Boost your salon's christmas business

With Christmas fast approaching, hairdressing professionals will be facing their busiest time of year. Now’s the time to start making the most of the party season to ensure you capitalise on the seasonal demand. From offering the hottest winter hair trends to placing perfect promotions, Salon Services’ chief marketing officer, Warren Scarr, shares his top five tips on how to boost your business over Christmas:

1. Festive trends and treatments

 Before the rush kicks in, make sure you and your staff have the skills needed to offer the best selection of services. Being on top of the seasonal trends and techniques mean you’ll be able to offer and recommend your customers the latest designs and styles. Two of the looks your customers will be asking for this winter are:

• The latest ‘Ronze’ trend – a combination of auburn and bronze tones – is the perfect colour to help take your clients from autumn to winter. The rich tones complement most skin types, and with so many shades to play with, the look can be tailored to any client
• Écaille (French for Tortoiseshell) is already increasing in demand. This method, claimed to be the new balayage, mixes golden lights with darker richer caramel tones and incorporates shades of honey, amber, golden blonde and dark brown paired with gloss. Try creating a messy finish to complement the edgy tones of Écaille

2. 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. As well as stocking fillers, also think about offering your customers aftercare products for their new hairstyle or colour to help maintain the salon finish look at home.  

3. Party season 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 look in one visit. Lunchtime services like express styling and blow-drying are a great way to attract professional customers and get them party-ready during the working day.

4. Time to take 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. And, don’t forget about selling your stock as the Christmas period tails off. The rest of the high street will be holding January sales, so this is a good opportunity for you to sell Christmas stock to customers before the spring ranges come in. 5.  New Year, new you Many salons and hairdressing professionals can experience a slow down 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 colour or add-on services like brow threading are also a good way to capitalise on customers wanting a fresh new look for 2016. This is also a great time of year to follow up with your database of clients to wish them a ‘happy New Year’, and also book them in for hair care treatments following the party season.