Energy prices may be stabilizing but the relentless hike in costs continues forcing many salons to radically rethink how they price for services or face financial distress.  But those with robust product controls or a flexible charging model are finding themselves more insulated from the crisis.

Laura Watkins, owner of Pure Salon and Spa in Louisville, KY, is using Vish technology to separate color and service costs, making it easier to pass on increased costs to the client in a fair and transparent manner.  

“We are notified of changes to manufacturer costs approximately 60 days before they happen,” she explains. “So we have plenty of time to get that information incorporated into Vish and plan communication to our guests about a price increase.”

Luke Huffstutter, owner of the Annastasia Group in Portland, Oregon, has been able to avoid across-the-board increases for services since installing Vish.

“It has allowed a micro approach to pricing. Instead of doing general price increases, I have the data to zoom in on the services that are costing us the most money and drive them to be more profitable,” says Luke.

Luscious & Co in Shelton, Connecticut, reports a similar experience. From day one owners Jess and Liz Arindell used an unconventional pricing model for beauty, separating color from service, charging $8.50 for each bowl of color. But it wasn’t until they introduced Vish that they were able to balance costs and charges.

“Once we started using Vish, the charges were customized based on weight. This means some guests pay less than $8.50, and some pay more. It reflects our commitment to transparency, which guests appreciate,” says Jess. “This has significantly impacted profitability as the average cost of a bowl of color has increased to $14.”

And now when color supply costs increase they simply adjust the cost in their Vish database.

At Hedkandi in Calgary, Canada, introducing color management technology had an immediate impact on color usage. Realizing that clients were being charged for all colors and that their color use was monitored made the stylists more conscious when dispensing color. Waste has dropped massively, and the group is now consistently within its budget, spending 7-8% of revenue on inventory.

“We saw revenue go up by approximately $120K while our color spend significantly decreased. It happened so quickly that our color line got in touch because they were concerned our business had taken a sudden, catastrophic dip,” says owner Jereme Bokitch.

The balancing act of covering costs without alienating clients has become ever more precarious, but those salons using technology to manage what is often the second or third biggest bill for the business have found they are better shielded and their clients more satisfied.

To learn more about Vish, including information on its Color Bar app as well as Vish Front Desk, visit http://getvish.com

About Vish:Vish Ltd. is a leading color management software, which includes a suite of systems that effortlessly revolutionizes how salons and stylists run their color business. Based in Toronto, Canada, and available for use worldwide, Vish was created to help salon owners and colorists solve the universal problems facing the hair color industry - color waste, ambiguous pricing, and profit margins. Data-driven and intelligently automated, Vish is integrated with multiple point-of-sale systems, giving complete ease to the entire team.