How to boost your christmas business

As the festive season gets into full swing, salons are facing one of their busiest times of the year. Customers will come to you to look their best for a Christmas or New Year’s party or to seek some pampering away from the holiday stress. Salon Services’ Commercial and Marketing Director, Alan Revitt, shares his top tips for making the most of your Christmas business opportunities. Seasonal styles and treatments Before the rush kicks in, make sure all your staff have the skills they need to offer the best selection of services and treatments. For example, customers will be asking for elegant chignons, elaborate plaits and up-dos for holiday parties, so long hair styling is a must. Harsh indoor heating and dropping temperatures can also wreak havoc on hair at this time of year so ensure that your salon is equipped to offer some nourishing hair treatments such as masks and oils. Ringing in the retail December is by far the biggest month of the year for retail sales in this industry, with one in four clients set to make a purchase. To maximise this opportunity, your salon should have a good range of retail products in stock that can be sold as add-ons for party pampering, gifts and stocking fillers. Encourage your staff to sell add-on products during treatments and keep small items by the tills. Keeping stock Although it’s important to stock up on different gift and retailing options during the pre-Christmas period, make sure you look back at last year’s sales figures. This is a crucial step at the start of the buying process to ensure that you’re increasing levels by the correct amount. Aim for a mix of this year’s seasonal trends and annual favourites such as glitter nail polish and accessories. Party promotions Christmas is a great time to show your customers how much you appreciate them with special promotions. Salon offers are a fantastic way to make customers feel valued and increase loyalty, in addition to growing your customer base. Try offering bundled treatments and services at discounted prices so that customers can complete their Christmas or New Year’s Eve looks in one visit. Express lunchtime services to get customers party-ready are also a great idea. If your salon is located in a shopping centre or a busy retail area, you should consider extending your opening hours to accommodate customers – but do ensure that you have enough staff to handle the holiday rush. New year, new you Many salons experience a slowdown in January so it’s important to maintain the momentum of the Christmas rush. Think about how you can make the most of the client base you built up during the busy holiday months; for example, when offering special Christmas promotions, consider booking clients in for a maintenance or post-holiday pampering appointment in January. Offers on hair colour or styling are also a good way to capitalise on customers wanting a fresh new look for 2015.