Persaingan Harga Yang Sehat di Bisnis Salon

Persaingan Harga Yang Sehat di Bisnis Salon

Tanya:
Bapak Pengasuh Yth, Saya memiliki salon yang sudah berjalan selama lima tahun. Menurut saya, perkembangan salon ini lumayan baik, karena salon saya terletak di tepi jalan raya antarkota tetapi di sebuah kecamatan kecil. Kini di jalan yang sama, kurang lebih 200 meter dari lokasi salon saya, dibuka juga salon yang serupa sejak dua bulan lalu. Mereka memasang harga lebih rendah dari harga saya dan memasang harga secara besar-besaran di depan salonnya. Padahal saya baru saja menaikkan harga salon saya tiga bulan lalu. Saya cukup khawatir dengan pembukaan salon tersebut, karena harus bersaing dengan harga. Pertanyaan saya, bagaimana saya harus bersaing dengan salon baru tersebut? Saya tahu salah satu konsekuensi berbisnis adalah adanya persaingan. Bagaimana caranya saya tetap bersaing secara sehat? Terima kasih Yana Nganjuk, Jawa Timur

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Jawab:
Mbak Yana Yth,

Yang pertama saya ucapkan adalah selamat! Karena perjalanan bisnis salon Anda sudah mencapai lima tahun. Bukan perkara mudah memang untuk bertahan selama itu tanpa konsistensi dan semangat yang tinggi dalam menjalankannya.

Baik, saya akan menjawab pertanyaan Anda mengenai bersaing yang sehat. Mari kita lihat sifat dari bisnis Anda. Bisnis salon dapat dikelompokkan pada jenis usaha jasa (service business). Apa artinya? Jadi, memang produk yang dihasilkan bersifat tidak kelihatan. Hasil potongan rambut yang Anda kerjakan memang kelihatan, tetapi sebagian besar yang pelanggan rasakan adalah menyangkut rasa puas atau nyaman atau lebih percaya diri dengan potongan yang Anda hasilkan. Untuk itu kunci utama dari bisnis ini adalah membuat pelanggan merasa puas dan cocok dengan Anda.

Nah, di samping menggunakan harga sebagai alatnya, maka Anda juga dapat bersaing secara sehat dengan menggunakan cara yang lain. Cara lain ini lebih bersifat bagaimana melayani pelanggan lebih baik lagi. Anggaplah ini sebagai selisih lebih dari biaya yang Anda patok dengan pesaing Anda. Apa yang dapat Anda lakukan? Ada beberapa cara, diantaranya

1. Buatlah pelanggan Anda senyaman mungkin di salon Anda.
Itu bisa dilakukan secara fisik, misalnya dengan mengatur tata letak salon Anda, sehingga tampak bersih dan luas, memberi pendingin ruangan, jika belum dapat menggunakan AC, kipas angin juga boleh.

2. Jangan lupa, memotong rambut memerlukan waktu yang cukup lama.
Akibatnya, boleh jadi ada pelanggan Anda yang harus menunggu giliran dipotong rambutnya. Untuk menghindari kebosanan dalam menunggu siapkan beberapa majalah atau suratkabar untuk dibaca pelanggan Anda. Anda juga dapat memberikan pelanggan Anda secangkir teh hangat.

3. Sesekali ajak pelanggan Anda ngobrol.
Intinya adalah Anda membangun rasa kekeluargaan dan kedekatan dengan pelanggan (customer intimacy). Mengapa penting? Ya, umumnya pelanggan salon memiliki sifat fanatik terhadap salon atau penata rambut tertentu. Bila sudah cocok, mereka sulit berpindah ke tempat yang lain. Nah, inilah yang harus terus dijaga.

Mengenai daftar harga yang tercantum besar-besar di kaca depan salon, itu juga sebetulnya bagian dari promosi. Orang juga butuh informasi mengenai harga yang Anda patok. Dengan pencantuman harga, pelanggan baru akan datang dengan informasi yang cukup sehingga siap dengan berapa besar uang yang harus dikeluarkan untuk satu kali potong. Anda juga boleh mengikutinya.

Agar dapat bersaing, sesekali program diskon bisa Anda tawarkan ke pelanggan-pelanggan Anda. Untuk lebih menarik, program diskon Anda dapat menggunakan tema-tema tertentu, misalnya 'Potongan 20% dalam rangka Hari Sumpah Pemuda' khusus untuk pelanggan remaja. Anda juga bisa gunakan tema-tema yang lain.

Jadi, pada intinya Anda tidak perlu khawatir. Bersaing tidak hanya mengandalkan harga saja. Untuk bersaing yang sehat, Anda dapat menggunakan layanan kepada pelanggan dengan lebih bervariasi. Yang utama adalah menjaga hubungan yang baik dengan pelanggan-pelanggan Anda.

Selamat berbisnis dan bersaing. Semoga masukan ini dapat membantu salon Anda berkembang lebih baik lagi. ***

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source: artikel Republika
Diasuh oleh: Ir Bramantoro Abdinagoro, MM TITIAN consulting + learning
e-mail: probis2002@republika.co.id, faksimile: 021-7983623


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Augmentation of water utility in Urban Areas

Water is a scarce resource and due to its limited supply, the population of urban areas remains always in the grip of water shortage. At present, the quality of water used for watering the garden, washing the clothes and flushing the toilets is the same quality as the water we take for drinking purpose. At least, we can flush toilets by recycling the waste water in a house. With the application of new technology i.e. recycling of waste water, about 33% of urban water can be saved / reutilized. The Government can solve this problem to great extent by making the recycling of waste water as compulsory by way of amending the Building Bye laws enforceable by Town and Country Planning Department, Civic Bodies and Urban Development Authorities.

Types of Waste Water Produced in the Houses
Every house in urban areas produces two types of waste water i.e.

• Grey Water
• Black Water

The waste water which is produced from baths, showers, clothes washers, and wash-hand basins is termed as grey water whereas the waste water generated from toilets is called black water. Waste water produced from the kitchen sinks and dish-washers is also called black water due to their higher organic contents. The grey water is considered of lesser quality than potable water, but at the same time it is considered of higher quality than black water.

The Nature of Water Recommended for Recycling
The present society, through traditional practice, flushes toilets through potable high quality water i.e. the water which is being used for drinking purpose. Whereas, toilets can be flushed with waste water i.e. grey water generated from baths, showers, cloth washers and wash hand basins by recycling the same through a system. In this way, Government can save 33 % of total water supply or it can be termed as augmentation of water supply by 33 % without spending any money on additional infrastructure as this proposition is by making provision of this system in the Building Bye Laws which are enforceable through Town and Country Planning Department, Civic Bodies and Urban Development Authorities.

Mechanism of Waste Water Recycling
For the recycling of waste water / grey water, the house owner has to construct a separate waste water (grey Water) Tank below the ground level. All waste water of the house would get collected in this tank through waste water pipes. From this tank, waste water is again uplifted to a separate waste water tank placed on the terrace of a house which would supply water regularly for flushing the toilets constructed underneath of the said tank placed on the terrace. This mechanism evolved very minor changes of plumbing works. As per traditional technology, the waste water pipes are connected with the sewerage pipes at various levels. In the present case, instead of connecting waste water with the sewerage line of the house, such lines are connected with the tank constructed below ground level.

This system will not create any problem and financial burden on those persons who want to construct new houses. In old houses, some changes are required in plumbing works only. Since, there is no problem for enforcing this technology in new houses to be constructed on vacant plots; therefore, Govt. should enforce this technology by making amendments in the Building Bye Laws so that coming generation could be benefited from this system. This system will also lower down the required capacity of water supply and sewerage net works of the Government. ***

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by Vinay Chaubey
For more details on Augmentation of water utility in Urban Areas visit www.townplanning.in
Vinay Chaubey
SEO Manager
vinay.choubey@mobilex.in

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Can I Earn Enough Money From Advertising?

Do you notice that there are many advertisements in the internet? You can find them very common at the top and side. You can also find some at the bottom of the web page. They come in different forms, text links and banners. They are also relevant to the content of the web site. Why do we need them? They are a source of income for the websites providers.

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2. Register Google Adsense Program Google Adsense is good start with since it has a huge database for all categories. It will help you to earn enough money from it. Search for www.google.com/adsense and register as web publisher. Google Adsense will generate script code for you. Copy and paste it on your site. You can get most clicks at the top of your article and side bar.

3. Keep Updating Your Content You already have visitors to your site and you want them to keep coming. People do not like to see the same thing over and over again. You will notice low traffic and number of clicks. Simply do not earn enough money. Provide them new and fresh content. Most people failed to do this.

One last thing, sit back and watch your visitors click advertisement links and banners. You can earn enough money from advertisement. Do not worry about what type of advertisement displayed in your site. They are highly relevant to the content of your site. ***

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by Vincent
My name is Vincent. I work in manufacturing industry. I have been online for a while now and I am overwhelmed by all the options to make money online. Can I earn enough money from internet? Join me to find out more anwers. Can I earn enough money from Advertising to quit my regular job?