Five essential tips salon owners need to know to handle a business crisis

With salon owners facing a variety of challenges from soaring rent prices to the complexities of managing increasing supply chain costs, money to spend on PR and marketing is non-existent for many UK hairdressers.

All salons will inevitably face an issue at some point that could evolve into a PR nightmare, like a series of negative reviews spoiling your hard earned reputation..

How small businesses handle these incidents can make or break their reputation, especially owners who are in the early stages of building their establishment.

With budgets tight, to help, the experts at money.co.uk business insurance have offered their tips on minimising the risk of a PR crisis and dealing with one effectively:

Hairdressers and salons face the risk of causing injury to customers and being hit with liability claims, for example, when using bleach on the scalp. A claim of this type can seriously damage a brand’s reputation, customer base, and, ultimately profits. To avoid this:

·         Carry out thorough training of all staff about safety when using bleach, scissors, or any other piece of equipment that has the potential to injure a customer

·         Regularly check in with customers to make sure they aren’t experiencing discomfort during their treatment

·         Ensure you have liability protection within your business insurance policy to protect your business in the event of a claim

How to handle a PR crisis: 

Remove the risk

As soon as you’re made aware of an issue, if possible, you should remove the risk element. This could mean removing a post from the business’ social media page if it’s caused a legal issue, or stopping selling a certain product or offering a certain service if it’s putting customers at risk. Acting fast means there’s less risk of the issue escalating by being seen by more people or causing more harm and complaints.

Communicate with the customer

If the incident relates to a customer, engaging with that disgruntled customer quickly and empathetically can go a long way in resolving the situation and stop it from spiralling into a bigger issue. Showing genuine compassion, offering an apology, and explaining how you plan to rectify the situation, can help to rebuild your relationship with the customer and protect your business’ reputation as one that cares about its customers.

Prepare a statement

If the incident is already public knowledge (for example, due to a poor online review) or you have a duty of care to make it public knowledge (such as if other customers could be at risk), then you’ll need to prepare a statement. Posting a statement on your brand’s website or social media pages can allow you to address the issue – as well as any public backlash – head-on. Showing transparency and commitment to rectifying the situation can help to build trust in your business and prevent alienating customers.

Talk to your insurer 

If the crisis has the potential to escalate to legal proceedings, you’ll want to speak to your business insurance provider and check the terms of your policy. You may need to claim on your insurance to cover legal costs, be it a legal infringement or being sued by a customer. Your insurer can advise you on how to handle the process and obtain the necessary funds without risking your business’s financial standing. 

Take the learnings

After making it through a crisis and the fall-out, you’ll no doubt want to move on and forget it happened. But one of the most important parts of crisis management is taking learnings from these incidents to avoid the same thing happening again, or to deal with it faster and more effectively next time. Make sure to keep a log of any incidents and the learnings, and update your crisis management strategy accordingly.