Salon Smart LIVE 2021: Work it out
SUSTAINABILITY IN YOUR SALON
Vanessa Jones from L’Oréal Professionnel Paris and Fry Taylor of Green Salon Collective took to the stage to discuss one of the key topics on everyone’s lips: sustainability. It’s clear that people are making new life choices, with 96 per cent of consumers reported to believe that their own actions can make a difference. In beauty specifically, one third of customers are adopting more natural elements into their shopping habits. Vanessa included the latest consumer behaviour insight from L’Oréal Professionnel Paris, featuring tips on how to curate action plans whether you are a freelancer or salon owner. Its new Salon/Stylist of the Future programme is on-hand to help leverage the impact that hairdressers have on their clients and audiences, and viewers received a checklist of sustainable actions and assets to utilise for change.
Fry talked through the five pillars of the sustainability initiative, including water usage and pollution, salon supply and design, consumer marketing materials, sustainability influence and recycling/waste disposal. He was full of advice and clear, actionable initiatives to help turn your business into a circular economy. “There’s no right answer when choosing between chemicals going into the water system, or to landfill,” he warns. “The number one term used to describe hairdressers is ‘trusted’. Empower your team to become advocates for change – these stories and narratives you are a part of is a point of difference for you.”
New for 2021, viewers enjoyed a series of back-to-back mini masterclasses, giving them flash insight into brilliant ways to do business – better!
HOW TO REALLY STAND OUT ON INSTAGRAM
On average, Brits spend six hours PER DAY on their phones – we’re more engaged online than ever, but it’s still all-too-easy to make mistakes, or not know how to maximise your capabilities on social media. From her favourite apps that make curating your Instagram aesthetic a doddle (hello Canva!) to the importance of creating a two-way conversation, Treatwell’s Dorothy Constantino’s tour through the visual app had several important stopping points. Instagram is more than just something you ‘should be doing’; it’s a digital space where you can sell and reproduce your salon experience through your feed, stories and videos. “Authenticity is more important than filters and fake representation,” she advises. “Use social media to showcase your expertise, to educate rather than to just show off your work. Interact, don’t just post.”
CREATIVE COLOUR PLACEMENT WITH A SPLASH OF INNOVATION
Next up was the Ken Picton Salon colour powerhouse, Paul Dennison, and his trusty side kick Georgie for L’Oréal Professionnel Paris to get hands on in a demo that showcased creative placement and upselling to the client… while also illustrating the remarkable results possible with new innovation Metal Detox. The look was a bold mix of a strong bowl shape, and bold placements through the front – deep damson, cherry red, pale lilac all courtesy of L’Oréal Professionnel Paris’s iconic Majirel.
It’s super easy to use – a simple spritz of about 8 or 10 pumps through the hair (if hair’s longer, aim for 10-15 pumps), work it through with a brush or a comb, then go and mix your colour and that can dry into hair. No additives need to mix into the colour, that’s it. Metal Detox’s active ingredient Glicoamine goes inside the cortex to neutralise metals, particular copper particles, to give you better colour reliability, and 87% less breakage from the first application. This is perfect for now, where condition and colour are equally vital in a client’s eyes.
BUILDING A BRAND
International salon manager, educator and business mentor Marcus Allen headed up the Phorest masterclass, providing some fresh thinking on building a brand, and adapting to new consumer habits post-lockdown. As the biggest disruptor our industry has ever faced, the pandemic has changed so many behaviours, with clients being online more than ever before. “This can be a benefit, but we need to be conscious of changing behaviours,” said Marcus.
As well providing some top tips for ways to build a successful brand identity, Marcus also reinforced the importance of using software systems in order to understand consumer behaviours and make better business choices going forward. By building an online presence, through social media and using software systems, you can reinforce your salon’s story and USP to keep clients returning. “The most successful brands tell the best story,” Marcus concluded.
PROTECTING YOUR REVENUE
Community and education specialist at Timely, Annabel Mawdsley, was joined by salon business coach Jessica Crane for an invaluable masterclass focused on protecting your salon revenue. No shows and cancellations cost salon businesses a lot of money and Jessica highlighted how as a service industry, hairdressing needs to step up its game when it comes outlining strict policies. “You must protect your time as that time is money,” she explained. “Most restaurants now are taking deposits and booking fees; it just becomes normal and part of the booking process.”
“To elevate the industry, we have to start from the inside first,” added Annabel. “By having robust policies when it comes to cancellations and pre-appointment deposits what you’re doing is setting monetary boundaries for your business.”
The top takeaways? Be upfront with your clients about policies – “Make it really clear; put them on social and print them off for around the salon too, so you can disarm those client objections before they escalate,” said Jessica – and make sure your team are really clear on every single one of them too.
“Pull data and look at how much revenue you lost year-on-year from client no shows,” she suggested. “That’s money you could have put into other streams like employment and training. You can show this to staff so you both feel really confident delivering consistent no-show and cancellation policy reminders.”
THE POTENTIAL OF ECOMMERCE
With global ecommerce set to hit $5 trillon this year, Yogi Parmar and Sam Kendall from SalonIQ were on hand to direct focus to the untapped potential of e-commerce. The salon software company’s development team has been hard at work during lockdown to create a new Recommendation Tool, where product recommendations for clients can be seamlessly stored on their personalised file on the cloud. If they choose not to buy those products on the day, you can automate an email or an SMS to go out to them at a later date to prompt that sale with a single click. With everyone so much used to being in touch digitally now, take advantage of everything from online consultation forms, online bookings, automated charges for PPE or eco fees, self-payment options and so much more.
TAKE CONTROL ONLINE
Hairdressing is a visual industry, which is why it’s so important to be seen and discovered by clients, who then go on to book – online. Treatwell product managers Renske Pesch and Raul Spilca walked us through the easy wins from taking your business digital in a brilliant workshop. Your clients are a walking advertisement for your talents, so use their images to help attract your next new customer. For example, Treatwell’s new LookBook helps to elevate your visual content and explain more complicated services. It’s all about discovering your perfect salon, perfect stylist, perfect service… and doing it all 24/7 as a client.
For salons, it’s about cutting back on admin and finding out where to dedicate your time to make the most revenue. Boost your online presence – it’s the single biggest thing you can do today to drive down your admin and boost your revenue. Take online bookings that are prepaid and that will reduce cancellations and no shows – a prepaid booking is four times less likely to be cancelled. Clever features such as emails, push notifications and SMS reminders, patch test reminders, Covid consultation forms and birthday messages mean that experience feels personal while also helping to get people in your seats.