Creative HEAD UK January 2019

#SelfImprovement
DOUBLING DOWN
Not all salons have large budgets to play with, but diversifying doesn’t need
to be an expensive endeavour. Russell Eaton salon in Leeds has been dipping
into the beauty services menu more and more in the past nine years. “We have
found that, compared with the hair side of the business, the spa alone isn’t as
profitable,” says creative director Robert Eaton. “However, as a full package
and with the means of offering a wider range of services in one space, the
business overall has certainly increased in turnover and revenue. Regulars
become more regular and walk-in clients discover that they can have a blowdry
while having their nails done in one appointment.”
Diversifying your service range is one way of improving your salon’s
prospects, but if you’re noticing a disproportionate amount of your service
is colour, re-investing and focusing on your colour services could be one way
to make your mark – it certainly worked for Anne Veck and her salons in
Oxfordshire, which honed in on a USP of catering for all types, particularly
afro hair. “Diversifying clearly works well for many, but so does specialisation,”
owner Anne explains,
“including the colour-only
salons and blow-dry bars.”
Whether you’re
specialising or diversifying,
there are a lot of ways to
attract new clients. Even
reviewing your opening
hours could reveal new
streams of revenue. How
MY SELF-IMPROVEMENT PLAN:
MINI-MAKEOVER AND
MARKETING STRATEGY
“January is the ideal time to give the salon
a facelift, to have improvements made in
the salon while it’s quieter. It’s also crucial
to come up with a marketing plan for the
New Year – mapping out any special events,
competitions or promotions we wish to do”
MALCOLM MURPHY, MALCOLM MURPHY HAIR
AND MOST WANTED BEST LOCAL SALON WINNER
STAR SALON’S BACKWASH PROWESS
you make small, seemingly
insignificant decisions can
impact your business in
unexpected ways.
SITTING PRETTY
Social media is increasingly
becoming the first port of
call for clients. Rather than
trawling through websites
and clicking on multiple
MY SELF-IMPROVEMENT PLAN:
EDUCATION
“We want to ensure we’re always improving.
The beginning of the year is the ideal time to
review what services we offer and how our
team’s been performing, what we are doing
well and what needs to be improved upon”
ROBERT EATON, RUSSELL EATON
pages, it’s far easier to pull up an Instagram
page and instantly see what sort of styles
and colour a salon is creating. Having an
appealing page filled with interior shots and
pictures of your team’s work is almost like
having a second salon front. It’s hard to get
right, but it’s definitely worth working on.
“People are visually driven; your interior
design affects the atmosphere, it evokes an
emotional response,” advises Tetsuya Ito,
designer at Takara Belmont. “It must be an
environment that serves as a backdrop in
which you present your service offering.
“There are so many interior styles, so
deciding the theme and capturing it in every
detail not only connects with your customers,
it also has a bearing on your service offering
and commercial performance,” he adds.
“If clients feel you care about your image
and every detail of their salon experience –
from the welcome, to coffee to furnishings
and the smallest of touches that make them
feel valued and special – they will want to
come again and again.”
Albert Ewan Design champions LED lights
as a cost-effective way to enhance your space.
“Indirect/reflected lighting will flatter the
client with less shadows, and can be relatively
cheaply achieved, while the backwash areas
can be minimally lit to allow a more relaxing
experience,” owner Albert explains. “It sets
the tone for the journey through the salon.”
Tetsuya advises careful consideration of
your furniture to allow for multiple services.
From chair attachments to alternative
shampoo systems for spa-like facials and
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CREATIVE HEAD