New year, new statistics: measuring salon performance

As the New Year begins, we all consider our plans and targets for the next 12 months. What do we want to achieve, and how do we want to achieve our aims? As for your salon, you’re probably setting estimates and forecasts for next year. In the salon management business, there are so many different metrics that your salon management software can provide, but which of these are the most important?

Retention rates

Perhaps the most important statistic of all for salon owners is the rate of retention of customers. To do any more than survive as a business, you need to retain customers and build up customer loyalty. It’s likely that as they become familiar and comfortable with your salon, they’ll be willing to pay more during each visit.

Developing a strong customer base will also help develop word-of-mouth marketing. Refer a friend schemes can further increase the benefits of retaining customers. For any salon to succeed, it needs to keep giving customers a reason to come back.

Average spend per client

Another statistic that’s obviously incredibly useful is the average amount spent by each of your clients. Whether this is average spend per visit, month, year or in total, these are useful figures that you can use to reflect upon the health of your business and aim to improve upon in the future. Salon management software allows you to easily determine which of your clients spends the most. If you also sell beauty products, determine which customers spend the most, and remember to offer thoe customers new products each time they reach the tills.

Employee retention

What is your employee turnover rate? This metric goes hand-in-hand with the customer retention rate, so it’s important to bear in mind. Your clients will prefer to be seen by their usual stylist, and may even stop visiting your salon if their favourite stylist moves on. Make your employees feel valued and offer benefits to encourage them to stay on _ it’ll help with customer loyalty and your balance sheet over time.

Other important statistics

Whilst the three measures discussed above will probably be the most important in setting your targets for 2014 and beyond, other statistics can give you a clearer idea about other aspects of your salon. The proportion of planned appointments that are eventually cancelled should also be another metric that you aim to reduce in the New Year. We all know how difficult and frustrating it is to deal with last-minute cancellations or no-shows.

Also, you might want to look at how frequently your clients visit your salon _ perhaps there’s some way you can tempt them back in between their visits with a different treatment. Product sales are also important to consider _ per square foot, salon products bring in more revenue than treatments _ so if you can keep track of how much your customers spend on products, this statistic might also be worth following closely.

How salon management software can help you

i-Salon is the UK’s leading provider of salon management software. Our products can help you out in all areas of your salon by allowing your clients to book appointments online, enabling text message reminders about their visits, and keeping track of stock and prices. i-Salon software provides you with all the statistics you need to set targets for the new year and beyond. Contact us now to find out how you can benefit from our products in future.