Chapter 9
Merchandising in Your
Salon and Spa
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Merchandising Terms
 Merchandising—the total of activities related
to selling all goods, services, and retail items
that one might find in a salon and spa
 Gross sales—total amount of money taken
in by the salon and spa during the year
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Merchandising Terms
 Net profit—the difference between the cost
of goods and services and their selling price.
– Labor would be part of the cost of a
shampoo/style service as well as the shampoo
and hair spray
 Real profit—the amount of money left after
all bills have been paid
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Main Steps in Merchandising
 Getting customers
into the salon and
spa
 Giving customers
what they want
 Selling/servicing
customers, needs
© Milady, a part of Cengage Learning. Photography
by Dino Petrocelli
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Getting Customers into the
Salon and Spa
 What makes a customer come into a salon
and spa?
–
–
–
–
the location
the appearance
the marketing (Web site, print work)
good recommendations
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Planning
 What type of customers are you looking for?
 What type of customer currently comes into
your salon and spa?
 What types of businesses are near your
salon and spa? What is their traffic pattern?
 Can you tie in with their marketing program
for the benefit of your salon and spa?
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Planning
 Do you wish to change the type of customers
you already have, or do you just wish to add
a few more?
 Should you consider changing your location?
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Salon and Spa Appearance
– clean windows
– attractive displays
(changed every 3 weeks)
© Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
Photography by Dino Petrocelli
 Attractive windows and doors
 Waiting (retail) area well-lit
and open, so a passerby
can see into the salon and spa at night
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
New Client Promotions
 Discounts to attract new clients
– discount prices through services
– offered to the new clients on their first visit to the
salon and spa or a free retail gift with the first hair
or spa service
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Meetings and Training
Seminars
 Hold staff meetings at least once a month
– owner/manager may lead the meeting
– a guest stylist or teacher speaker creates
excitement
– meetings can last from about 30 minutes or a few
hours
– attendance should be mandatory for all staff
members
– meetings are well-planned, interesting, and
interactive
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Meetings and Training
Seminars
 Meeting topics
–
–
–
–
human relations and communication
salesmanship
new products and service techniques
service and retail sales results
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Electronic Media
 Training programs are offered in various
electronic formats from salon and spa
education companies
 Subjects include technical trainings and
client-service training
 Training aids can stimulate lively
discussions
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
School Demonstrations
 A source of future staff and customers
 Know your audience
 Presentations need to be relevant to your
audience
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Using the Web
 Source of marketing
– link yourself to multiple places online so that
your information will pop up in search engines,
yellow pages, online networking, etc.
– you want your information to be relevant to the
places to which it is connected
– web host providers and/or information
technology consultants can be a great resource
in helping you to maximize your visibility
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Word of Mouth
 Word of mouth is the best type of marketing
 If your salon and spa has a customer who
has sent you a client, be sure to acknowledge
him or her
– a thank-you note
– a small gift
– a complete rewards program
 “Bring-a-friend” promotions
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Giving Customers What
They Want
 Clients are looking for two things—service
and satisfaction
– greet the client immediately, whether it is his or
her first or hundredth visit
– should the person have to wait, offer a magazine
or a cup of coffee to help pass the time
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Giving Customers What
They Want
 Listen to what the client wants
– the first visit should be the time for the client to
get to know the salon and spa and the
technicians
– the first and main objective of this visit is to gain
the person’s confidence and to get to know one
another
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Ask the Right Questions
 Ask questions that enhance the customer’s
experience
 Confirm that you will be asking a few brief
questions to better service the customer today
 Establish a time line: “When was the last time
you received a haircut [wax/facial etc.]?” This
will allow the customer’s mind to focus and will
give you valuable information about his or her
patterns
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Ask the Right Questions
 “What did you like about your last haircut
[hair color, manicure, etc.]?” This will give
you valuable information about what works
currently for the client
 “What do you not like about your [haircut,
hair color, manicure, etc.]?” This will tell you
what needs to be changed
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Ask the Right Questions
 “What would you like to change today about
your [haircut, hair color, manicure, etc.]?”
This will tell you what the client sees as his
or her needs and what the client wants to
change
 “What are your currently using for products?”
This will allow you to understand what
products the client is currently using, and
how to better serve his or her product needs
 “How is it working for you?”
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Ask the Client to Return
 The technician should always invite the client
back to the salon and spa
 If the client says he or she does not want to
rebook, help him or her see that it is in his or
her best interest to book now to secure a time
that works for him or her
 If the client still prefers to call in, the
technician or front desk associate should give
the technician’s card to the client
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
 When you are served, not
sold, you feel welcomed,
great, happy, willing to
buy, and important
 It is about education and
helping clients get what
they want, not what you
want
 Motivate your technicians
 Motivate your front desk
associate
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
© Milady, a part of Cengage Learning. Photography
by Dino Petrocelli
Selling vs. Servicing
Customers’ Needs
How to Purchase, Market,
and Sell Retail Items
 Purchasing should be done by one person
 Items purchased should fall into two classes:
– usable items (back stock)
– retail items (items for resale)
 The inventory sheet
– used to order accurately
– amounts should fall into a pattern
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Selecting Retail Lines
 Do not buy into too many product lines.
 Be sure the product lines are popular with
your staff, as technicians usually sell most
effectively when they understand and like a
product.
 Be sure the product lines are sold exclusively
to salons and spas
 You are buying into a distributor, not just a
product line
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Retail Items
 Ask yourself:
– who are my customers?
– what will their purchasing needs be?
– are these products only sold in professional salons
and spas?
– what educational support system will the distributor
offer?
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Yearly Promotions
 Once you have established your customers’
needs, you are now ready to set up yearly
promotion programs
 You must adapt to your own area and clientele
 Make a long-term commitment, and start small,
to see if it will work without risking too much of
your capital
 It is a good idea to use a basic, consistent
template each year
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Marketing Retail Items
 Most of the promotion of services and retail
items is done on a personal basis in the salon
and spa
 The more personal an approach, such as
cards through the mail and/or e-mail, a
telephone call, or talking directly to a group,
the better
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Specialty Items
 Clothing and/or jewelry should be sold in a
separate area
 Fine jewelry should be placed where it can be
watched at all times and the inventory count
maintained
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Important Rules for
Merchandising
 Know your customer
 Know what you are selling
 Know who is going to sell it
 Know how much it costs and what kind of profit
you intend to make
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Summary
 A salon and spa must launch and maintain an
active program to get new customers in and
retain them as customers
 The three steps in merchandising are:
– getting the customer into the salon and spa
– giving customers what they want
– selling customers what they need
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Summary
 All purchasing of back-stock items and retail
items should be done by one person. Choosing a
retail line is a very important decision; a good
distributor can help with promotions and
education.
 To merchandise in a salon and spa, know your
customers, know what you are retailing, know
who will retail it, and know your costs and what
kind of profit you will make.
© Copyright 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.