As a salon owner or manager you know your clientele, business and brand DNA better than anyone, but there are some critical business dos and don’ts that can be easily overlooked and forgotten. Below are some key business details that serve as a reminder to keep your salon not just surviving but thriving in a competitive business market.

1. Do: Look at the competition

It’s important to look at the market around you to understand where your business fits contextually as well as understand what’s working for other brands that can be incorporated into your own. Everything from client services to luxury elements, marketing, social media and more can offer industry ideas and be adapted with your unique spin. It’s important as well to see where you sit competitively, and also assess what isn’t working for others as a bit of a warning sign on what not to do for your salon or business.

2. Don’t: Overcomplicate your service menu

You know the business rule about keeping it simple, and a service menu that tries to be everything to everyone will end up being more confusing than helpful. Ensure you are constantly assessing your service menu and keeping it to what works, what sells, what aids your profits and what your clients clearly want and need – then execute on those distinct services to perfection.

3. Do: Review your costs annually

There are a number of things you may not realise you are paying for beyond what you should, and unfortunately these things rapidly add up to affect your bottom line. A great example of this is your EFTPOS merchant fees, something you can better manage with Smartpay’s Zero Cost EFTPOS. Smartpay provides clever eftpos terminals to thousands of small businesses that allow them to pass on the eftpos transaction fee to each client paying by card or contactless.

These fees add up quickly and when it comes to saving your business money, this solution allows you to save and then reinvest the money back into your business to pay for things to enhance your customer experience and even keep your prices stable, all whilst only being a small cost to the client.

These fees can also be manually tailored and adjusted to suit your clientele. Smartpay also offers a non-surcharging Simple Flat Rate solution where your bill will be the same at the end of each month, allowing you to plan your cash flow.

4. Don’t: Confuse your booking and online services

You want clients to not only be able to find you, but book with and also buy from you with ease online. You should assume you’re catering to ‘technologically unsavvy’ clients and keep things as simple as possible when it comes to your client processes, ensuring you don’t accidentally turn anyone away at the final booking hurdles. These are also systems you should be regularly reviewing in order to keep up with client needs and any received feedback.

5. Do: Stay on top of your books

Even if accounting isn’t your idea of a good time, any smart business owner will tell you the importance of understanding your accounts when it comes to ensuring consistent cash flow. You can always opt for cloud-based accounting software to digitally manage your bookkeeping or hire someone external to assist. You know your business better than anyone, so knowing the numbers are key to managing inflation and other business costs.

Keep your salon business relevant, efficient, cash fluid and competitive to succeed. Good luck!

To make the switch and take advantage of Smartpay’s cashback offer, visit their website or speak to a payment specialist on 1800 982 834.