I was recently shopping for art and found myself walking in circles looking at various pieces, all which would serve the purpose, but none that pulled me enough to bite. I then found a frame. And that frame was the difference. I carried it around piece by piece until I found my match…my least favorite piece became my favorite, and it was all because of the frame.

And this is how data plus action create magic.  Alone they are strong pieces, but together, they are fundamental to our business’ success.

Our first morning at the Data Driven Salon Summit was kicked off by industry veterans, Scott Missad of Gene Juarez Salons and Frank Gambuzza of The Visage Group. My ears perked up as Scott energetically proclaimed, “Data without action is just noise.”

Wow. How much noise do we tolerate before we take steps to evolve all that noise into a cohesive and beautiful sound?

The fanciest software, creating the most intricate reports is just that…a fancy creation. Until we learn how to marry those findings with appropriate action, data is just numbers and findings. They become alive when we find the right frame, but how do we find the right frame?

What to Measure: KPI’s
KPI’s (key performance indicators) are a measurement tool that tells us, “Yes, you’re on the right path.” Or “No, you need to re-route.” Common salon/spa KPI’s are tied to client retention, retail sales, and employee retention. KPI’s shouldn’t only be used to measure how the employees are doing, but also used as a health check for the overall performance of the business, top to bottom, internal and external. Depending on salon goals or pain points, KPI’s will differ. Your Salon Services consultant can assist you in creating proven KPI’s that will take the guesswork out of what you should be measuring and move you to the next step of deciding how to measure.

How to Measure: Tools
Technology, technology. We love you, but you sometimes confuse us. Where do we start? There are apps, software, and of course, good ol’ manual measurements at our fingertips, and deciding what is best for you usually best starts with determining what you will commit to. A tool is only as useful as your commitment to using it. Do your research, compare the tools out there, and use your salon network to see what is working for other salons. One of our round table discussions at the conference was 100% about the different apps and software that salons are using, how they work, what they offer/don’t provide and how these salon owners were integrating all their technology into one data-producing machine. We encourage everyone who is in the process of setting up their data-finding tools to have this discourse as part of their research. Additionally, our consultant teams have used and are versed on many industry tools, so please coordinate a time with your consultant to discuss what is/isn’t working for you in regard to your data measurement tools.

I Have the Data. Now What?
This is the fun part…the part our creative minds get to be what they were destined to be…creative! Once we have the data, we can now assess the trends and come up with action plans to grow in the areas our business needs. This will not happen without first knowing what to measure and how to measure it! For example, do you have a stylist, or are you a stylist whose data keeps indicating low retail sales, despite knowing the importance of retail to your client experience, retention, and overall business? It’s not always a lack of desire, rather a lack of know-how. How are you recommending a product during your consultation? Are you well-versed on the product itself? Is there an incentive in place, and if so, is the incentive appropriate? Start with discovery questions (even if it’s just you asking you) about your current process. You’ll often discover the process or lack thereof is where the issue lives and can start on the road to reclaiming your processes. Business partners, your team, your salon network, and your Salon Services consultant can all be significant sounding boards, accountability partners, and idea generators during defining or redefining your processes. At Salon Services we have various workshops, worksheets and training we can do with salon owners and their teams once the data has indicated where growth needs to occur and being the beauty industry fanatics that we are, we revel at the opportunity to do so.

We invite all our owners, managers, and service providers to assess what they are measuring, how they are measuring, and what they are doing with the findings. You and your business deserve it.

By Ginni Revuelta, Regional Sales Manager