The holiday season is the busiest time for the beauty industry as many people are looking for unique and thoughtful gifts for their loved ones.
While I’m not a big fan of “discounts,” I’m a firm believer in creating promotions that can add value to your clients while increasing your bottom line.
Here are some unique promotion ideas to help you prepare for the holidays, maximize profits, and stand out from your competition:
Gift Card Sales
Gift cards are popular among consumers and sales are high this time of the year. Many spa owners can bring in an additional $10,000 to $50,000 each holiday season from gift card sales.
If you offer gift cards, be smart about where you put that revenue as it can be tempting to spend the money right away instead of putting it aside to balance out your cash flow during slower times.
Revenue from gift card sales is ghost money and a liability to your business. Open an escrow account exclusively for such revenue and only withdraw the money when a gift card is redeemed to keep your books straight. Plus, there’s no reason to pay taxes on that income before you have recognized the revenue.
Gift with Purchase Promotion for High-end Services
For most beauty professionals, our high-end services are the most profitable and tend to attract our ideal clients. How can you sweeten the deal this holiday season so more clients will purchase your favorite high-end treatment?
Let’s say you own the Confidence By Char Body Sculpt machine and a single session is priced at $350. To maximize the benefits of the treatment and optimize your cash flow. You want clients to book a 2-month series of sessions.
To entice clients to buy a 2-month high-end package, you can add an irresistible gift with purchase. For example, you can gift a My Skin Buddy homecare modality with this high-end package. The wholesale cost of the device will be well worth the investment when you get just a few clients to purchase the package. Remember, we need to play big if we want our clients to spend big with us.
You can apply this gift with purchase tactic for any high-end treatment, such as micro-needling or microcurrent. The key is to gift a product your clients can take home instead of a service, which will take up your time.
Also, the gift should be something that your clients find valuable. For instance, another favorite gift is a cleansing device for home use called the Dermatician by Prana Spa Ceuticals.
You may want to buffer the wholesale cost of the gift when you price the package so you don’t lose money. For me, I don’t mind eating the cost of the gift to make a client feel good – you just need to be intentional when setting your pricing strategy.
Last but not least, you can limit the number of these high-end packages to create a sense of urgency. Your best clients won’t want to miss out and you’ll be able to kick off your holiday sales with a bang!
Promote Your Holiday Offer… Now!
After you have spent the time and effort to create your holiday promotion, make sure to market it… as soon as possible! Get the word out this week before Black Friday so your promotion doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
Here are a few ways to promote your holiday offer:
- Create an email campaign to remind your clients and subscribers about your promotion.
- Tell your clients about the promotion and hand out flyers during appointments.
- Call and/or text your clients about the special offer with a personalized message.
- Use social media posts and videos to share your promotion and build engagement. Explain why the offer is valuable to your audience and “what’s in it for them.”
Build excitement in your marketing campaigns and always focus on your clients’ needs and challenges. Showcase how your solutions will benefit them and don’t forget to emphasize limited time and/or supply to build a sense of urgency.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg of what our Esthetician Inner Circle members get all year round! If you’re ready to learn more about business and marketing for your beauty business, join us here.