How To Communicate a Salon Price Increase Notice and Keep Clients

Raising the prices of your services can sometimes be uncomfortable; a hair salon price increase notice will help inform your customers of what’s happening and explain it to them.
So, how do salons in the UK notify clients of price increases? Keep reading to find out.
We’ll go over when it’s the right time to raise prices, some tips for increasing your pricing, communicating this to your clients, and a salon price increase notice sample.
Raising prices can become necessary for a variety of reasons.
Whether you need to increase salon prices because of demand, upgrades or new services, or because inflation is affecting your profit margins, it’s important to understand what’s driving the increase in prices.
Then, you can decide on a strategy and communicate it to customers.
If you’re booked weeks in advance and it’s been this way for a while, you can most likely announce with confidence that you’re raising prices. When your business and services are in high demand, you most likely won’t lose customers by announcing a reasonable pricing change. And it would not matter if you are in a big city like London or a smaller one like Brighton or Oxford.
This can happen due to products’ prices increase, new equipment, higher salaries for your stylists, or just general inflation. In these cases, raising your prices is not only justifiable; it’s necessary to cover your costs and continue to ensure that your business is profitable.
Do not miss our post on Salon Expenses.
Maybe you’ve switched to using more expensive products, your stylists improve their techniques, hired more professionals to provide additional services, or made other improvements like renovations or upgrades to equipment that cost money.
If your salon business provides specialized or unique services, you may be in a position to raise prices or set your initial costs for each service slightly higher than average.
For example, if you specialize in clients with curly or grey/ thinning hair and have no competition nearby, you can use this to your advantage. No competition allows you to decide on the price but within reason.
Check the average service prices in your area and set each price point accordingly.
It could also be that your staff aren’t happy with the money they’re making, or maybe they’re dealing with inflation and losing money because of the increased cost of living in the area every year.
These are valid reasons to raise prices, too. Sometimes, you simply underestimate the value or costs of each client service or appointment in the first place.
Sometimes need to be flexible with how we do business. This may include raised pricing if your salon has to do extra work to sanitize equipment and work spaces between customers or needs to pay extra staff to help out.
Sending clients a salon price increase notice due to special (justified) circumstances is reasonable, but tell them about the extra steps you’re taking to help keep them safe so they can book an appointment confidently.
Before making your price increase announcement, salon owners must look carefully at the current pricing strategy and devise a plan.
Your pricing should always be connected to your business plan and the quality and value of each service.
Make sure that you:
Stay Reasonable: In any industry, an increase in what you charge needs to come with a good reason, even if it’s simply that you’re raising the cost to keep up with inflation or rent. These small changes are relatively normal and likely won’t shock or surprise clients.
That said, if you’re going to raise prices by a large margin, such as 50%, make sure you have a very good reason and communicate it to customers clearly and in advance. See our hair stylist price increase letter template for more details.
Evaluate Your Services Thoroughly: Take a look at the quality of each service and customer demand, its competitiveness, exclusivity (do any of your competitors offer something similar/ what’s their average price), your expenses, and any added value you offer guests.
Consider your Target Audience: Understanding your customers' income and spending habits is key here. If you raise prices to a level that they can’t afford or aren’t likely to want to pay, you risk losing their business.
Likewise, if your salon caters to upscale guests looking for a luxury experience, you might be free to increase what you charge for high-quality services.
Analyze Competition: Start by checking online to see what other salons in your area offer customers. Their price list may even be on their website. If you raise prices to the point where they’re higher than everyone else’s, you could risk losing clients.
Instead, you may want to increase your margin by cutting expenses. Try conversing with your staff to get some ideas about improving your process and eliminating waste. They may already have several great ideas.
Give at least a few weeks’ notices, but it will help clients feel like they know what’s going on and aren’t being manipulated or surprised before their upcoming appointments.
You can announce by sending out a hair stylist salon price increase notice in your salon newsletter, on your website or by sending out a special email message.
Telling them what’s happening anywhere from one to three months before it happens is plenty of time.
Increasing prices doesn’t have to be stressful for you or your clients. If you make the announcement the right way, you can get everyone on board with what’s happening and change your prices without losing clients due to ill-feeling.
Start by thanking your clients and staff and showing your appreciation for them. This helps to create a feeling that “we’re all in this together” and keeps everyone united and invested in the salon’s continued success.
Explain the changes and stand your ground.
Again, communication is key when announcing any changes. If you have good reasons for what you’re doing, and you’ve had a conversation with your staff and told your clients what to expect, you can feel confident in your decision.
This is one of the most important tips that I can offer. Like most situations where something changes, focusing on the positive aspects will make all the difference and ensure people don’t lose faith in your brand.
Let everyone know how your services and clients’ experience are improving. Send out emails, include information in your newsletter and post online and on your social media page about your new products, staff education and updated training, and any new stylists.
Build excitement about these new changes and show each client that your increased prices are justified through the added value and a great experience.
Some people may want to learn more about what your business is doing or what they should expect. Be prepared and make yourself available for questions and additional explanations online, on the phone or in person when a customer visits.
Feel free to meet with your team about this and come up with some responses they can give if clients ask them about the raised prices so that everyone is on the same page. Be prepared to defend/support your decision if a customer asks you about it.
Along with information about the changes and any new or updated services your business offers, make sure also to provide a date when everything will change.
Use all the tools at your disposal, such as e-mails, your salon website, special articles in your newsletter and a post on your social media. Have a sign inside the salon, too.
Hair salon owners or managers have to consider what they’re going to say and the best way to say it without losing the confidence or loyalty of existing clients.
You may want to include some personal touches, information or details relevant to your brand or services.
Here are a few templates to help you get started:
This is a general multipurpose one that you can use for websites, social media, newsletters or client emails.
“Dear Valued Client,
Please note that there will be a small increase in the price of our treatments to reflect increased costs from our suppliers/due to inflation/upgrades to our services and equipment/etc. We here at Salon Name appreciate your support, and we hope to see you soon.
Thanks again,
The Salon Name team.”
Feel free to put this on the door or reception area. It should be visible where people are likely to see and read it before they end up in the stylist’s chair. People can read it and ask for more details from their stylist or the receptionist.
“A Small Update:
Thank you to our amazing clients for your continued loyalty and support these past few months. You make our salon a better place.
As always, we want to provide you with the best possible service. On that note, please understand that as of Date, there will be some small increases to the cost of certain services/our services due to increased costs from our suppliers/due to inflation/upgrades to our services and equipment.
We appreciate your support and your understanding. If you have any questions at all, please ask a member of our team.
Thanks again- we wouldn’t be here without you,
Everyone at Salon Name”
This feels more personal and lets you send a more elaborate message and a thank-you note to each customer for their continued business and support. You can even send this price increase letter to hair salon clients on your business’s letterhead or in a special envelope.
“Dear Client’s Name,
We here at Salon Name appreciate your continued loyalty and support, and we hope to see you again soon.
Please note that as of date, there will be a small increase in the cost of the following services:
Service Name- New Price
Your business is valuable to us, and we want you to know that despite increased costs from our suppliers/due to inflation/upgrades to our services and equipment, we’ve done our best to keep prices as low as possible for our clients.
We’re always here for you. If you have questions about an upcoming appointment or our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Salon phone number/email address.
Thank you, and have a wonderful day
Name, Salon Manager”
Salon owners in the UK know that sometimes it’s inevitable that you need to raise your prices, whether it’s because of changing staffing needs, product costs, improvements in quality and upgrades to services and facilities, or simply to keep up with the market inflation and rent.
Sending out a note of salon price increases that explains these changes and benefits, such as new better quality products, staff training, or updated equipment, will help keep everyone on board and excited about the changes.
Customers' reactions to price increases: do customer satisfaction and perceived motive fairness matter?
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0092070304269953
The Effect of Service Quality and Price Accuracy on Consumer Confidence and Implications for Sales Increase
http://103.76.50.195/UDR/article/view/13255
The price effect of option introduction
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1989.tb05068.x