Have your ears been burning? Because I’ve been talking about you. I went straight to your customers and asked them why they visited your salons, when their appointments were, whether they preferred you or another nail technician, and whether you talk to them about salon sanitation. I wanted to know when they came in, why they left their last salon, and whether you had ever tried to sell them retail. In this issue, we have a full report on their answers.

NAILS Magazine talked to more than 2,000 nail salon clients in a survey we did with Allure Magazine (click here to read the full report). The survey is the first ever of its kind, going directly to the salon patron and getting hard data on the habits of salon-goers. The answers reveal the huge potential of the professional salon industry for nail care.

Not only is aware of and experience with professional nail care high, the general perception of the industry seems very good. We have answers, and benchmark information that has never before been obtained about the habits of nail salon customers. Finally we have information that can help you as salon professionals reach more customers and keep the ones you have. We can share with industry marketers key ideas about what clients think about products and industry issues. But most important, we know that the attitude about nail salons is generally positive. Clients say their experiences with professional nail care have been good. In fact, 83% of the survey respondents said they were always or almost-always happy with the way their nails looked after getting them done professionally. And more than half of them did NOT agree with the statement “Bad press has made me hesitant to get my nails done.”

Nails-only salons – the bread and butter businesses of our industry – are the preferred choice for women getting their nails done (64% choose a nails-only salon over full-service salons).

And although salon sanitation is a hot topic (90% said sanitation was important in choosing a nail salon), most said they were directly aware of their nail technicians’ sanitation routine (I thought it was astounding that 58% said that they had actually seen their nail technician clean her implements before using them). That was great to hear.

You can read the entire study in this issue here. You’ll see opportunities, like how to develop more loyalty or how to get clients in more regularly. It’s one thing to trust your gut instinct on these things; it’s another to get them confirmed with hard data. Now we have both.

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