Communicating Change In Your Salon

A question we often get here at SalonScale is how to talk about change when implementing our system.

If you’ve wondered how to do this, know that you’re not the only one. How you manage change in your business can make or break your success.

It’s important to realize that when it comes to change management it’s not simply buying the new tool and waiting for your employees and customers to miraculously adapt to the change. You have to communicate the change.

To do that, there are a few things to keep in mind. Here are my top five things to remember when communicating change.

Change is emotional

Change often comes with an emotional response – usually in the form of resistance. Your instinct might be to push the benefits of SalonScale, but the truth is there is no one single email that is going to solve the problem of resistance. It’s really important that you pre-determine three key messages that are empathetic towards your audience and appeals to your audience’s heart.

Be proactive, not reactive

It’s really important you get out ahead of the news. Make sure you proactively consider how your staff and clients will feel about implementing change in the salon. Be prepared with your messaging, keeping in mind that change is emotional. Try to reduce your reactivity to questions by pre-planning everything.

Share the journey

Be very clear with your staff and clients about when and how changes will be taking effect. Give lots of notice. Keep people updated as you move towards the change. I would suggest creating social content, like demos of the product or your staff learning how to use it, post on your Instagram so it teaches your clients about the new system and when the implementation date.

Teach

Take time to teach staff on how to use SalonScale. Show them how to use it in a staff meeting. Share with them the “why”. Share with them the benefits and how this will impact the bottom line and increase the sustainability of your business. Give them the message you want them to share with your customers.

Lead the change

If they see you sweat, they’ll sweat too. Make sure you are confident in the product and clear in your goal for implementation. There should be no doubt that this is the product that’ll make a difference in your salon. If you need help, find a change champion to help you lead the charge on change in your business. Teach them everything, and help them be your advocate to ensure successful implementation in your salon.

I hope these five tips are helpful. If you need any more advice, feel free to reach out and we can help.

Cheers!