Everyone loves a good promotion! They can draw you into a business or, if you are an existing customer, they can make you feel appreciated and valued. Best of all, as a business owner, they are fairly easy to incorporate and just take some promoting to get the word out. They are an outstanding way to really increase sales and are an excellent way to drum up new business.
A great way to keep promotions fresh and exciting is to change them up every month. Should you have a hard time coming up with ideas for your monthly promotion, start by thinking of timely events going on. Is a holiday approaching? Do you have a festival in your town that everyone attends? Is a new season right around the corner? These are all good starting points that you can use to spin your promotion off of.
Still stumped? Here are some promotional ideas that a salon professional could incorporate:
January – Ring in the New Year with a New Look!
With the start of the New Year, everyone has a desire to start fresh. Their resolutions are underway and they are inspired and open to change. Now is a great time to hit them up with a fantastic offer such as a percentage off of their salon service.
February – Love is in the air!
As with January, this is where holidays come into play with promotions. You could run a promotion for a free mini-makeup session with any color service. Let the women get pampered before they celebrate Valentine’s Day with their beau.
March – Pamper yourself before spring break
Whether you are a teen or a family, a lot of people travel this month for spring break. Running a promotion for either a percentage off of a salon service or a discount on mani/pedi’s would be a good fit this month.
April – Style Me bundle
While there is a lull in holiday promotions, now is a great time to promote the various hair care products you offer. You could run a buy 2 get 1 free promotion. It is the perfect way to entice your customers to try various hair care products while boosting your income!
May – We love referrals!
Word of mouth is the easiest way to get the word out about how awesome of a stylist you are so use that to your advantage! “Bring a Friend” promotions work great and are a good way to gain a new customer. The perfect promotion this month would be to offer a free styling product to any existing customer who also books an appointment for their friend.
June – Summer is here!
School is out and summer is in full effect now. A lot of people are looking for coloring services during this time of year so it may be the perfect time to offer a free cut with any color.
July – Treat your feet
All of that barefoot walking can take a toll on your client’s feet around this time of the year. Now is a good time to run a promotion for manicures and pedicures. Offer a percentage off when a client books both services.
August – Bring your locks back to life
All of that fun in the sun takes a toll on your client’s hair. August is the perfect month to offer a free deep conditioning treatment with any hair service.
September – It’s that time…Back to School!
Kids and adults alike are looking for a new, fresh look when school is about to be back in session. Kids are looking to impress their friends and the moms are looking to update their look. This month’s promotional offer could be a free kid’s haircut with every adult haircut.
October – Spooky good deals
Clients may be in need of a new color this month. Running a percentage off of any color service would be ideal during the month of October.
November – Be thankful for your clients
With Thanksgiving this month, this is a good time to let your clients know you are thankful for them and their patronage. Offering 20% off any salon service of $50 or more would be a great way to upsell additional services. Adding services to their haircut appointment puts them over the $50 minimum and will allow them to take advantage of this month’s discount.
December – Have a “Glitz and Glam” Christmas
Everyone wants to look their best around the holidays. You could offer complimentary beverages and snacks every Friday and Saturday. This is also the perfect time to have salon products bundled that can be purchased as gift items. As an additional promotion this month, you could offer a free gift to each client. Filling tiny stockings with a sample or two and a candy cane look nice but also show that you care. It’s an easy way to go the extra mile and wish them a Merry Christmas.
Any and every business can benefit from running promotions. When planning out your promotions, make sure you aren’t putting yourself in the negative. Keep discounts realistic and doable. These should be fun, exciting things not just for the customer, but on your end too. If you are stressed that with each free bottle of shampoo you are giving out, you aren’t able to offset the cost, then that’s not a good promotion for your business right now. We are confident that after you figure out what works for you and your business, your promotions will take off!
If you are looking to start carrying the best in hair care, contact us today! At Authentically Branded, we offer a full line of hair care products as well as skin care. We also work with many salon professionals to get them to where they want to be in their career – full books, able to upsell with ease, and income that they previously had only dreamed about. Head over here to leave us your info and we’ll be in touch soon!