Apart from the direct impact on businesses, the sheer uncertainty of how long this lockdown phase is going to last is the biggest concern if you look at the current crisis. Everybody is guessing but no one has a clear idea about COVID-19’s estimated duration. 

We are all hoping that it’ll be over soon, but what if it stretches more? We can’t just sit at home and dread it? All in all, we need to change our mindset and start working on our salon marketing strategy and work on it to generate income.

If you have a mentor or professional who can guide you, great! Share some tips with your fellow partners. But if you don’t then read ahead. We have compiled a list of steps and activities that can help generate salon income while your salon is closed and you are at home. 

Step 1: Cut your Costs

This goes without saying, you need to make sure that you need to differentiate the costs that generate revenue from the ones that re-costing the business. You need to cut out all the costs that are extra and you can definitely do without. This will help curb down your cash flow difficulties and save a ton of money that you can invest somewhere useful like Investing in digital marketing for salon business. 

Step 2: Sell Retail

• 

If you have stock left, sell it as much as you can. Try getting on eCommerce websites or online stores to help reach the masses. You can even get a salon app to upload, modify and track your inventory as per your convenience. You can categorize them according to hair, beauty, nail, therapy, body care etc. within your app, My Digi Salon can help you with that. Apart from that, you can consult our specialists to get the best market practices to stay connected with your clients during this crisis. 

Step 3: Work on your Re-Opening Strategy

• 

Implement strategies and campaigns that can help target your loyal, current and future customers. Your salon’s well being will depend on this. You need to work on your salon marketing strategy for online brand image development. A few things you can start with are:

• Improve your google business page content and rank
• Rebrand your logo and review your website 
• Revamp you social media profiles 
• Analyse trends and schemes that work for your salon business to make informed decisions.

Try to excite your customers with you “ we are here and we’ll reopen with a bang” attitude.

Step 4: Generate Salon Income by Pre-Bookings

Apart from selling retail inventory, as mentioned above, you can provide at-home services. People are scared of stepping out due to social distancing protocols. If you follow all the right measures, like wearing a mask and proper sanitization, you can get in touch with your customers to offer your packages. 

You can deliver retail products and upsell your services like at-home spa, haircut etc. in zones where it is allowed( green and orange). You can work on a customized salon appointment app with My Digi salon. However, if you do not have the funds to get it developed right now, you can directly get in touch with them via phone calls, SMS etc. You can even pre-book appointments and ask your customers to keep token money to book their appointments beforehand.

Step 5: Profit Margin while Signing Up on eCommerce Platforms 

Before you get on any eCommerce platform like amazon or Nykaa, make sure that you are aware of any and all extra costs associated with it. You need to factor in things like credit card fees, postage, boxes, tape, bubble wrap, etc. To know your profit margin, read about the things that the commerce platform will handle.

Step 6: Calculating Shipping Costs 

• 

If you are delivering locally, you can think about offering free shipping above a certain amount. E.g. free shipping above 500 INR. After you have a clear idea about the profit margins on eCommerce platforms, you can decide whether you want to opt for free shipping or not. 

A quick tip: free shipping helps to boost sales by more than 20%. Best salon apps increase their margins a bit and offer free delivery to increase sales. 

Step 7: Payment Methods and Integrations

Customers like it when they have multiple options to choose from. During this pandemic period, almost everyone is avoiding cash on delivery and going for cashless payments. For local sale, make sure you invoice your clients securely via their preferred online gateway. Avoid Venmo, Paypal if you do not have a business account. Do not forget to add GST while handling the final invoice, it’ll help you in your income tax filing. 

Step 8: Contacting your Clients

• 

You clients are just as scared and concerned about financial stability as you are. Make sure that you not purely selling your products when you contact your clients. It is really important for you to remember that it’s completely okay if your clients are not interested in buying your products or appointments right now. Take this as an opportunity to empower your client-provider relationship. Try to make a loyal following and convert one time visit to recurring customers. This is a reliable source to generate salon income once the lockdown gets over too.

Step 9: Use Social Media to Empower Communication 

• 

Use social media to allow your customers to directly get n touch with your technicians. Your experts can participate in live sessions and Q&As where apart from giving advice they can recommend products and techniques to upsell your products. Make sure you post regularly on social media, you can use the inventory on our Digi Salon platform for inspiration. We have lots of images and media that you can directly share on your social media from our mobile application for salons. 

How to Stay Connected with Your Salon Clients During Lockdown

Step 10: Email Marketing & Infographics

Email marketing can help you send long messages, discounts and information via newsletters, infographics etc. You can even segment and target your customer based on their demographic and psychographic attributes. Make sure your communication is personal and goes well with your brand image. Adding your customer’s name in their emails can also help them feel special. Try adding insider info, pros cons etc. are a few things to start with. 

Summary: 

Scary times call for patience, understanding and a tad bit courage to move forward. This too shall pass. We hope you stay home, Stay positive, use this time as an opportunity instead of regretting later.