If you’re looking to entice new clients and increase your bottom line, it’s time to get creative. From time to time, many small business owners will offer promotions or daily specials. This could be anything from buy one treatment get your next half price to a 10% discount on the last Friday of every month. How you decide to promote your products and services is entirely down to you.
However, many salon owners admit to struggling to engage with new and existing clients, so we’re here to look at some of the most effective ways to ensure everyone knows about the special offers you have available.
Advertise Promotions Well
For clients to understand what promotions you have running, they must be able to see it. Therefore, your advertising game must be on point. If a promotion is going to be running for longer than a couple of weeks, consider having some flyers made to hand out instore (you can get flyers printed very cheaply with someone like Helloprint making it financially viable to do this).
Use the ever-growing magic of social media to spread the good word of your salon and what you have to offer. Social media can be used as a handy advertisement tool. You could even offer a prize to one lucky winner in a like and share competition. Not only is this good for people in your local area to see what specials you have on, but it also makes your salon more visible online.
Create a sense of urgency
As a nation, we’re guilty of panic buying, and most of us have been there. Creating a sense of urgency is a great marketing tool as it tricks clients into thinking that they may miss out on the deal of the century if it doesn’t appear to be around for long.
If you send out email communications to your clients, consider using humour. Something along the lines of; “Hurry! Only five minutes to read this before it self-destructs” it might seem a bit dramatic but will be effective in grabbing people’s attention. Using and displaying phrases like “Last Chance”, “must end this Friday” can go a long way in converting interest into sales. Your audience will have FOMO (fear of missing out), and you’ll likely see sales increase.
Offer Incentives
Special offers are an excellent opportunity to offer incentives. For example, a special offer could be for a client to try their first treatment at a 10% discount and if they like it and want to come back for more, introduce them to a loyalty card that they can gather points with. This will get clients booked in more often and give you repeat business. Remember to always take client contact details (along with permission to send marketing offers to comply with GDPR) so you can get in touch with your offers.
Another incentive could be if a client introduces a friend to your special offer, they will get a discount or free product or treatment the next time they book in. This can be anything from nail polish to a head massage before a haircut – it’s entirely down to you what you can offer.
Time to Get Creative
Have a think about what you can afford to offer in terms of special offers that will still grow your bottom line. When done right, you can really engage clients, both new and existing. Good luck!
image:istock.com/SIphotography
