Unlock your potential

With the help of some industry experts, we look at how you can get your treatment menu right for festival season without biting off more than you can chew.

Festival season comes around each year, and is a period loved by many. Consumers often spend months planning their looks for the big day, or weekend, way in advance, meaning this is a great opportunity for hair and beauty professionals to capitalise on the demand. The trick to getting the most from this festival season is organisatoncreating a well-curated treatment menu for festival-goers which can be done in a way that you and your business don’t become overwhelmed.

Founder of Live True London, Valerie

Maine, recognises that it’s important to be selective with any limited treatments, specifically surrounding festival season, as clients will often get overwhelmed by choice and there’s a danger of them ultimately choosing nothing. This can also result in wastage if one treatment proves much more popular than others.

“My advice is to research what’s trending in hair and skincare first, whether that’s ingredients, styles, cuts or colours, and use this to create a select few treatments that reflect your salon and make them ‘limited edition’.”

In order to gain maximum benefits from whatever it is you choose to offer surrounding festival season, you must ensure you make a buzz around the exclusive treatments. Valerie advises making use of interactive story features, as well as prioritising reels over still images: “Show the actual treatment in progress and highlight the benefits, so that clients can really get a good understanding of what you are offering.”

In order to stay on top of additional treatments, especially when they are for a limited time only, organisation is essential. Valerie advises considering what’s right for your business: “If you already have software in place, then it makes sense to use this for any limitededition treatments. However, it might not be necessary to set up something specifically for a limited service, as this could add a layer of confusion amongst staff and clients alike.”

Salon Director at F&M Hairdressing, Brian MacMillan, understands that when creating a treatment menu or specified menu of any sort, time always needs to be taken into consideration – time is money and, as much as this is an old saying, it is incredibly important: “Include services or styles that you know will be of importance and that will allow you to profit without taking too much time or product. Likewise, it is important not to give too much choice – look at what your clients enjoy and request and what you feel will benefit the business – overloading will negatively impact in many ways. Do your research and take all factors into consideration.”

When offering ‘unique’ treatments, this should be factored into your salon services ahead of time to avoid unnecessary schedule issues or low stock levels. Brian also recognises that it’s all about planning and organisation, two of the most important skills as a business owner.

“When these treatments are launched and actively live, you should, in theory, be able to offer these within a few days notice. In an ideal world, they can be added onto a service already booked, given that time is available to make it work. I would advise pre-ordering a specific amount to carry you through the first 2-3 months: base this on any other ‘unique‘ treatment launched in recent months, or years, and look at the general uptake as an average,” added Brian.

Brian Leo McCallum, Owner of ROAR Hair and Beauty Salon Group, sees that exclusive treatment menus are a fantastic way to attract clients to the salon, and can be marketed to guests via social media and through your website and newsletters to entice loyal and new clients into the salon.

At ROAR, they have an exclusive colour treatment menu, where they have named and framed colour services including Road California Balayage, Roar Mediterranean Mocha, Roar Rowan Reds, Roar Nordic Blonde and Roar Elumenation: “We do this to make our colour menu more fun and enticing to clients and to help describe the look that’s achieved with the colour services used. For festival season, salons may want to create an exclusive menu with vibrant, rainbow-like colour looks or pastel hues, or with named and framed

Brian Leo McCallum’s key tips to help create a buzz around your exclusive treatment menu:

• Make sure your exclusive treatment menu offers something different. For example, our Roar Mediterranean Mocha isn’t just a hair tint, it’s a personalised look with ribbons of toffee and caramel highlights, Goldwell Root Colour and a design cut and style dry all included.

• Once you have named your new services, always make sure you have some gorgeous imagery to reflect the looks you want to shout about!

• Market your new menu as much as possible – via social, newsletters, your website and in the salon! Spread the word about what you have on offer.

• Let your local press know about your new menu. This will allow you to further spread the word and hopefully gain some new clientele.

styling looks, including braids and topknots, to attract clients in for styling.”

These menus always create a buzz on social media when launched, as they are new and exciting, but they allow you to stand out from the crowd and from your competitors who offer the simple ‘balayage’.

Being the hairdressers for many music festivals, including T in the Park and TRNSMT, David Nicolson, Owner of Rainbow Room International’s Royal Exchange Square Salon, explained that at Rainbow Room International they love creating quirky festival hairstyles for clients!

“In the past, we have had braid bars within the salon, allowing clients to come in for their hair styling before the festival. We have also provided clients with ‘flashes of colour’ at a reduced cost. These treatments are unique and exciting for clients and are a great way for them to experiment with their look, or come in with friends and have some pampering time, before heading to their favourite festivals.”

By carefully assessing resources, focusing on core services, using social media to market, staying organised and incorporating festival trends strategically, you can create a festival treatment menu that attracts clients without overwhelming your capacity.