In Conversation with Charlotte Evans – Ginger Salon, Bromsgrove

In Conversation with Charlotte Evans – Ginger Salon, Bromsgrove. Talking about cost of living, gaining new clients and the environment.

Rather than reducing your prices or offering discounts, how can you entice clients to spend on colour during the cost-of-living crisis?

Education  Education  Education!

Our guests need to know why they should be coming in for regular colour top-ups,  and it’s our job as their stylist to pass our professional knowledge on!

Recently we posted an educational Instagram post called ‘The cycle of a Balayage’ Where we covered the maintenance and the cost our guests can expect over the course of a year. This was our most successful educational post and we became inundated with guest queries and bookings for Balayage!

What is your opinion on offering discounts on colour services?

I understand why our industry do it, for years we have been undervalued by society.

I am sure many of us remember the sheer disrespect from school careers advisers “You aren’t very academic, have you considered Hair and Beauty?”…. Rude.

This leads us to undervalue ourselves and very often price our services with emotion “I feel bad charging that” “My clients cant afford that” or worse, we base our prices on competitors, without knowing their overheads.

My salon is the most expensive in the area, and yes I know some people cannot afford us, and Tha’ts ok. This makes room for our ‘Fans’ who are fiercely loyal.

Adding value to a guests service is extremely important, Knowing your Customer journey inside -out, having great quality coffee, an easy, transparent booking system and epic customer service all sets you apart from the competition.

So very often a guests decision to sit in your chair, isn’t based on price.

That being said, we understand the current climate has been difficult for most. Unless you are Jeff Bezos!

We have a few budget friendly options, such as a reduced rate for on the day walk-ins to fill white space. Model nights and a tiered pricing structure so that guests have a degree of control over their spend.

I personally feel If guests see their regular service constantly on offer they will begrudge paying full price.

Are there any alternative colour services that you have been offering as a result of the cost-of-living crisis?

Yes, we recently started offering express colour services to our Guests. This includes ‘Express Roots’ this covers the parting only, and a blast dry with an assistant. This is available to regular Guests and can only be booked by the stylist if suitable. This is great for emergency grey coverage for a job interview that has caught you off guard!  Another popular service is

‘Face frame’ This is great for those guests who want their blonde Poppin!

Do you break down the cost of your colour services for your clients? Why/ why not? What could be the benefits or negatives of this?

We don’t break down the colour services, as sometimes we feel this limits us in the long run. As creatives I believe we should have a certain amount of both control and freedom. Recently I separated the price of a toner and now very often guests ask not to have one.

I do feel that having extras is super important though. Adding a treatment to a guests service, or upselling from a Blow-Dry to a Cut and Finish can add thousands to your profit margin per year!

Do you have any advice on how to advertise and market your colour services?

Get Creative!

To stand out from the crowd you need to discover your USP (Unique selling point). Ask yourself why your guests come to you, and if you don’t know ask them! How do you make them feel? why are you different? Once you have this information, you have your avatar. Give her a name, a job, hobbies and interests.

This is where you should concentrate most of your efforts. If your avatar is a Mum, team up with a Mum group on Facebook. If your avatar is a student, get yourself the local university and collaborate on an Event!

Tag your colour house and demo your products.  Eleven is a colourists dream, they support everyone, not just stylists with a big following!

How would you approach a conversation regarding colour with clients who are worried about damaging their hair?

Like all colour services, it should start with a Thorough consultation.

Here we dive into the nitty gritty of the hair history, guests desires and above else managing expectations.

Using concise and simple terminology can you get the very best out of your guest.

Strand tests are a Must, this avoids any nasty surprises on the day!

We switched to Eleven Australia  last year and clients rave about the shine, condition and longevity of their colour.

Eleven bleach lifts clean whilst keeping the integrity of the hair in tact.

My summer tip for Guests is to massage MIRACLE HAIR TREATMENT  through the ends of their hair whilst on the beach for that ultimate summer protection!!

What about clients who are worried about the environment?

I feel that we all have our part to play in saving the environment. Small changes make a huge difference. Whether that be eating less meat, or buying your clothes from Vinted. (My own personal pledge this year) .

Eleven Australia has a huge part to play in our mission. All packaging is recyclable and made from Recycled materials. They even have plastic free shampoo and conditioner bars! Their ingredients are naturally derived, vegan an cruelty free….. What’s not to Love?

Check out the story in Hairdresser’s Journal!