Everyone enjoys being pampered and feeling that they have had a luxurious experience, and it doesn’t have to be expensive to give yourself a luxury salon lift.
For Autumn/Winter 2023 the focus is on making your hair space luxurious, warm, and inviting. This doesn’t have to cost the earth, it requires thought, planning and teamwork to achieve that luxury salon lift.
Paul Edmonds is synonymous with luxury, with his eponymous salon in Battersea Power Station. “A luxurious space should be relaxing, inviting and calm,” says Paul for L’Oreal Professionnel. “Luxurious means different things to different people. Ultimately, it’s somewhere that is comfortable and elegant where client care appears effortless.”
Here are Paul’s top tips for adding that high-end edge to your salon.
1 Offer a Warm Reception
As the adage goes, first impressions count, and your reception area is how clients judge your business from the second they enter the salon. It goes without saying, ensure it is always clean and tidy and hair is constantly swept away. Above all else, make sure your reception team are trained in how you would like all clients greeted with warmth and professionalism (a script on how to answer the phone, greeting, to taking a bill and rebooking). Make a judgement call on what will appeal to your clients on a luxury level and ensure all your team dress and act to reflect this. Written guidelines always help.
2 Invest in the waiting area
The waiting area is a major touch point on the client journey and one that shouldn’t show neglect. You want clients to feel they are enjoying part of a luxurious experience, not sitting in a dentist’s waiting room. Little touches count. Offer jugs of water with lemon or cucumber and sweets. Make sure you refresh them regularly. If you offer magazines make sure they are cool or upmarket fashion and interior journals and even a good gossip magazine. Even discerning clients love some gossip, but ensure they are always up to date and clear of hair inside the pages. Whatever the add-ons are, have a designated person regularly checking these.
3 Offer Refreshments
Offering tea or coffee is now par for the course in any salon, but increasing the range of hot beverages you offer and upgrading to better quality brands makes a small, but tangible, difference to the client experience. If you offer biscuits have them packaged separately if you really want to create a touch of luxury. A complimentary glass of fizz is great, but make sure that you don’t devalue this experience for the client. It should be a real treat for them. If it’s not, then it will devalue the expectation of your hair service, so make sure you present it in a great way. Understand the cost of this service to you otherwise you fritter away your profits unnecessarily. You shouldn’t need a licence unless you charge for them.
4 Promote High-End Services
Nothing screams luxury more than the services you offer. If you add high-end boutique product treatments to your menu, make sure you use the right emotive language to describe them and. Words such as ‘indulgent, blissful, personalised, bespoke and exclusive’ all say luxury.
5 Say it with Flowers
Flowers are the perfect way to add a splash of colour and a hint of luxury to a salon. Make sure someone has the responsibility of ensuring they always look fresh. It’s great to add these extra touches, but vases of dead or dying flowers will convey the exact opposite of luxury and indulgence.
6 Toilets
If you speak to most women, they judge a restaurant by its toilets so don’t let yourself down at the final hurdle. Clean toilets (regular checks) with a good hand wash, hand cream and paper towels can be the icing on the proverbial luxury salon cake.
7 Never Compromise on the Detail
No matter how you have designed your space or your menu of services, it’s all about the detail. Never compromise on this. Continuity is key so ensure your team are on the same page for long- and short-term goals and getting your teams buy-in to your expectations is really important.