How to justify your nail treatment prices

Hair and beauty business coach, Maddi Cook of Boss Your Salon, shares top tips to elevate your offerings and enhance your profits…

I’ve seen a trend in a particular type of content and want to unpack it with you. I do this from the perspective of a pricing expert who, trust me, has heard it all when it comes to pricing, positioning and value articulation.

The purpose of this content is to share the nuts and bolts of what goes into a nail service price. Sometimes it’s a comparison chart, for example ‘what you see’ vs. ‘what you don’t see’, where the client ‘sees’ a gorgeous set of nails with jazzy art, but they ‘don’t see’ the costs, such as rent, insurance, rising stock prices and ongoing training.

Sometimes, the content is a light-hearted video showing the hidden costs of a nail service. Other times, it’s a classic Facebook rant, or my personal (least) favourite, a viral post that has been copied and pasted, listing how difficult business is and how much costs have gone up. Tiny violins at the ready, bosses.

First of all, I completely understand why people would want to share this. It can be hard when it feels like nails in your area are super competitive, or clients seem to be tightening their belts and choosing cheaper options. But honestly, it’s unnecessary, it’s causing you more harm than good, and there’s a much better alternative. Stick with me…

Consider a big brand, such as Apple. Can you imagine if Apple started airing adverts about how much factory rent has gone, and how you might see a shiny new phone, but what you don’t see is that electricity costs have doubled in the last three years? It would be baffling and frankly, off-putting. I am sure that Apple’s costs and overheads have gone up. Everyone’s costs have. But my point is, it’s not the position to market from.

Your clients love what you do, but they don’t give a hoot about the costs to run your business. They care about what’s in it for them.

That’s not to say that they are selfish by any means, but we are all the main character of our own lives, and we’re evolutionarily wired to have our needs met. Instead of coming from this place of scarcity, fear and justification, we need to shift into thinking: ‘What does my rockstar client get out of this service?’ ‘How do I improve their life?’ ‘What do they get from me, that they can’t get elsewhere?’

You want your clients to book in with you because you tick all their boxes, not because they feel guilty that you won’t be able to pay your bills if they don’t.

I’d love for you to spend time analysing TV and radio ads, to see how they’re marketing to you. A great example is Marks & Spencer. Can you imagine if it changed its famously mouth-watering ads to a list of bills and a sense of panic about not being able to weather a cost of living crisis? It would give you the ick, right?

Instead, M&S sticks to close-up shots of steaming hot, delicious food, usually being drizzled with something, with a seductive voice-over and words like ‘succulent’ and ‘indulgent’. What’s more, there’s an iconic dreamy soundtrack that almost makes your mouth water at the sheer sound of it. How could you be more M&S in your marketing? I’d love to see what you come up with.

Tag me on Instagram (@bossyoursalon) so I can cheer you on!