Victoria is the owner of three beauty salons in the United States, and she recently said that the salon’s eyelash extension business has grown by nearly 200%. She spoke out about some of the things she’s done right recently, so I can’t wait to share them.
But before we proceed, I want to let you know that the lash business, just like any other business, requires a focused mindset. Whether you have limitations, it’s not an excuse to get stuck where you’re. Instead, unleash your inner strength, focus on where you want to be, and operate on the possibilities of what could be. Now let’s consider what Victoria is doing right and what has engineered her business’s 200% growth:
Market research
Conducting extensive market research regularly is critical for any business that wants to survive and succeed in the modern dynamic marketplace. It helps you to keep up with the current changes in trends to stay ahead of the competition. Market research is essential for new businesses, those who want to find more customers and develop new products. Successful market research helps you better understand your target market, increase sales, and enhance your growth. Here’s what she did during her market research and has since brought immense growth to her lash extension business:
Understanding my target customers:
For your business to continue growing, you need to identify your existing customers and find ways to attract new customers. When she was starting, she took the time to evaluate her existing customers. She took note of their key demographics. Victoria’s most significant consideration was these questions:
- Who will use your product?
- What’s the age group of your customers?
- What are their income level, marital status, and geographical location?
The questions enabled me to target customers more effectively.
Knowing my competitors:
We live in a modern business environment where competition is rife and dynamic. So you must do the necessary to stand a chance of thriving in such an environment. Therefore, one of the things you must do is understand the ins and outs of your opponents. You can visit them as a client and learn the following:
- Your competitors’ pricing
- Types of services they offer
- How they offer their services
You can also visit their online sites to get more information about the number of workers, marketing strategies, and other relevant information.
Choose the product
You must have learned a lot from your market research to help you position yourself as a worthy competitor in the dynamic marketplace. Now it’s time to choose the best products to enhance customer experience and satisfaction. That means choosing the best eyelashes styles for your business. So Victoria realized that most of her opponents were sourcing their eyelashes styles from Amazon, she knew that’s what she wanted to do. She chose Amazon’s bestsellers eyelashes styles, which is what you should consider doing too. Remember, you must offer excellent and unique services that can help you win your customer’s loyalty and trust.
Choosing the wrong products at the beginning can make a bad impression on your target customers, and you might lose many customers. Also, it will become challenging to change their minds about your products and brand.
Here are a few things you should do when choosing your eyelashes extensions:
- Identify the eyelashes extension styles your competitors offer: Visit their website to find more details.
- Visit Amazon to find the Amazon Bestsellers eyelashes styles categories: It will help you identify what most sellers prefer.
- Assess Amazon’s bestseller eyelashes prices and adjust your prices accordingly to attract more customers.
Increase repeat customers
Excellent customer services and experience are core aspects of businesses that want to succeed in a crowded business environment. What sets you apart from the rest? It has to do with how you offer your services and the professionalism of your business. Most clients want to be treated with utmost care and attention. Doing so ensures that you attach high-quality eyelashes extensions, i.e., they should appear longer, thicker, and firm. That’s what can guarantee repeat business, loyalty, and trust. Your aim should be to ensure that your clients come to seek your services again.
Here’s what Victoria did to keep customers coming over and over again:
- Offering high-quality services: Victoria always ensures that customers feel happy about her services by providing high-quality eyelash extensions that last longer. She would let them lie flat in a comfortable position when applying the eyelash extensions and then clean the eye area to remove germs, make-up, or mascara for easy eyelash application.
- High level of professionalism: Victoria also has a team of professional, licensed, and talented eyelash artists who understand the needs of various clients. They apply for the lash extensions carefully, one at a time, ensuring they stick on the natural lash. The lash artists always have the customers’ needs in mind. The first thing is to ask them what type of look they want, whether glamorous or natural. They’ll then let customers choose their desired extension length and curl strength for their extensions.
- High-quality eyelash glue: Choosing high-quality glue ensures that the eyelashes will stick perfectly and not fall off easily. If you use inferior glue, you’d ruin your reputation and lose your customers. Victoria chose the best glue to help secure the eyelash extensions perfectly and prevent them from falling off the natural lash. The customers keep choosing my services because they know that my eyelash application guarantees their long-term needs.
- Conducive store environment: Victoria’s eyelash store is a serene environment where customers can relax and enjoy as their eyelashes get fixed. There are comfortable chairs where clients lie down for the highly trained lash artists to do their work according to customers’ needs.
These are some of the things you should consider if you want to keep your customers coming back repeatedly.
Increase the average transaction value（ATV）
The most critical aspects of growing your business are setting reasonable goals and finding ways to achieve them. One of the greatest levers to help you hit your goals is increasing the Average Transaction Value.
But too often we focus on discounts and concessions which make our work pretty difficult and we have to chase more deals to sell more. Victoria reveals you don’t have to focus on pricing but on the value of your services. She understands that customers can be so demanding and expect so much more. Discounts and concessions are good for business, but you can make more deals without touching on pricing. We often dig our own holes when we let customers evaluate our services based on pricing.
Be selfish for a moment and focus on increasing the transaction average value. Customers care about value; pricing becomes an issue when we don’t position our value appropriately. That means finding a balance between discounting and increasing the Transaction Average Value.
Victoria’s secret was to improve the value of her eyelashes business by offering extra services like eyelashes care, enabling her to tap into her customers’ needs. On top of that, Victoria offers discounts to customers who recommend her services to their relatives and friends.
Surprises
Some customers love the quality of our services to the extent of spontaneously posting pictures on Facebook, Instagram, and more. They leave positive reviews online, which has been good for Victoria’s salon business. It has helped Victoria to expand her business to a level she had never imagined before. She often receives calls from new customers who tell her they saw her services online courtesy of their friends or other users. Also, many clients show up at Victoria’s store to praise her for the services they receive. This has always motivated Victoria to improve to ensure that the customers feel happy and love their new look.
She also thought of another approach later:
Praise incentives: Victoria thought of a way she would appreciate and motivate her loyal customers so they could spread the word about her business online. She created an Awards program to award customers based on their consistency in using her services. It was both monetary and non-monetary. It worked magic because she generated more revenue than ever before.
Add some tips for what you need to prepare for opening a store
The beauty industry is a lucrative industry that can help you earn more money. While there are many niches in this industry, the lash business has proved to be one of the most successful. I understand how difficult it is to start a lash business. The good thing is that Victoria has been in this situation before, and now she has what it takes to help you.
She wants to teach you some tips to help you start your lash business store today:
- Acquire the necessary training and skills: It will be easier to hire talented lash artists when you already have the necessary qualifications.
- Find a captivating business name and create your brand: Your business name and brand should be unique to stand out in the competitive environment.
- Understand your target market: Not everyone will come for aesthetic services. Use key demographic details to guide your market search.
- Conduct market research to assess the level of competition.
- Create a business plan to help you define your business, including targeting customers and marketing strategies.
- Select your business entity to help people know whether you’re a sole owner or if you’re working with partners.
- Set up a business bank account to offer more professionalism and facilitate smooth business transactions.
- Stay on top of licensing, permits, and other fee requirements to ensure you stay compliant with your state’s business legal requirements.
- Create a reasonable budget based on your eyelash salon’s needs, such as the number of employees, rent, equipment, and other supplies.
- Choose a conducive location for your eyelash salon; whether you want to rent or own a location, that’s up to you.
- Purchase business insurance to help you protect your business against any risks or damages.
- Buy everything you need (equipment and supplies) for a successful business.
- Set reasonable pricing and create a list of services you offer at your salon.
- Create a professional website
- Choose a solid booking system for your eyelash salon.
- Find an excellent Point of Sale Software.
- Execute your marketing strategy to build a vast customer base
- Launch your business
- Grow and expand your services
- Make more money
Conclusion
Ensure to pay attention to the market to choose the right eyelash extension style and high-quality eyelash glue. Continue to tap into your customers’ needs to run a successful salon business. Also, use social media to spread the word about your eyelash extension services to create a vast customer base. Good luck to you!
