Competitor Analysis: why do you need it?
Beauty has a high value and will never lose its importance. As a result, barbershops, hair salons and nail studios are opening worldwide.
However, if you rush into opening a beauty salon, there is a high probability that you will have to close down in the first few months. Therefore, you should research the competitors in the neighbourhood, area or city. Competitor tracking is a crucial step in starting a business.
Let's take a closer look at why it is essential to have information about your neighbours. And how to attract clients if you operate side by side with a successful hair salon?
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First, determine what options you need. Then, figure out what budget you will allocate to the software. Finally, check suitable options, e.g. EasyWeek online appointment service.
Advantages over the competition
It is vital to be proactive to attract customers. If you know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, you can coordinate your work much better.
What sets a beauty salon apart from the competition
Professionals can bring new clients into the salon who can quickly become regulars. Any neighbouring beauty salon can poach an effective employee. To avoid this, analyse the working conditions of your business neighbours in advance.
Modern equipment and high-quality cosmetics. The cost of services may be higher than competitors' prices. However, clients are willing to pay for a well-executed procedure and long-lasting results. Branded cosmetics are a good way to stand out from other salons.
A welcoming atmosphere. When you have a staff of top-notch masters, you can't think about competition. But that is not the case. The atmosphere in the studio plays a vital role for visitors. Guests appreciate the attitude towards them, the sincerity of communication, and the beauty salon design.
You can create a cosy atmosphere in various ways. The easiest one – is to offer each guest a cup of tea or coffee while waiting for service. You can also use the salon software to send birthday greetings to customers or inform them about discounts and special offers. Daily communication in the beauty salon is also essential to an impressive service.
Pricing. The assumption is that the lower the service price, the more customers are willing to pay for it. There is some truth in this assumption, but there is no need to lower the cost of services below the market level.
First of all, it is crucial to calculate the cost of materials and the wage costs for employees. Next, analyse your competitors. Find out what cosmetics and equipment they use and how much they charge for their work. Based on this data, you can create your own price list.
Online appointments for the beauty studio are one of the most popular services for visitors in the 2021-2022 season. A salon often has a website or an Instagram, but to reach the specialist, the customer still has to call the administrator or come to the salon in person.
Today's consumers value their resources and therefore prefer not to waste time calling or messaging. So an online self-service appointment is a clear competitive advantage. EasyWeek allows you to organise online bookings 24/7.
Sources for finding information about neighbouring salons
Once you realise the importance of analysing neighbouring salons, the question becomes: how do you conduct a competitor analysis? Unfortunately, it is unlikely that beauty salon owners will be willing to tell you everything about their business.
Let's look at how you can get the necessary information:
Customer survey via phone call or a questionnaire. You can determine the beauty studio's disadvantages and advantages based on the data collected to determine what customers want.
Professional analysts. These professionals monitor the salons according to the set requirements. They collect all the information about the services, the prices, the technologies used and the weaknesses of the business.
Secret shopper. You can select your employee or a trusted person as a visitor. This method helps to look at the competitor from the inside: the design of the premises, communication with customers, tools used, cosmetics, and prices.
Analyse competitors on Instagram and other social media. For example, a beauty salon's Instagram page can provide comprehensive information about services and prices. Examine the content shared by a competitor, and analyse stories and interactive elements.
Before researching the beauty market, familiarise yourself with existing research methods.
Competitor analysis
Four primary methods of assessing competitors are SWOT, SPACE, PEST and the Porter model.
SWOT is one of the most sought-after studies, based on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of similar companies and the risks and opportunities. The obtained information is compared with your salon's data to apply changes to your operations.
SPACE could help develop a business strategy. The business advantages and disadvantages are examined against the background of the general market situation. SPACE method uses four factors in its research: Competitiveness, Financial Security, Stability of Sales and Consistency of Environment. Each element is rated on a six-point scale. Finally, the results produce an overall company analysis.
The PEST method examines current and emerging trends in the beauty market using indicators of the socio-cultural, political, economic and technological environment. The information gathered is often further processed using the SWOT method.
The Porter model enables an understanding of future business development and identifies possible adverse effects on the salon's future growth. This method is based on customer flows, potential suppliers, current and new competitors, and services.
The different competitor analysis methods provide all possible information about a third-party organisation. In practice, you can use one or more models.
Steps of Competitive Research in the Beauty Industry
Getting to know other salons requires clear steps and confidence in action. First, consider how to research neighbouring beauty salons.
Analyse your competitors on Instagram and other social media:
Frequency of new posts appearing,
Quality of posts and visuals,
Price list presence, a list of services,
feedback from clients.
Studio website
A beauty salon website should be attractive, informative, and understandable for users. Therefore, it is worth checking the presence of such sections:
company news, including announcements or current promotions,
online appointment booking widget,
prices and list of services,
visitor reviews,
FAQ section.
By the way, EasyWeek provides a free website for your salon.
Own experience
After exploring the materials available online, you can do a personal review. Visit the salon as a client and book at least one treatment. If that is not possible, you must contact the staff of a competing studio before your appointment. You can call or leave a message on social media to make an appointment. In this case, pay attention to the speed of response and the quality of communication with the potential client.
The information gathered will open up new opportunities for you to develop your own business. The most important thing is to draw the correct conclusions and create a workflow plan for the beauty salon.
Conclusion: Why does a beauty salon need an online appointment?
It is necessary to identify the businesses that fit the criteria of your beauty salon. For example, a mid-range hair salon is not suitable for a luxury salon. And with the latest equipment, there is no need to compare prices for services at a studio that uses outdated technology.
An online appointment is a great advantage over the competition. Salons that offer their clients the possibility to book their appointments, i.e., choose a convenient time or employee and reschedule or cancel the booking, get more loyal visitors.
With EasyWeek salon software, you can install an online appointment widget on your beauty salon's website or any social platform.
Gaining a leading position in the beauty market is not difficult: carefully research competitors and customer preferences. As a result, making conscious decisions will take your business to the next level.
We wish you the best of luck, and we offer you an EasyWeek free trial to accelerate your path to success.
