Top 6 Tips For Reopening Your Salon

2020 has been a year of endless uncertainty and we know you must be counting the days until you can reopen your doors. Having to close your business, even if only temporarily, is a very difficult experience for freelancers, salon owners and staff. We know that keeping your business alive has been hard for you and many others, and we want to help you fight in any way we can.

To help you comeback kicking next week we have created a guide for reopening.

Communicate with your Clients and Stylists early:

Make sure your clients are updated on when you will be reopening as well as getting in touch with those clients that have had to have their appointments rescheduled. Getting in touch early means that you can get your schedules ready so there is no confusion when you open your doors. Make sure your stylists are in the loop too. It gives you a chance to check in on their wellbeing and gives them reassurance going into what will be a busy few weeks.

Use this connection time to share the specific changes that will be present in the salon when you all return, these won’t likely be as drastic as after the first lockdown but it is good practice to reiterate to both staff and clients the procedures in place. Whether you choose email, phone call, text, social media, signage or all of the above to communicate with your clients and stylists, you want to let them know what to expect well BEFORE they arrive.

We have some great assets you can use on our Facebook page, feel free to download them to use on you own social media page.

Review and update your team list and their schedules:

Lockdown has been a major challenge for all businesses, especially within our industry due to the close contact. Like many other sectors, salons have had to adapt to a new way of working – whether it be having to furlough staff or the new PPE requirements, it has been a steep learning curve.

Before reopening you will want to review your team member list and make sure everyone is updated regularly with reopening details. Your team may also have different work schedules now, so make sure those are updated.

Social Media is one of your strongest allies:

With people hunkered down at home during COVID-19 there are more eyeballs than ever online so make sure it is your business that gets found. Social Media marketing has increased by businesses all over the world.

Social Media marketing is something every business should be doing – if you need some quick tips check out this handy guide from CoSchedule once you have finished on our blog!

One of the key selling points for Social Media marketing is the ability to engage with your clients when they are not in your salon. You can also integrate many online booking systems directly into Facebook for free meaning you can also take bookings while you are away from the salon.

Check that your service list is accurate:

Have a look at your service list, including prices and service duration. Are there any changes you need to make? Perhaps you have chosen to no longer offer particular services while you focus on others. Or maybe you have been considering offering extra services but had no time to add them to your menu. Now is the time to do that. Make sure your service list is correct so clients know exactly what treatments they can book with you.

Consider what your approach to offers and discounting will be:

Following on from updating your service lists – It is likely that many salons will be offering discounts to drive more bookings when they reopen.

However, some may decide to freeze all discounts whatsoever. Before you reopen, you need to be thinking about what is best for your business and what approach you would like to take when it comes to discounts and offers.

Getting orders in early:

Next week is looking to be another busy week of appointments so it is important to be ready in advance. Try and get your orders in early so to avoid rushing last minute, make sure to check your schedules for clients that use specific products and order them sooner rather than later. That way next week you can focus on your clients and not have to worry about stock levels and last-minute orders.

If you do find you are running low, remember that all our stores are open as normal, and we also offer next weekday delivery on all orders before 2pm (Mon-Thurs) via our website.

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We hope that you will find these tips helpful and can help add some clarity in these uncertain times. We are all in this together and we are here to help you in any way we can by phone or email. Just visit our contact page for all details.