With Father’s Day around the corner, is your salon ready to step up with services and retail opportunities for male clients?
Donna Beyak from The Men’s Room in Edmonton, Monika McKinley and Chrissy Gimby from Capri Salon and Spa in Waterloo, Ont. weigh-in on up-selling that works with men.
1. Market to Your Existing Customers
“If you already have someone in your salon, it’s much easier to simply offer a new service or treatment they’ve never tried before. We find that a lot of men could use a pedicure or a facial,” says McKinley, manager at Capri Salon and Spa, a salon with male clientele from a broad age range. “What we’re doing for Father’s Day is offering a complimentary mini-treatment with their haircut, or a full service at half-price.” The end goal is to develop loyal clientele, according to McKinley, which is why she will make more effort to up-sell to existing customers than seek out new ones.
2. Consultation, Consultation, Consultation!
It’s important to ask questions and get to know the current hair regimen of male clients, and how much time they’re willing to spend on hair. “Then, we cater to their at-home hair care with what we’re doing in the salon,” suggest Gimby, one of the lead retailing hairstylists at Capri. Men are more educated nowadays with scalp health and hair care, and the main topics men are asking about are thinning hair and controlling frizzy, curly strands. Knowing this, Gimby has been able to successfully retail Nioxin products and CHI smoothing products. “It’s also about making sure the guys are using the right products at hone, and taking the time to explain how to use it and show them in the salon. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, the guys respond really well this way,” adds Gimby.
3. Develop a Trusting Relationship
“Sometimes, I think guys can be a little intimidated or feel silly asking questions. But when you start talking to them about it, they become more comfortable and ask, ‘How do you do that?’ or ‘How do you get my hair to look like that?’” says Gimby. Since men typically come into the salon more frequently than women for their hair service, take the opportunity to get to know their hair type and needs, so that you can make appropriate recommendations. “Men are creatures of habit, and loyal,” observes McKinley. “If they have trust and loyalty with their stylist, they will at least try our recommended product at home. If it works, they’ll come back and buy the same product at your store.”
4. A Better Alternative to Gift Certificates
Women, according to owner Donna Beyak, purchase more than half of men’s grooming products at The Men’s Room in Edmonton. “But if they ask for a gift certificate for their husbands, we will steer them towards a product or a service instead. It makes the men familiar with our services, and the hope is that they’ll book another appointment with us when they redeem their gift. If you push to a service, then the men specifically know what to come back to the salon for,” says Beyak.
5. Understand the Market for On-Target Retailing
“It’s important to really understand who your target market is. Men aged 18 to 34 are notorious for spending more money than men who are 35 to 55,” observes Beyak. “The younger group are generally very familiar with the atmosphere and services offered at the salon and spa. They understand cleansing, toning, aftershave lotions, fragrance, and are using bronzers, self-tanners, even men’s foundation,” says Beyak. Knowing the needs and wants of your clientele, set up the retail shelf so that they can find everything they need at your salon.
What tips can you offer to promote services to men? Comment for a chance to win a Schwarzkopf Professional [3D]mension product set and laptop bag for the man in your life!
A winner will be randomly selected June 11, 2012 at 9 am and emailed! Must be a resident of Canada to win.
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