Is your August schedule looking a little bare? Summer is usually a hopping time for salon appointments between wedding season and the harsh rays of the sun. But now might be an awkward phase. We're almost done with July, the bulk of the local weddings have run their course. Independance day is come and gone, and there isn't another major holiday in sight until October. So if you're looking around your salon and don't hear the same volume of chatter or the constant hum of the blow dryers, you need to start looking for ways to liven up the dry season. Here are some quick and ways to get those styling chairs full again.
Quality Check
It's important to try to figure out why your quiet first. Is your place looking a little drab? Is it comfortable? Are any of the stylist's rude? And finally, is it boring? Attracting attention is one thing, but you need to make sure the quality is there once you have it. That doesn't just mean the quality of the styling. We leave that to your judgement. The quality of the salon itself comes from customer service and experience. That includes how you speak to clients, the comfort of your waiting room, and the whole look of your business inside and out. It needs to be the kind of place that attracts people and makes them talk. So here's how to get people looking and talking.
1. Online Booking
This is probably one of the best ways to lure traffic back your way. Online booking is standard with most salons and barbers now. In fact, lacking online booking might be the reason you're slow right now. It not only makes it easier for people to set up appointments, but it also makes you more visible online so more people can find you. We covered this topic a couple weeks ago if you're not sure where to start with online booking. It's pretty common now, and easier to start than you think.
2. Blowouts
If you already offer blowouts, make sure people know. Have a summer sale on them. Post pictures of them on social media, have a blowout party. Frankly, blowouts are probably a fad, but right now people are eating them up like candy. Consider what your potential clients are usually doing in summer: they go to the beach, they go to weddings, they wear lighter clothing, and they lie around inside for hours trying to stay out of the heat. They need managabel hair that can stand up to sun and water and look great with pastel colors. They want blowouts. But some of them might not know they want it yet. You need to tell them.
3. Give Aways
There's something about free things that makes people act, even if it's not a useful free thing. Stickers made us try to excel as children, and maybe we never really grow out of that desire. But let's think bigger than stickers. Let's talk free hair cuts for life. We're stealing idea from a Behind the Chair article (which has some other great tips), but we love the idea enough to spread it around. Lifetime free haircuts seems like a big offer, and it is. If you calculated the amount of money you're giving away with a lifetime free haircut offer it would probably come to a pretty significant number. But this will pay you back, because guess what a person who just won free haircuts for life is going to do? Talk about how they got free haircuts for life, and when they do, people will ask where. Now you've got a decent word of mouth campaign going. And that's not even addressing the attention you'll get while the raffle is going on.
4. Unique Referral Discounts
You might have noticed other companies offering discounts or free samples if you refer someone else to them. It's a quick way to encourage people to talk about your salon and bring in new faces. The only problem with this suggestion is that every other salon is probably doing this. That's fine; it's a solid business move, but you need to make this idea unique to your business. Don't just hand out punch cards or printed notes saying "sent by so-and-so." This is an opportunity to show who you are and what makes you different. For example, if you're a green salon, tell customers to spread the word that anyone who brings in a flower will get 15% off their first color. This would generate conversation while making people feel as though they're part of something special when they participate.
5. New Refreshments
There's a sort of new thing going around salons and barber shops involving alcohol. A cool drink while getting pampered really completes the experience. We should note that in some states this is still illegal without a liquor license. We're working on that here in California, but be sure you check your state laws before you invest in a wine rack. Otherwise it doesn't have to be alcohol. Offering complimentary beverages gives you a huge range of possibilities. In the summer you can offer orange juice and lemonade. And as the weather cools you can start bringing out the coffee and hot cocoa. When people go out, it' usually with the intention of eating or drinking something. When you offer drinks, you give them one more reason to choose you when they go out.
6. Give Your Salon a Makeover
This could mean a lot of different things, so let's clarify. It's good to have a tradition and consistent recognizable features, but we guarantee something in your salon is getting old in the worst sense of the word. Some people are afraid of change, but they're also intrigued by it. Renovating the inside, changing the theme of your salon's decor, or even revamping your site attracts attention. Especially if you make a big deal about it. Change something and post pictures of it. Have a "New Design Sale" where you offer 10% off haircuts the first week after a new paint job to encourage people to see your new place. This is the beauty business. Get in the habit of showing off a little.
7. Update Your Social Media Pictures
This sounds stupidly simple, but it's effective. If your salon has had the same profile picture for a couple months, it's time to switch it out. Even if you're consistently posting to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you can fall behind other salons in the relentless current of information pumping through our screens every day. People scroll quick, and most of the time they're looking for pictures. A small visual change in their feed will make them stop, so change the pictures and make them striking.
It's All Just Summer Fun
These are all quick ideas. They're jump-up-and-shout-it-out ideas to get people looking at you before the season ends. This is about fads. These ideas are not keys to a wildly successful business, although, some of them might get you there if keep doing them consistently. In the long run, it's good customer service mixed with a little talent that keeps your business strong, but we all have dry spells. Sometimes you just need a quick boost. So get back out there, spice up your image, and have fun.