5 Salon Promotions That Work
Salon promotions are a great way to boost business and it’s something almost every salon will consider as part of their marketing plan. Maybe you are interested in running salon promotions to attract new business into your salon or perhaps you want to treat your regular clients to a special discount to cement their loyalty. No matter the reason, a successful promotion can be a great boost for your hair, nail, or beauty salon business!
Of course, there are plenty of factors that go into growing your business, such as improving your salon’s appearance by replacing old salon furniture, but a savvy promotion can make a big impact with minimal investment. In this guide we’ll explain what qualifies as a salon promotion and why they’re so popular, and share five salon promotion ideas that really work!
What Are Salon Promotions?
Salon promotions are sales, giveaways, contests or special deals that salon owners and hair stylists can offer their clients. Salons can offer promotions on anything from blowouts, colors and cuts to products and gift cards. You can spread the word about your promotions by placing fliers on salon stations and alerting your followers on social media. As a salon owner, you get to set the promotions up in a way that is financially feasible for you and your team, as well as attractive enough to draw new clients into your salon. It’s important to make sure the promotion you choose is something you can afford, regardless of how many new and existing customers participate in it.
Put promo info where clients will easily see it. Shop the Astoria Styling Station in eighteen colors!
Why Should You Do Salon Promos?
Salon promotions are effective for the two main reasons: people love a good deal and they love to save money. Promos are also great for brand awareness because people often spread the word to their friends. Salon promotions give business owners opportunities to improve revenue by promoting services you already provide or by selling more retail products. An easy place to start is in your own salon: if products simply aren’t selling, you might want to reposition them or upgrade your retail displays to make your products more eye-catching.
Reception is a great place for salon promotions. Shop the Etowah Reception Desk & Apalachee Retail Display
How to Promote Your Salon
There are many different kinds of salon promotions that you can run, and you can tailor each promotion to fit your salon’s needs and availability. Here are five promotions that have proven to be successful for salons:
1. Product Promotions
If you want to sell more products, whether it be the products used at your shampoo bowls or the products that your hair stylists recommend to clients, you can run a promotion giving clients a certain dollar amount off any product when they come in for a color or cut. This promotion is a great way to meet sales goals and help your staff upsell.
2. New Client Promotion
If financially feasible, you can offer a running new client discount for first-time customers. This promotion will help generate new business for your salon and diversify your client pool. Learn more about first-time customer discounts and other types of deals in our How to Calculate Salon Services guide.
3. New Salon Service Promotions
Did you recently install new shampoo systems or cutting-edge hair color processors and want to spread the good news to clients and prospective customers? Or maybe your your staff has recently been trained in new techniques that let you offer more types of color services. Run a promotion offering special pricing on your new service to encourage people to experience it.
4. 2-for-1 Promotions
A lot of salons offer two-for-one promotions, which means you bundle two services together for the price of one or you give a percentage off of one of the services. For example, you could offer a cut and color or a cut and a blowout for a reduced price. This type of promotion can help your salon stand out and draw people in, and it can also inspire current clients to try out a new service.
5. Client Referral Promotions
Do you have a referral process or promotion in place? One way to effectively spread the word about your salon is by incentivizing your existing clients to refer their friends to you. You can offer clients a discount off their next visit every time they refer a friend, or make it competitive and offer a free haircut to the client with the most referrals by the end of the month. Learn even more <a href="https://www.minervabeauty.com/blog/post/How-to-Build-Clientele">ways to build clientele at your salon</a> or barber shop!
Use this free salon promotion template on Canva to get started!
How Do You Know If Your Salon Promotion Is Effective?
Of course, if you’re offering a promotion or a discount on your salon services, you’re going to want to see some kind of return on investment. It’s pretty simple to know if promotions are effective. You can always keep a record of clients who come in and ask for the promotion or, if you allow your customers to book their service with the promotion online, you can keep track with your salon POS software.
Reception is a great place for salon promotions. Find a special offer on Square POS salon software
If your promotions aren’t being used enough, you may need to focus on getting the word out there. Use different platforms (like social media, sidewalk signs or an email blast) to amplify your promotion, or consider other ways to grow your beauty business.
You should also take action if a promotion was too successful. Did too many people take advantage of your offer to the point that you couldn’t deliver salon services with the same level of quality you typically would, or did you run through too much product? These are signs you may need to rethink how you run promotions in the future.
When it comes to creating promotions, you want to make sure that they make sense to your business and stylists in a financially feasible way, but you also want to offer promotions that make clients think, “Oh, I can’t miss out on this!” For more inspiration, check out these 9 creative salon marketing ideas as well as these 11 festive salon holiday specials!