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HOW TO BOOST YOUR BOOKS DURING A SLOW SPA SEASON

It can be frustrating and defeating owning a spa when the books are sparce and no clients seem to be scheduling, or even more frustrating, no showing. This is extremely common, especially in the summer after the 4th of July holiday and warm weather that makes treatments and sun exposure a bad combination.

Unfortunately, this natural lull is a part of being in the spa business. But, just because your books are sparce does not mean you have to feel defeated or need to quit all marketing efforts of boosting reservations. We are here to share with you what you can proactively do to help get yourself out of the inevitable slow spa seasons.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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:

HOLD A CONTEST

Contests and giveaways can help boost engagement and attract clients. 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 a story 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. 

POST OFFERS FOR FIRST-TIME CLIENTS

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 help fill 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!

OFFER A DISCOUNT TO CLIENTS WHO POST PITCURES WHILE AT YOUR SPA

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. 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 will feel pushed to schedule another service.

HOST AN EVENT

Hosting an event is a key to boosting sales and bring 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 really 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.

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 afterwards.

EDUCATE YOURSELF

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 Sessons” where your sales rep pops in to re-inspire the team on a product line or service.

RUN A FLASH SALE

We know running a sale isn’t always ideal but in slow times like this, it can be necessary and help bring new guests to your spa. This is why we love flash sales:

  • Gain more clients: Flash sales will attract the eyes of new clients and bring in more foot traffic.  
  • Convert potential clients: People typically have a list of potential spas they might go to before picking which one they’d like to try out. By having a flash sale, you will increase the chances of winning over potential clients who were in between spas.  
  • Get clients back in the door: Clients will remember the experience they had at your spa and will be intrigued knowing they can get that service again but this time at a discount.  
  • Clear out inventory: You don’t want your products expiring by sitting on your shelves and going unused or purchased, so it never hurts running a retail sale to get through the products that have been sitting on your shelves for a bit too long. 

YOU’LL GET THROUGH IT

Slow seasons come and go in salons and spas and it’s completely normal and expected. Taking the right steps to keep income coming in during these seasons will not only make this time less stressful but also create more lasting relationships with clients.

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