THE HOLIDAY SEASON, AKA THE BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR, IS FAST APPROACHING.
To help your salon stay ahead of the Christmas rush, we’ve put together our tips for promoting your salon, maximising retail sales, and motivating staff for your most successful Christmas yet.
HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR SALON BUSINESS DURING THE HOLIDAY PERIOD?
By promoting your latest range of holiday gifts across multiple channels, you will reach more customers and remind them of how they can have salon style hair at home - and support their local salon at the same time!
1. Plan your promotions
When promoting your salon business in the leadup to Christmas, you need a point of difference. Be strategic and think about what services and promotions will be most attractive to your clients in this period. For example, end-of-year functions and upcoming holidays might call for more intensive treatments, colour and styling. Once you have decided on your offers, you can start promoting them.
2. Reach out directly
Get your clients thinking about the holiday season early by encouraging them to pre-book their next appointment to avoid missing out during the rush. It’s also the perfect time to utilise your customer base and reach out directly via automated email or SMS. Ensure your message has a purpose, such as marking important dates or highlighting gift sets with free products or limited-edition boxes. Make sure your message cuts through the endless marketing they’re likely receiving from other businesses around this time of year. You can also help maximise your bookings with our handy guide, here.
3. Utilise your social channels
Most clients follow their favourite salon(s) on social media to stay in the loop. Instagram is useful for sharing updated opening hours, filling last-minute cancellations, and growing your audience for exposure. In the lead-up to Christmas, level up your social media presence through:
- Themed Reels and TikToks (unboxing a gift pack, gift ideas, holiday styling or product tutorials).
- Promoting your posts through paid advertising.
- Asking your customers to tag your salon in their posts and Stories.
Start incorporating Christmas and summer-themed content early to keep your salon top of mind for appointments and gift inspiration. A content calendar helps plan your Christmas activity and keeps you accountable, so it doesn’t get left to the last minute!
How to Promote Retail Products?
1. Update in-salon promotional assets
Get your salon holiday-ready by updating any physical promotional assets such as mirror clings, counter cards or posters. Not only does this help your salon look fresh for your regular clients, but refreshing product displays can attract more attention and lead to more purchases. Refreshing your salon display is also important to make room for incoming seasonal products.
2. Highlight limited edition gift packs
Since Christmas is a peak retail period, brands will likely launch limited edition products and gift sets to stock at your salon. Display them strategically in the salon as gift inspiration for clients’ friends and family, Secret Santa, or themselves to take advantage of the savings. 
The best-selling Evo Advent Calendar is a must-have for Christmas retail shelves.
3. Suggest gift cards
Gift cards are simple yet thoughtful gift ideas to treat someone who deserves some pampering. While it can be hard for someone to determine their recipient’s haircare or spa needs, a gift card gives them the gift of choice. Keep gift cards visible at your salon’s reception or POS as a seamless add-on for your customer.
4. Stock up on products
There’s no use promoting products if your salon doesn’t have them available. Managing your stock flow is crucial during peak periods to avoid missed revenue opportunities, even until Christmas for last-minute gift purchases. Having adequate stock also provides the best possible service by ensuring your client has the right tools to maintain their hair between appointments. Avoid selling out and browse Haircare Group’s range of premium brands, available direct to your salon.
HOW TO MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM DURING THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD?
1. Encourage them to promote products
It’s up to your team to maximise sales during the peak period. The best way to achieve this is to motivate them to keep their inspiration and creativity flowing. Using the salon’s latest and highest-quality products will have your team excited to share them with clients. With so much foot traffic coming through, the holiday season is also a great opportunity for less-experienced staff members to practise upselling and cross-selling.
2. Provide incentives and rewards
As with any workplace, incentives play a huge role in motivation. You might want to revise your salon’s commission structure or introduce incentives based on sales made or units sold for high-pressure periods of the year. Otherwise, a Christmas bonus or paying your staff earlier than expected is a great way to reward your team and help them prepare for their Christmas plans. If financial incentives aren’t feasible, you can find small gestures to show your staff appreciation, such as praise, flexible hours, or free coffee/lunches.
3. Support your staff
It’s normal for salon staff to feel stressed or burnt out towards the end of the year. Check in with your team regularly to see how they’re going and listen to any thoughts and feedback they might have. It’s also natural for salon owners and managers to feel stressed during this time but try to avoid projecting any extra stress onto their team. Try to create a healthy, positive atmosphere by letting your team have fun; let them get festive by decorating the salon and playing their favourite music or any other ideas they might have. And most importantly, don’t forget to plan an end-of-year get-together to celebrate another team Christmas done and dusted!
SALON CHRISTMAS PREP CHECKLIST
- Decide what products and services to promote.
- Update website opening hours, policies, and cut-off dates.
- Notify clients when Christmas books are open.
- Plan your social media content.
- Have promotional assets and gift cards ready.
- Manage incoming stock and stock levels.
- Implement incentives, rewards, and bonuses for staff.
- Organise a work Christmas party or get-together.
Get Christmas ready with Haircare Group, the one-stop shop for salon professionals. Shop our Christmas packs and products from award-winning brands to give your clients the gift of great hair.
