After years of holding our collective breath, it appears that the economy is finally trending in the right direction. Growth is looking good, and inflation is under control. The big economic indicators bode well for the next few years, with projections of steady improvement characterizing the forecasts. This is a tremendous thing for small business, because once word gets out via national and social media that things are looking up, people will begin to breathe sighs of relief and allow themselves to enjoy services that reach further than just ‘maintenance and necessary.’
Remaining top-of-mind with your clientele means gearing your marketing and promotions to ‘meet them where they’re at.’ (Pardon the grammar, but the phrase works, here.) Where they’re at may be in a place where they are giving themselves permission to purchase services that move a tad beyond the pure ‘have to’ into the ‘ok, so I also want this add on..’ arena. That can mean extending a 60 minute massage to 90 minutes, choosing to go with a deep conditioning following a style and highlight, opting for a mani/pedi combination in lieu of just regular manicures, or choosing the rejuvenating facial with ultra-softening mask over the basic facial.
Up-selling now requires finesse and a good plan. Look at your service menu and consider ways that you might entice your clients.
Are there ways for you to add perceived value to the next-tier services without incurring real costs? When clients perceive they are receiving more for their money, they’re likely to invest in the next option ‘up’ the menu.
Will something as subtle as opting to list your services from most indulgent to more economical help? Order of sight matters, too. If your clients are seeing your most economical services at the top of your menu, they’ll have to think harder about moving to the next level than if they see the most indulgent first and the middle option (the one you’re wanting to encourage now) right below it.
Winning higher level sales means your clients will be enjoying services that they may have waited years to justify and you’ll be generating a boosted revenue stream as well.
Now’s the time to get creative with ways to enrich the experiences of your clients and create higher average tickets as you do it.
It’s another win-win.