By Scott Nichols

In today’s industry, many salon owners are looking to bring in new services such as sunless, spa and cosmetic services. These services can enhance the bottom line and be the extra income you need. But equipment can cost tens of thousands of dollars and making that decision can be scary. The last thing you want to do is spend thousands of dollars on equipment that has a negative impact on our business.

If you are a salon owner and thinking about bringing in a new service, you may ask yourself “why do some salons have success and others don’t, or why did the competition down the road fail but the salon in the next town is having success” – what is the difference?

The difference almost all the time comes down to how much time, effort and advertising you want to put into your new service. Let’s take sunless for example, you just purchased some new equipment and three months later you’re just staring at an empty booth. What happened? Why aren’t the UV tanners transitioning over to the sunless booth and where are the new customers?

You need to spend time on your new product. You must take time to explain and educate it to your staff, customers and potential customers. If you can’t convince your staff to start using your new service, you will have a bigger uphill battle with your customers. Let’s use the sunless as an example again; if your staff does not believe in sunless tanning, they will not talk to your customers about it. You need to educate them on the features and benefits of the service. If you already done that and they still don’t promote it, then you need to start looking for employees who will. Remember, you just spent tens of thousands of dollars on new equipment, and the employee behind the desk should not be the reason it fails.

You need to put effort into your new service. Your new service should be treated like a new business, just like when you started your tanning salon. Write a business plan and then implement that business plan to your staff, customers and others. One of the most important parts is to have someone that oversees “your new business”. That person can either be yourself or someone else in your company is qualified to do so. This person will need to dedicate at least half of their time building this service. If you decide that this person will be yourself, make sure you have someone who is ready to take over what you are about to give up. You don’t want to build this new service and watch the other part of your business fail.

Advertising your new service is a must. This can be done in many ways such as social media, radio and billboards. Remember, you need to treat this just like a new business! If you are going to send out some type of advertising, make sure you are giving enough attention to your new service. Most of your customers know what you already have, so make sure your advertising can explain the new services you can offer them. Give them a reason to try it out.

Adding a new service to your company can be a great opportunity to expand your business and enhance your income. It is vital that you give it the attention it needs to succeed. If you are ready to do so then make sure you do your homework, work with industry experts and give it all it needs to succeed.