It can be frustrating and defeating owning a spa when the books are sparse and no clients seem to be scheduling—or even more frustrating, don’t show up. Experiencing a slow spa season is extremely common, especially after the holidays or in the summer when warm weather makes treatments and sun exposure a bad combination.
This natural lull is a part of being in the spa business. But you don’t have to feel defeated or quit all marketing efforts. We are here to share a few tips to proactively boost your books and help get yourself out of that inevitable slow spa season.
Social media is a great little-to-no-cost method to keep current clients engaged and bring in new clients. Pay attention to what platforms your clients most frequently use and plan your social media engagement accordingly.
Here are some tips on how to use social media as a tool to boost your books:
Contests and giveaways can help increase engagement, attract clients, and boost your books during a slow spa season. We’ve provided some contest ideas for you below:
1. Go-To Giveaway: Giveaway a product bundle or treatment that will attract new followers, such as a starter skincare kit or introductory peel (We love the Ultraceuticals PHA in this case). Have your followers like and comment on your post and choose one of those participants to win the giveaway prize.
2. Trivia Tuesday: Post a somewhat difficult trivia question about your company and give a prize to the first follower who answers correctly.
3. Win a Makeover: Ask followers to post a picture of someone on their story who they think deserves a free makeover. Pick a winner and offer them a full makeover day with a quick mini facial, blowout service on their hair, and makeup application. You can make this giveaway even bigger based on your budget, offering a full spa and salon day makeover. Make sure to get before and after photos and videos of this for social!
4. Tell Us a Story: Ask your followers to comment about a time they received a service at your spa. Choose a follower with the most touching story to send a prize to.
5. Fan Of The Week: Have followers post a selfie after their service and tag your business for a chance to receive a discounted service.
Posting small discounts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram is a great way to bring new clients in. By doing this, you can reach a lot of potential clients on these platforms and ultimately boost your books. Give your first-time clients an exceptional experience by taking advantage of the slow books and taking the time to provide the best service.
We love offers like, “Receive $20 off your facial when you book this weekend.” Or, “Receive $15 off your service when you schedule with Riley on Fridays all Summer long.” Promos like these also do great in target email blasts!
The more pictures, the better! People love seeing before and after pictures, and they also love reading reviews from real guests. When clients post about your salon and spa, their followers will see the post and might be interested in scheduling a service themselves. When you reshare these tagged posts, it will also leave previous clients reminiscing on the amazing experience they had at your salon and spa, and they might feel inclined to schedule another service. It’s a quick and easy way to boost your books.
Hosting an event is key to boosting sales and bringing potential guests to your salon and spa. Events and workshops that have a learning experience to them with added food, fun drinks, and complimentary beauty products always grab the attention of potential guests. Consider partnering with other businesses to make your event the talk of the town!
We also suggest offering exclusive discounts for clients who schedule an appointment at the event. This pushes guests to reserve an appointment and excites them to come back—a great strategy to boost your books.
Don’t forget to promote add-ons at your event to boost sales. If you’re doing a Girls’ Night Out with a mini facial included in the event ticket, you can always upsell by offering LED Light Therapy post-facial or an Ultraceuticals B2 Hydrating mask afterward.
Now is the perfect time to educate yourself and your team on what is new and trending in the salon and spa industry. With this added downtime, you and your team should use it to stay educated. Research some of the top beauty and wellness speakers coming to your city that you and your team can attend.
We also suggest reaching out to your vendors and distributors for “Inspiration Sessions” where your sales rep pops in to re-inspire the team on a product line or service.
With this newfound knowledge and added skills, you’ll be able to provide your clients with better results and advice, eventually increase retention and boost your books.
We know running a sale isn’t always ideal, but in slow times like this, it can be necessary and help bring guests into your spa or salon. Here are a few reasons why we love flash sales:
Slow spa and salon seasons come and go, and it’s completely normal and expected. Taking the right steps to boost your books and keep income coming in during these seasons will not only make this time less stressful but also create more lasting relationships with clients.
Partnering with a hands-on distributor can help ease some of the burden of making it through these times alone. Edgeless Beauty Pro provides its partners with up-to-date sales strategies, education, and event support to ensure smart business practices and growth. Reach out today for more information on how to become a Pro retailer!
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