In any service-based industry, it’s natural for professionals to raise their prices due to increased experience, demand, or additional service offerings. No matter your personal reasons for wanting to raise your lash extension prices, learn some of the most common reasons why lash professionals raise prices and get some strategies to make your announcement go smoothly with your customers. 

Related: Are You Pricing Your Lash Extension Services Correctly?

When To Increase Lash Extension Prices

There are many reasons you may decide to increase lash extension prices, but some of the most common are:

• You’ve taken additional training and have more experience
• You’re expanding services or adding more expensive services (for example, it’s common to charge different prices for classic and volume sets)
• You’re moving locations
• The cost of living has increased

How To Increase Lash Extension Prices

Once you’ve determined it’s time to change your prices, follow these tips:

Let Your Customers Know In Advance

Make sure your customers know about the upcoming price increase before you start charging your new rates. Not sure how far in advance to make the announcement? Consider your normal client cycle. If you see customers every 6 weeks, post the announcement 6 weeks before you raise your prices. Make sure you share the news everywhere you can so your clients aren’t surprised – tell them in person, on social media, email, using salon signage, and any other form of communication you send out.

Start By Thanking Your Clients

Always open your announcement by thanking your clients for their business and acknowledging your appreciation for them as customers. Then, give them the specific details of the price increase as well as the exact date it will go into effect. If you’re adding new services, make sure to include a short, compelling description of them to entice clients to try them out.

Focus On The Quality

As you’re explaining your price increase, include how the higher price point means higher quality. Focus on the added value that customers will receive – customers want to know that the price increase will mean better quality and services!

Read more: How to Retain Lash Customers

Have FAQs Ready

It’s normal for a service-based business to increase their prices, but many of us assume people are going to ask lots of questions around the price increase. Most customers will expect your prices to rise from time to time and won’t say anything. However, you may have a few clients that ask some questions about your pricing (“XYZ salon right across the street isn’t raising prices! Why are you?” is a common one). Boost your confidence in these situations by preparing your answers ahead of time. Be ready to discuss your business’ unique value and what makes your services stand out. Remember, focusing on the value and quality you provide during your service can help customers understand the change.

Plan To Review Your Pricing Annually

To make price increases more manageable for customers and stay up-to-date on the cost of your business, you should be reviewing your prices at least once per year. Imagine you didn’t change your pricing for 5 years, and then increased your prices by $30 a set. This increase may come as a shock to customers and feel overwhelming to explain. However, if you instead raised your prices by $5 a year, you’d experience the same increase in profitability and make it much easier for customers to adapt to the new price.

Follow Through

After you’ve let customers know about your price increase and added value, follow through! Actions speak louder than words, so be sure to show the excellence of your services the next time your customer comes for an appointment. Customers will be more than happy to pay a few extra dollars for a truly luxury experience. And if you lose a few customers by raising your prices, don’t panic. You can expect about 10% of your clients not to rebook after a price increase. Don’t take it personally – and understand that it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not everyone is your target customer, and the ones you lose after raising your prices are not your ideal customer. You’ll find new clients who appreciate your services at the rates you charge. 

Raising your prices is something every beauty professional goes through. By following these tips, we hope you can gain the confidence to charge the rates you deserve and are able to smoothly transition to your new pricing structure year after year.