By this time, I’m sure you are in the full swing of fall prep! The weather is cooler, the pumpkin spice is flowing, and you and your salon guests are gearing up for the upcoming holidays. This month, I’m going to talk about making the most (and by most, I mean MONEY) during this holiday season!
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Holiday Scents
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Many manufacturers have limited-release body care and tanning items with holiday fragrances (i.e. Pumpkin Spice). Now is the perfect time to create cute fall displays and bring in these seasonal products as impulse items. But, just putting them on your shelves isn’t going to do the trick. Offering a sample bottle placed next to some fall decorations will help push these sales. This is also effective in December to promote your “winter skin products” such as the rich, hydrating tanning butters, moisturizing tan extenders and body washes.
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BOGO Gift Cards
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Get a jump on holiday sales by offering incentives for gift card purchases. My favorite promotion is what I call “Treat Yourself!” This is when the customer buys a gift card for someone and they get half back in credit on their account. So, your guest who buys a $50 gift card to give to her friend gets $25 in tanning credit on her salon account – it’s a win-win and an easy sale!
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As you and your salon guests gear up for the upcoming holidays, it’s a great time to create special promotions that will drive sales.
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Prepaid Upgrades
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Most salons have those tanners who have base-level EFT memberships and upgrade to higher-level beds on a regular basis, but for whatever reason, do not want to upgrade their memberships. Fall is the perfect time to offer prepaid upgrades, so your tanners on a budget can get “holiday bronzed.” If upgrading to the next tanning level is $10, why not offer a promo that upgrades them to the next level bed for the rest of the month for $25? Obviously, the earlier in the month they buy it, the more they benefit. This won’t affect their auto-draft and as soon as the month is over, they will go back to their original membership. I know operators who find this to be a good way to get tanners to try beds they have not in the past, as well as get those who “sometimes” upgrade to commit to a higher membership level.
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Lotion Rebate
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I’m sure you have used this before, or some variation of it. I still love this promotion and think it’s effective. Some salons offer a 100% lotion rebate – if you’re not comfortable with that, the 50% rebate promo works well, too. The rebate is given in the form of upgrade credit. Example: For purchasing a $60 bottle of lotion, the customer receives $30 in upgrade credit to use toward upgrades and sunless sessions. This allows tanners to try equipment they don’t typically use. I like this promo right before a holiday like Halloween or Thanksgiving, because people are far less likely to cancel a membership when they have tanning credit on their account.
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I hope you can incorporate some of these ideas to help you fuel your fall funds! Every salon’s market and clientele are different, and what works for some might not work for you … but, you never know until you try!
