Happy Holidays! I hope your trees and lights are up and you’re ready to enjoy the holiday season at home and at your salons. December is our biggest opportunity to jump-start our busy tanning season and get our clients excited and re-engaged. This month, I want to offer some tips for making the most of the Christmas season in your salons.
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1. Appeal to the heart. At my salons, this year’s Christmas giving promotion is in partnership with a bunch of local non-profit organizations. Our “12 Days of Christmas” promo picks a different organization and gift item each day, and a portion of the profits will be donated to that organization. Not only does this help our local charities, but their promotion of these sales will also leverage their networks to generate more exposure.
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2. Make it easy. When you’re thinking about Christmas giving, be sure to make it simple. Since these salon service gifts will largely be bought by men for their significant others, take the guesswork out of the game. Have the gift ready to go and wrapped for them, so that all they have to do is take it home.
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3. Promote what’s wanted. Don’t fight the tide and try to get people to buy service packages for December. This will result in a lack of excitement for your promotions, and thus a lack of sales. Instead, focus on gifting for the coming year – gift certificates for “Quarter 1”, “Tan ‘til 2020”, etc. For more instant gratification, promote sunless and spa services for all of the holiday pre-party prep. If you offer lash extensions, etc., now is the time to talk about those – both for current purchases and for gift-giving.
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4. Remind people over and over. Don’t expect your customers to remember your special promos after hearing about them once. Instead, keep the message clean and simple, and keep it in front of them. To get the maximum effect, make sure you’re using all of your sales channels to promote. Don’t make the mistake of just promoting in-store while your client counts are down – promote to the larger numbers we’ll be seeing in-store in just a couple months.
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5. Convenience is key. This is important enough that I list it twice! Making it easy to purchase is so important if you want great sales. If there’s any way you can sell online, now’s the time to do it! Make it easy for people to purchase online and receive an emailed gift certificate, or to pick up in-store. SquareSpace and Shopify both make this doable, or contact your web designer to discuss options. This isn’t the way of the future anymore – it’s here and now.
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6. Make it warm and fun. Finally, let’s remember what’s important. Don’t give in to the hustle of the “Christmas Crazy.” Find a way to make your sales and your salon a warm, fun, inviting place in December. When people think Hallmark memories, make sure they think of your salon as a component of that.
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Here’s to a great December and a great kickoff to 2019!
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If I can help, or if you’d like to share what works in your salon, email hello@dspurgers.com.
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