How to improve a small nail salon business

Owning a small nail salon business can be both exciting and demanding. With lots of competition in the field, you need to ensure the company is continually improving and not stagnating.

There are key areas to focus on to keep your nail salon business running smoothly, and in this article, we’ll look at a variety of ways to improve your business. 

Topics we’ll cover include:

• Marketing and social media
• Health and safety
• Improving sales
• Financial planning

Marketing and social media marketing are crucial aspects for any business. Still, for nail salons, it’s often one of the more straightforward tools to navigate due to the nature of the business being visually attractive (painted nails). That’s often why nail salons marketing goes hand in hand with social media, a visual tool. 

Social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, are great for ‘free advertising’. Their social ads can help you get your business in front of thousands of followers set to your target audience range (demographics).

When creating an ad, you get to select the demographics (age range, location, hashtags) that you want to target for your business. This means your social adverts will directly aim at customers that fall into your demographic range (selective targeting). 

Social media ads are easy to set up, and you get to set the budget and duration of the advert. For Facebook and Instagram, managing your ads can be directly controlled through Facebook Business Suite or individually on each platform.

Having a social media presence allows your customers to showcase the handy work done at your salon by tagging your profiles in pictures they upload for their followers to view. It’s an excellent way for new customers to see what you do.

Search engine optimisations (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) are your fundamental digital marketing cornerstones. SEO helps to improve the visibility of your website in search engine rankings, driving organic traffic (non-paid clicks) to your website. PPC also drives traffic to your website, but this is through paid advertising on search engines. 

Marketing is a digital-focused arena, and you need to tap into this if you aren’t already. Optimising your search engine rankings and using pay-per-click (PPC) will allow you to climb higher in the search results so more people can discover you. Even simple steps, such as ensuring your details are correct (contact number and opening hours) when people search for your nail salon, will help.

Getting customers to leave Google reviews will also provide a great testimonial to your work that’s available to all who search for your nail salon. It’s free and takes less than a few minutes to write a review, so don’t be shy about asking your client’s to leave you one. 

The significant aspect of Google reviews is that you can also reply to them. A quick thank you to each review is a great way to build rapport and nurture that all-important client relationship.

Traditional marketing is also a must since it enables you to reach local audiences and those that aren’t online. It’s a great way to keep your business name fresh in the minds of your local community. You could sponsor local events, advertise in your local newspaper, and ask hair salons if you can display your card in their shop. 

It’s a good idea to check on what your competitors do to make sure your business can stand out from other nail salons. Boosting your marketing helps to improve brand awareness amongst your target market and is a pivotal step in converting new customers to book in with your business.

Following health and safety guidelines inclusive of Covid-19 regulations is paramount in any nail salon. Assuring customers that you’re strictly adhering to the guidelines will help them to feel comfortable and safe. This, in turn, promotes a more relaxed atmosphere, and one that customers will happily return to.

You can also publicise this through your social media so customers know what to expect. 

For further information on this subject please look at information by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and here for information on Covid-19 regulations for nail salons.

Ultimately, improving sales is something all businesses want, and yet it can be tricky to do. 

There are many different avenues to look at when considering how to improve your small nail salon business, but customer service is key to improving your sales.

Providing the best customer service possible will encourage your customers to keep returning and spread the word so new customers will start inquiring about you. Of course, it’s not that simple; you can make a few other implementations to help drive sales.

• Loyalty schemes: These will help retain customers and provide them with your appreciation. For example, for every six appointments, the next appointment is discounted.
• New customer incentives: Provide an enticing incentive to attract new customers. For example, a first appointment with the business can be discounted. Then, to retain the customer, pop them onto a loyalty scheme.
• Upselling: Try upselling a basic manicure to one that includes nail art. It can help increase your profit and open your customer’s eyes to something new, converting them to adding nail art in future appointments.
• Offer packages and discounts: Create specialist, discounted packages at certain times of the year to help get your appointment booked filled and increase your sales and profits. For example:
  • A Christmas package could include paying the total price for a manicure and receiving a twenty per cent discount on a pedicure when booked for the same appointment.
  • Birthday packages could include a manicure with complimentary nail art, and a cupcake and a small bottle of champagne to take home.

There are endless possibilities with packages, so get creative and provide something your competitors aren’t pursuing. 

Keeping track of your salon’s business finances is crucial to your company’s smooth running and success. Many business owners often feel overwhelmed by sorting through, organising, and keeping on top of their finances.

Financial planning will enable you to keep all your finances in order. This can then help better forecast your business’s future, working alongside your marketing and sales plans to provide the foundations for a successful business. Using an app like Countingup will help you easily record and track your financial data, and quickly find the insights that you need.

Countingup is the business current account designed for business owners. With built-in accounting software, you can easily manage all your financial data from the palm of your hand.  

With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also instantly share your bookkeeping with your accountant without worrying about duplication errors, data lags, or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 

Sign up here.