The Art Of The Salon Offer

Clients are savvy. They are so overrun with offers from retailers full stop, they almost expect them as given. Money Expert websites have told us to negotiate, Amazon have got us all expecting fast, free delivery and Groupon led us to believe the hype about buying in bulk.
So, how do you giveaway stuff, without giving away too much?  After all, you will not win from becoming the ‘offers’ salon.
Choosing the Offer

Beauty salon offers need to do two things. They need to fulfil a need you have to make more money – perhaps you are quiet, need to train up a new member of staff, or perhaps you want to introduce a new treatment altogether. And, the offer needs to tempt a client into having something they wouldn’t usually have.

For instance, we very rarely use entry level treatments for offers, such as waxing and manicures. They simply wouldn’t be worth it. You can offer an upgrade – eg. deluxe manicure for the price of a manicure – but I am more of a fan of using more luxury treatments outright, with offers designed to fill space and give people a bit of luxury.

The key is matching up an offer than seems generous enough for someone to take it up, without it costing you too much money in profit.

December Salon Offer Example

An example of this thinking is during December. It’s always a busy month for us so it would be counter-productive to offer any discounted treatments. So, this year we said if you spend over £70 in the salon during December, we’ll give you a £10 voucher to be used in January. The result being:

If someone is on £60, they may just spend that extra tenner on a product.
January is a quiet month so encouraging them to come back sooner (within six weeks) helps us fill space.
We sell very few treatments below £10 so the chances are the voucher will be used for an extra treat and the client will ten spend more.
Sell the Sizzle

One of the keys to creating a good offer is the realisation that not everyone has a specific treatment for the same reason. People are different.

So, your offers need to clarify all the points; the main one being the saving – that’s the draw – the sizzle that sells the sausage.

If I don’t know the price in the first place I am none-the-wiser. If a treatment is £50, 30% is £15! Tell me. Save me working it all out.

30% off facial – Was £40 – now only £28… Save £12!

Sell Me THE Reason

I am going to contradict my point above (about people all being different) a little and suggest you also need to think of the number one reason why you think people have a specific treatment. For example, waxing is very different from massage, the reasons for having it in the first place and the outcome.

In fact, I’d go as far to say that waxing is an inconvenience for many women (and men).

Accordingly, if you are running an advert byline, your sale needs to match that thought process. Examples:

Let Us Take Away The Pain – Waxing Offer
Lie back and relax – Massage Offer
Get creative with your copy – The more shareable your sales message, the further your advert will reach.

Measure and Learn

Finally, remember. Every advert you run should teach you something. Make sure you measure success and learn – the good, the bad and the average. And don’t keep making the same mistakes over and over.