Announcing a Barbershop Price Increase Without Losing Clients

One of the main struggles for barbers is announcing a price increase. If you don’t have a complex strategy while thinking about increasing prices in your barbershop, chances are you will lose some clients without understanding the real reason.

When you want to increase your prices, the most important thing is to know your value proposition, to know precisely why you are doing it and why your clients should keep coming into your barbershop even if they have to pay more for the same services.

If your prices are too low, it will be difficult to continue providing quality services and maintaining profitability. On the other hand, if your prices are too high, this could lead to losing clients who cannot afford them. The key is striking a balance between these two scenarios so both customers and business owners can be satisfied with their long-term decisions.

This post will discuss how to announce a price increase in a barbershop, the best time for it, what kind of pricing structure you should use, etc.

To avoid losing clients, it is best not to announce the price increase all at once. Instead, try announcing a different change (e.g., how you will be using your time better) and then gradually introducing new prices as you go. This way, you are slowly changing people’s perceptions, and you’ll have an idea about how they will react to the price increase you want to make.

Why should you increase prices in your barbershop?

There are a lot of reasons why barbers want to increase their prices. For example, the cost of living may increase; therefore, it’s time for you to do the same. As such, you will need more money to cover your expenses as a barber.

Another reason barbers may want to increase prices is acquiring a new certification or graduating from a new barber school.

Some barbers want to increase prices because they are opening up another branch of their business, such as their own barber school or a salon.

In the end, it’s essential to increase prices in your barbershop as you go. This way, you are making people consider you as a real professional in your domain.

Now, let’s dig into some steps to increase prices in your barber shop without losing your clients.

Be transparent about the price increase and tell your clients why it’s happening

Update your website and start a social media marketing strategy for barbers, telling people about the price increase you’re making. Be transparent about why it’s happening so that clients or potential clients understand what’s going on. You can also offer them some benefits and reasons why they should keep coming into your barber shop after the price increase.

Mention how long you’ve been in business to show stability for your customers. This will help them trust you more and consider you a reliable barber.

It’s also important to tell clients how to save money at your barbershop to make the price increase worth their money.

Offer incentives to loyal clients in your barbershop

Consider hosting a contest for your clients to award them something like an extra service or discount. This is a great way to reward current customers and also attract new ones! You can even have one grand prize winner who will receive some sort of long-lasting barber gift certificate. You can use these free printable barber shop loyalty card templates and start offering them to clients.

Also, you can ask your loyal customers if they would be willing to refer a friend to your barbershop if they are given something in return like a discount on services. 

Make sure that you are not increasing prices too much at once

Even if you want a bigger price increase, consider it as a tactic to add just one-two dollars/ service/ year to your prices. This way, you won’t be shocking your customers with a significant increase all at once, and they will be less likely to be lost.

Add new services to your barbershop

Adding new services to your barbershop that are relevant can be a great choice when you want a barbershop price increase. You can research what services other barbershops provide and add them.  For example, if you don’t have a massage chair and your clients often ask for it, adding one to your barbershop is something worth considering.

Remember, if customers need more reasons than just a haircut to come back, you should consider listening to their needs.

Offer discounts for first-time customers

Offering discounts to first-time customers will help you spread the word about your new services, and you will convince them it’s worth coming back. People are always looking for ways to save money, so the more you can show them how much they’ll get out of coming back to your barbershop, the better.

Offer monthly membership cards

Another great idea to make clients forget about your service price increase is to create a membership program. For example, you can allow clients to get unlimited haircuts per month without worrying about paying each time they come in. You can also offer haircut and beard trim packages, so you charge them monthly for the package.

They will pay less attention to the service’s price and more to the advantages of the monthly package or the convenience of having that membership card.

Make the announcement in advance

While making a price increase in your barbershop, you should avoid telling the client about the price increase after he’s already in your chair. As advice, you could send a mass message to clients and announce to them about your price list change.

That way, they will appreciate your honesty and care, will be able to choose whether they want to come back or not, and you can use this mass message campaign as a marketing strategy. How? Very easy. Create a persuasive, positive, and convincing message, highlighting the reason for raising prices in your barbershop and describing the high-quality services and products you provide.

With this barber appointment app that has a free plan, you have many advantages. You can set up your own online booking page, letting clients book themselves & having all the appointments in your online calendar, and making sure they’ll come in by sending them text reminders.

Also, with the same app, you can send mass messages to clients with business updates, special deals, or anything else. Gain more time and forget about texting each client individually by downloading the Goldie app from the App Store or Google Play.

As a barber, it’s important to let clients know that you are only trying to improve your barber shop, and you’re not looking for a way to charge them more.

Have a positive attitude towards your clients

After announcing your barbershop price increase, some of your clients might be confused or even angry about that. In such situations,  it’s crucial to have a positive attitude and show honesty, transparency, and understanding, no matter their future purchase decisions. In the end, dealing with angry clients is easier than you think!

Conclusion

Price increases are never easy to talk about, and it can be challenging for your loyal customers to understand why it is happening. But the truth is that all businesses have expenses, and prices sometimes must increase to keep providing the same quality services.

We hope we’ve helped you find a few ways to make sure this transition goes as smoothly as possible in your barbershop business.

In the comments section, you can tell us what tactics you find best to tell clients about a price increase in your barbershop.