Christmas

THE

FACTOR

JESSICA CRANE

is an international award-winning salon business coach with more than 20 years’ industry experience.

IAN EGERTON

is the owner of The Stress Exchange hair and beauty salon in London, NHBF president and creator of Loop HR software. Ian’s philosophy on salon business is ‘Keep it simple: automate what you can and empower others to succeed’.

VALERIE DELFORGE

is an international business strategy consultant. Her online training hub The Delforge Group helps salon owners take their businesses to the next level.

How can salon and barbershop owners pull out all the stops to give their clients that extra bit of magic this festive season?

WORDS EMMA BENNETT

1Plan, plan and plan again ‘Th e more you prepare, the more success you will have with your campaigns,’ says Valerie Delforge.

Jessica Crane agrees, stressing the importance of having the right policies and procedures in place. If people are suddenly off sick, then everybody will know what to do.

2Keep your clients in mind Ian Egerton thinks carefully about what clients want before ordering stock. ‘Find out what your product houses are doing for Christmas and pick what you think will sell in your salon. We buy in products especially for our guests.’

Matt Maxwell says salons should take advantage of the return of

IMAGES: ISTOCK Christmas party season. ‘We fi nd premium brands tend to perform well as clients look to ‘glam up’, spending more on beauty over the 12 weeks of Christmas than any other time of year.’

3Organise an event ‘Create an events calendar to engage clients,’ says Valerie. ‘Th roughout December, organise events such as a retail day where the client receives a £10 voucher for any treatment in January, or a virtual party for your VIPs, with experts off ering advice and tips.’

4Focus on the experience Tweak the client journey to make it more festive. ‘You can off er limited edition services such as a festive facial, and then look for ways to add value so you always over-deliver,’ explains Jessica. ‘For example, with the facial, the client might receive a complimentary gift and a mince pie. Never use the word “free”!’

Matt adds: ‘Once they’re in store, use this time to market gift packs, so clients can encourage their friends to benefi t from the “salon experience” at home.’

THE MORE YOU PREPARE, THE MORE SUCCESS YOU WILL HAVE

5Offer gift vouchers ‘We create packages for both hair and beauty,’ says Ian. ‘Th is year we will extend our package range to sell a physical or online gift card for clients and their friends and family, promoting it on our social channels and website.’

Matt also says gift packs are a great idea, with 58% of beauty gift pack sales happening at Christmas. ‘Salons could easily capitalise on this by selling a unique premium off ering.’

6Make sure merchandising is on point Less is more, says Valerie. ‘Too many messages kill the message. Keep the focus on your marketing activities and represent those at reception. Contact your brands to ask if they would contribute to a goody bag for a “12 days of Christmas” event, announcing a daily winner on your social channels.’

7Get savvy with social Jessica says: ‘We need to get away from “before and after” pictures because they won’t appeal to every client. Instead, make your salon experience Instagrammable to encourage clients to share pictures with their followers.’

Valerie agrees: ‘Engage the team with a story of their favourite products in December, and get them to explain why they love them.’

8Don’t forget your staff Ian runs an incentive programme based on retail sales to keep team members engaged over the period. ‘Th ey get retail commission and everyone works towards a company goal, with members being rewarded with a team bonus.’

Jessica says it’s important for your team to feel appreciated. ‘Buy them a takeaway after a busy shift, or select a gift for each of them,’ she says.

MATT MAXWELL THE CHRISTMAS PARTY IS BACK

Matt Maxwell from Kantar predicts a return to the season’s biggest event – the Christmas party...

We expect consumers to make the most of the festive season after missing out in 2020. The number of shoppers getting a beauty treatment over Christmas 2020 was down by 47% from Christmas 2019, so Christmas 2021 could be one of the biggest years on record for the industry as the sector rebounds.

Beauty salons will have an opportunity to capitalise on increased demand for professional cosmetics services from consumers who are willing to spend to be party-ready. Think back to before Covid-19 – the four weeks to 15 December 2019 was the biggest month of the year for eyelashes, making up 8.6% of total annual sales during this time.

Matt is a strategic insight director at Kantar, a data, insights and consulting company.