salon/spa and sell the opportunity, but research shows that interviewers talk too much and do not listen enough. I interviewed 100 executives to better understand how much time they spend talking versus listening during an interview. I found that 65% of the interview time was spent talking about the salon/spa and selling the salon/spa to the service provider or receptionists.
You can always tell which managers talk too much during the interview. Their interview notes are short, they can't tell you much about what they learned from the service provider or receptionist, and their recommendations are often a gut feel.
However, listening skills and general interviewing skills need to be taught. It is critical that you identify the best staff to conduct the interview, train them and then provide them with the tools to be effective interviewers. Here are a few guidelines to follow.
1. Select your interview team.
Not everyone can or should interview service provider or receptionists. I recommend developing teams of interviewers comprised of those who best represent your salon/spa, those who best represent the position to be filled, and those who have the best ability to assess a service provider or receptionist's fit in the salon/spa and position.
2. Train the interviewers on interviewing skills.
Interviewers need to understand the role of an interviewer and what is needed to be an effective interviewer.
The role of an interviewer is to promote the organization and attract the best possible service provider or receptionist, gather information about the service provider or receptionist, assess how well the service provider or receptionist's qualifications match the job requirements, and determine whether the service provider or receptionist will fit in with the organization and the staff. It is critical that the interviewer is an effective listener.
The first skill in being a good listener is acting like a good listener. Business has taught us to tune out much of the information that is thrust at us. It, therefore, becomes important to change our physical body language from that of a deflector to that of a receiver. Facial expressions are a critical component of body language. Interviewers should lean toward the service provider or receptionist to show interest.
A second skill is to establish eye contact. Our eyes pick up the nonverbal signals that all people project when they are speaking. Eye contact completes the connection. A service provider or receptionist will work harder at providing information when they see a receptive audience.
When the interviewer has established eye contact with the service provider or receptionist, interviewers must then acknowledge the service provider or receptionist through additional body language. An occasional nod of the head will indicate that they are following what the service provider or receptionist is saying. Ther will also improve the level of concentration during the interview.
It is extremely difficult for an interviewer to receive information when the interviewer is talking at the same time or thinking about the next question to ask. A good listener will stop talking and use receptive language such as "I see . . . oh really." This will encourage the service provider or receptionist's train of thought. This also compels the interviewer to react to the ideas presented and ask additional questions, which will help gather critical information about the service provider or receptionist.
The final skill is to concentrate on what the service provider or receptionist is saying. This will allow the interviewer to fully hear the service provider or receptionist's point of view and process the information. It is critical to minimize the distractions during the interview. This includes turning off the Blackberry and/or cell phone, conducting the interview in a conducive work environment, and documenting the responses and comments received from the service provider or receptionist.
Once you have a trained the interviewer on listening and general interviewing techniques, the next step is to provide the tools to be an effective interviewer.
1. Prepare the interview team with service provider or receptionist information.
Service provider or receptionist's resume
Telephone screening notes from the recruiter
Position description
Interview questions for the position
These documents will help the interviewer prepare for the interview and be ready to listen to and engage the service provider or receptionist.
2. Provide interview forms to document the results of the interview.
The interviewer should utilize detailed questions to document the service provider or receptionist's answers during the interview. It is critical that the interviewer follow specific questions to maintain consistency with interviewing practices and for legal validation of hiring decisions. In addition to using the questions, interviewers should document the service provider or receptionist's answers. Ther will provide better comparison data for evaluating the best service provider or receptionist for a position.
Furthermore, provide an evaluation form for the interviewer to use to document the pros and cons of the service provider or receptionist, as well as to provide her recommendation whether to move the service provider or receptionist to the next step. The evaluation form will allow you to compare service provider or receptionists and weigh the positives against the negatives to determine fit for the role, as well as identify any training needs that should be addressed if the service provider or receptionist is hired.
The most important aspect of an interview is that the interviewer ascertains valuable information to determine if a service provider or receptionist is a proper fit for a position. There is a balancing act between assessing the skills of a service provider or receptionist, and selling the position and salon/spa to the service provider or receptionist. Selling the salon/spa to assess interest level as well as to excite the service provider or receptionist if he is considering other opportunities is critical to your success. However, don't sell too much. Be interested in learning about the service provider or receptionist's skills, knowledge, education, experience, and personal interests. Too often we, as interviewers, like the service provider or receptionist from the initial first impression and spend the rest of the interview selling, selling, and selling.
Effective listening skills will increase the quality of your new hires, improve training of new hires, and ultimately decrease your salon/spa's turnover rate. It is simple: make sure your interviewers are focused on actually interviewing the service provider or receptionist and not spending the entire time talking. The interviewers need to be interested, not interesting.
The purpose of interviewing is to learn more about the service provider or receptionist; her skills, knowledge, education, experience, and cultural fit; and assess her interest in your salon/spa. Then why do interviewers talk so much?
Two factors that are critical to professional networking, developing mutual relationships, and influencing people are the art of listening and the genuine interest in other people. This is especially true when you are a recruiter or interviewer.
The purpose of interviewing is to learn more about the service provider or receptionist; understand the service provider or receptionist's skills, knowledge, education, experience, and cultural fit; and assess the service provider or receptionist's interest in your salon/spa. Then why do interviewers talk so much?
I know interviewers are excited to talk about their salon/spa and sell the opportunity, but research shows that interviewers talk too much and do not listen enough. I interviewed 100 executives to better understand how much time they spend talking versus listening during an interview. I found that 65% of the interview time was spent talking about the salon/spa and selling the salon/spa to the service provider or receptionists.
You can always tell which managers talk too much during the interview. Their interview notes are short, they can't tell you much about what they learned from the service provider or receptionist, and their recommendations are often a gut feel.
However, listening skills and general interviewing skills need to be taught. It is critical that you identify the best staff to conduct the interview, train them and then provide them with the tools to be effective interviewers. Here are a few guidelines to follow.
1. Select your interview team.
Not everyone can or should interview service provider or receptionists. I recommend developing teams of interviewers comprised of those who best represent your salon/spa, those who best represent the position to be filled, and those who have the best ability to assess a service provider or receptionist's fit in the salon/spa and position.
2. Train the interviewers on interviewing skills.
Interviewers need to understand the role of an interviewer and what is needed to be an effective interviewer.
The role of an interviewer is to promote the organization and attract the best possible service provider or receptionist, gather information about the service provider or receptionist, assess how well the service provider or receptionist's qualifications match the job requirements, and determine whether the service provider or receptionist will fit in with the organization and the staff. It is critical that the interviewer is an effective listener.
The first skill in being a good listener is acting like a good listener. Business has taught us to tune out much of the information that is thrust at us. It, therefore, becomes important to change our physical body language from that of a deflector to that of a receiver. Facial expressions are a critical component of body language. Interviewers should lean toward the service provider or receptionist to show interest.
A second skill is to establish eye contact. Our eyes pick up the nonverbal signals that all people project when they are speaking. Eye contact completes the connection. A service provider or receptionist will work harder at providing information when they see a receptive audience.
When the interviewer has established eye contact with the service provider or receptionist, interviewers must then acknowledge the service provider or receptionist through additional body language. An occasional nod of the head will indicate that they are following what the service provider or receptionist is saying. Ther will also improve the level of concentration during the interview.
It is extremely difficult for an interviewer to receive information when the interviewer is talking at the same time or thinking about the next question to ask. A good listener will stop talking and use receptive language such as "I see . . . oh really." This will encourage the service provider or receptionist's train of thought. This also compels the interviewer to react to the ideas presented and ask additional questions, which will help gather critical information about the service provider or receptionist.
The final skill is to concentrate on what the service provider or receptionist is saying. This will allow the interviewer to fully hear the service provider or receptionist's point of view and process the information. It is critical to minimize the distractions during the interview. This includes turning off the Blackberry and/or cell phone, conducting the interview in a conducive work environment, and documenting the responses and comments received from the service provider or receptionist.
Once you have a trained the interviewer on listening and general interviewing techniques, the next step is to provide the tools to be an effective interviewer.
1. Prepare the interview team with service provider or receptionist information.
Service provider or receptionist's resume
Telephone screening notes from the recruiter
Position description
Interview questions for the position
These documents will help the interviewer prepare for the interview and be ready to listen to and engage the service provider or receptionist.
2. Provide interview forms to document the results of the interview.
The interviewer should utilize detailed questions to document the service provider or receptionist's answers during the interview. It is critical that the interviewer follow specific questions to maintain consistency with interviewing practices and for legal validation of hiring decisions. In addition to using the questions, interviewers should document the service provider or receptionist's answers. Ther will provide better comparison data for evaluating the best service provider or receptionist for a position.
Furthermore, provide an evaluation form for the interviewer to use to document the pros and cons of the service provider or receptionist, as well as to provide her recommendation whether to move the service provider or receptionist to the next step. The evaluation form will allow you to compare service provider or receptionists and weigh the positives against the negatives to determine fit for the role, as well as identify any training needs that should be addressed if the service provider or receptionist is hired.
The most important aspect of an interview is that the interviewer ascertains valuable information to determine if a service provider or receptionist is a proper fit for a position. There is a balancing act between assessing the skills of a service provider or receptionist, and selling the position and salon/spa to the service provider or receptionist. Selling the salon/spa to assess interest level as well as to excite the service provider or receptionist if he is considering other opportunities is critical to your success. However, don't sell too much. Be interested in learning about the service provider or receptionist's skills, knowledge, education, experience, and personal interests. Too often we, as interviewers, like the service provider or receptionist from the initial first impression and spend the rest of the interview selling, selling, and selling.
Effective listening skills will increase the quality of your new hires, improve training of new hires, and ultimately decrease your salon/spa's turnover rate. It is simple: make sure your interviewers are focused on actually interviewing the service provider or receptionist and not spending the entire time talking. The interviewers need to be interested, not interesting.
Looking toward 2008
As a vertical software house and Var for a point of sale vertical market (beauty salons and day spas) we have a very specific view of the computer and software industry. This coming year we are expecting more support and products for the retail point of sale industry especially for the small retailers – like our salon and spa customers. Fuel prices will continue to climb and small, local, convenient retailers will become more and more popular with consumers. We also feel there will continue to be more price pressure on the mass computer mail order and retail channels with some fallout. The cheap white boxes have less and less options required to support all the peripherals that are needed for POS. Our software can be bundled with the (can I say this?) HP Retail Solution that is a turnkey retail computer with all the peripherals. It is a great solution with on-site service for the small retailer included and it is all HP. The bundle is an easy sell and support is a breeze. The other area of growth is partnering with other software companies that offer complementary products for our retail POS clients. The credit card processing, automatic e-mail marketing, automatic off site backup services, and direct mail marketing services are inexpensive and allow our POS system to handle many marketing and administrative tasks automatically and unattended! The tasks are programmed to happen over night using the internet for sending files and processing information. Our clients love it.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
How to Double your Customer Average Ticket
A FEW SERVICE MENU IDEAS
-or-
How to Double the Average Customer Ticket
In traveling all over the country working with salons and spa I get to see all types of service menus. It is amazing the impact of a good service menu can have on your salon or spa. Now I am sure you have a service menu with nice graphics and a great layout. Those areas are a given in most salons and spas these days. But the difference between a nice (good) service menu and a GREAT service menu is how much the service menu $ells for you!
Let me give you an example of this idea in the restaurant industry. David Frey tells the following story:
" In my local town (Friendswood, TX) there is a privately owned sandwich shop that prides itself in offering more sandwich variations than any of the fast food restaurants in town. The owner is a friend of mine and he was mentioning to me the other day about how slow his sales were. Knowing that I was a marketer he asked me if I had any suggestions. I Asked My Friend to
Show Me His Menu...
I looked at the menu and immediately spotted a major problem. I told him, "How would you like to increase your sales by 30% with the exact same amount of customers that currently come through your shop?" His eyebrows rose with interest. I mentioned to him that he was making the same mistake that many business owners make in not only the food industry but in most industries. He said, "I'm listening David."Now I had his attention. (And I hope I have yours too.)
What I Told My Friend to Do...As I looked at my friends menu it was packed with different types of sandwiches with all kinds of sidedishes and about 12 different drink options. There were a lot of options. In fact, there were too many options. I told my friend to do 4 things...
1. Remove 30% of the sandwich and drink offerings on his menu.
2. Create 5 different bundled "value offers" such as a drink, sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Then increase the price by 30%.
3. Put a big red starburst on the menu next to two of the sandwich bundles. The first one should say"Voted # 1 in Flavor by Our Customers" (highest price) and the second one should say
"Today's Special" (lowest bundle price).
4. Stock up on the ingredients for the two value bundles that had the red starbursts next to them anddecrease the stock of the other sandwiches.He was courageous enough to test my recommendations and low and behold, the average transaction value of his sales increased by around 20% (Not the 30% that I had hoped for but close.)"
David is a marketing consultant who works with many different types of companies. We can use his idea in our salons and spas. Read his book "Best Marketing Practices" for more ideas.
The idea presented to the restaurant owner can be modified slightly to work with our salons and spas. It is critical that we simplify our message to our customers and make it easy to do business with us. It is also important to make the services we offer easy to communicate for our front desk and easy to sell for our service providers.
Using these ideas and rules for menu and service development could double your average sales ticket without adding one new customer. That brings up another important fact:
With the number of customers shrinking in a slower economy and the competition increasing for those customers it is important to have the customer getting every possible service from us.
It will increase our retention and increase our sales dollars!
A smart marketer once said, "Confused Minds Always Say NO!" It's true, when you provide too many options to a customer then they get confused and often decide not to buy anything at all. This marketing principle plays out in many different ways. Read the following examples of how you can implement this important marketing principle:
Example 1 - When asking for referrals, instead of saying, "Do you know anyone
who would benefit from my services?" you say, "Is there someone you work with who might enjoy our services?
Example 2 - When selling multiple items, whether on your website or in your ads, or sales posters at your salon/spa always position your best products as "Top Seller" or
"Todays Special" or "Best Value."
Example 3 - When advertising retail items only focus on one or two offers or one offer per category. Have a product of the month. Get your distributor to help with a discount you can pass on and free samples to give out. Get free backbar products to use to promote the product of the month.
Example 4 - When in a face-to-face selling situation, find out your customer’s needs and offer only one, or at most, two solutions. Give the customer two options to choose between.
Example 5 - When creating different price points for different packages of goods make one price an obvious choice. Put together a spa sampler for $99. Don’t allow swapping of services in the package.
You see, the idea is not to make anyone think about your offer. If they have to think too much about your offer you're one step away from losing the sale.Get back to your core services. If you have not done a hydrotherapy massage in 4 months get it off your menu. Delete it from your product classes. Take it out of your service inventory! If you direct your staff to concentrate on your core services and script them on selling, supporting and providing those core services you will be more successful.
Promote the things that make your core services unique. You always provide the service with a consultation. You run on time. You have special training in these areas. You have a great track record in the core service area with referrals, awards, and recognition.
Let’s take a haircut for example.
Many salons derive 40% of sales from cutting hair. How can you make your haircut unique? You offer a scalp massage with the precut shampoo. You have a quick conditioner that helps with your cutting technique.
Trademark your core service or name your core service to differentiate it. Your haircuts could be called precision cuts, the perfect haircut, custom cut, or whatever you think matches your core service. You use razor, clippers, or shears based on the look you want to achieve. You always style the hair so no customer leaves without a great look (and an advertisement of your work). You always do a consultation with the cut. You always prescribe the products to maintain the style and show the customer how to use them. You offer to do a free style training if they get home and can’t achieve the style. You always offer a survey card after the service and give a follow up thank you call or mailing.
When you have your core services look at add on services you can bundle with your core items to create a higher average ticket. Upgrade the quick conditioner to a deep conditioner for just $6 more. Add the paraffin treatment to the manicure for only $12. Do a nail art item with every manicure for a special price. Upgrade to a french manicure with hand massage for only $12 more. Combine a mini facial with your massage for just $30 and it only takes an extra 15 minutes. The options and opportunities are endless. They just need to be easy, uncomplicated, and provide a true value for the extra few dollars.
You can use our Preceptionist Upsell program to do the add on and upsell items at the time of the appointment and really make the whole system work! See our Preceptionist information at under presentations and articles.
You can offer the special packages of services and product of the month deals at the customer checkout and sell them on the deal for their next visit. Note: it’s even better to sell them on the add ons and product of the month during the pre-service consultation. Most customers want to rush out the door as soon as their service is completed. It is hard to keep their attention during the customer check out. Try moving the up sell and add on script to the preservice consultation period and watch your average ticket grow!
Call us for more marketing ideas at 513-528-5100 or check out our web site at
Fred Dengler
The MIKAL Corporation
-or-
How to Double the Average Customer Ticket
In traveling all over the country working with salons and spa I get to see all types of service menus. It is amazing the impact of a good service menu can have on your salon or spa. Now I am sure you have a service menu with nice graphics and a great layout. Those areas are a given in most salons and spas these days. But the difference between a nice (good) service menu and a GREAT service menu is how much the service menu $ells for you!
Let me give you an example of this idea in the restaurant industry. David Frey tells the following story:
" In my local town (Friendswood, TX) there is a privately owned sandwich shop that prides itself in offering more sandwich variations than any of the fast food restaurants in town. The owner is a friend of mine and he was mentioning to me the other day about how slow his sales were. Knowing that I was a marketer he asked me if I had any suggestions. I Asked My Friend to
Show Me His Menu...
I looked at the menu and immediately spotted a major problem. I told him, "How would you like to increase your sales by 30% with the exact same amount of customers that currently come through your shop?" His eyebrows rose with interest. I mentioned to him that he was making the same mistake that many business owners make in not only the food industry but in most industries. He said, "I'm listening David."Now I had his attention. (And I hope I have yours too.)
What I Told My Friend to Do...As I looked at my friends menu it was packed with different types of sandwiches with all kinds of sidedishes and about 12 different drink options. There were a lot of options. In fact, there were too many options. I told my friend to do 4 things...
1. Remove 30% of the sandwich and drink offerings on his menu.
2. Create 5 different bundled "value offers" such as a drink, sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Then increase the price by 30%.
3. Put a big red starburst on the menu next to two of the sandwich bundles. The first one should say"Voted # 1 in Flavor by Our Customers" (highest price) and the second one should say
"Today's Special" (lowest bundle price).
4. Stock up on the ingredients for the two value bundles that had the red starbursts next to them anddecrease the stock of the other sandwiches.He was courageous enough to test my recommendations and low and behold, the average transaction value of his sales increased by around 20% (Not the 30% that I had hoped for but close.)"
David is a marketing consultant who works with many different types of companies. We can use his idea in our salons and spas. Read his book "Best Marketing Practices" for more ideas.
The idea presented to the restaurant owner can be modified slightly to work with our salons and spas. It is critical that we simplify our message to our customers and make it easy to do business with us. It is also important to make the services we offer easy to communicate for our front desk and easy to sell for our service providers.
Using these ideas and rules for menu and service development could double your average sales ticket without adding one new customer. That brings up another important fact:
With the number of customers shrinking in a slower economy and the competition increasing for those customers it is important to have the customer getting every possible service from us.
It will increase our retention and increase our sales dollars!
A smart marketer once said, "Confused Minds Always Say NO!" It's true, when you provide too many options to a customer then they get confused and often decide not to buy anything at all. This marketing principle plays out in many different ways. Read the following examples of how you can implement this important marketing principle:
Example 1 - When asking for referrals, instead of saying, "Do you know anyone
who would benefit from my services?" you say, "Is there someone you work with who might enjoy our services?
Example 2 - When selling multiple items, whether on your website or in your ads, or sales posters at your salon/spa always position your best products as "Top Seller" or
"Todays Special" or "Best Value."
Example 3 - When advertising retail items only focus on one or two offers or one offer per category. Have a product of the month. Get your distributor to help with a discount you can pass on and free samples to give out. Get free backbar products to use to promote the product of the month.
Example 4 - When in a face-to-face selling situation, find out your customer’s needs and offer only one, or at most, two solutions. Give the customer two options to choose between.
Example 5 - When creating different price points for different packages of goods make one price an obvious choice. Put together a spa sampler for $99. Don’t allow swapping of services in the package.
You see, the idea is not to make anyone think about your offer. If they have to think too much about your offer you're one step away from losing the sale.Get back to your core services. If you have not done a hydrotherapy massage in 4 months get it off your menu. Delete it from your product classes. Take it out of your service inventory! If you direct your staff to concentrate on your core services and script them on selling, supporting and providing those core services you will be more successful.
Promote the things that make your core services unique. You always provide the service with a consultation. You run on time. You have special training in these areas. You have a great track record in the core service area with referrals, awards, and recognition.
Let’s take a haircut for example.
Many salons derive 40% of sales from cutting hair. How can you make your haircut unique? You offer a scalp massage with the precut shampoo. You have a quick conditioner that helps with your cutting technique.
Trademark your core service or name your core service to differentiate it. Your haircuts could be called precision cuts, the perfect haircut, custom cut, or whatever you think matches your core service. You use razor, clippers, or shears based on the look you want to achieve. You always style the hair so no customer leaves without a great look (and an advertisement of your work). You always do a consultation with the cut. You always prescribe the products to maintain the style and show the customer how to use them. You offer to do a free style training if they get home and can’t achieve the style. You always offer a survey card after the service and give a follow up thank you call or mailing.
When you have your core services look at add on services you can bundle with your core items to create a higher average ticket. Upgrade the quick conditioner to a deep conditioner for just $6 more. Add the paraffin treatment to the manicure for only $12. Do a nail art item with every manicure for a special price. Upgrade to a french manicure with hand massage for only $12 more. Combine a mini facial with your massage for just $30 and it only takes an extra 15 minutes. The options and opportunities are endless. They just need to be easy, uncomplicated, and provide a true value for the extra few dollars.
You can use our Preceptionist Upsell program to do the add on and upsell items at the time of the appointment and really make the whole system work! See our Preceptionist information at under presentations and articles.
You can offer the special packages of services and product of the month deals at the customer checkout and sell them on the deal for their next visit. Note: it’s even better to sell them on the add ons and product of the month during the pre-service consultation. Most customers want to rush out the door as soon as their service is completed. It is hard to keep their attention during the customer check out. Try moving the up sell and add on script to the preservice consultation period and watch your average ticket grow!
Call us for more marketing ideas at 513-528-5100 or check out our web site at
Fred Dengler
The MIKAL Corporation
Is your Salon Rent too high?
ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH RENT?
If you were negotiating a lease today how much would you be willing to pay?
The average independent salon pays 20% more in rent than a comparable chain salon. Your lease may have been signed a few years ago and many lease agreements include an annual increase in base rent. Even if your lease does not include increases you may be paying too much rent. Check your area yearly to find out the rates for which comparable facilities are available.
Your rent should not be more that 7% of your sales. If you have cheaper rent your marketing costs will be higher that 3% of sales. If your rent is greater than 7% your marketing expenses should be less.
Call us for more figures on costs of doing business at 513-528-5100.
When salons go out of business it is usually because expenses outnumber income. It is increasingly important to manage your expenses efficiently and one of our largest items is rent. You are not helpless to reduce this expense just because you have a lease. Property owners have seen the empty store fronts in strip centers, the many small salons going out of business and the decline of value in their own property. They know they are in a buyer's market. Property managers and landlords shop their market and know the value of space you are leasing. You owe it to yourself to do the same.
It's in your property manager's best interest for your business to thrive and holding down the amount you pay in rent will facilitate this. If you find that space in your area is going for less than the amount you are paying and many small businesses are failing, you are in a prime position to renegotiate your lease. As any business proposition, this should be approached in a professionally to be executed effectively.
Use this format as a guide in designing you letter. Get your lawyer and accountant involved in the financials and letter format if possible. If you don't get a response within 30 days send a second request and then call them.
See our marketing and management articles on our web site at .
Call us for more marketing and management ideas at 513-528-5100.
Sources of information RA Lipton-Beauty Store Business, Retail Association, The GreenBook
The MIKAL Corp
www.mikal.com
If you were negotiating a lease today how much would you be willing to pay?
The average independent salon pays 20% more in rent than a comparable chain salon. Your lease may have been signed a few years ago and many lease agreements include an annual increase in base rent. Even if your lease does not include increases you may be paying too much rent. Check your area yearly to find out the rates for which comparable facilities are available.
Your rent should not be more that 7% of your sales. If you have cheaper rent your marketing costs will be higher that 3% of sales. If your rent is greater than 7% your marketing expenses should be less.
Call us for more figures on costs of doing business at 513-528-5100.
When salons go out of business it is usually because expenses outnumber income. It is increasingly important to manage your expenses efficiently and one of our largest items is rent. You are not helpless to reduce this expense just because you have a lease. Property owners have seen the empty store fronts in strip centers, the many small salons going out of business and the decline of value in their own property. They know they are in a buyer's market. Property managers and landlords shop their market and know the value of space you are leasing. You owe it to yourself to do the same.
It's in your property manager's best interest for your business to thrive and holding down the amount you pay in rent will facilitate this. If you find that space in your area is going for less than the amount you are paying and many small businesses are failing, you are in a prime position to renegotiate your lease. As any business proposition, this should be approached in a professionally to be executed effectively.
Use this format as a guide in designing you letter. Get your lawyer and accountant involved in the financials and letter format if possible. If you don't get a response within 30 days send a second request and then call them.
See our marketing and management articles on our web site at .
Call us for more marketing and management ideas at 513-528-5100.
Sources of information RA Lipton-Beauty Store Business, Retail Association, The GreenBook
The MIKAL Corp
www.mikal.com
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Retention is the key to salon/spa profits in 2007
Did you know that for every 5% you increase retention your bottom line increases 1%????
Retention is the key to profits for 2007!
If you can get your new customer retention up to 50% plus and rebook 2 out of every 3 customers before they leave you will be in the top 5% of the industry in retention and net profits. The key to making money is getting your present customers in more often and getting more of your first time customers in developing a habit of visiting your salon and spa.
What are you doing right now to make sure customers are rebooking?
Here is the strategy we came up with to increase Perfections retention and rebookings. Create a business size card with the offer of $10 off your next retail product purchase on your next visit and only give it to the customer if they prebook their next visit! Here is how the business card sized tool works: EVERY CUSTOMER that checks in gets this card when they check in at the front desk. This gives them time to read the card and experience the service and make a decision to rebook before leaving. When the customer checks out the receptionists or service provider asks if the customer wants to activate the card (not do you want to rebook the appointment). Supporting documents include a table talker (sign) at each station like the front of the card and the MIKAL receipt printing automatically with the marketing message and the next appointment date/time printing.
What makes this idea GREAT?
– The rebooking increase retention and profits
– The offer is for the NEXT visit
– The give away is Retail so the staff can’t complain
– The give away gets the customer to experience retail another great habit for the customer to develop
Want more Cash Flow ideas?
Check out Gary Ahlquist’s cash flow web site at http://www.saloncashflow.com/cmd.php?af=496738
Download our FREE Frequent Buyer Program at
http://24.123.10.107/wwwmikal/mailpdf.asp?code=m5
Download our FREE Mikal Marketing Calendar at
http://24.123.10.107/wwwmikal/mailpdf.asp?code=m7
Want even more business building ideas?
Check out all the information at www.mikal.com
Need Software that MAKES YOU MONEY instead of counting BEANS?
Call us at 800-448-5420 just spend 15 minutes looking at how our system
will make you money and we will give you a Salon/Spa Policy Manual on
CD worth $59 – what do you have to lose?
The MIKAL Corporation
www.mikal.com
sales@mikal.com
800-448-5420
Retention is the key to profits for 2007!
If you can get your new customer retention up to 50% plus and rebook 2 out of every 3 customers before they leave you will be in the top 5% of the industry in retention and net profits. The key to making money is getting your present customers in more often and getting more of your first time customers in developing a habit of visiting your salon and spa.
What are you doing right now to make sure customers are rebooking?
Here is the strategy we came up with to increase Perfections retention and rebookings. Create a business size card with the offer of $10 off your next retail product purchase on your next visit and only give it to the customer if they prebook their next visit! Here is how the business card sized tool works: EVERY CUSTOMER that checks in gets this card when they check in at the front desk. This gives them time to read the card and experience the service and make a decision to rebook before leaving. When the customer checks out the receptionists or service provider asks if the customer wants to activate the card (not do you want to rebook the appointment). Supporting documents include a table talker (sign) at each station like the front of the card and the MIKAL receipt printing automatically with the marketing message and the next appointment date/time printing.
What makes this idea GREAT?
– The rebooking increase retention and profits
– The offer is for the NEXT visit
– The give away is Retail so the staff can’t complain
– The give away gets the customer to experience retail another great habit for the customer to develop
Want more Cash Flow ideas?
Check out Gary Ahlquist’s cash flow web site at http://www.saloncashflow.com/cmd.php?af=496738
Download our FREE Frequent Buyer Program at
http://24.123.10.107/wwwmikal/mailpdf.asp?code=m5
Download our FREE Mikal Marketing Calendar at
http://24.123.10.107/wwwmikal/mailpdf.asp?code=m7
Want even more business building ideas?
Check out all the information at www.mikal.com
Need Software that MAKES YOU MONEY instead of counting BEANS?
Call us at 800-448-5420 just spend 15 minutes looking at how our system
will make you money and we will give you a Salon/Spa Policy Manual on
CD worth $59 – what do you have to lose?
The MIKAL Corporation
www.mikal.com
sales@mikal.com
800-448-5420
TIP reporting is a GREAT IDEA!
TIP reporting is a GREAT IDEA!
That's right. Tracking and reporting tips is a great idea compared to the alternative. Most salons and spas are not tracking tips and to "disrupt" the potential IRS audit trail are doing crazy things like not allowing tips on credit cards.
First this will not hinder the audit. The IRS will look at the credit card receipts and expect the staff and salon to withhold a percentage (about 8%) of service sales as tips - no argument allowed!
Second to not allow tips on credit cards reduces tips substantially. Everyone knows tips are higher on a credit card than on cash payments - many times TWICE as much.Let's do the math:As a stylist you only take cash. You have a $1000 service sales week and end up with an average of 8% tips. That means you make $80 in tips.Another stylist accepts credit cards and 80% of the payments are made with the card. The tips average 20% of service sales. That means the tips would be up to $200 on the same $1000 in service sales. If the IRS gets 30% of the money the stylist taking credit card tips still clears $140 instead of only $80 (that still needs the taxes taken out).
C: Maybe you think cash customers tip more than 8% - track it for a week and tell me I'm wrong. In fact in some salons that have gone to no tips on credit cards customers literally don't have the cash to give a tip - how much cash is in your wallet rignt now?
Do the math and think about it. Be IRS compliant and make more money or .........What do you think? Fred
-->
That's right. Tracking and reporting tips is a great idea compared to the alternative. Most salons and spas are not tracking tips and to "disrupt" the potential IRS audit trail are doing crazy things like not allowing tips on credit cards.
First this will not hinder the audit. The IRS will look at the credit card receipts and expect the staff and salon to withhold a percentage (about 8%) of service sales as tips - no argument allowed!
Second to not allow tips on credit cards reduces tips substantially. Everyone knows tips are higher on a credit card than on cash payments - many times TWICE as much.Let's do the math:As a stylist you only take cash. You have a $1000 service sales week and end up with an average of 8% tips. That means you make $80 in tips.Another stylist accepts credit cards and 80% of the payments are made with the card. The tips average 20% of service sales. That means the tips would be up to $200 on the same $1000 in service sales. If the IRS gets 30% of the money the stylist taking credit card tips still clears $140 instead of only $80 (that still needs the taxes taken out).
C: Maybe you think cash customers tip more than 8% - track it for a week and tell me I'm wrong. In fact in some salons that have gone to no tips on credit cards customers literally don't have the cash to give a tip - how much cash is in your wallet rignt now?
Do the math and think about it. Be IRS compliant and make more money or .........What do you think? Fred
-->
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
It's time to raise your salon and spa service prices - right?
I know, in your area, it is not a good time to raise prices . . . . .
BUT,
The Economic Development Indicators are in for the 12 month period ending November 2006. Here are the increases your business, you personally, and your staff has experienced over the last 12 months:
Expenditure Category Unadjusted 12 month % change
Food and Beverages + 2.7
Housing + 2.2
Medical Care + 4.5
Education + 3.2
Apparel - 3.8
Transportation + 4.2
Food + 2.9
Other + 4.7
Note that the only areas= prices are not increasing are in the transportation and apparel industries. Do you want to group your business with the airlines and the clothing stores? Don=t make the mistake of thinking prices are not rising and you are Adoing fine@ by not raising your prices.
You need to raise your prices (a little bit) every year in every category. There are some less painful ways to raise prices in your salon and spa. Try out some of these strategies other MIKAL customers use:
Raise prices on different departments at different times during the year. Always increase prices just before the department has a surge in business. Increase haircut prices in August just before the big back to school rush. Increase chemical service prices in October before the holidays. Increase nail services and up dos just before the prom and wedding season.
Never raise prices in January or April. During these two months cash is tight, paying off holiday gifts and paying off Uncle Sam!
Never increase all of your prices at once. This causes sticker shock. What if you went to the grocery store and every price had gone up in one week? Do a different group of prices each quarter, and if you are raising prices every year the prices don=t have to go up more than 5%. A $20.00 service can increase to $21.00. A $50.00 service can increase to $54.50. This type of increase will not disturb customers.
If no one mentions your price increase, you didn=t raise your price enough! Make sure your staff is scripted to respond to customers mentioning a price increase. Have the staff say that the price of this service has not gone up in 12 months, that other service prices have not been increased at this time, and that the specials and referral rewards the salon/spa offers should be used to help customers hold the costs down.
Consider adding levels to your service prices. This allows staff to increase prices as the demand for their services goes up. This gives you a double increase over the year as price increases happen and staff members move up a level. When customers ask why a staff member has increased a level the best response is that the level is based on demand for the employee. The employees that are in the highest demand will command the highest levels of pricing.
If a customer complains that they booked the service at the old price and didn't expect to pay more give them the lower price ONCE. Note that if you are doing small increases each year the price difference will be marginal.
During and after a price increase watch your service tickets and employee average tickets. Make sure that the staff is charging the new price. Change the price in your computer software and make the employees enter a discount reason code it they must charge a lower price. You cannot afford to lose ground against the increases in the consumer price index or you will lose your spending power!
Pricing Questions and Ideas?
Call MIKAL at 513-528-5100
E-mail MIKAL at mikal@mikal.com
BUT,
The Economic Development Indicators are in for the 12 month period ending November 2006. Here are the increases your business, you personally, and your staff has experienced over the last 12 months:
Expenditure Category Unadjusted 12 month % change
Food and Beverages + 2.7
Housing + 2.2
Medical Care + 4.5
Education + 3.2
Apparel - 3.8
Transportation + 4.2
Food + 2.9
Other + 4.7
Note that the only areas= prices are not increasing are in the transportation and apparel industries. Do you want to group your business with the airlines and the clothing stores? Don=t make the mistake of thinking prices are not rising and you are Adoing fine@ by not raising your prices.
You need to raise your prices (a little bit) every year in every category. There are some less painful ways to raise prices in your salon and spa. Try out some of these strategies other MIKAL customers use:
Raise prices on different departments at different times during the year. Always increase prices just before the department has a surge in business. Increase haircut prices in August just before the big back to school rush. Increase chemical service prices in October before the holidays. Increase nail services and up dos just before the prom and wedding season.
Never raise prices in January or April. During these two months cash is tight, paying off holiday gifts and paying off Uncle Sam!
Never increase all of your prices at once. This causes sticker shock. What if you went to the grocery store and every price had gone up in one week? Do a different group of prices each quarter, and if you are raising prices every year the prices don=t have to go up more than 5%. A $20.00 service can increase to $21.00. A $50.00 service can increase to $54.50. This type of increase will not disturb customers.
If no one mentions your price increase, you didn=t raise your price enough! Make sure your staff is scripted to respond to customers mentioning a price increase. Have the staff say that the price of this service has not gone up in 12 months, that other service prices have not been increased at this time, and that the specials and referral rewards the salon/spa offers should be used to help customers hold the costs down.
Consider adding levels to your service prices. This allows staff to increase prices as the demand for their services goes up. This gives you a double increase over the year as price increases happen and staff members move up a level. When customers ask why a staff member has increased a level the best response is that the level is based on demand for the employee. The employees that are in the highest demand will command the highest levels of pricing.
If a customer complains that they booked the service at the old price and didn't expect to pay more give them the lower price ONCE. Note that if you are doing small increases each year the price difference will be marginal.
During and after a price increase watch your service tickets and employee average tickets. Make sure that the staff is charging the new price. Change the price in your computer software and make the employees enter a discount reason code it they must charge a lower price. You cannot afford to lose ground against the increases in the consumer price index or you will lose your spending power!
Pricing Questions and Ideas?
Call MIKAL at 513-528-5100
E-mail MIKAL at mikal@mikal.com
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Salons need to get their booking act together or there will be Terror On The Phones!
TERROR
on the
PHONES
The Computer
Appointment Book
Disaster - and how to
avoid it!
By The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
www.mikal.com
The Computer Appointment Book Disaster
The Scenario:
The salon has been running well manually for years. Slowly the business has grown and the number of employees and customers has increased. The front desk has become crowded.
Customers stand in line to pay and wait to book their next appointment. The salon has two phone lines and many times two receptionists at the front desk. It always seems like the two receptionists are fighting for the book. Some day they will strangle each other with tangled phone cords! At the same time the owner is back in the office watching the hold light on the phone light up, and blink and blink, and then go out.
She hopes the customers will call back! At the front desk the operators are always asking to look at the book. They want to know how busy they are tomorrow, who has canceled, and what the rest of the day looks like.
The receptionists don=t have time to give up the book to the staff every time they have a spare minute to peruse the book. The owner is looking for a solution. What could we do to make the booking function easier . . . . . .
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
Enter the Computerized Appointment Book:
At a beauty show the owner goes by a computer company=s booth. In the booth the salesperson is demonstrating a computerized appointment book.
It looks just like the manual book placed on a screen! You can see up to ten operator=s schedules in little columns on the screen. The salesperson just uses the arrow keys or the mouse to move around and book the haircut. You can even just touch the screen to book! The little boxes for the times change color for requests, cancels, and in the little time boxes you can see the customer initials and the service initials. It is very colorful and neat to look at! In addition, the salon can have two terminals at the front desk and both receptionists can book appointments at the same time. The operators can even have a screen in the break room to look at their book. This sounds great! The owner orders the system and sets the training date. Little does she know. . . .
THE LOOK AND BOOK FIASCO
The computer and software are installed in the salon. It looks very hi-tech and impressive. The trainer shows us how to book haircuts. All we have to do is select the date we want, the column we want (employee) and just select the open time in the column. It=s done! How much easier can it be?
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
DAY ONE on the computerized appointment book. . . .
The appointments for the next four weeks are loaded in the computer system during training. The two receptionists are at their terminals ready to book. The owner is back in the office waiting to see the phones light up and be taken quickly and efficiently. Everyone is ready.
The calls begin . . . .
Call number one: the customer calls and wants Linda (the busiest operator) on this Saturday morning. The receptionist brings up the date and Linda is booked. She asks the customer for an alternate date and the customer asks for whatever is available. The receptionist starts paging through dates looking for some open slots. After looking at the next 10 days she just jumps ahead to next month and finds lots of openings. The customer is not happy in having to wait four weeks but accepts the appointment because the phone call is taking so much time (all that looking).
Call number two: the customer calls and wants Linda for a cut and Jody for a manicure. Both operators are very busy. The receptionist starts paging through the book trying to match up the little open squares. She finally finds the times open for both operators and gives the customer that date and time. The customer does not want a Monday at 9:00 a.m.. The receptionist goes back to more looking . . . and more looking. . . . And finds another date that works. The customer takes the appointment.
Call number three: the customer wants to know when her last color was, and what is available with Wanda the color technician, and by the way can Linda cut my hair? The receptionist starts looking . . . and looking . . . and looking. . . . The customer asks if the receptionist could call her back when she gets three or four dates and times that would work. At the same time the phones are ringing and the other receptionist is working with the same types of calls.
Call number four: a day of beauty to be booked with eight services and lunch. The receptionist takes the information and asks if she can call the customer back. The phones keep ringing . . .
And ringing . . .
And ringing . . .
At lunch the receptionists take the phones off the hook and go back into the owner’s office. They are frustrated, tired, and full of anxiety. The owner has also received four calls from people who want to talk to her about not being able to get through, being booked weeks in advance, and being asked if they could get a call back for their appointment. How do you think this meeting went?
But wait….
Why can’t we book a day of beauty in 12 keystrokes?
Why can’t we have on-line booking to quiet the phones?
Why can’t we have CyberReceptionist stations in the front that customers can check themselves in at and book future appointments?
Why can’t we have a system that automatically books the pedicure chair when we book a pedicure service?
DON'T DESPAIR . . . THERE IS HOPE . . . READ ON TO SEE THE UNIQUE MIKAL SOLUTION!
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
THE SOLUTION - DON'T LOOK, JUST BOOK!
The MIKAL Corporation, with more than fifteen years experience in computerizing the Beauty Industry, has the perfect solution to the Look and Book Fiasco.
First let's look at the actual function of booking. Customers call up and have three basic questions. The customer wants either a certain operator (or operators), an idea of the date and time they want, and the service (or services) they would like. Three simple entries.
Now let's look at what a computer is good at. A computer is good at looking at a lot of information, processing a request for information, and giving back options at lightening speed.
The computer is not good at displaying large amounts of data on its little screen. That=s why the Look and Book@ method is bound to fail. You just can=t squeeze a manual book that is 30 or more inches wide and 14 inches deep on a screen that is one third that size. You also will have less information to work within less area. Is that an improvement? We don=t think so!
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
Imagine having a system that works this way. . . .
When the phone rings the customer is identified. The computer displays the customer=s booking preferences, and the last dates services were performed. The receptionist asks what date or day of the week and time range the customer wants, and what services.
The computer knows how long the services take, what operators can do the services, and if certain resources like pedicure chairs or skin care rooms need to be used.
In seconds the computer displays the first seven days and times that fit the customer’s needs. The receptionist offers the appointments to the customer and the appointment is booked. No looking, no scrolling, no paging, no anxiety, no hassles! The ultimate in customer service.
THAT'S RIGHT ASK THREE QUESTIONS AND GET SEVEN BOOKING OPTIONS IN SECONDS!
Book a day of beauty with up to twelve services with requested operators, skin care rooms, pedicure chairs, make up stations, lunch, and limo in less than a minute. Do you have a group for a day of beauty? Book them in minutes. Finish the booking when the customer calls! This is customer service.
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
The MIKAL system knows who can do the services, what rooms are available, and even knows the order in which you want to book operators.
The MIKAL system knows how each operator wants services booked. The system knows who books a perm with 30 minutes of down time when a haircut can be booked. The system knows who needs an extra 15 minutes to wrap a perm. The system answers all of the questions a new receptionist has to ask for the first two weeks (or two months)!
MIKAL's SMS V - The Ultimate Booking Solution
Book a standing appointment for fills with a nail tech every two weeks for the next two years in less than a minute, and print an appointment schedule to gVe to the customer on demand!
The MIKAL system knows who performed the service last so you don't have to play the guessing game with customers when they ask for the same girl, you know, the one with the blond hair (and you have ten blonds working in the salon). The MIKAL system pops up a booking card that allows you to put in customer preferences, interests, products used, a favorite pedicure chair, allowing the receptionist to provide the ultimate in customer service during the booking!
You can squeeze appointments in. You can tell who is a request, if you have to move appointments. You can even tell who made every appointment and the day and time it was made!
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
Training on the MIKAL system is cut to a minimum. MIKAL's SMS handles all of the looking. Your receptionist just does the booking. The appointment is structured, easy to script, and fast. You can train booking superstars in hours!
WHAT OUR SALONS SAY ABOUT BOOKING ON SMS V
The long term scheduling ability is amazing! Book standings out two years in advance, in seconds. Just putting the book on the screen like other systems doesn=t do anything to help with standings. You are just paging through the book on the screen and typing in each appointment. We love MIKAL=s quick automatic standing bookings - SMS does all the work.@
We love to print out schedules for clients with long range appointments so they can keep their schedule organized. SMS gives them a complete appointment list.@
The preprinted work ticket with customer chemical cards and buying history is so convenient and the system automatically prints each stylist=s schedule for the day.@
The MIKAL system makes it so difficult to mis-schedule operators. SMS knows how long each operator takes, when they are available, and what rooms - resources are needed. Other software systems just put the book on the screen, and that means computerizing won=t reduce errors! MIKAL=s system does all the looking for you just by answering three questions. With the system doing all the work the receptionist is able to provide better customer service, and the time required to train a receptionist if cut in half. MIKAL=s SMS knows all of the booking rules so a new receptionist doesn=t have to!@
SMS also gives the receptionist an upsell – add on service script based on the service requested. This can all an extra service to every sixth call in!
More of what MIKAL salons and spas have to say about booking on SMS. . . . .
The MIKAL system has eliminated our Aaccidental@ erasures that happen when names are written in between appointments. The system also knows who booked each appointment, so if there is an error . . . .
The SMS system is accessible for schedule look ups by the entire staff. Now the staff doesn=t have to hang around the front desk begging to see the book!@
Customers don=t have to wait to schedule because the book is away from the desk or the day they want is being used to book another customer. Plus the system knows each operators schedule and booking requirements. MIKAL=s system also pops up a booking card on the customer giving the receptionist information on the customer=s preferences, requests, and service needs. MIKAL=s SMS gives you all the information to book quickly and efficiently while drastically reducing receptionist training time.@
We used to spend 10-12 hours each month creating a paper book, updating standings, writing in days. . . . Now SMS has eliminated this time consuming and tedious work! Other systems that use the look and book method don=t save you the time. You are just typing instead of writing!@
The MIKAL SMS appointment book packs our book. As soon as there is a cancellation SMS asks if you want to see the waiting list so you can make the calls and book in the time. Most of the systems we looked at don=t even have a waiting list. MIKAL has it all!@
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
And even more comments . . . .
All the scraps of paper are gone with MIKAL=s SMS! The SMS Appointment Book organizes the front desk and the customer booking card allows you to keep extensive booking notes on every customer.
When a customer checks out at the desk SMS asks automatically if you want to book the next appointment, when you say yes SMS loads the last appointment into the book and you can begin the search!
Our day of beauty used to take 20 minutes to book, and we had to call customers back. Now we book them in a minute while they are on the phone. The customers love it!
The systems that make you look and book with the appointment book displayed on the screen (like a manual book) don't help you book the day of beauty - they even take longer! Plus, only MIKAL's SMS knows who can do the services, how long they take, and the resources and rooms required. SMS does all the searching for you. With other systems the receptionist needs to be trained on all these things!
“The automatic Pop-Up upsell script that is tailored to each service booked helps out front desk preceptionists sell at least every sixth customer an extra service! The amount of added income is amazing and SMS also tracks a bonus for each upsell automatically”
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
“The SMS Appointment Book along with the On-Line Booking has cut phone calls to the front desk up to 35% on some days, and the on-line appointment book always offers the upsell and add-on services for the specific type of appointment being booked. SMS even sends two e-mail confirmations to the on-line booking customer! The SMS system has quieted the phones, allowed us to provide better customer service, and given our customers the ability to book 24/7/365.”
ARE YOU READY TO FIND OUT MORE???
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ] Call me, I want to see the system with an Internet presentation
[ ] Send me more information
[ ] Send me information on the Preceptionist Program for my front desk
Salon/Spa _____________________________ Phone _________________
Contact ________________________________ Do you have a computer Y/N
Address _______________________________ Number of employees _____
City _________________ St _____ Zip _________
E-mail address _________________@_____________
Are you a Spa ___ Y/N Are you a Medi-Spa ___ Y/N
Send to: The MIKAL Corporation www.mikal.com
4382 Mt. Carmel Tobasco Rd. 800-448-5420
Cincinnati, Ohio 45244 513-528-5100
www.mikal.com
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WARNING! Do Not Computerize Your Appointment Book
(Until you see MIKAL's SMS!)
on the
PHONES
The Computer
Appointment Book
Disaster - and how to
avoid it!
By The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
www.mikal.com
The Computer Appointment Book Disaster
The Scenario:
The salon has been running well manually for years. Slowly the business has grown and the number of employees and customers has increased. The front desk has become crowded.
Customers stand in line to pay and wait to book their next appointment. The salon has two phone lines and many times two receptionists at the front desk. It always seems like the two receptionists are fighting for the book. Some day they will strangle each other with tangled phone cords! At the same time the owner is back in the office watching the hold light on the phone light up, and blink and blink, and then go out.
She hopes the customers will call back! At the front desk the operators are always asking to look at the book. They want to know how busy they are tomorrow, who has canceled, and what the rest of the day looks like.
The receptionists don=t have time to give up the book to the staff every time they have a spare minute to peruse the book. The owner is looking for a solution. What could we do to make the booking function easier . . . . . .
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
Enter the Computerized Appointment Book:
At a beauty show the owner goes by a computer company=s booth. In the booth the salesperson is demonstrating a computerized appointment book.
It looks just like the manual book placed on a screen! You can see up to ten operator=s schedules in little columns on the screen. The salesperson just uses the arrow keys or the mouse to move around and book the haircut. You can even just touch the screen to book! The little boxes for the times change color for requests, cancels, and in the little time boxes you can see the customer initials and the service initials. It is very colorful and neat to look at! In addition, the salon can have two terminals at the front desk and both receptionists can book appointments at the same time. The operators can even have a screen in the break room to look at their book. This sounds great! The owner orders the system and sets the training date. Little does she know. . . .
THE LOOK AND BOOK FIASCO
The computer and software are installed in the salon. It looks very hi-tech and impressive. The trainer shows us how to book haircuts. All we have to do is select the date we want, the column we want (employee) and just select the open time in the column. It=s done! How much easier can it be?
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
DAY ONE on the computerized appointment book. . . .
The appointments for the next four weeks are loaded in the computer system during training. The two receptionists are at their terminals ready to book. The owner is back in the office waiting to see the phones light up and be taken quickly and efficiently. Everyone is ready.
The calls begin . . . .
Call number one: the customer calls and wants Linda (the busiest operator) on this Saturday morning. The receptionist brings up the date and Linda is booked. She asks the customer for an alternate date and the customer asks for whatever is available. The receptionist starts paging through dates looking for some open slots. After looking at the next 10 days she just jumps ahead to next month and finds lots of openings. The customer is not happy in having to wait four weeks but accepts the appointment because the phone call is taking so much time (all that looking).
Call number two: the customer calls and wants Linda for a cut and Jody for a manicure. Both operators are very busy. The receptionist starts paging through the book trying to match up the little open squares. She finally finds the times open for both operators and gives the customer that date and time. The customer does not want a Monday at 9:00 a.m.. The receptionist goes back to more looking . . . and more looking. . . . And finds another date that works. The customer takes the appointment.
Call number three: the customer wants to know when her last color was, and what is available with Wanda the color technician, and by the way can Linda cut my hair? The receptionist starts looking . . . and looking . . . and looking. . . . The customer asks if the receptionist could call her back when she gets three or four dates and times that would work. At the same time the phones are ringing and the other receptionist is working with the same types of calls.
Call number four: a day of beauty to be booked with eight services and lunch. The receptionist takes the information and asks if she can call the customer back. The phones keep ringing . . .
And ringing . . .
And ringing . . .
At lunch the receptionists take the phones off the hook and go back into the owner’s office. They are frustrated, tired, and full of anxiety. The owner has also received four calls from people who want to talk to her about not being able to get through, being booked weeks in advance, and being asked if they could get a call back for their appointment. How do you think this meeting went?
But wait….
Why can’t we book a day of beauty in 12 keystrokes?
Why can’t we have on-line booking to quiet the phones?
Why can’t we have CyberReceptionist stations in the front that customers can check themselves in at and book future appointments?
Why can’t we have a system that automatically books the pedicure chair when we book a pedicure service?
DON'T DESPAIR . . . THERE IS HOPE . . . READ ON TO SEE THE UNIQUE MIKAL SOLUTION!
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
THE SOLUTION - DON'T LOOK, JUST BOOK!
The MIKAL Corporation, with more than fifteen years experience in computerizing the Beauty Industry, has the perfect solution to the Look and Book Fiasco.
First let's look at the actual function of booking. Customers call up and have three basic questions. The customer wants either a certain operator (or operators), an idea of the date and time they want, and the service (or services) they would like. Three simple entries.
Now let's look at what a computer is good at. A computer is good at looking at a lot of information, processing a request for information, and giving back options at lightening speed.
The computer is not good at displaying large amounts of data on its little screen. That=s why the Look and Book@ method is bound to fail. You just can=t squeeze a manual book that is 30 or more inches wide and 14 inches deep on a screen that is one third that size. You also will have less information to work within less area. Is that an improvement? We don=t think so!
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
Imagine having a system that works this way. . . .
When the phone rings the customer is identified. The computer displays the customer=s booking preferences, and the last dates services were performed. The receptionist asks what date or day of the week and time range the customer wants, and what services.
The computer knows how long the services take, what operators can do the services, and if certain resources like pedicure chairs or skin care rooms need to be used.
In seconds the computer displays the first seven days and times that fit the customer’s needs. The receptionist offers the appointments to the customer and the appointment is booked. No looking, no scrolling, no paging, no anxiety, no hassles! The ultimate in customer service.
THAT'S RIGHT ASK THREE QUESTIONS AND GET SEVEN BOOKING OPTIONS IN SECONDS!
Book a day of beauty with up to twelve services with requested operators, skin care rooms, pedicure chairs, make up stations, lunch, and limo in less than a minute. Do you have a group for a day of beauty? Book them in minutes. Finish the booking when the customer calls! This is customer service.
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
The MIKAL system knows who can do the services, what rooms are available, and even knows the order in which you want to book operators.
The MIKAL system knows how each operator wants services booked. The system knows who books a perm with 30 minutes of down time when a haircut can be booked. The system knows who needs an extra 15 minutes to wrap a perm. The system answers all of the questions a new receptionist has to ask for the first two weeks (or two months)!
MIKAL's SMS V - The Ultimate Booking Solution
Book a standing appointment for fills with a nail tech every two weeks for the next two years in less than a minute, and print an appointment schedule to gVe to the customer on demand!
The MIKAL system knows who performed the service last so you don't have to play the guessing game with customers when they ask for the same girl, you know, the one with the blond hair (and you have ten blonds working in the salon). The MIKAL system pops up a booking card that allows you to put in customer preferences, interests, products used, a favorite pedicure chair, allowing the receptionist to provide the ultimate in customer service during the booking!
You can squeeze appointments in. You can tell who is a request, if you have to move appointments. You can even tell who made every appointment and the day and time it was made!
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
Training on the MIKAL system is cut to a minimum. MIKAL's SMS handles all of the looking. Your receptionist just does the booking. The appointment is structured, easy to script, and fast. You can train booking superstars in hours!
WHAT OUR SALONS SAY ABOUT BOOKING ON SMS V
The long term scheduling ability is amazing! Book standings out two years in advance, in seconds. Just putting the book on the screen like other systems doesn=t do anything to help with standings. You are just paging through the book on the screen and typing in each appointment. We love MIKAL=s quick automatic standing bookings - SMS does all the work.@
We love to print out schedules for clients with long range appointments so they can keep their schedule organized. SMS gives them a complete appointment list.@
The preprinted work ticket with customer chemical cards and buying history is so convenient and the system automatically prints each stylist=s schedule for the day.@
The MIKAL system makes it so difficult to mis-schedule operators. SMS knows how long each operator takes, when they are available, and what rooms - resources are needed. Other software systems just put the book on the screen, and that means computerizing won=t reduce errors! MIKAL=s system does all the looking for you just by answering three questions. With the system doing all the work the receptionist is able to provide better customer service, and the time required to train a receptionist if cut in half. MIKAL=s SMS knows all of the booking rules so a new receptionist doesn=t have to!@
SMS also gives the receptionist an upsell – add on service script based on the service requested. This can all an extra service to every sixth call in!
More of what MIKAL salons and spas have to say about booking on SMS. . . . .
The MIKAL system has eliminated our Aaccidental@ erasures that happen when names are written in between appointments. The system also knows who booked each appointment, so if there is an error . . . .
The SMS system is accessible for schedule look ups by the entire staff. Now the staff doesn=t have to hang around the front desk begging to see the book!@
Customers don=t have to wait to schedule because the book is away from the desk or the day they want is being used to book another customer. Plus the system knows each operators schedule and booking requirements. MIKAL=s system also pops up a booking card on the customer giving the receptionist information on the customer=s preferences, requests, and service needs. MIKAL=s SMS gives you all the information to book quickly and efficiently while drastically reducing receptionist training time.@
We used to spend 10-12 hours each month creating a paper book, updating standings, writing in days. . . . Now SMS has eliminated this time consuming and tedious work! Other systems that use the look and book method don=t save you the time. You are just typing instead of writing!@
The MIKAL SMS appointment book packs our book. As soon as there is a cancellation SMS asks if you want to see the waiting list so you can make the calls and book in the time. Most of the systems we looked at don=t even have a waiting list. MIKAL has it all!@
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
And even more comments . . . .
All the scraps of paper are gone with MIKAL=s SMS! The SMS Appointment Book organizes the front desk and the customer booking card allows you to keep extensive booking notes on every customer.
When a customer checks out at the desk SMS asks automatically if you want to book the next appointment, when you say yes SMS loads the last appointment into the book and you can begin the search!
Our day of beauty used to take 20 minutes to book, and we had to call customers back. Now we book them in a minute while they are on the phone. The customers love it!
The systems that make you look and book with the appointment book displayed on the screen (like a manual book) don't help you book the day of beauty - they even take longer! Plus, only MIKAL's SMS knows who can do the services, how long they take, and the resources and rooms required. SMS does all the searching for you. With other systems the receptionist needs to be trained on all these things!
“The automatic Pop-Up upsell script that is tailored to each service booked helps out front desk preceptionists sell at least every sixth customer an extra service! The amount of added income is amazing and SMS also tracks a bonus for each upsell automatically”
The MIKAL Corporation 800-448-5420
“The SMS Appointment Book along with the On-Line Booking has cut phone calls to the front desk up to 35% on some days, and the on-line appointment book always offers the upsell and add-on services for the specific type of appointment being booked. SMS even sends two e-mail confirmations to the on-line booking customer! The SMS system has quieted the phones, allowed us to provide better customer service, and given our customers the ability to book 24/7/365.”
ARE YOU READY TO FIND OUT MORE???
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ] Call me, I want to see the system with an Internet presentation
[ ] Send me more information
[ ] Send me information on the Preceptionist Program for my front desk
Salon/Spa _____________________________ Phone _________________
Contact ________________________________ Do you have a computer Y/N
Address _______________________________ Number of employees _____
City _________________ St _____ Zip _________
E-mail address _________________@_____________
Are you a Spa ___ Y/N Are you a Medi-Spa ___ Y/N
Send to: The MIKAL Corporation www.mikal.com
4382 Mt. Carmel Tobasco Rd. 800-448-5420
Cincinnati, Ohio 45244 513-528-5100
www.mikal.com
- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
WARNING! Do Not Computerize Your Appointment Book
(Until you see MIKAL's SMS!)
Friday, March 17, 2006
Two Things that will make your marketing 100 times more effective
How to create your I.O. and U.S.P.s
Would you like to know why people buy? I'm not talking about HOW
customers buy, but WHY customers buy.
We spend a lot of time on the how ‑ and not enough time for the why, and isn't the WHY the important thing? We want customers to have a strong motivation for buying from us and continuing to buy from us. The WHY is critical. If you don't know the WHY then the HOW doesn't matter!
WHY do people buy? Simply put, they buy because there are more reasons to buy than to wait, shop around, think about it, or just not do anything. We need to make sure there are lots of reasons to buy, and few reasons (or no reasons) not to.
That is where your Irresistible Offers (IO) and Unique Selling Points come into play.
So quick ‑ what offers do you have that a customer just has to take advantage of and what is unique to your salon/spa compared to your competition?
Are you having trouble coming up with the answers? If it is a challenge for you then how do you think your customers and employees will do when you ask them to name the offers and selling points of your business that are irresistible?
First let's look at the IRRESISTIBLE OFFER. (I.O.) An offer is a package of service and/or retail items promoted in a way and at a price point that cannot be ignored.
Why do people respond to offers? It is because the offer (reasons to buy) are greater than the reasons not to buy (risk of purchasing). We need to come up with an offer that has the greatest benefit to the customer with the least amount of risk.
The customer's perception of value is critical to your I.O.. What kind of things will add value without any risk, or even reduce the risk while making the offer more favorable?
$ Adding gifts with purchase ‑ free flip flops with a pedicure
$ Bundling services for a great price ‑ spa sampler with mini massage, facial, manicure,
make up touch up for $99
$ Giving complimentary services with a service purchase ‑ free paraffin with manicure
$ Giving many reasons why the service will make the customer look better
$ Giving many reasons why the service will make the customer feel better
$ Giving many reasons why the service will make the customers look younger
$ Giving many reasons why the service will make the customer healthier
$ Giving a guarantee that is unconditional
$ Giving many referral stories that match the customer's objectives
$ Giving a try before you buy offer
$ Providing a payment program
$ Providing a follow up system for ongoing value and support ‑ thank you and reminders
$ Showing proof that the service delivers as advertised (more referrals)
After you have created the irresistible offer or a list of possible offers that can be packaged you need to build your unique selling points into the offer. This is the WHY the customer should do business with you. The events that happen to the customer during their visits that are unique. The things that make the customer say Awow@. The little touches that make your business unique!
What are some things that make your business unique compared to your competition?
‑ How you greet the customer ‑ a greeter at a podium instead of a front desk
‑ How you package their smocks ‑ packaged in plastic to show freshness/cleanliness
‑ Touches in your restroom ‑ folded towels instead of paper, special soft soap and lotions
‑ Extras from your beverage bar ‑ flavored coffee, ceramic mugs, cinnamon stirring sticks
‑ Videos and information in your waiting area ‑ fashion videos, product information
‑ Extra things for the customer in your waiting area ‑ hot towels, relaxation area
‑ New customer welcome book awarded to new customers worth $XXX.XX
‑ Frequent customer rewards system with points for purchases
‑ A consultation booth for new customers or those wanting a change
‑ A thank you card to all new customers
‑ A referral reward system ‑ $10 gift certificate mailed the week a customer refers someone
‑ E‑mail reminders for services
Let's look at the difference in the customer experience and perceived value
of getting a manicure at two different salon/spas:
The low I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa: the customer books the manicure from a referral, comes in and checks in at the front desk, is pointed toward the coffee bar to get a Styrofoam cup of coffee on his own, sits and waits for the nail tech to come out and get him, gets the manicure, pays and leaves.
The high I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa: the customer calls to book the manicure and are offered the paraffin treatment for half price that will make her hands look and feel great. She decides to get the paraffin treatment with the manicure. When the customer arrives, she is greeted at the door and taken to the waiting area where she is given a mug of flavored coffee and shown where the restrooms and changing rooms are. She is offered a tour of the salon/spa. Her nail tech comes out to get her and comments on the referral logged at the time of booking and provides the service. When the customer leaves, she is given a new customer welcome book when booking the follow up service. The customer decides to purchase a series of manicure/paraffin packages to get seven services for the price of six. The next day the customer gets a thank you card in the mail and her friend that refers her receives a $10 gift certificate for the referral.
Do you see the difference in the experience and especially in the
perceived value of the experiences?
In the low I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa the customer booked and was provided with the service ‑ but what reasons did she have to rebook, upgrade, or ever come back? Is just doing a good service good enough?
In the high I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa customers are given an I.O. when booking (half price paraffin with your first manicure), the experience of greeting, waiting, and receiving service was filled with lots of customer wows (U.S.P.), and the customer received two more I.O.s when leaving ‑ the new customer welcome book you get for prebooking before leaving, and the series special of seven visits for the price of six. The referral reward program encourages the referring customer to send more people and the thank you card to the new customer seals the deal!
If both of these salon/spas are in the same area who will get and maintain customers?
This is the next level in customer service and is critical in this new economy.
Now let's look at how the High I.O. and U.S.P. Salon/spa built this magnetic customer system.
The appointment booking: when a customer calls in the salon/spa has a script that books the requested service and always offers an auxiliary service that complements the requested service and delivers value for the price. When the customer calls the booking expert asks if the customer has heard about the booking specials. When the customer asks to hear about the specials, the booking expert delivers the offer emphasizing the way the add on service will make the customer look and feel. An example script would go something like this:
Customer Hello I'd like to book a manicure.
Booking Expert Great, let me look for availability. Have you heard about our nail
department specials?
Customer No, what are they?
Booking Expert Well you know how hard the last few months have been on our skin. The dry, cracked look and feel of our hands can be a real problem, and we have the perfect solution for you!
Customer What is that?
Booking Expert We have a paraffin treatment that we apply to your hands and then rest your hands in warm mittens. In 15 minutes your hands will feel soft and look great. It is normally a $20 service and we are offering this service for only $12 with manicure services. How does this sound? 8
Customer Great!
Notice that the booking expert did not ask "Would you like to book this service?" They asked "how does that sound?" This is a great way to close the deal!
The greeting and check in experience needs to be simple and personal. A customer who comes to the salon/spa does not want to walk across 60 feet of waiting area with other customers looking at them and wait 5 minutes to check in. The customer does not look/feel good (that is why they came in) and wants to relax. The new customer does not know where the restroom is, if the beverages are free, and where to change. The greeting and check‑in in a high I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa include the following special customer experiences:
‑ greeting by a host at the door
‑ the offer of a tour
‑ help with the beverages
‑ sees the offer for the new customer welcome book in the waiting area and other locations
‑ sees the opportunity to purchase series of services for a reduced price
‑ salon/spa oriented entertainment
‑ clean smocks and nice touches in the restroom
After the service is performed, the customer has the option and is given a reward for rebooking before leaving. The new customer welcome book will give the customer the incentive to prebook before leaving and receive a book full of add‑on offers worth $XXX.XX. This will double the chance of a new customer prebooking before leaving.
When rebooking the customer is offered a series of visits for a special price and is offered the ability to book the series of visits then. The customer will see additional perceived value and have the option of purchasing the series and prebook a group of appointments.
After the customer leaves the salon/spa they receive a thank you card in the mail and the customer who referred them receives a thank you for the referral card and a gift certificate good for their next visit.
As a salon/spa owner or manager it is your job to add Irresistible Offers and Unique Selling Points to the business all the time. Your job is also to counter your competition's I.O. and U.S.P. strategies by adding them to your business or even improving on the competition's strategies.
Want more information on developing your I.O.s and U.S.P.s? Call your MIKAL consultant for more examples and information about positioning your business for success at 513-528-5100 www.mikal.com or e‑mail us at mikal@mikal.com .
Would you like to know why people buy? I'm not talking about HOW
customers buy, but WHY customers buy.
We spend a lot of time on the how ‑ and not enough time for the why, and isn't the WHY the important thing? We want customers to have a strong motivation for buying from us and continuing to buy from us. The WHY is critical. If you don't know the WHY then the HOW doesn't matter!
WHY do people buy? Simply put, they buy because there are more reasons to buy than to wait, shop around, think about it, or just not do anything. We need to make sure there are lots of reasons to buy, and few reasons (or no reasons) not to.
That is where your Irresistible Offers (IO) and Unique Selling Points come into play.
So quick ‑ what offers do you have that a customer just has to take advantage of and what is unique to your salon/spa compared to your competition?
Are you having trouble coming up with the answers? If it is a challenge for you then how do you think your customers and employees will do when you ask them to name the offers and selling points of your business that are irresistible?
First let's look at the IRRESISTIBLE OFFER. (I.O.) An offer is a package of service and/or retail items promoted in a way and at a price point that cannot be ignored.
Why do people respond to offers? It is because the offer (reasons to buy) are greater than the reasons not to buy (risk of purchasing). We need to come up with an offer that has the greatest benefit to the customer with the least amount of risk.
The customer's perception of value is critical to your I.O.. What kind of things will add value without any risk, or even reduce the risk while making the offer more favorable?
$ Adding gifts with purchase ‑ free flip flops with a pedicure
$ Bundling services for a great price ‑ spa sampler with mini massage, facial, manicure,
make up touch up for $99
$ Giving complimentary services with a service purchase ‑ free paraffin with manicure
$ Giving many reasons why the service will make the customer look better
$ Giving many reasons why the service will make the customer feel better
$ Giving many reasons why the service will make the customers look younger
$ Giving many reasons why the service will make the customer healthier
$ Giving a guarantee that is unconditional
$ Giving many referral stories that match the customer's objectives
$ Giving a try before you buy offer
$ Providing a payment program
$ Providing a follow up system for ongoing value and support ‑ thank you and reminders
$ Showing proof that the service delivers as advertised (more referrals)
After you have created the irresistible offer or a list of possible offers that can be packaged you need to build your unique selling points into the offer. This is the WHY the customer should do business with you. The events that happen to the customer during their visits that are unique. The things that make the customer say Awow@. The little touches that make your business unique!
What are some things that make your business unique compared to your competition?
‑ How you greet the customer ‑ a greeter at a podium instead of a front desk
‑ How you package their smocks ‑ packaged in plastic to show freshness/cleanliness
‑ Touches in your restroom ‑ folded towels instead of paper, special soft soap and lotions
‑ Extras from your beverage bar ‑ flavored coffee, ceramic mugs, cinnamon stirring sticks
‑ Videos and information in your waiting area ‑ fashion videos, product information
‑ Extra things for the customer in your waiting area ‑ hot towels, relaxation area
‑ New customer welcome book awarded to new customers worth $XXX.XX
‑ Frequent customer rewards system with points for purchases
‑ A consultation booth for new customers or those wanting a change
‑ A thank you card to all new customers
‑ A referral reward system ‑ $10 gift certificate mailed the week a customer refers someone
‑ E‑mail reminders for services
Let's look at the difference in the customer experience and perceived value
of getting a manicure at two different salon/spas:
The low I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa: the customer books the manicure from a referral, comes in and checks in at the front desk, is pointed toward the coffee bar to get a Styrofoam cup of coffee on his own, sits and waits for the nail tech to come out and get him, gets the manicure, pays and leaves.
The high I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa: the customer calls to book the manicure and are offered the paraffin treatment for half price that will make her hands look and feel great. She decides to get the paraffin treatment with the manicure. When the customer arrives, she is greeted at the door and taken to the waiting area where she is given a mug of flavored coffee and shown where the restrooms and changing rooms are. She is offered a tour of the salon/spa. Her nail tech comes out to get her and comments on the referral logged at the time of booking and provides the service. When the customer leaves, she is given a new customer welcome book when booking the follow up service. The customer decides to purchase a series of manicure/paraffin packages to get seven services for the price of six. The next day the customer gets a thank you card in the mail and her friend that refers her receives a $10 gift certificate for the referral.
Do you see the difference in the experience and especially in the
perceived value of the experiences?
In the low I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa the customer booked and was provided with the service ‑ but what reasons did she have to rebook, upgrade, or ever come back? Is just doing a good service good enough?
In the high I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa customers are given an I.O. when booking (half price paraffin with your first manicure), the experience of greeting, waiting, and receiving service was filled with lots of customer wows (U.S.P.), and the customer received two more I.O.s when leaving ‑ the new customer welcome book you get for prebooking before leaving, and the series special of seven visits for the price of six. The referral reward program encourages the referring customer to send more people and the thank you card to the new customer seals the deal!
If both of these salon/spas are in the same area who will get and maintain customers?
This is the next level in customer service and is critical in this new economy.
Now let's look at how the High I.O. and U.S.P. Salon/spa built this magnetic customer system.
The appointment booking: when a customer calls in the salon/spa has a script that books the requested service and always offers an auxiliary service that complements the requested service and delivers value for the price. When the customer calls the booking expert asks if the customer has heard about the booking specials. When the customer asks to hear about the specials, the booking expert delivers the offer emphasizing the way the add on service will make the customer look and feel. An example script would go something like this:
Customer Hello I'd like to book a manicure.
Booking Expert Great, let me look for availability. Have you heard about our nail
department specials?
Customer No, what are they?
Booking Expert Well you know how hard the last few months have been on our skin. The dry, cracked look and feel of our hands can be a real problem, and we have the perfect solution for you!
Customer What is that?
Booking Expert We have a paraffin treatment that we apply to your hands and then rest your hands in warm mittens. In 15 minutes your hands will feel soft and look great. It is normally a $20 service and we are offering this service for only $12 with manicure services. How does this sound? 8
Customer Great!
Notice that the booking expert did not ask "Would you like to book this service?" They asked "how does that sound?" This is a great way to close the deal!
The greeting and check in experience needs to be simple and personal. A customer who comes to the salon/spa does not want to walk across 60 feet of waiting area with other customers looking at them and wait 5 minutes to check in. The customer does not look/feel good (that is why they came in) and wants to relax. The new customer does not know where the restroom is, if the beverages are free, and where to change. The greeting and check‑in in a high I.O. and U.S.P. salon/spa include the following special customer experiences:
‑ greeting by a host at the door
‑ the offer of a tour
‑ help with the beverages
‑ sees the offer for the new customer welcome book in the waiting area and other locations
‑ sees the opportunity to purchase series of services for a reduced price
‑ salon/spa oriented entertainment
‑ clean smocks and nice touches in the restroom
After the service is performed, the customer has the option and is given a reward for rebooking before leaving. The new customer welcome book will give the customer the incentive to prebook before leaving and receive a book full of add‑on offers worth $XXX.XX. This will double the chance of a new customer prebooking before leaving.
When rebooking the customer is offered a series of visits for a special price and is offered the ability to book the series of visits then. The customer will see additional perceived value and have the option of purchasing the series and prebook a group of appointments.
After the customer leaves the salon/spa they receive a thank you card in the mail and the customer who referred them receives a thank you for the referral card and a gift certificate good for their next visit.
As a salon/spa owner or manager it is your job to add Irresistible Offers and Unique Selling Points to the business all the time. Your job is also to counter your competition's I.O. and U.S.P. strategies by adding them to your business or even improving on the competition's strategies.
Want more information on developing your I.O.s and U.S.P.s? Call your MIKAL consultant for more examples and information about positioning your business for success at 513-528-5100 www.mikal.com or e‑mail us at mikal@mikal.com .
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