Festive season is upon us, and it’s time to get your salon ready for the holidays. The winter holiday rush can leave you feeling exhausted (and not so cheerful) if you don’t get your prep done ahead of time. We’ve got some helpful tips to prepare your salon and get ahead of the game.
Prepare Your Business in Advance
Salon owners should start thinking about their holiday plans well before the season hits. Now is the perfect time to get started preparing salons for holidays!
Take the time to create a list of what needs to be done, who is responsible for each task, and when it needs to be completed. You can use Inspire by STX to organize all of this. The comprehensive features of Inspire salon software will help you keep track of each step along the way.
Keep your salon schedule organized and resist the temptation to overbook. It’s hard to turn down salon business, but you don’t want to sacrifice the quality of the client experience at your salon. Encourage your clients to book early (and suggest using your convenient online booking) if they are going to want holiday services. It’s a good idea to request that they keep a credit card on file to increase the efficiency of the check-in and check-out procedures on those extra busy days.
Set vacation policies and communicate them to your staff members early on. Plan time off and staff coverage in advance, This gives your staff a chance to make their holiday plans accordingly and prevents last-minute coverage challenges for you.
Train Employees
While getting your salon ready for the holiday season, take the time to work with employees on upselling services and products. This is also a great time to review your customer service expectations and make certain that everybody is on the same page.
Do a staff review on how to handle product returns, exchanges, or damaged goods. At the same time, give a refresher on your reward programs for loyal clients. Also, go over the holiday specials, such as sales and promotions, that your salon will be offering. STX software makes it really easy to manage all of these features and capabilities, but support is available to help you get ready if you need it.
Set Sales Goals
Take advantage of the busiest time of the year in the hair and beauty business to make use of one of STX’s most helpful (and highest-praised) features: sales goal setting. This integrated feature in your STX software can dramatically increase retail sales and boost service sales and add-ons as well. This is one feature you absolutely want to make the most of during the busy holiday season.
While you’re setting your sales goals, don’t just plan for Christmas hair salon sales. Set goals that are related to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and New year’s Eve.
Extend Your Salon’s Hours (And Hire Accordingly)
Holiday time in the beauty business means more bookings. Between Thanksgiving gatherings, Christmas and New Year parties, and more, people want to look their best for the photos (and the social media posts). You’re going to see an influx of clients who want to get their hair looking its very best.
Many beauty salons extend their hours during this busy season. Consider opening early or staying open later to meet the demand. Promote your new hours on social media and via email. And update your Google Business Profile, Yelp, and other directories to reflect the holiday hours so that you don’t miss any opportunities.
Your welcome desk can be especially busy during the holidays. Be sure to hire enough staff to help during these times and get them trained before the holiday rush.
Plan In-Store Christmas Sales and Incentives
Pre-plan your salon holidays marketing promotions and communications so that you can send them out early. This will keep your chairs full and help increase retail product sales. Salon product Christmas gifts are a great way to gift somebody with a little indulgence and are a convenient purchase for clients already in the salon for services.
Use retail offers to move less popular inventory. BOGOs are a great incentive that clients love, but feel free to come up with creative ideas for retail deals that will work best with your clientele. You can also promote special packages with a combination of services that can be bought as gifts.
And while you’re thinking about gift-giving, thank new clients for booking services with holiday gift favors of sample products or trial-size products (which also make great stocking stuffers!).
Create a Digital Marketing Plan for the Holidays
After you get your salon holiday marketing ideas pulled together, decide which channels you’ll use to promote them. Design your messaging and choose your imagery. Set up your email campaigns and plan a content calendar. Plan website promotions and sales, and coordinate them with your other promos.
In our experience, taking the time to do these steps early on will greatly reduce your stress when things get hectic at the height of the season. Remember that your salon software can help you organize and implement your marketing plan.
If you need some salon holiday marketing ideas, we suggest announcing your new or extended hours, showcasing products that make great gifts, promoting services (especially any holiday season packages), and highlighting special events or loyalty programs that will take place.
Stock Up on Gift Cards, Vouchers, and Product
Since product and gift card sales tend to ramp up during the holidays, you want to be prepared with plenty of your best-selling items on hand. Review previous years’ sales and forecast what you’ll need so your salon is ready to meet demand.
Purchase gift cards for sale in your physical store. These are perfect for customers who are already there receiving services or shopping for retail items. Prepare some vouchers that can be quickly printed in the event that you need them. Anything that will expedite efficiency during these busy weeks will help you and your staff—and keep your customers happy.
If you haven’t already done so, take the time to set up your online store in your STX software. Online sales will reduce unnecessary foot traffic at your store, keeping your welcome desk moving swiftly, And it’s a huge convenience for those customers who can’t make it to the store during business hours.
Decorate the Salon and Coordinate Holiday Swag
Creating a festive atmosphere is good for business, so decorate your salon or spa for the holidays to promote some holiday cheer. Holiday decorations will get people in the mood to shop, and your staff will enjoy the change of scenery.
Before you decorate, do a good cleaning. Customers will be looking more closely at areas they might not normally be drawn to, so you want everything looking great. Remove clutter, clean windows, and dust off those product shelves.
Consider a theme, and keep it simple. Decorations don’t have to be elaborate and shouldn’t make business inconvenient in any way. It can even be as simple as hanging some lights, playing some holiday music, and doing some aromatherapy in holiday scents. Incorporate products in visible areas, like windows and near the welcome desk or seating areas, to remind people about gifts to help increase sales.
You could even set up a themed NYE or Christmas hair salon selfie station for clients to take selfies after receiving services. Encourage employees to dress up for work and take pictures as well. Make it part of your marketing strategy and welcome tagging your salon in social media posts!
Host a Holiday Open House at the Salon
Hosting a holiday party open house can attract potential customers. They can mingle with existing clients, chat with a stylist or two, and maybe even get an appointment booked at a new client discount. This is an excellent way to increase awareness of your salon.
Some ideas for things to do at your party might include a raffle on beauty supply products, some styling education (best tips for easy holiday hairstyles!), and some light entertainment. This could be an opportunity to partner with nearby businesses as well.
Be sure to promote your event effectively to ensure a great turnout. Post it on your social media, add the event to your website, include it in your newsletters and other marketing tools. Have your stylists tell their clients, and ask your welcome desk staff to spread the word, to jumpstart a little buzz as well.
Reward Loyal Customers
Your loyal customers are the backbone of your business. Come up with some ways to thank them for supporting your salon and your staff over the past year.
A handwritten holiday greeting card, or even a thank you email, can encourage a little word-of-mouth marketing. You might even offer specials tailored to their preferences. Your STX salon management software will come in handy here, as you can view your clients’ entire service and transaction histories to see what their favorites are!
For your exceptional customers, consider giving a small gift, discount offer, or even a voucher for a free service. These small tokens of appreciation can have big returns when the client spreads the word about your thoughtfulness.
Celebrate Your Employees Too!
Most importantly this holiday season, take time to celebrate your employees. Plan a celebration for your team to thank them for all of their hard work and dedication. You can organize a private party at the salon or an off-site location. You could also invite them to participate in a charity project with you—another great way to strengthen the bonds within your team.
And while celebrations and projects are great, remember that your staff will need extra support during the busy season. Help your team perform at its peak throughout the season by providing snacks, buying lunch, or doing coffee runs. Check in with your employees before they hit the floor to make sure they’re ok (they are also surviving the holidays!).
Let them know how valued they are with notes of appreciation, small gifts, or a little extra time off once the season winds down.
Prepare for the Post-Holiday Slow Season
It’s easy to get wrapped up in your holiday plans and forget (or put off) post-holiday preparation. The month following the holiday season can be a struggle for salons that don’t take time to put some things in motion. Check out these three easy salon promotions to get sales off to a great start for the new year.
In addition to these promotion ideas, here are a few more tips for recovering from the holidays:
- Encourage re-bookings: When clients are receiving their holiday services, have your staff encourage them to re-book before they leave. This is a good way to increase sales during the slow season.
- Kick off a marketing campaign: Entice regulars back to the salon with a post-holiday sale or promotion. You can create campaigns months in advance with your salon management software, then set them to deploy on the date you select.
- Re-invest what you’ve been putting off: If you’ve been putting off certain business tasks, now is the time to do it. If the salon is slower at this time of year, use the extra time to get caught up on anything from training and professional development to repairs and upgrades.
- Take care of your staff: They’ve had a long couple of months of hard work. Give them some time to recover their energy.
Take time to collect your breath, be organized, and make your plans before the holidays are upon you. A little preparation goes a long way to help you and your staff have a smooth and profitable season!