The Value of Wisdom in Your Pricing StructureBlue HighwaysJerry TylerWould you like a raise?In both good <strong>and</strong> challenging financialtimes, the pricing for services remains a subjectworth considering. It is also something torevisit from time to time to see if our worthas service providers is in step with the compensationwe receive from our customers.One of the major benefits of our industryis that we (or our employers), can giveourselves a raise by raising our prices.What are the benchmarks to gauge ourprice structure? There are many componentsto consider in our quest for fair pricing.Don’t base your pricing on emotion.Some stylists feel their experience <strong>and</strong> timein the industry dem<strong>and</strong>s a higher price.However, what should younger, less experiencedstylists who have far more advancedtraining do?The question to ask yourself is: Whatam I offering my client? To be truly worthextra to your client, the price point shouldbe in alignment with the level of service youprovide, <strong>and</strong> their perceived value shouldexceed it. This way you maintain your client’strust <strong>and</strong> loyalty.There are four points to consider whenpricing:1. The quality of the services offered.2. The level of service the customer feelsthey received.3. Whether your image <strong>and</strong> marketingare in alignment with the quality of yourproducts <strong>and</strong> services.4. Whether your image <strong>and</strong> quality of areeffectively communicated to clients.Clients expect the technical <strong>and</strong> creativeskills we offer fit the price point. The $12chain salon haircut client has the samedem<strong>and</strong> as the $500 celebrity haircut client.They expect the professional helping themto deliver a quality of service that matches orexceed what they are paying for.The investment of the stylist is constant<strong>and</strong> continuing improvement of their service,which is the cut, color, skincare service, etc.Continually upgrading the skills <strong>and</strong> productswe offer our clients is important. However,increasing quality in the marketplace onlycomm<strong>and</strong>s higher prices when the perceivedquality increases. That means you need yourclients to notice.Your attention to the quality of your customerservice is priceless. Customer servicedem<strong>and</strong>s a focused attention to details. It’sall about the experience. How do they feelwhen they leave? Is the service high level oreye level?You can do much to assure the perceivedvalue exceeds the price of the service. Itcomes down to how we treat the client.World-class customer service has little or noadded cost but reaps huge rewards in clientsatisfaction <strong>and</strong> continued loyalty.Many progressive salons are now using aprogressive pricing structure to reward theirstaff for doing the right things. To movefrom basic stylist to advanced stylist to masterstylist then to become a mentor or icon stylistcan become an internal career path. Many usea raise in weekly total targets, request versuswalk-in percentages, average ticket-salesincreases, home care sales, up-servicing, prebookingpercentages <strong>and</strong> continuing investmentin advanced <strong>and</strong> continuing educationas benchmarks to increasing their pricesthrough their progressive price structure.When there is evidence of high clientdem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> your br<strong>and</strong> is doing well,particularly in robust economic times, a raisein the price structure is usually a no-brainer.Now, however, with the evident economicchallenges we all face, how do we deal with aprice structure in a soft economy?During uncertain political <strong>and</strong> financialtimes, the first step is to be real. Our pricesfor products, labor costs <strong>and</strong> taxes are goingup daily just as they are for our clients. Weneed to be realistic <strong>and</strong> wise about how wereact.We may need a price increase just tokeep up with the cost of doing business. InCalifornia, the minimum wage was raisedthree times in a one-<strong>and</strong>-one-half yearperiod. To maintain a high level of customerservice, cutting support staff may not be anoption. Moving from high-end, well-respectedprofessional products to lower qualityproducts lowers the integrity of the services,which again is not an option. Although it’simportant to make greater investment inupgrading education to stay ahead of thecurve of technique <strong>and</strong> fashion, doing so maynot be an option. Even to just maintain thest<strong>and</strong>ards our clients expect, we may need toraise our prices. That is what we must do ifwe want to continue to thrive <strong>and</strong> grow as anindustry.Lastly, in these times many turn to theoption of discounting services. In good timeswe can’t charge too much <strong>and</strong> in bad timeswe won’t charge what we are truly worth?Count the cost. Rather than discounting <strong>and</strong>lowering the perceived value of products <strong>and</strong>services, creating incentives for customerloyalty <strong>and</strong> new referrals has true dollar valuewhile upholding the integrity we all workhard to maintain as industry professionals.In a recession it doesn’t mean our clientsdon’t have money to spend, it means they aregoing to spend it with greater attention to thevalue they receive. Lowering our prices lowersthe original value of what the client wasalready paying for. So again, count the cost.This one step up, two steps back approach onlyundermines the strength of your br<strong>and</strong>.Fair <strong>and</strong> sensible pricing based on thestrength of products <strong>and</strong> services can create asolid level of security even in these uncertaintimes. However, it will only happen if weexceed our clients’ expectations <strong>and</strong> assureour worth is far beyond our price point.Jerry Tyler’s column Blue Highways is his “Road Less Traveled” perspectiveon the solutions <strong>and</strong> challenges facing the beauty industry. Jerry Tyler hasbeen a stylist since 1975 serving as the former artistic director for Vidal SassoonAcademy <strong>and</strong> currently as Director of Education for Carlton Hair salons.He is also a licensed cosmetology instructor <strong>and</strong> has served as President ofthe California State Board of Barbering <strong>and</strong> Cosmetology. | NOVEMBER 2008 | NORTHWEST STYLIST & SALON
OREGON & SW WASHINGTON SALONSAlbanyHeritage Mall (541) 928-7094AlohaFarmington (503) 642-0902BeavertonFashion Square (503) 641-5308Murray Crossing (503) 627-9005Murrayhill Marketplace (503) 590-5693Walker Road Fred Meyer (503) 690-6764BendBend Fred Meyer (541) 388-9097Camas, WARiverstone Market Place (360) 253-5484ClackamasSunnyside Village (503) 658-6111Clackamas Promenade (503) 786-5144CorvallisCorvallis Business Park (541) 752-1152EugeneCommerce St. Plaza (541) 342-4247GreshamHogan Plaza (503) 492-2766Wood Village Town Center (503) 669-1030HillsboroHillsboro Fred Meyer (503) 259-9019Hillsboro Market Center (503) 640-6554Streets of Tanasbourne (503) 439-3313Sunset Fred Meyer (503) 640-6870Hillsboro Promenade (503) 356-8512Tanasbourne Village (503) 531-8898Lake OswegoPalisades Market (503) 699-9967Oswego Lake Town Center (503) 635-1044Longview,WATriangle Mall (360) 423-2099Fred Meyer (360) 575-8200McMinnvilleMcMinnville Retail Center (503) 474-1568McMinnville Market Center (503) 474-3853MilwaukieOak Grove Market Center (503) 659-1657NewburgColumbia River Bank Bldg (503) 538-6943Oregon CityBeavercreek Rd. (503) 557-2311Portl<strong>and</strong>Bethany Village (503) 533-8942Eastport Plaza (503) 777-9194Gateway (503) 253-3211Glisan Street Station (503) 253-6540Johnson Creek Fred Meyer (503) 777-6280Lloyd Center Area (503) 288-8032Portl<strong>and</strong> State University (503) 227-3688Mall 205 (503) 253-4630Sunset Mall (503) 520-0686West Hills Plaza (503) 297-1876RedmondNolan Town Center (541) 923-5554S<strong>and</strong>yS<strong>and</strong>y Shops at Fred Meyer (503) 668-6260SalemEvergreen Plaza (503) 391-5160South Commercial (503) 391-1353Devonshire Shops (503) 588-7310Keizer Station (503) 390-3620SherwoodLanger Farms (503) 925-9187SpringfieldPioneer Plaza (541) 988-0310St. HelensSt. Helens Shops (503) 397-9941TigardBarrows Crossing (503) 521-0406Tigard Towne Center (503) 639-8350TualatinNyberg Creek Crossing (503) 691-8939Vancouver, WAColumbia Tech Center (360) 896-0157Crossroads Center (360) 546-2535Hazel Dell (360) 696-1979Mill Plain Plaza (360) 896-2099Padden Market Center (360) 253-3002West LinnRiver Falls Center (503) 655-5584WilsonvilleVillage At Mainstreet (503) 582-1401SPOKANE & NORTH IDAHO SALONSCheneyCheney Plaza (509) 559-5505Liberty LakeLiberty Lake (509) 921-6677Post Falls, IDPost Falls Wal-Mart (208) 773-8348Spokane ValleySullivan & Broadway (509) 921-0619Coeur d'Alene, IDCoeur d'Alene Costco (208) 765-2940Hayden Target (208) 762-5568Spokane5 Mile Plaza (509) 324-890813 & Gr<strong>and</strong> (509) 363-182457th & Regal (509) 443-8850Indian Trail (509) 242-0728Latah Creek (509) 747-2196Market Center (509) 344-0397Northpointe Plaza (509) 466-8379Trent & Argonne Center (509) 892-1410Relax.®You’re at Great Clips.Visit our web site <strong>and</strong> apply on-line www.greatclips.com
Change language