As any business owner will tell you, being an entrepreneur is hard work, but it can be extremely rewarding! For estheticians, that can mean renting a solo space or owning a large salon with employees. Either way, if you want to build a successful business, understanding and maximizing your ROI, or return on investment, is crucial. Here are 4 ways that you can increase sales, optimize your ROI, and ensure your business will thrive for years to come.
1. Price your services correctly
For many people, this is definitely the least fun part of owning a business, but it’s one of the most important. You need to understand your expenses, how much you need to bring in each month to keep the lights on, and how your investments are performing. It's also important to make sure your service pricing is high enough to keep you profitable but still competitive in your market. How do you figure this out? First you need to determine the true cost per service. Figure out how much product you need per service and then you can determine what is an appropriate service cost based on this. For example if it costs you $5 in product for a brow service you should be pricing your brow wax between $15-30. This allows you to profit 150%! If you price your brow service at $8 you are only profiting $3 off of this service.
2. Buy products in bulk to lower costs
While it can be tempting to invest in bargain tools for the salon, it can end up hurting you in the long run and impact client retention. Low quality products will need to be repaired or replaced more frequently, cause delays in appointments, and impact the quality of services. You also want to ensure you are offering premium products that will keep your clients coming back! Once you figure out the products that you want to carry you should buy in bulk to maximize your ROI and bring your cost per service down. Generally most beauty companies offer professionals bulk/wholesale options. It can be intimidating to place a large order, but as a business owner you must focus on how to maximize your investments. NovaWax Pro is one of the best wholesale programs I’ve come across over the years. Offering preferred pricing for licensed professionals, Nova Pro’s on-demand wholesale pricing portal is available 24/7, which makes buying wholesale waxing supplies and bulk hard wax SO easy. Plus, their customer service is top notch and they can help guide you in the right direction when determining what makes the most sense for your business.
3. Promote after service products or upsell services
One of the easiest ways to increase your clients ticket is to offer great products that they can purchase as they check out OR that they can add onto a service. You want to educate your clients on why they would benefit from the service/product. Everyone loves to be pampered and we all have questions on how we can improve our skin. As their professional service provider you know exactly what your client needs, and by promoting products you are ensuring your clients are happy and increasing your ROI. It's a win-win. Typically retail allows you to make a 100% ROI. We always encourage clients to invest in products that will optimize the treatment, like this Pre & Post Care Bundle.
4. GET CREATIVE
It’s important to keep your offers fresh and have new things for your clients to experience when they come in. The small details are what make a huge difference in client retention as well as client experience. It's important to think of fun ways to bring in new clients like referral rewards or free service when they book. For example free underarm add on when your client prebooks their next brazilian. Huge value to the client with a low cost to you, and they pre-booked! Clients love to feel special and most importantly people love to feel like they got a good deal! If you can keep your offers fresh and include upsells/packages that are a low cost to you but high value to your customers they will keep coming back!
No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, keeping these 4 points in mind will be sure to help you optimize your revenue and return on investment. Choose the brands you work with carefully - I've used plenty of brands over the years and can say confidently that none of them compare to the quality of Nova Wax when it comes to the products and customer service. Working with them has taken my salon to the next level. I recommend using them from the start to set a strong foundation for your business.
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