As an esthetician or spa owner, it’s inevitable that you’ll face the decision to raise your prices if you’re in business long enough. When do you raise prices? How do you let your clients know?
Yet many of us get squeamish when it’s time to pull the trigger and put the new pricing into effect.
The New Year is around the corner. For many beauty business owners, it’s a good time to revisit many aspects of the business, including pricing.
But we all know, raising our prices isn’t just a matter of swapping out some numbers on the service menu.
Many of us are fearful of raising our prices because we’re afraid that our existing clients will leave. This fear of loss is a major reason that holds us back. However, the truth is that people who aren’t your ideal clients will fall away no matter what and we have to get over the mindset hurdle.
In addition to a mindset upgrade, there are a few things you can do to create a smooth transition while taking the opportunity to “wow” your clients with an amazing experience when you increase your prices:
6 Tips For Increasing Prices For Your Beauty Business
Here’s how you can position your price increases strategically to create a smooth transition while delivering an outstanding client experience:
1. Get the Timing Right
You can choose to announce (or not announce) the price increase to your clients. Raise prices when your clients are thrilled with your services. Increase when your clients are over the moon with their results and they understand the value you deliver.
When it comes to pricing, timing is everything. Click To TweetYour clients probably won’t even notice or care about the price increase.
2. Add Value To Your Services
Add extra value to your beauty service packages when you increase pricing to augment the client experience and increase the perceived value of your offerings. The “wow factor” wins every time.
For example, I used to offer hand and foot treatments during my facials. When I increased my prices, I added a top-notch paraffin treatment to create a luxury experience.
The added value treatment was cost-effective and attracted even more premium clients.
3. Revisit Your Client Avatar
If you aren’t attracting the clients who appreciate the value that you deliver and are willing to pay for your services, then let’s re-visit your client avatar. We want to make sure your marketing message is getting the right clients in the door.
For instance, I coached an esthetician who built her business by offering discounted services. She was caught in the discount trap by attracting clients who were not willing to pay full price! In order to raise her price, she had to change her target market and let go of most existing clients.
4. Combine Services With Products
Adding beauty products to your service packages helps increase their perceived value while allowing you to leverage the retail component of the business to improve your profit margin.
Several of my VIP clients have a lot of success bundling up high-end services with products – many clients don’t even notice the price increase when they’re going home with great skincare items!
One of my coaching clients bundles her high-end packages with an infrared sauna treatment. Not only does this increase the perceived value of the service package but it also introduces the sauna treatment to clients who may not be aware of it.
The client enjoys the sauna treatment and books a series of separate packages. Combining services offers a great cross-marketing component!
5. Ease Into the Price Increase
You can plan a few increases over the course of a year but keep the adjustment to a smaller amount to ease your clients into the price increase.
In addition, you can set expectations by communicating an upcoming price adjustment to existing clients through signage and emails so it doesn’t come as a surprise.
6. Be Okay With Some Clients Falling Away
Our fear of losing clients often gets in the way of us stepping up and taking our beauty businesses to the next level. It will be okay! I promise! You will make room for more premium, high paying clients.
When you make a decision to charge a fee that matches the level of quality that you offer, some clients are going to fall away.
Don’t take it personally if clients fall away. Maybe they truly can’t afford that price because of their priorities. Maybe they don’t have the need for the level of services that you offer. Maybe they can’t appreciate the exceptional experience that you deliver. Whatever the reason, it’s not a judgment on how good you are as a beauty professional.
Raising your prices should include the right strategy. Click To TweetConclusion
If you want to successfully raise your price while retaining the clients who are willing to pay for your services, you need to have the right strategies in place and adopt a world-class mindset so your decisions aren’t driven by scarcity or fears.
By understanding what your ideal clients perceive as valuable (e.g., high-quality skincare products for homecare, a bespoke spa experience,) you can position your service packages to attract and retain more clients at a fee that you deserve and desire.
Building a successful beauty business is part mindset and part skillset. I’ve got you covered in the Esthetician Inner Circle. Learn more about our business and marketing membership program designed exclusively for estheticians here.