AHFrancis Blog, Lash News
How to make your beauty lash salon business sustainable in 2024!
How does your beauty lash salon survive this tough time in 2024?
As a leading lash brand with over 20 years in the lash industry, we have noticed a HUGE change in 2024!
Customer orders are getting smaller, they are only ordering exactly what they need, no matter what discount is offered.
Our beauty lash salon customers just don’t have the spare cash flow they used to pre-COVID-19.
Due to their clients having to make choices between beauty treatments & the general running costs of day-to-day life!
This means fewer bums on seats = less salon revenue!
Here is our AHF Sustainable Survival Guide for beauty lash salons in 2024
- Make your beauty lash salon brand stand out from the others, be consistent with your branding & memorable so you can connect easily with your customers & attract new ones
- Branding is key to the recognition of your business – logos, text, fonts, tone of voice & brand guidelines (colors, etc.)
- As clients do not have as much disposable income due to the economy & climate in 2024 you need to make yourself as visible as possible
- Clients find themselves having to choose between treats for example; lunch or coffee with friends, or having their beauty treatments!
- The Global rising costs have made it tough for all of us & hugely impacted the beauty industry
- Huge hikes in mortgages & salon business rents, minimum wage increase, rising product costs, utility bills, heating, water & electricity, etc.
- Having to pay extra for all of the above was ok when you had a steady, constant flow of clients “as we all did pre-COVID-19”
- Many beauty salons, spas, lash techs/artists are saying they have seen a big drop in their takings in 2024, some saying they are at least 40% down still
- Some are saying their landlords have been great & have helped them out by lowering rent temporarily
- Others have said there has been no help offered & they have had to move premises due to increased costs
- Re-locating is a huge blow to any business unless it is planned, as clients are often local & regular & don’t want to have to travel too far!
- Many clients are incredibly loyal in the hair & beauty lash salon buiness as they have gotten used to their stylists, beauticians & lash techs.
- Building & sustaining a great relationship with your clients is so rewarding as they become more like friends & this bond makes them want to support you & not jump ship just because you have had to relocate!
Changes to help retain your clients:
- Staying ahead of the trends & tailor your treatments specifically to your clients
- Create a unique, personal experience, bespoke treatments especially for them – they will LOVE this as it will make them feel valued
- Create a calm environment to work from
- Have your signature scent using; incense sticks, diffusers, candles, etc.
- Appropriate atmospheric background music
- Research the market & keep an eye on the latest trending treatments. As a reult you can stay ahead of the game when your clients ask about them.
- Offer a discount on treatments that will complement each other i.e. brow wax & tint with a full set of lashes as this will also encourage them to book this add-on treatment next time!
- Offering little extras will keep your clients happy & hopefully loyal to you
- We are not saying give away freebies or discounts with every treatment, use your discretion.
- Unique experiences not only help you stand out from the rest It will create a memorable experience & encourage referrals
- Don’t cut corners
- Don’t use products that are not professional or non-branded
- Don’t take risks – always patch test clients this shows you care & you are a professional
- Patch testing is a way of not only testing for allergies, contraindications, etc. but also gives you a chance to meet your clients beforehand.
- Meeting Clients before you get them booked in for a treatment means you can see how you feel & what vibe you are getting.
- Remember you don’t have to spend a fortune re-training in the latest trends.
- Refresh yourself online & many lash companies & leading brands will offer Free Resources & will support you if you contact them.
- Being a lash tech is a great skill to have you can work anywhere & be booked all day every day if you do a good job!
Changes for staff & beauty lash salons:
- Offering lashes in your beauty lash salon can be a really good salon revenue.
- Many of your clients will become too addicted to having lashes as it makes their lives so much easier & they love the ‘get up & go look!’
- A good professional beauty/lash brand will support & promote you on their salon finder, website & social media channels
- Being the best in your field for lash & beauty treatments isn’t easy, staying professional & keeping your standards high at all times. Thus encouraging a good work ethic for you & your staff!
- We all know raising your prices is so difficult, clients do know that everything has gone up Globally so they will accept a little price increase from time to time
- You don’t have to justify or feel guilty when you implement this!
- We have a PDF with approximate product costs & recommended treatment costs for you to look at to ensure you are charging enough in 2024!
- Educating your staff on product costs & encouraging less waste is a small change that has a huge impact
- Saving money on these products will help! When you have to replace these products it is so costly when it can be avoided!
- By doing this you can maybe offer what is best & most profitable for you
- Stick with what you know you are good at. Your staff will become confident in the treatments that your salon is offering as they will be perfecting them due to the demand
- Encourage your staff to upsell add-on treatments & recommend retailing products to their clients
- Introduce an incentive to your staff with a reward system i.e. commission, gift voucher, discount on products
- Patch testing is a way of not only testing for allergies, contraindications, etc. And also gives you a chance to meet your clients beforehand to see if you can manage their expectations
- Keeping your staff upbeat can be challenging as a business owner. When you are worried about things but try & keep a positive outlook & face on for your staff & clients. It is so important to act professional at all times!
- Retaining good staff & clients is not an easy task, just keep going & remember you are doing a FABULOUS job – well done!!
And finally
- Don’t cut corners
- Don’t use products that are not professional or non-branded
- Don’t take risks – always patch test clients this shows you care & you are a professional
- Don’t keep chasing the latest ‘buzz’ treatments that are not yet proven!
- Don’t use cheap lashes & treatments they are not nice. Using a professional beauty brand will make you stand out from competitors.
- Don’t offer such a huge treatment menu as this can mean having to stock a lot fewer products & less consumable waste
- Consumable products are things we all notice are wasted regularly i.e. multiple lash glues/adhesives opened, no open date on products with a shelf life, i.e. opened lash lifting sachets, lash lift glues, eye gel pads, couch rolls, cotton wool pads, lash tints, etc.
Marketing your business…
- Create a professional work email
- Create a professional website
- Create Brand Guidelines & logos to ensure consistency
- It is so important to keep up with your social media. Posting reels of you & your staff possibly doing treatments, showing a new technique, or introducing a new product
- Make sure your bio is up-to-date
- Add LinkTree to your Bio
- Ensure all links are working in your Bio & posts
- Tag, share & follow your clients on social media to keep them updated with your salon/business news
- Instagram & Facebook love reels, videos & tutorials
- TikTok LOVES video content & tutorials
- Make sure you & your staff take beautiful before & after images of your treatments, existing clients & your followers LOVE this type of content
- Create a user-friendly booking system
- Introduce an SMS appointment reminder service
- Loyalty cards