Six Indicators To Monitor Your Salon’s Growth
You have all the data you need to monitor your salon’s growth, but how do you know which indicators are most important? John Harms, founder and CEO of Millennium Systems International broke down the six most important indicators salon owners and managers should watch when he spoke at the Millennium Experience.
1. New Clients Per Month
The first indicator of growth is the number of new clients you bring in per month. What was once a daunting task for stylists, managers and owners, is now easier than ever thanks to social media. “The variety of ways your stylists can advertise is huge,” says John. Word of mouth and social media are essentially free ways to market, and it’s what everyone is doing right now. As an owner, you need to be using Instagram and Facebook to your advantage.
2. New Client Retention
The second indicator is how well a salon retains their clients. The percentage across the industry is only 35—a number John hopes to increase with the launch of Meevo 2.0 (coming out in early 2018). But how does he plan to do that, and how can you start increasing that number right now? “Put your new guests with a stylist you know will retain them,” says John. It sounds simple, but with everything else going on, it can be easy to forget. John says, “your stylists need to prove that they can take new guests.” And, with the new features of Meevo, you’ll not only be able to see those numbers, but you’ll also be able to match your guests up with a stylist that’s perfect for them. “Think of this feature as a match.com for hairdressers and stylists,” says John. “The technology will ask guests random questions and then pair them with a stylist they are more compatible with.”
3. Repeat Client Retention
The third indicator is repeat client retention, which looks at the percentage of repeat clients retained for each stylist. This indicator, according to John, is all about knowing where your stylists are at and making smart goals to help them increase their percentage. Don’t get too busy and overlook these things. If one of your stylists is at 50 percent, let them know and work with them to set an achievable goal.
4. Frequency Of Visit
This is one of John’s favorite indicators. Why? Because it’s such an easy game-changer, he says. The industry average is 4.88. So if every client comes in one more time during the year, you’d grow your salon 20 percent. And, when FOV increases, your retail sales almost always follow suit. So how do you make this happen? “You have to stress to your service providers how important it is to get and keep your guests coming back,” John says. Offer different deals or incentives. Give your front desk different scripts. Do what you have to do to get people coming back.
5. Average Ticket
The fifth indicator is the price on your average ticket. This indicator is a lot like repeat client retention in that you have to know where your stylists are at and set reasonable goals with them. Think of new ways to incorporate add-ons into services, whether it’s charging $5 extra for longer hair or $10 extra for additional foils. Get creative in how you can get that ticket price up.
6. Productivity
The sixth indicator is your salon’s productivity. What John means by that is when you start to notice a high productivity rate, you’ll start to see your salon’s schedule getting jam-packed. And, if you’re watching your data closely, you might notice that frequency of visit or client retention will start to take a dip, and that regular clients are finding it harder to book appointments. At first, this might seem alarming, but according to John, it means you’re doing everything right and that it’s time to increase your prices.
