Milady Training

Read Time: 5 Minutes
Expertise Area: All Career Fields
Career Stage: Recently Licensed & Seasoned Professionals

Expert Career Advice ➜ Building a Client Base ➜ Adding Services To Your Menu

There’s more to adding new services than popping up a sign at your front desk. It takes research, planning, and marketing to introduce services to your clients. As a beauty and wellness professional, there are many ways you can make more money behind the chair and in the treatment room. One of these ways is by adding additional services to your menu. While this seems to be a smart approach to growth, sometimes, if not implemented properly, it can have the opposite effect with little return on your investment. Let’s state a case for adding services to your menu in a way that has a positive effect on you, your clients, and your bottom line.

How to Add New Services to Your Menu

Research

The first step in adding new services is to do your research. The more information you gather, the better informed you can be about the service before you add it. Let’s take a journey through the process.

• The “Why”: Start by writing down a list of pros and cons as to why it would work or not. Don’t Google anything at this point and don’t ask anyone for input. Why do you want to offer it you clients?
• Cost: How much will it cost? Will you need to purchase new equipment, chairs, tables, linens? What supplies will you need to be able to provide the service? Will you have to add new retail products to go along with the service?
• Cash Flow: What is your current cash flow situation? Do you have the necessary capital to bring in the service?
• Survey: Create a list of loyal clients and reach out to them to conduct a survey. You can ask them to complete an online survey through a service like Survey Monkey or invite them in for an evening of refreshments and snacks to get their opinion on the service and pricing you want to add. Present all your research about the benefits and ask for their honest feedback. If you do go ahead and add the service, you can offer them a 10% discount for their input.
• Go undercover: Get out in the community and try the service at another business where it being offered. Do you like it? How long did it take? Ask the service provider their opinion and other client’s reactions; make it a casual conversation. Gauge the price points and quality of experience you have.

Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to launch the new service.

Plan & Launch

Planning your launch strategy is crucial to the success of your newest addition. Though you can decide what is right for your business by using your intuition, it helps to have hard facts and data to ensure the integration of a new service is implemented as smoothly as possible.

• Know the timeline. Be sure you understand how long it will take for you to receive the new equipment & supplies to get started. How much training will you need to be comfortable with the service? Working with your local distributor will help you with the creation of this timeline.
• Plan a soft launch. Do a dry run or soft launch to help work out the kinks before you make your big reveal. Schedule some of your loyal clients for the service at no cost so that you can get honest feedback.
• Update your menu. Be sure you determine your price for the new service based upon the expense it will take to provide the service and the profit you want to make. To learn more about pricing, check out this guide.
• Build a marketing campaign. Create signage, add information to your website, and set up a social media strategy. This should start happening at least 4 weeks before launch. You can post fun teasers about something new coming to your salon, spa, or shop and then once it’s launched, use your marketing channels to drive appointments.
• Track it. Once you’ve launched the new service, it’s important to track its success. How many clients tried the service and what are they saying about it? How many clients are rebooking? Be sure to track it daily, weekly, and monthly. Feelings are not an accurate barometer for what is really going on. Analyze the numbers and you’ll know if the service is providing a boost to your business.

Remember, this might only be step one in your new service launch plan. If you are not the manager or owner of your business, you will need to pitch the idea to these important decision makers first.

If you’re considering offering additional services, it’s important you set yourself, the salon, spa, or shop up for success before you make this transition. Create your plan of action before you even approach your salon/spa/shop manager or owner. In your plan, outline above plus the skills and the technical ability to expand your service menu. If you need additional training, this is something to incorporate into the plan. Once you have a strong plan in place, schedule a time to present it to your owner/manager. Once you have the go-ahead, the real work begins.

Strategies to Sell A New Service

Strategies are the way you achieve the results you want. It is your plan of action and without one, success can be elusive. Consider these strategies whenever you are introducing something new to your clients.

• The Invitation. Print a small message and frame it. Use a great font and an interesting frame and place it on top of your station and at the front desk. A good size to consider is a 5-by-7 frame and change the invitation monthly. Examples: "Ask how you can get a shine and polish in 20 minutes!" or "Let's talk texture!"
• The Menu. Start with a concept such as color, texture, design, treatments, or new referrals. Find a few great pictures from magazines or the internet and place them in your "look book." A look book is a collection of all the looks you want to create as well as the latest in new beauty and wellness technologies. One way to share your lookbook is to create a digital version on Pinterest with a dedicated board. When your clients come into your business, have them review it on a tablet. If digital isn’t your styling, creating a physical lookbook works too– the choice is yours. Consider your lookbook, not just a collection of trends and style for your clients to browse through, but also an opportunity to showcase the latest in hair, skin, and nail advancements. Present pictures and articles of what the new service can do for them. Pictures tell a wonderful story, and as they browse, this opens an amazing opportunity to talk with your client about ways you can better take care of their beauty and wellness needs.
• The Communication. Create a digital marketing campaign for the masses and consider sending out an invitation via snail mail or personal email to your most loyal clients inviting them to experience the new services featured in your lookbook. Share the information about what the new service is, why it is a benefit for them, and how it works. Never list the price of the service, but if you are offering a first-time discount, note the savings. Remember to include a "by when" reference line (e.g. Redeem this experience before M/D/Y and receive a 20% savings!)

Certainly, by expanding your services, you have the potential to increase revenue for you and the salon, spa, or shop. You are also giving your clients the experience of your knowledge and expertise on what is best for their beauty needs. As long as you take the time to do your research, create a plan, and communicate with your clients, new services have the power to bring extra perks for your team and your clientele.