Salon Marketing Tips for a Sale-Boosting Back-to-School Season
While homes and neighborhoods may be getting eerily quiet after pool days and July parades, shops and stores certainly are not! These end of summer months we know as back-to-school season may have a majority of people thinking supplies and clothes are of top priority, however, the National Retail Federation found that $4.5 billion will be spent on personal care.
In fact, this year’s back to school season is predicted to see record spending, reaching a total of $89.7 billion. Although Mother’s Day just hit and your salon surely saw a spike in sales (especially if you checked out our Mother’s Day Salon Marketing Tips), you can expect an even bigger jump during the end of summer—consumers spend three and a half times more during back to school than on Mothers and Valentine’s day alike!
Whether you want to target parents who need pampering after a long summer or the kiddos who are in desperate need of fresh-new-‘dos for the year, we’ve compiled three of our favorite tips and tricks for a successful back to school campaign that are sure to boost your salon’s summer sales.
Back-to-School Salon Marketing Tips
Offer a special treat to parents.
After months full of entertaining their kids, parents are the most in-need for a little pampering and down time. Getting moms and dads into your salon can be as simple as offering an incentive for booking an appointment.
For example, if there are seasonal items you need to clear from your shelves, now is the perfect time to get rid of them. Run a promotion that offers the retail-sized Bio-rich Water or Boho-Pomade from Oway’s Back-to-School Package for any adult who books their appointment during the month of August and/or September.
If your salon is all about the customer experience, give clients a complimentary Hydro-dhara Flowerfall Treatment with any haircut. This not only entices them to make an appointment, but will establish a great client-stylist relationship and increase the likelihood of them becoming a repeat customer.
Book a service, get a reward.
When a customer pre-books their next appointment, offer a discount or a free back-to-school featured product. For example, you can markdown select items in O&M’s Back-to-School Kit—think Frizzy Logic Shine Serum to combat the heat and tame the frizz on days spent running around campus, or Surf Bomb Sea Salt Spray to turn messy last-minute locks into an effortlessly tousled ‘do. This way you can teach them how to use the product during a cut (use the full-size, offer the travel-size on markdown) and speak to their styling routine in between appointments. They’ll remember your tips and when they get tons of compliments on their hair, will want to re-book your salon for more tricks and product refills.
Target students on social media.
They may not have the most income, but kids certainly influence household purchasing. Make sure to engage students on Instagram and Facebook during back to school season.
An Instagram contest can be a great way to do this. Encourage clients to post pictures after they visit your salon for a chance to win a prize—maybe one of those back-to-school must-have packages from Oway and O&M. Don’t forget to create a hashtag that has to be included in the post to be entered!
In addition, make sure you’re posting the trendiest cuts and colors using back to school and end of summer copy on your salon’s platforms to remind students they need to visit before hitting campus with a year full of extra-good hair days.
