Get Clients Ready For The New Year Of Beautycare With

DIRECT MAIL PROGRAMS – PREFERRED CLIENT LISTS: Set up a Preferred Client Book at your reception desk area that asks every client for their complete name, address, telephone number and birthday.  Offer monthly or bimonthly invitational fliers that will announce news from your day spa salon with select specials, drawings for small gifts and great ideas for extra products and services.  Each month you can announce a new special discount or introductory first-time offer on day spa products and services… whatever you want to promote.

NEW MOM SPA SPECIALS: New moms love to be pampered!  Create a formal congratulatory letter and invitation for every new mom listed each week in the local newspaper.  They always list the new parents, so just look up their address in the telephone book.  (Note: Zip codes are not listed, so if necessary – call!)  Offer your “Congratulations!” with a special introductory offer, free sample or special.  You may also want to run an ad offering ‘New Mom Spa Gift Packages’ on the page where birth announcements are printed.

ENGAGEMENT SPECIALS: Create a jumbo congratulatory postcard for everyone who has their engagement announcement and picture in the local newspaper.  They always list the engaged couples’ parents, so just look up their addresses in the telephone book.  Offer your “Congratulations!” with a Bridal Party Special Introductory Offer, free sample, Complimentary Wedding Consultation or other creative discounts from your day spa.

DOOR PRIZES: How often do local community groups come in asking for a door prize or a donation?  All the time!  So, be prepared with 50% Off – Introductory Day Spa Gift Certificates.  Never miss the opportunity to bring in a new client with the potential of making them a regular.  Always offer a substantial discount or free service – not a free product.  Get these new clients to sample exactly how professional you really are.  Even though these are non-commissionable services, you should take turns doing them with the obvious advantage of gaining a new regular, should you make them happy.  Some day spa salon managers collect several gift certificates from each staff professional, saving them to hand out as needed.  This surely will help everyone on the staff build new clients.

NEW MEMBER – HEALTH CLUB GIFTS: Work with local Health Clubs, offering something extra special to their brand new members.  Offer to give either a FREE BODY BRONZING or SALT POLISH FACIAL TREATMENT, a FREE MASSAGE or a $50. Value Gift Certificate valid on any first time day Spa Service of $100. or more.   Ask these clubs to hand out your day spa salon’s Gift Certificates to each new club member.

NEW RESIDENT GIFTS: Work with at least one or two major local real estate agencies offices, to offer a Free Introductory Day Spa Service for each new resident.  Offer each of these couples something that allows them as much flexibility as possible to try any of your hair, skin, nail or spa services.  Send this introductory gift with a personalized letter and a salon brochure.

HAIRCARE TO NAILCARE & MANICURE TO SPACARE – CONVERSIONS: Cross marketing and cross sale conversions in a day spa work great!  It is important to cross-market some part of your complete array of hair, skin, nail, massage and spa services each month.  Make classy presentations.  Print up special Client Gift Certificates on a thick linen paper or parchment offering those introductory specials, rather than to offer these in the form of a flier.  Attempt to train their staff to always ask their clients the proper question each month, for the rotating service area you are trying to promote.

For example if it is nailcare month, everyone but nailcare artists are to ask their clients, “Have you ever experienced one of our professional nailcare services before?”  If they are a nailcare client, let it go with compliments.  If not, pull a beautiful certificate out of your drawer, filling in their name and address.  Some day spas and salons create monthly Staff Referral Contests, awarding those staff members who get the most regulars to experience that targeted area for the first time.

MUSIC TO THE EARS: Each year, local schools are desperately seeking new ways to fund the music and art programs where budgets have been drastically cut.  Offer to pay a $100. or $200. donation to have a small selection of their musicians play each Saturday for one month.  If you’re up to it, bring the entire High School Marching Band to the front of your day spa in the parking lot, allowing them to work with you on a school fundraiser with your clients.  You’ll be amazed at the attention you’ll get by letting a band march around the front of you spa for an hour concert.

MORE – SYMPHONIC MUSIC: Don’t be afraid to work with more than one music program,  The music teacher could probably help you with talented violinists, cellists and a harp player.  Even electronic keyboards make pianists available today in a day spa environment.  Some spas barter salon services for professional musicians and experienced adult musicians.

FREE FACIALS: Some salons have successfully introduced First Time Facial Treatments to their haircare clients, by promoting a FREE Facial with any complete shampoo, haircut and style during a one month promotion.  Getting people to experience a new spa or skincare service the first time is the most challenging.  Give clients a reason to love you, your staff and your services.  Don’t be afraid to invest in expanded services by giving away a little of what you do best.  They’ll be back, paying for more.

DRESS UP – JUST FOR FUN: You should always look very professional every day with a coordinated set of salon colors. Have fun dressing up at least one day or weekend every other month using some special theme when your day spa salon will be busy.  This makes it fun for your regular clients.  The more outrageous you make it – the more they’ll talk about you to their friends, relatives and neighbors.  Here’s just another simple way to make yourselves ‘the talk of the town’.  Just be careful, not to get tacky.  You may want to dress up in a tuxedo look a few times each year.  You may want to wear matching suspenders or vests.  Another idea would be to wear very old vintage clothing.

POWER WITH FLOWERS: Every now and then, just surprise your clients with a long-stemmed red or white rose on one of your busiest Saturdays or Sundays.  This promotional idea surely works great on Valentine’s Day or the Saturdays before Mother’s Day as a gift with any service.  Work with a local florist to cross-promote each other’s services.  They might not mind your delays and crowds as much.

STAFF MAKEOVER PARTIES: Once or twice a year you should have the staff divide into two teams to pamper their day spa partners.  Let everyone experience the services they have never tried before!  This is great for the receptionists, massage therapists and artistic designers alike.

TV TALK SHOWS: TV talk show producers are always looking for something new and they love makeovers.  The entire topic of day spa services is also a new and exciting phenomena to present as well.  Team up for some sensational free exposure of your day spa salon before New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day.  Another great time is during any Monday school holiday, when viewership is soaring.   Use this very visual vehicle to promote your complete array of spa services.

You can also use TV Talk Shows to promote your next fundraiser, asking the charity to use their clout to get you on the talk shows.  Have several makeover models prepared ahead of time with your best artistry.   Have the video producers pre-tape the ‘befores’.  Then have at least 4 folks selected from the studio audience to get haircare or nailcare makeovers during the show.   Then, quickly get to work on the models for a 10 minute final presentation at the end of the show.  Take advantage of this opportunity to explain all of the latest in day spa services and salon fashions available today.   You may even want to offer the studio audience mini-massages during commercial breaks.  Remember to have your staff dress as a coordinated team and “Dress For Respect!… not just for success”.  This is your opportunity to be a TV STAR!

SKILLS USA, NAIL TECH & COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS: Get involved with your local high school Skills USA / VICA Chapter students, nail tech, aesthetician and cosmetology school students.  Offer to do a few free lecture demonstration showing off each of your specialized spa and salon services.  Help sponsor and judge haircare and nailcare competitions.  Encourage these students to work with you in order to put some extra fun in your fundraisers. Guess who they will want to work for after graduation?  Yes – YOU!!!

PROFESSIONAL MODELS & CHEERLEADERS: These fashion-forward young men and women need to invest in terrific looking hair, skin and nails.  It’s their social and career advantage to look fabulous from head to toe.   Work with their instructors to set up introductory lecture demonstrations teaching these folks about all of the many day spa services and products available today.  Trade your services for their modeling services and word-of-mouth promoting.  Get them to volunteer at charity fundraising events.  Offer them a special 20% Off Day Spa V.I.P. Card for any services.  Whether it’s a modeling school student or a professional model, they can be come fabulous new clients.  Use them in your next photo-session.

COUPLES NITE – SPA-ART PARTY: Create a wonderfully entertaining wine and cheese event for couples to enjoy some fine artwork and some special spa services. Invite a local private art gallery to bring in their artwork and an artist to your day spa salon for a special evening of entertainment and services.  Add a pianist or a few strolling musicians and you will have created a very unusual, yet elegant affair.

DAY SPA & SALON NEWSLETTERS: Create your own customized seasonal day spa newsletters at least two times per year, if not four.  Show off your staff, services and introduce new products.  Tell about your fundraisers, success stories, awards and achievements.  Invite clients to become models in your photo-sessions.  In a soft-sell manner, you can include one to three Introductory Gift Certificate Offers on the back page of each newsletter.  Don’t be afraid to promote some of your new services at full price.

Currie Hair-Skin-Nails in Glen Mills, PA offers his clients two newsletter mailings per year.  Even though this is the most respected and successful high profile spa salon in the Wilmington, DE area, they always are promoting themselves for growth with new Currie clients.  Besides mailing these to their Preferred Client List, Owner, Randy Currie, also mails many newsletters to nearby residents, hoping to attract as many new clients as possible.

ON-HOLD TELEPHONE MESSAGES: If you don’t have one of these telephone answering machines, get one.  Change the messages often, if not monthly!  Make sure you promote all of your day spa services, products and skilled staff technicians.  You certainly don’t need to discount anything on this recording, yet you should promote everything from Gift Certificates to your very newest services and products.  Keep these messages upbeat, entertaining and educational.

SALONLINX: Get your day spa salon into the new age of computers with this exciting internet online appointment booking and website service.  Now clients can book appointments with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!  Call 1-888-945-LINX (5469) to get more information.

MORE COMPUTERIZED MARKETING: Some of the more established nationally recognized salon computer appointment and record-keeping systems now offer built-in marketing concepts. SalonLINX, Selectcomputers’ Professional Salon and Mikal Computers have marketing programs for gift certificates, preferred client mailing lists, postcard notes, and special client marketing files.  You need the ability to generate flexible mailing lists, create personalized direct mail marketing and a system for measuring the results of your marketing projects.

PROMOTIONAL IDEA LIBRARIES: Read DaySpa Magazine, American Spa and Spa Management Journal as well as other professional beauty trade magazines every month for new marketing, advertising, PR and promotional ideas, saving each issue in a special library within your salon.  You may want to create a Directory of Articles, for yourself, as a handy reference tool.

SPA DISCOUNTS & FREEBIES: Many full-service salons and day spa staffs question whether or not to do discounting, gifts or freebies.  YES – you should do them!!!  We recommend that these upscale concepts work much better than a “SALE”, while protecting your image.

GET READY FOR THE NEW YEAR!!!

Now’s the time to become a Promotional Day Spa Marketeer.  Don’t wait for that magic salon client bus to arrive at your day spa salon.  You may be waiting a long, long, time.  It’ll never show up… at least not every day.  To make your investment into a day spa salon, you must put on the driver’s hat to drive in new business for your day spa.  Work with as many Inside-Out Promotions as you can during your spare time each and every month throughout the year.

The more you do, the larger your day spa business will grow.  Brainstorm what will work best for you and just DO IT .  By working on both simple and creative ideas like these, you make more money….. but more importantly, you’ll have some fun!  By excelling in promotional marketing you will keep your staff energized, your regulars trying new services and you will be constantly introducing yourselves to potential new clients.  That’s all there is to it.

Larry H. Oskin

President of Marketing Solutions

Email: MktgSols@MktgSols.com