Key Learnings at Data-Driven Salon Summit 2021

One of the first in-person events since the pandemic hit, everyone was armed with data, stats, and tips to share. We’ve gathered the top 5 stats and tips to help salon owners continue to grow.

Salons are throwing away 40% of their color inventory

To those of you who are familiar with Vish, this isn’t a new statistic. Salons are wasting thousands every year in color that never even touches hair. Two of every five tubes of color get poured straight down the drain. Salons are cutting wasted by over 80% by consistently tracking their product dispensed, leading to less waste in our environment but also thousands of dollars saved on inventory. Read more about waste in the industry.

The most Googled search term of 2020 was “When will my salon reopen”

Phorest Salon Software discovered that the most Googled search term (out of the billions around the world) was “when will my salon reopen?”. That’s millions and millions of people who are missing their salon. So while we are rebuilding our businesses, remember how many people in your community and beyond are thinking about you, your stylists, and the amazing services you provide.

To Hashtag or not to Hashtag?

We saw some amazing talks from Cameron Kepford at Haus of Heir and Stefanie Fox at Talent Match, who had differing opinions on whether to include hashtags in your posts. Instagram and social media in general are constantly evolving, and it’s important to do your own research and testing to discover what method works best for you. So what do you think? Hashtags or no hashtags?

Switch from ounces to grams

This tip actually came from an audience member during our Vish presentation. He mentioned that ounces were too big to grasp when trying to get the perfect formulas, and that when he switched from measuring in ounces to grams, his team’s formulas got more refined, producing less waste, and dispensing less product.

Profit = Revenue – Expenses

To anyone who owns a business, this is evident, right? But when it comes to color, it always seems to be forgotten. With costs of product increasing, it seems obvious to increase your pricing, but how you increase your pricing makes all the difference. Most salons will increase their prices across the board, but that often leads to unhappy clients and the same profit margin across services. Vish recommends tracking exactly what products you dispense and charging based on actual usage – gathering profit from the increased cost, rather than the service itself. Then, when you start using less and less product in a service because your waste has plummeted (see point 1) you’re hardly charging your clients more! Happy clients, happy bank accounts, and happy you! Learn more about pricing here.

Want to learn more about what Vish taught at Data-Driven this year? Contact us at info@getvish.com to find out.