Whether you’re an independent mobile spray tan artist or a sunless salon, raising your prices every so often is necessary, but doesn’t have to be a daunting task. While you don’t want to lose clients, you want to make sure you’re being compensated fairly after all costs for the service are accounted for. To help navigate you through increasing your prices, we enlisted the help of Los Angeles-based celebrity spray tan artist, Alexandra DiMarchi (@AirbrushbyAlexandra) to help make the process as seamless as possible.

Consider Your Demographic:

“In a salon, I think you need to take into consideration your demographic, minimum wage, things like that,” says Alexandra. And while that seems obvious, it is important when starting out that your prices are fair so that potential clients in your area can actually afford your services. Starting out at a reasonable price will then set you up to be able to raise your prices fairly in the future in a way that is beneficial to both you and your client.

Be Strategic:

According to Entrepreneur.com, most small businesses raise their prices 5-10% every two to three years and that’s a good rule of thumb for beauty professionals as well. And that’s mainly because things like cost of living and product costs go up, in addition to you becoming more experienced, thus, earning a higher wage. Routinely raising your prices at a fixed increase will help build your longterm clients’ trust so they’ll know when to expect a price increase and how much it will be.

“Mobile artists can also increase their prices during certain times like rush hour, and base it off of travel times, mileage, and gas,” shares Alexandra, explaining that she charges all of her clients who book during the evening rush hour timeframe a higher flat rate than she charges mobile appointments throughout the rest of the day. Charging a higher flat rate versus calculating time, mileage, and gas for each individual appointment saves you time and the headache of calculating all of the different variables.

On the contrary, however, before raising your prices, you want to make sure you are booked at least 80% of the time. If you’re having trouble maintaining a steady schedule, raising your prices won’t help attract more clients. So be sure you are booked a majority of the time before considering raising your prices.

Be Transparent & Give Notice:

Alexandra explains that you should definitely be transparent about increasing your prices, but to communicate the increases differently dependent on your business structure. In a salon, it may be helpful to give clients 90 days notice with signage explaining the increase is effective by a certain date at the reception desk, as well as have the receptionist communicate the increase.

As a mobile spray tan artist herself, Alexandra explains when she is raising her prices, she’ll let her clients know in-person at their next appointment that all following appointments they will be charged the new increased price.

Enrich The Experience:

When considering raising your prices and subsequently communicating the increase to your clients, you want to make sure you are focusing on the positives of your services as well as adding value. Did you just invest in a fancy new extraction fan? Have you added more features like drying powder, PH spray, or scent drops to your services at no upcharge? Did you recently earn a new sunless certification? These are all great things to point out to your customers when you are introducing your price increase. Alexandra also adds that when you add a new luxury solution to your lineup is a great way to enrich the experience for your customer, give them better results, and focus on the positives as this new solution can be a major selling point, “let them know all about your new vegan, non-toxic solution you’re carrying.”

Addressing Price Raises On Social Media:

Social media and email blasts are two great tools to use to communicate prices increases across the board if you have a large, consistent customer database. However, sending a generic message out to the masses can lack that personal touch that you’re able to communicate in person to clients who you do have a close relationship with. It can also send a confusing message to — because let’s face it, everyone has them— those OG regular clients who you’ve been charging the same amount since the very beginning. So in general, sharing your price increased via email and social media can vary depending on your clientele.

When To Be Flexible:

When the opportunity outweighs the dollar amount. “Not every opportunity is a huge paycheck,” shares Alexandra. “I’ve had clientele (think: models) come to me with a budget that might be a little lower than my normal rate but because it was something I wanted to be involved with, it was on-brand for me, there were pictures I wanted for my portfolio, and/or it would benefit my career of some sort. It’s not always about money at the end of the day.” The situations Alexandra is referring to could include things like, working with a local cheerleading or dance team at a lower group rate, tanning models for a photo shoot at a discounted rate, tanning pageant contestants on a budget, etc, are all times where it may be worth it to take the pay cut if it means getting awesome content and attaching your name to a reputable team or event.

All in all, raising your prices doesn’t have to be a big deal, in fact, it shouldn’t be. As long as you are focusing on the positives, communicating the increases to your clients, all while still benefiting you and them, you should be able to seamlessly increase your prices and maintain your clients.