For many in the hair and beauty industry, Christmas is our favourite (and busiest) time of year.
As a Salon Owner, Hairdresser or Beauty Therapist, you will love this time of the year and your appointment book should be busier than usual. But if it isn’t, don’t worry, we’ve spoken to some industry experts and come up with some last-minute ideas to drive your business forwards through the festive season:
Social Media
In order to increase engagement over the Christmas period, you need to understand your customer. Review what type of posts have worked best for you so far this year and build those into an effective content strategy. For example, were they posts offering tips and offers, or did content delivering questions, or fashion and celebrity news work best?
Combine these with content discussing popular or trending topics such as Christmas hair party tips, seasonal beauty ideas, gift card campaigns, retail promotions and last-minute/January bookings.
Ensure you find relevant and high-quality imagery to go with these – as you know, in this industry visuals are very important, particularly with the growth in Instagram. December is too busy to waste time on social media activity, so make sure every post counts!
Website
For any business, their website is a primary tool used to showcase their products and/or services to customers. For salons, your website alone will attract many potential clients, and be the first point of engagement and initial brand impression. For this reason, it should be up-to-date, easy to navigate, reflect your branding and include seasonal elements such as festive graphics and themed blogs.
Advertising
At this stage in the year, it will be too late to secure anything for this Christmas, however, use this time to pre-plan your advertising slots for December 2019. Most magazines start planning their December issues months in advance, so spend some time ringing round numerous advertising departments to confirm cut-off dates and try to bag a space there and then.
Don’t forget, the early bird catches the worm so try to negotiate for some discount and accompanying editorial as part of the package!
Merchandising
December is the biggest salon retail opportunity during the year. As Helen Ward discussed with us last year, it’s vital that you plan your merchandising displays and retail offers carefully to drum up salon sales. Spend time briefing your team on offers, promotions and campaigns, as well as window dressing and adding in in-salon accessories for the festive period.
Promotional material
We think it’s safe to assume that you’ve already got your promotional materials in place for this Christmas! Regarding the posters, flyers and POS you may have been sent by your product manufacturers, you should ask yourself the below questions:
- Do they express the right message for your business?
- Are they eye-catching and complement your brand?
- Are they the right size and shape for your salon and its interior?
To go above and beyond, try creating your own additional bespoke materials rather than re-using the manufacturer’s. This way, you can place the focus on your salon and not solely on their products.
As well as this, make sure you have enough of your own price lists, gifft cards etc. You don’t want to run out a week before the big day!
Networking
Finally, you may want to contact other local business owners to suggest partnering with them for Christmas and New Year offers. For example, restaurants and bars, florists, jewellers etc. Showing your face in the community can go a long way and potentially increase your client base for 2019.
Ideas for next year…
Now that the basics have been covered – here are a list of some campaigns and promotions which have worked well for some of our customers:
- Free wrapping service for products bought in your salon
- Hold a Christmas party in your salon for regular and loyal clients
- Christmas tree lucky dip – allow clients to choose a tree decoration and open it to see what their prize is
- “12 Days of Christmas” promotion
- Create your own Christmas/seasonal gift sets to increase retail sales
- Promote a competition throughout December to get clients booking for January and February
- Promote gift cards and vouchers
- Set up a Christmas-themed photo booth in your salon – then run a selfie competition on social media, ensuring you provide a personalised and branded hashtag
- Donate products to local charities
- Offer a free head massage with hair treatments throughout December
- Offer 3 for 2 on certain products
- Offer a free glass of prosecco (or alcohol-free alternative) to clients on arrival
Just remember…
Don’t forget about fixing a budget for your Christmas marketing activity, it’s easy to spend too much money in the run up to Christmas and get a shock in January when the bills come in.
Finally, from the team here at Salon Gold, we wish you a wonderful Christmas and prosperous New Year.
What are your tips for making the most of Christmas in your salon? Share your thoughts with us in the comments on Facebook and Twitter.
Salon Gold is a specialist insurance provider for the hair and beauty industry. Find out more about our Salon insurance.
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