It’s hear folks! The holidays have arrived! Black Friday is right around the corner and then holiday festivities will be in full swing. This should be the busiest time of the year for salons and we’re here to show you ways to make sure that your salon is no exception!
With the holidays nearing, do you notice that your social media accounts are full of businesses promoting their holiday sales? Businesses know that people are spending this time of year and they all want a piece of the pie!
Chances are your client’s already have a lot of plans made from now throughout the New Year and will need your services. This is a time to sell and upsell your services! People will need everything ranging from cuts and colors, to waxes and makeup.
Let’s make this a holiday season that everyone will remember because of the exceptional quality of service’s received and through-the-roof sales for your business. This is a wonderful time of the year to boost sales and we’re going to show you some tricks to do just that!
Get Your Sales Ready
You have a few key dates this season to really sky rocket your sales: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. DON’T LET THESE DAYS PASS YOU BUY WITHOUT CAPITALIZING ON THEM!
View Black Friday as the perfect time to reduce inventory and boost your sales. Have discontinued or overstock items? Run that at an exceptional discount, like 50-60% off. You can have a big signage posted on a shelf that contains the items or even place them on a display right at the desk where everyone checks out. Stylists should mention the amazing deals that are being offered to their clients at check out and remind them that it’s a one day only sale and that they don’t want to miss out.
Small Business Saturday is a great day to have clients enter a drawing to win various gift baskets. You could give each person one entry for each service they receive that day, or have them gain an entry based on dollar amount spent (i.e. for every $10 spent, you get 2 entries into the drawing). Make the gift baskets look cheerful and enticing. When baskets look beautiful, customers will get excited about entering. If you don’t have the means to do various small gift baskets, that’s ok! Just do one festive gift basket and say there will be one grand prize winner. It will draw excitement all the same.
As for Cyber Monday, this is a day when everyone is online looking for a bargain. Take this opportunity to send an email blast to those in your database and encourage them to book their appointment online (if you have this capability). Offer an incentive. You could run 10% off of services booked online or give them a promo code to be used in your salon which gives them a discount off of your retail merchandise. Make good use of your social media accounts and run these specials on there also!
Let Clients Know Space is Limited
During the month of December, your books are likely to have very little openings. Let your clients know that if they need a salon service, they should book as soon as possible, as spots are limited. This simple email and social media blast reminder will light a fire under your clients who might have put off booking their appointment and will likely get those vacant spots filled up. You could use one of our options below and get those emails and posts out today!
‘This is the season for holiday parties! My schedule is almost full for the month of December, so if you need any services to help you look or feel your best this holiday, hurry and book today!
Let’s get you looking and feeling your best for this holiday season! My schedule has limited openings so make sure to book your appointment soon!
Take some of the holiday stress off of yourself by enjoying some pampering! Make sure to call today to book your salon service as my books are filling up fast for December.
Create Your Promos and Spruce up Your Salon
Holiday decorations quite simply put people in a good mood. It brings cheer and gets them in a festive, giving mood. As you decorate your salon for the holiday season, create your gift offerings and include them in your décor. Offer gifts ranging from small, travel size type products that are great as stocking stuffers, to large, all-inclusive gift baskets. People like to see what all is included in a gift basket so while it’s nice to have one wrapped up to show them how beautiful it is, have one open so they see all that is included.
Also let customers know that you offer gift cards and that those are good options for that hard-to-buy-for person in their life. Visually appealing, creative, holiday displays definitely boost sales so it’s great to spend some time setting them up. It’s always a nice touch to have some little holiday treats and drinks for your patrons. Chances are they have been racing around preparing for the holidays and this is there one chance to pamper themselves and take a load off. Help put them in a relaxing, enjoyable mood and let them know you appreciate them.
The Art of the Upsell
Many salon professionals dread upselling. This shouldn’t be the case, especially at the holidays when it’s so easy to do! For starters, running a promo on your gift cards is an easy way to sell a higher dollar amount of cards. An example would be to have a rewards program where for every so much they spend in gift cards, they get a certain amount back in a gift card (ex. for every $50 purchased in gift cards, they receive a $10 gift card to be used at a future date). This encourages them to purchase the dollar amount you preset so that they receive the additional gift!
We already mentioned how you can use stocking stuffer sized products bundled as a gift option but this is also an easy add-on item. It is usually of low cost and patrons could easily toss it onto their bill when they are checking out. You could promote that this is a good way for them to try a product they’ve had their eye on with little investment or they could use it as an inexpensive gift.
In addition to upselling products, you can also upsell your services. Someone in your chair for a cut and color? Why not see if they want a manicure while there or a deep conditioning treatment? Once they are in your chair, you have a captive audience and they will be more receptive to adding on extra services, especially ones that could be done during the same amount of time that they were scheduled to be there anyway.
Hold a Charity Drive
People like giving back to the community, especially during the holidays. Why not use this to your advantage and hold a canned food drive or maybe have a hat and mitten donation tree? Clients who bring in items to donate could be thanked by offering a certain percentage off of their next service or retail product. By offering them a discount on their next visit, you not only give them a deal which makes them feel valued, but you get a rebook!
New Year, New Look
Encourage your clients to book their first salon appointment of 2018 before New Year’s Eve. Let them know that they’ll receive a pre-booking discount or added salon treatment at that appointment. Clients who are regulars will be excited to lock in their appointment (and receive a little bonus for doing so); prospective clients might be nudged to book so they get to take advantage of the special promotion. This is a fantastic way to get your books filling up for the 2018 year!
Promote Steadily
When you advertise your specials, make sure you try to reach your clients wherever you can – that includes social media, email, and even text messaging. Tie these promos into your signage in the salon. Remind your clients of the specials you are offering and let them know there is a sense of urgency since it’s a time-sensitive promotion. Promotions that are run seamlessly across multiple platforms tend to have the highest success rate so make sure to promote, promote, promote!
This is an exciting time of the year and it’s a great time to show your client’s some love and appreciation. Spread joy with your clients and they’ll show you the love in return by adding on services or rebooking. Your efforts will be noticed and appreciated!
Need additional help keeping the clients rolling in and your books full? That’s what I’m here for! Reach out to me today and let’s see how I can help YOU!