10 Salon-Tested Ideas that Moved the Needle

In a world where rising inflation and tighter budgets prompt clients to stretch the time in between appointments, salon and spa owners struggle to match their year-over-year sales totals, let alone grow them. In an effort to help you discover new clients to fill the widening gaps in the appointment book and encourage your existing guests to spend more during each visit, SALON TODAY dug into the wisdom revealed in this year's SALON TODAY 200 essays to share proven ideas that move the needle. 

Whether it's a new item on the service menu, a different pricing strategy, or an improved system, 10 owners share their experiences in order to help you tap into new revenue streams, cut costs, fill appointments, and motivate team members.

All of the salons featured it this piece were in our SALON TODAY 200 issue, learn more about their businesses by checking out our digital edition.

Festivals and Farmer's Markets

When Owner Jacqueline Pierce and the team at Lillian James Salon & Spa in Turnersville, New Jersey, realized their standard ways of recruiting new clients were a little stale in 2023, they brainstormed ways to look beyond their classic service menu to offer new services that not only increased sales but also introduced the salon to new client prospects. 

"We looked around at what other businesses were doing and researched things that piqued our own creative interests, as well as what we like to do with our own families," said Pierce, who has two children, ages 6 and 8.

Lillian James ended up launching a new branch to its business that didn't exist before. "We created the Made by LJ branch, which includes a Patch and Charm Bar for hats and jewelry; the LJ Braid Bar for rainbow extensions and festival braids, and Linked by LJ for permanent jewelry," Pierce says. 

The salon joined online communities and paid for advanced education on braiding and extensions braiding to perfect the new service, then started offering rainbow-colored extensions, hair accessories, glitter, and tinsel for kids, festival goers, and participants at special events. All of these new services cater to group events and parties that could be hosted at the salon or offsite for either children or adults.

Pierce and the team painted and decorated a back section of the salon, creating the braid bar, and created a space for the permanent jewelry station and hat press in the retail area. 

The salon has hosted birthday parties, Halloween events, book clubs, college lacrosse teams, and taken their new services on the road, appearing at fairs, festivals, farmers' markets, and the grand openings of new community businesses. 

"We are a salon in South Jersey which happens to have a big fan base for the Philadelphia Eagles, so during the 2024 Super Bowl, we opened on a Sunday and did so many green, black, and gold braids for people going to tailgates and watch parties," says Pierce. "In 2025, we did a Taylor Swift-themed party for the Girl Scouts with 200 girls and their parents in attendance." 

Not only did the salon realize $21,000 in additional sales in 2024, representingly 2.3% of the salon's growth that year, but more importantly, it allowed the salon's new and growing talent to expose themselves to large groups of prospective clients at a time. 

"We create the fun, but it also gives us a chance to talk about our traditional salon services," Pierce says. "Because it's our younger talent who are growing their books that do these new services, it's giving them a higher stake in the company and a pride in performing tasks our senior stylists aren't involved in." 

Gather braiding inspiration from our sister media, MODERN SALON, such as How to Braid Like a Boss. 

In 2025, the salon teamed up with other local businesses to host a series of Ladies Nights. "It can be daunting for a guest to visit a business they've never been to before, but these partnerships allow us to tap into each other's loyal clients," Pierce says. "We've partnered with pilates and yoga studios to present permanent jewelry and charm bars, and we've hosted tarot card readers, acupuncturists, mocktail mixologists, and clothing boutique owners." 

These events create the fun, but it also gives the salon's staff a chance to talk about their traditional service offerings. "Because it's our younger talent who are growing their books that do these new services, it's giving them a higher stake in the company and a pride in performing tasks our senior stylists aren't involved in." 

In 2025, the salon continued to grow the sales of these new services, but also book more than 200 new salon clients by meeting them at these events. 

Pigments and Profits

Amber and Chet Pope, owners of 27 The Salon in Mesa, Arizona, say they made a transformative decision to grow by examining the cost of their color services and forging a partnership with John Paul Mitchell Systems.

“No matter what your salon business looks like or the script it follows, it is through the strength of many that support it to make the needle move the most,” Chet says. “We understood that bringing in a new color line would not only continue to fuel the creativity of our artists, but it would be an incredible gain in profitable color business.”

The owners examined the true cost of their color services and the choices they had in tools that created beautiful results. With the change to JPMS, the salon was able to get their color cost per application down to under 12 cents per gram, which represented a savings of more than 62%. 

“Aligning smarter helped reduce the cost per application, while providing trusted formulas for our guests,” Chet says. “At the same time, we diminished waste through Vish and Boulevard, and moved to a parts and labor pricing that shifted the cost of color to the client,” 

Today, 80% of the salon’s color services use products that save on the salon's bottom line. "In fact, on some services, we're actually making money on the color product itself," he says. 

Finding Their Calling

The most transformative decision Owner Young Gorman and the team at Forever Young Hair Salon in Cumming, Georgia, ever made was choosing to specialize in hair-loss solutions for their clients. 

“This includes mesh integration, meshless integration, custom toppers, and extension systems designed specifically for clients with thinning hair,” Gorman says. “This began as a desire to help a few clients who were silently struggling, but it quickly turned into a shift for our entire salon. This change didn’t just add new services to our menu; it helped reshape our identity, our team culture, and the way we serve women in our community.”

Gorman says the financial impact has been significant. Hair-loss services are the salon's highest-value offering, bringing in service revenue ranging from $1,800 to $7,500 per client. Previously, many of these clients had only visited the salon once or twice a year, now they have become monthly or bi-monthly guests as they have trust the team to care for their new hair systems, as well as their confidence. 

“Retail sales increased as well, as these clients invest in home-care products to support healthy hair and scalp recovery,” Gorman says. “Our biggest surprise was discovering how far clients were willing to travel, they sometimes drive more than two to three hours just to be in a salon where they felt safe, understood, and seen.”

To support this new direction, the salon built a strong educational foundation in which every stylist receives hands-on training not only in the technical aspects of each service but also in the emotional sensitivity required when working with hair-loss clients. “We practice weekly on mannequins, are developing step-by-step systems, and created clear consultation guidelines to ensure consistency,” Gorman says. “I invite the team to shadow real appointments, so they can understand the full experience, including how to speak to the guests and how to support them when they are feeling vulnerable or discouraged. Training stylists for hair-loss services is as much about the heart as it is about skill.”

Marketing these services requires a tone that differs from Forever Young’s typical salon promotions. Education and empathy are at the core of every marketing strategy, as the salon shares before and after transformations, quiet storytelling, and gentle explanations through social media platforms. “Many of our new clients found us because they saw an image of a woman just like them, finally smiling again,” Gorman shares. “The local community played a big role as well—women’s groups, church networks, and personal referrals became a powerful source of connection.”

Gorman believes offering hair-loss solutions has been like stepping into a calling.  “Every transformation, every grateful smile, and every client who whispers, ‘Thank you’ has shown us that God placed this work in our hands for a reason,” she concludes. “We didn’t just grow in revenue, we grew in purpose and impact.

Understand the reasons your female clients are losing their hair. 

All the Colors in the Sky

In 2024, Kelly Weary, owner of Belle Ciel Salon in Saint Johns, Florida, experimented with a new Luxe Cut menu item that paired an Aveda Botanical Repair Treatment with a haircut, wash, and style. When she saw traction on the new menu item, she rebuilt her Specialty Color Menu, including the treatment in the pricing of her color services, as well as a gloss and toner for any foil or balayage services.  

“In the beginning, it was an option along with booking color services a la carte, but in August 2024, we began to go full force, listing only the all-inclusive color services and pricing on our website and the only options on our booking site,” Weary says. “We did allow existing guests to be grandfathered in to the a la carte pricing.”

Belle Ciel means beautiful sky in French, so the salon named the all-inclusive menu items names that tied into the sky, such as The Milky Way for a root touch-up and full head of foils; Sunset Gleam for a full head of foils; Ethereal Glow for face-framing services; and The Aurora for a color transformation with vivid fashion shades. 

With the new all-inclusive pricing, color services netted an additional $115,256 in 2025.

“In addition, with most of our services now including a Botanical Repair Treatment, it has opened the client conversation up to the benefits of the entire Botanical Repair line for home care. 

Check out our video on Creating a Treatment Culture. 

Toppers to the Rescue

Kim Cloud, owner of Cloud 9 Salon and Spa in Bartonville, Texas, has been cutting and coloring hair for 47 years, but a client she hosted in her chair a few years ago changed the trajectory of Cloud’s career, and she’s never been busier or more fulfilled. 

“In February 2023, I had a long-time client who became very ill and suffered major hair loss. We wanted to find something for her to use during her recovery that could transform the hair loss without her needing to wear a full wig, and I came across an excellent human hair, clip-in topper,”  Cloud says. “It changed her life, and when I saw how excited she was, how pretty she looked, and how special she felt, I dove into toppers as a new revenue stream for our business.” 

In three short years, Cloud has doubled her topper revenue each year, finishing 2025 with $270,000 in topper sales and targeting $500,000 in 2026. 

Cloud 9 was one of our SALONS OF THE YEAR in 2025. Check out their gorgeous space. 

Getting the Word Out

Hair loss can be a sensitive topic for many, and Cloud knew she needed a non-traditional marketing approach. She started hosting pop-up events in the salon where she’d invite her clientele in to learn about the toppers and try them on.  “These events also allowed our stylists who are interested in learning to be part of the festivities, and each of these events would result in about $20,000 in sales. The salon has a heavy presence on TikTok and they began making daily videos that discussed toppers and other products that help with hair loss and hair recovery. 

Today, Cloud credits TikTok for about 70% of the salon’s topper sales. For each post, she’d review the comments and invite the commenter to call or email her for a consultation appointment. Now about 50% of her topper clients agree to being in a TikTok transformation video. 

“Some aren’t comfortable with it, but others are willing to share because they know the video is what led them to me, and they are eager to help others,” she shares. “The number one thing I hear them say is, ‘Gosh, that’s me!’ It’s very emotional because our hair is our crown, and when women suffer hair loss, they feel like they’ve lost a part of themselves. They frequently cry, and then I cry.”

The salon also keeps five toppers on mannequins on display right beside the shampoo area, so every client who patronizes the salon sees them. As Cloud got busier and busier, she’d tap interested staff to take care of overflow topper clients. 

Refining the Process

As the topper's business grew, Cloud found herself running around the salon, first seeing regular clients for a cut and color, then scurrying to her FaceTime consultations. “One day, my son (the salon’s manager) was watching me and said, “Wouldn’t it be easier to have a designated consultation day?” So, they made Wednesdays consultations days, which worked well. “I’d typically do 10 consultations on a Wednesday and on average those would result in 8 topper sales. Since it would take 10 days to get the topper in and ready, she has most of the fitting appointments with clients on Saturdays.”

When it came to sourcing the toppers, Cloud chose Top Secret Haircessory for its high quality. Since they were made of human hair, Cloud can easily cut, color, and style them. The number one concern new topper clients have is the clip damaging their existing hair, so Cloud loves that these toppers have straight teeth that don’t crimp the hair and a silicone strip that protects the scalp from the clip.

Cloud says the main reason clients come to Cloud 9 for the toppers is typical hair loss with aging, but she also sees clients who are recovering from cancer treatments or are suffering from medication-induced hair loss. 

Currently, the salon is averaging 30 topper clients a week, but now many are repeat customers who don’t need another consultation. (When worn daily, toppers should be replaced about every two years.)

See Kim Cloud's interview on Salon Insider. 

The Retail Game

What started as simply selling human-hair toppers has evolved into a full retail ecosystem—driving revenue not only from the toppers themselves but also from the supporting products and tools clients need for success at home. 

In the past year, Cloud and her team have transformed their retail area to address the needs of topper clients. They brought in Nutrafol hair supplements and the Nioxin and Actiiv lines. More recently, Cloud started recommending Vieso products because they're sulfate-free and moisturizing, which is good for her clients’ toppers as well as their biological hair.

“Our goal was to elevate the topper experience beyond the initial purchase. We realized that women who invest in toppers also need shampoo, conditioner, styling products, heat tools, topper stands and mannequins, travel bags, and even ongoing maintenance services to protect their investment,” she says. By creating bundled product recommendations and at-home care kits, we turned a one-time topper sale into a multi-layered retail opportunity. 

Many women who have purchased toppers prefer to drop them off for a shampoo and style service, so this has added additional service revenue on top of the retail sale. 

The results have been dramatic. On average, these add-on products and services can generate more than $200 in additional revenue per topper client, and with 35-50 toppers sold each month, this translates to more than $100,000 in additional annual revenue. “It is amazing how these add-on products now account for a significant portion of our overall retail growth,” says Cloud. “Clients learn about these products and styling services from the stylist, guiding them from their initial consultation to their delivery appointment. And, clients feel empowered to purchase what they need for success with their new hair transformations.”

Getting Ahead of a Growing Trend

When it comes to the industry’s fastest-growing service,Essense Salon and Sanctuary was one of the first salons to offer Head Spa services to the London, Ontario community of approximately 500,000. 

“The trending social media for Japanese Head Spa was out there at this point, and as soon as we advertised that we offered this service, the appointments started flooding in,” says Nicole Dietze, who co-owns the salon with Angela Gagie. “Our certified esthetician, Breanna Bursic, had thoroughly researched this service and sought out proper education, and she performs it in a private room with a quiet spa setting.” 

The service has been so well-received by their clientele, the salon created head spa packages that discount a series of treatments, as well as a new menu item that combines a head spa treatment with a facial. “It’s a longer treatment that has been a successful, high-ticket addition to our treatment menu,” Dietze says. 

The Japanese Head Spa service also became a successful way for the salon’s esthetician to level up her retailing of scalp and hair care products, by zeroing in on her guests’ specific needs. “Before this, she mostly sold skin care.”

Dietze says she and her business partner, Angela Gagie, have learned the best way to roll out a new service to the salon’s team. “We first introduce it at one of our weekly Team Huddles, educating the team on what the service entails and what products are used, zeroing in on the benefits the service offers the guest,” she says. “Next, we arranged for each team member to book a treatment for themselves so they can talk to their guests from personal experience when promoting it.” 

While the trend may lose its viral interest on social media over time, Dietze thinks it’s a permanent addition to Essense’s menu. “Scalp health and relaxation treatments will always have an important place in our salon,” she shares. “Now, we have a solid, loyal client base who regularly book Head Spa treatments.” 

Read our January feature, A Tale of Three Head Spas. 

Measurements and Motivation

“When Mallory Eithun assumed the role of salon manager, she wanted to see her favorite people—her stylists—have the opportunity to move up in our level system, which gave them higher compensation and bigger titles,” says  Kati Whitledge, owner of Be Inspired Salon in Madison, WI. 

To move up, stylists needed to move the needle on client retention and retail sales. Eithun also emphasized to the team the importance of improving their average ticket because it directly impacts their take-home compensation. 

Whitledge says, “Mallory noticed that the one barrier to the team’s ability to achieve their goals is they didn’t know where they stood with their performance until they saw their quarterly reviews,” she says. “By starting the Phorest Goals feature, she was able to customize goals for each team member based on their current level.”

That’s when the magic started happening. 

Michelle, who was a Level 1 stylist needed to hit $500 in retail sales each payroll period to advance. She’d been stuck at Level 1 for 18 months. After just one quarter of seeing her goals and knowing her numbers, she started average $503 in retail sales, which earned her a bonus and promoted her to a commissioned stylist. 

“Prior to the goal-setting application, none of our stylists hit their retail benchmark in 2024, but in 2025 we had eight stylists hit retail benchmarks repeatedly,” Whitledge shares. 

Prior to the goal-setting implementation, only 46% of Be Inspired stylists improved their retention rate. After one year of the goals feature, 81% of stylists showed improvement. 

By showing the team their average ticket, setting higher goals, and revisiting them weekly, Eithun helped increase the average ticket across the entire salon by 4.47.%. 

The Abandoned Carts Initiative

Like many salons, Whip Salons, with five locations in Connecticut and two in South Carolina, embraces online booking, and many of its clients prefer to book that way. But a few years ago, Owner Amy Pal noticed a significant drop-off in online booking and an increase in abandoned carts. 

“An abandoned cart is when the booking process is started, but for some reason, the clients drop off midway through booking the appointment online and never finish,” she explains. “They are an amazing opportunity to convert the lowest hanging fruit for securing a client, and it was our job to get to them quickly and secure that booking.”

The salon already had an email campaign in place that triggered the day after a cart was abandoned. While it was somewhat effective with about a 10% conversion rate, Pal and the team had a hunch that the human touch would be more effective. They developed a system that automatically emails the front desk whenever a client starts but abandons the booking process. The notification serves as a prompt for the front desk to immediately call the client to help them complete the booking. 

The salon even developed a clear one-page, flow chart that explained exactly how to convert the prospective client to a booked appointment, including a polite and helpful script. For example, the caller would say, “Hi Susan, I am calling because I noticed you were trying to book a haircut with Erin, can I help you find the right day and time for you now?”

“At first, the team was worried that clients would perceive our help as being invasive or even creepy, but on the contrary, most of the time our efforts were appreciated and the conversions improved our booking rates across all locations,” says Pal. “Often it was as simple as the client didn’t have a credit card on hand while trying to book, or they needed help with regard to the appointment time. A live person can actually accommodate nuanced needs when looking at the booking, which can be outside the possibility of our booking system.” 

As a result of their efforts, the salon now has a 20% conversion rate for abandoned carts, and the staff report the number they have converted in their end-of-day reports daily. 

Read Amy Pal's blog post on Navigating the Thrill of Change.

A Different Approach to Color

When Sarah Mitchell, owner of Elevate Beauty Lounge, in Huntersville, North Carolina, had her personal colors done by Shari Braendel's Style By Color, she was so intrigued she took the certification course so she could offer personalized color analysis to her own guests. 

“I had gotten my color analysis done from a different company, and they ended up coding me wrong because they didn’t take my hair into account. That put me on a mission to find a better way, and my research led me to Shari,” she says. 

Mitchell took the company's Color Analysis for Hair Professionals Certification to elevate her hair coloring skills, but soon started offering personalized color analysis as part of Elevate's service menu. She launched a separate website for her image consultation services, Color & Couture, and a separate Instagram account, and she also markets to her salon clients through email. “We try to send out two newsletters a month and post on Instagram regularly," Mitchell shares. I also did the analysis for all my stylists so they can talk about it with their clients.”

The salon's rate for a 60-minute full color analysis is $375, or Mitchell charges $75 for a 10-minute mini consultation, which can be woven into an existing color appointment while the client's color is processing. Mitchell says she averages about eight image consultations a month, and most of those are for clients who are also new to the salon.

An image consultation frequently leads to subsequent hair color appointments, and clients can choose to book with Mitchell or one of her staff members, depending on their preference and budget. If a client is considering a dramatic hair color change, Mitchell will recommend that the client complete the image consultation after the transition, as their color palette may shift.

As word is getting out, the community is starting to invite Mitchell to do group analysis session. The Westin Hotel asked her to do a session for its managers, and a dentist hired her to come in and do the entire staff for Christmas. 

Mitchell believes the Style By Color training benefits her both as a colorist. “I’m better able to choose formulas that harmonize with the client’s natural skin color, undertone, contrast, and overall coloring. As stylists, we often know what looks good, but sometimes we really don’t understand why—this really bridges that gap,” she says. “It’s elevated my knowledge and sharpened my eye. I now understand why certain blondes brighten instantly, and others get washed out. Or, why a brunette formula can look rich on one person and flat on another.”

Image consultations have also elevated the professionalism of her salon brand. “Clients don’t come to me for just their hair anymore; they come for overall guidance. They stay longer, and they invest more confidently," she says. "They know they are getting something intentional and personalized, that’s not just about the trends. Ultimately, color analysis helps me deliver results that age beautifully, photograph well, and feel authentic to the client.”

Because the salon also carries lipstick and blush, Mitchell includes trying those on during the consultation, which she says almost always leads to retail sales at the end of the consultation. That has her dreaming of opening a clothing boutique in the future. “The first thing a client wants to do once they learn their colors is go shop,” she laughs. 

Most of all, Mitchell says doing the color analysis is fun and gives her a path to grow beyond the chair while letting her staff handle more traditional salon appointments.  She credits Style by Color for the shift in her trajectory. 

“Shari’s approach to color analysis is rooted in precision, integrity, and a deep respect for the individual,” she says. “And, she remains deeply invested in the success of her students, and continues offering guidance, clarity, and encouragement as we grow and refine our craft.” 

Read more about Style By Color and their program for hairstylists. 

Here Come the Brides

When Rachel Harned first opened Bombshell Salon and Spa in Holland, Michigan, in 2014, she didn’t quite realize that the city’s proximity to a beautiful part of Lake Michigan made it such a Mecca for weddings. Requests for bridal services grew over the years, so Harned and the team took the opportunity to really step into the specialty and own it in the past several years. 

In 2024, Harned hired Katie Keegstra, a dedicated and experienced bridal and events coordinator. Leveraging Keegstra’s relationships, the salon became a ‘preferred vendor’ recommended by venues, wedding planners, and photographers in the community.  Keegstra implemented a new communication, invoicing, and scheduling software called Honeybook for their bridal department. 

“It houses all communication with brides, sends and stores contracts, and gets brides on a schedule for all their appointments leading up to the big day,” Harned says. “It’s incredibly organized.”

Once a year, the salon sets up a Bridal Bootcamp, where team talks through new trending wedding styles and makeup applications, and Bridal Educator Jocelyn Emerson of Updos by Jocelyn comes in for advanced education. 

Harned, who also owns the local cosmetology school Salon Professional Academy of Holland, set up a separate bridal apprenticeship program in the salon. The program teaches updos, special-occasion hair and makeup. Stylists in the program must complete a series of style and makeup applications on real models, which are graded by the salon’s top two bridal experts. Once they pass each level of the program, they start shadowing the salon’s experts, and by the second bridal season, they can begin to take their own brides. 

Harned pays to host profiles on both TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com, and says she gets 15 leads a day from listing on those sites.

In June 2025, Bombshell Salon and Spa expanded, giving Harned an opportunity to create a micro-event space for bridal parties. The beautiful space, called the Luxe Lounge, is exclusively used to host bridal parties while they have their hair and makeup session done in the salon. “This allowed us more space to fit more than one bridal party at a time,” says Harned. “It also leveled up the bridal party’s experience by offering them a private space for breakfast and mimosas.” 

The expansion also allowed the salon to expand the makeup area, with six custom makeup stations created by DSM Designs. “The mirrors are strictly used for makeup, and they are stunning!” says Harned. 

The salon also added a feature wall with a wood plank design that is used for before-and-after photos. An espresso bar offers custom drinks to all guests. And the expanded boutique offers bridal hair accessories and jewelry. 

The salon created a bridal prep services menu that encourages brides to book services before the trial and the wedding day. “We essentially make ourselves a one-stop shop for all bridal beauty needs, including hair extensions, lash extensions, sauna sessions, skincare services, airbrush tanning, hair coloring, services for the groom, and blowouts for the rehearsal dinner,” Harned says. “As a result, many local brides become full-time clients of the salon.”

The salon team also provides bridal services off-site, and will travel up to 70 miles for a wedding party. 

As a result of the salon’s efforts, they won The Knot’s Best of Weddings in 2025 and is projected to receive it again in 2026. 

In 2023, bridal services resulted in $73,782 in sales. In 2024, Harned and Keegstra grew that to $164,044, and in 2025 the reached $182,470. With 100 brides on the books for 2026, and brides already scheduled for 2027, they look forward to continued growth.