Niche and Thrive: How Specialisation Can Skyrocket Your Salon Business

Trying to please everyone is exhausting, and the truth is, you don't need more clients, you need the right ones. Let's talk about why niching down might just be the smartest move you can make for your salon business. Hello, hello, hello my salon friends, Phil Jackson here, your queen of salons. Coming in your ears once again with another dose of Wise Owl Wisdom, and the very cunning amongst you will notice that I'm only coming in your ears this week. Yes, I have decided to focus purely on an audio podcast, at least most of the time, and I will no longer be putting video episodes together. That said, I've decided we're going to keep the video episodes when I'm interviewing somebody, but the rest of the time is just going to be audio. I've looked at how you're digesting my content, I've looked at how people are actually consuming the Build Your Salon podcast, and it looks like audio only is the way to go. As my mother always said, Phil, you've got the perfect face for radio. So how on earth are you as we steam towards the middle of April? What a stunning spring it's been. After an endless winter, it feels like finally we're shaking all that off and enjoying some well-earned sunshine, at least here in the UK. I've been gardening like crazy, spending all the time that I can possibly spend outside lying in the garden pretending I'm working and thoroughly enjoying myself, I have to say, even though things are getting a bit dry. So how did you feel about last week's episode? I thought Sophie's interview was absolutely wonderful. She's such a joy to be around. Joy by Sophie, of course, being the name of her business. And honestly, I've had the pleasure of dealing with Sophie over the last few months, actually over the last year or so. And it's been wonderful seeing her journey, seeing how she's thriving. And she is a joyous person to deal with, I promise you. Anyway, Uncle Phil, what are we talking about this week? Well, this week we're diving into the power of finding your niche and why it could completely transform your salon or clinic. So let's get real. One of the biggest myths in the salon industry is that casting a wide net brings more clients. And I see this all the time. Price cards that go on and on and on with more services trying to appeal to a wider and wider audience thinking that's the way to financial success.

But the reality is when you try and speak to everyone in your business, you actually connect with no one. And that's the wonderful thing, I think, from Sophie's episode last week is how she had a very tight idea about who her target market was. And by definition, who her target market wasn't. And she'd worked really hard to make sure she had that inclusive community feel to her clinic. Because the truth is that your clients are overwhelmed with choices. That's why we keep banging the drum around amazing consultation skills, because what your clients are looking for is somebody who positions themselves with confidence. They're looking for the sense that you are the perfect person to help them. And that's where niching comes in. Because when we niche, when we carve out a niche in the marketplace, it's so much easier to become more memorable, more desirable and ultimately more referable. But of course, because I'm a mercenary cow, your uncle Phil loves the money. The truth is, it's better for your business as well. People will pay more for specialists. If you think about it, would you rather go and see, say, a general hairdresser or someone who really understands and only works with your type of curly hair and gets rave reviews from people just like you? Having a niche communicates your expertise. It tells your client, I see you, I understand you, and I've built something just for you. And that's powerful in the marketplace. It makes your clinic or your salon stand out in that crowded marketplace. It simplifies your marketing. And most importantly, it lets you attract clients who actually value what you do. So enough positioning, Uncle Phil. Stop trying to convince us that niching is a good idea. How do we actually pick a niche? Well, there are four very useful ways to think about niching and they're not mutually exclusive. You might tap into one, two, three or all four of these. And the first is service based niching. And this is where you become known for one key offering or one specific type of treatment. So, for example, you might niche down as far as curly hair is concerned or advanced skin care or hair loss solutions or natural nail artistry or non-invasive, non-invasive rather aesthetics.

This kind of niching says I'm the best at this one thing. And that's incredibly marketable. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to refuse service to people that want other things. It just means that when we're positioning ourselves, when we're marketing our businesses, things are so much simpler because these are the things we're going to talk about. And this is where I think people get niching wrong, where they get very scared because they think that we're turning lots and lots of people away. We're not turning anybody away. All we're saying is that when you think of my business, this is what you're going to think about. Next, instead of niching down on service, we might niche down on the type of client that we're specializing in. So we might decide that we're going to work with a particular group of, I don't know, let's say trans and non-binary clients like Sophie did last week. Or perhaps we're catering for clients with more mature skin or people with sensitive skin or supporting people going through menopause or postpartum mothers, busy professionals with tight schedules. What we're trying to do here is show that we understand their needs. We understand their insecurities and we understand what success looks like for them. We understand what results it is that they're trying to get hold of. Are you ready for some predictable in your salon business? Do you want to know the secret to steady salon income? I'm Phil Jackson, your queen of salons, your undisputed queen of salon memberships. And I've helped hundreds of salon owners just like you turn their businesses from a very spiky takings graph into something much more steady and predictable. My Memberships Made Easy program will help you stop chasing new clients and wasting your time on social media, turning your existing clients into more profitable raving fans who support your business even in the quiet times. My proven membership framework gives you everything you need. Ready to use membership templates, pricing strategies that actually work, even scripts for selling your memberships by email and in person. The program's backed by my signature 90 day no quibble guarantee. Take the program, take the bonus coaching call I'm including. And if you're not ready to launch your memberships program at the end, I will coach you myself until you are. If you're ready to offer your clients something truly exceptional, ready to build that predictable stream of salon income,

head to queenofmemberships.com forward slash podcast for a very exclusive rate on my best selling program. Head to queenofmemberships.com forward slash podcast. The third way we can niche is to niche according to values. So we call this a values driven niche, which is where we build a business around a belief system or a personal value. So, for example, we might be creating inclusive and body positive spaces or we might be having a community first approach. So a salon that buys into community causes and local charities or we might be niching according to ethical sourcing and cruelty free products. So this is where we're attracting clients who want to align their spending with their beliefs. And I'm telling you now, if your niche includes a younger clientele, you're going to want to look at values driven niches, because pretty much from millennials onwards, this is what people want to buy into. They don't buy into a brand anymore. They buy into what the values are that stands behind the brand. And then finally, we can niche according to experience. And this is the one that I've always enjoyed. I think it's the most fun. And it's where it's not about what you do. It's about how we make our customers feel. It's about the experience that they're enjoying. So, for example, we could niche because we're offering a spa like calm in a high stress world. How nice does that sound? Or we could be niching because we're offering high glam, high touch luxury or transformational journeys, bridal makeover packages. So in this case, it's about how we make people feel. And you shouldn't underestimate the power of vibe. So what are the business benefits? Why would we do this? Well, niching helps you charge more because essentially specialists command higher prices. If you're a specialist surgeon, you get to charge more than a general practitioner. Clients expect to pay more to a specialist. We also get to fill our columns faster. So when you speak to a specific person and they feel seen, they tend to take action and they book. It's all about resonating with your target market. We also get better, higher quality referrals. So people aren't going to say, go and see my hairdresser. But they might say, you have to go and see my curl specialist. You might be much more willing to refer somebody if you think they're going to be the perfect fit for your particular niche.

It also means that we get some economies of scale because we get to streamline our services. We're not trying to do everything for everybody anymore. We get to refine our skills. That means simplifying your business. It means investing in a narrower range and a deeper trench of training. It also perhaps means we've got less products that we need to stock day to day. And most importantly, we're attracting clients who are ready to invest. They're not shopping on price. They're looking for the right fit. So maybe you're resisting niching because it feels scary and that's OK. Do bear in mind that we are not locking ourselves in forever. Ultimately, the one advantage, and I've talked about this on previous episodes, the one advantage that we have as small businesses is we get to pivot. We get to change. We get to make alterations in our businesses. So if you feel that you've niched too far, if you feel that we're actually not having a financial viable business anymore, we get to reposition. So why not start small? If you're anxious about this, why not start highlighting a specific service or a particular group of services on your socials? Or perhaps you could create a special offer for a particular client group that you want to bring into the salon or help that client group start seeing themselves in the social media that you're putting out there. Or perhaps it's just as simple as tweaking your bio, perhaps updating the text to reflect a particular specialty. So test it, tweak it, see how people respond, because the truth is that if we get this right, there's a very worn phrase in marketing and only works in American, I'm afraid. But they say the riches are in the niches. It doesn't work in the UK because we call them niches. But this is where we get to make the big bucks, I promise. But only if you're brave enough to show up for that tight group of people, that one person who absolutely needs you. So there we have it, my call to arms asking you to stop being a generous, start niching down. And I think it's time that you chose your niche. Otherwise, your clients are going to choose it for you. And they may not be the clients that you actually want. You might have carved out a niche with discount hunters or non-loyal customers. And who on earth would want that?

So what have I missed? Reach out and let me know. You know I love hearing from my salon owner friends. My email address phil at buildyoursalon.com I would love to hear from you. Or perhaps drop me a DM on Instagram at philjacksoncoach. Also reach out if you'd like to be a featured guest on a future episode of the Build Your Salon podcast. I'd love to be interviewing you and sharing your story with my amazing Build Your Salon listeners. Just seven short days until I'm coming in your ears again. And until then, take care. Sit down and see what's going on with the queen of salons. Hair, beauty and more successful tips for business owners. All on Build Your Salon.