Stop Sharing Your Overheads

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

The point of this content is to share the nuts and bolts of what goes into a nail service price. Sometimes it’s a comparison chart. E.g. ‘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 like rent, insurance, rising stock costs, ongoing training etc.

Sometimes it’s a ‘fun’ or ‘lighthearted’ video showing all of the ‘hidden costs’ of a nail service. 

Or it might even be a classic Facebook rant, or my personal (least) favourite, a ‘viral copy and paste’, listing how hard it is and how much costs have gone up. Tiny violins at the ready, Bosses.

First of all, I completely understand why anyone 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, or 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…

Think for a second about a big brand, like Apple, for instance. Can you imagine if Apple started putting out adverts about how much their factory rent had gone up, and how you might see a shiny new phone, but what you don’t see is that their electricity costs have doubled in the last 3 years. It would be baffling, and frankly, off putting. 

 And the fact is, I can pretty much guarantee that their costs and overheads have gone up. Everyone’s has. But my point is, this is 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're selfish by any means, but we are all the main character of our own lives, and we’re evolutionarily wired to have our own needs met.

So 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 from ‘her down the road’? 

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 the next week or so really analysing marketing, like tv and radio ads, and seeing how they’re marketing to you.

A great example to get you started is Marks & Spencer. Can you imagine if they changed their famously mouth-watering ads to a list of their 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, they stick to close-up shots of steaming hot, delicious food, usually being drizzled with something or another, with an almost seductive voice over, saying words like ‘succulent’ and ‘indulgent’, and their famously 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 IG (@BossYourSalon) so I can cheer you on!

Maddi x

P.S. Feel stuck on what sets you apart from your ‘competition’, especially if you wanna charge more? Check out my free online masterclass here: www.bossyoursalon.com/masterclass and I’ll show ya how!