Every year the Christmas season races towards us at a quicker rate. For many businesses in the hair and beauty industry it’s also the busiest time of the year. Is your salon ready?
The lead up to Christmas can be a stressful and messy period for salon owners and managers, as they attempt to navigate the onslaught of increased clientele, more retail sales, busy staff, the list goes on. With a solid plan and some clever techniques it doesn’t need to be stressful though!
We’ve compiled our top 10 tips for getting your salon, spa or clinic silly-season ready. Read on to find out how to beat the Christmas pressure.
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1. Revisit your opening hours and staff levels
Due to the extra demand at this time of year, it’s worth checking your opening hours and staffing levels. Maybe you need to extend your hours to meet that demand, or hire an extra pair of hands to keep up with the rush.
Make sure to let your clients know of any late nights or extended hours in advance so they can get their bookings in early! It’s also a good idea to inform them in advance of any closures, or changes to hours for January.
2. Control your stock levels
You can’t sell what you don’t have and you don’t want to miss out on sales. So make sure you order your stock well in advance and get your team to make the shelves look beautiful! Run your reports from the previous years to use as a base for your stock levels this Christmas, and perhaps set yourself and your salon team a challenge to see if you can increase from that.
Think about retail items you can package up to sell as a bundle, or an add-on to a service. Your clients will be wanting to look their absolute best over this time even outside of their appointments, so now is the time to be upselling retail as much as possible.
Read more about stock management here: 6 steps to great stock management for salons, spas and clinics.
3. Create Christmas gift ideas
Gifting can be difficult around this time of year – so many presents to buy, and different people to buy for! Keep your salon front of mind by offering gift vouchers, the perfect present idea for that hard-to-buy-for friend or relative.
You can also have beautifully packaged retail gift packs at your front desk for clients to see as they pay – your clients may not have thought about these as gift ideas so keeping them front of mind could prompt them into an extra purchase.
4. Get your waitlist sorted
Manage the influx of extra clients with a waitlist. Waitlists take away the extra stress of last minute cancellations or postponements, with an ever ready list of clients literally lining up to get into your salon. Use your software to manage your waitlist so you can keep an accurate record, and easily drop clients in when an appointment comes free.
Train your staff on how this works now, and be sure to let your clients know that you’re running a waitlist, and how to get themselves added.
See more about Kitomba Waitlist: Fill last-minute cancellations with Kitomba Waitlist.
5. Make your salon ready
It’s all about putting in hard work now, so December isn’t so stressful. Give your salon a spring clean throughout November so it’s easier to keep it tidy during your busiest month of the year.
This means you are your salon team aren’t having to worry about deep cleaning at the end of a long busy day or week.
6. ‘Tis the season
Put up some simple decorations in the salon so you, your team and your clients are in the festive mood!
Create a festive window display if possible, to catch the eye of potential clients, pop a wee tree up in your waiting area, or decorate your retail shelves or reception desk. If you’re running any Christmas offers or specials, make sure they’re front and centre of your displays.
7. Adjust your targets
Keep your team motivated by setting up individual targets and make sure these are updated to fit in with the busier time of year! With Kitomba Targets you can give your staff access to see how they’re tracking on a daily or weekly basis – see more about setting targets with Kitomba.
You could also think about using the targets feature on your salon and spa software to run a competition within your salon team for the highest retail sales, or the most rebookings for the quiet months of January and February. It’ll keep spirits high and motivate your team towards having a great month.
See more about motivating your team with targets: How to motivate and inspire your team for success.
8. Manage your marketing
While it is the busiest time of year for the hair and beauty industry, now is not the time to be letting your marketing slide! Here are some marketing activites you can be planning out in advance:
- Schedule your Facebook and Instagram posts for the whole of December.
- Plan and schedule your email campaigns! Let your clients know you have an extra late night or extended hours, and tie this into any changes to your opening hours over Christmas / New Years, or January to remind your clients to rebook for the new year.
- You could be running a special offer over December for anyone that rebooks in January as a way to up your sales in a notoriously quieter month.
9. Don’t forget your team
It’s a busy time for your team as well as for you as a salon manager or owner, so don’t forget to keep them motivated, engaged and focussed.
When it’s busy it can be easy to forget some of the fundamentals like upselling retail, recommending products, or prompting clients to rebook. Quick morning get togthers or regular team meetings will help keep everyone focused.
10. Treat your clients
It’s a festive time of year so why not make your clients feel festive as well? Remember it’s a crazy-busy time for everyone (your clients included), so take the time to make them feel that little bit more valued and special. The more valued they feel, the more likely they are to stay loyal, and spend more.
Up your refreshment menu by offering chocolates or Christmas cake to go with tea and coffee, or pop a festive-looking strawberry onto their water or wine glass.
What are you waiting for?
Christmas can be a really stressful time of the year for a lot of businesses in the hair and beauty industry. With careful planning, a stong team, a well executed strategy and a bit of help from your salon and spa software it doesn’t need to be!
So what are you waiting for? Start ticking things off your list now.
Is your salon management software putting in the hard work for you? See how Kitomba Salon and Spa Software can help: Get your free demo here.
Editors note: this article was originally published on 17 November 2017 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Read next:
- How to leverage your software during the busy Christmas season (8 tips)
- 10 festive ways to wow your clients this Christmas
- Make this Christmas your most profitable one yet
