6 Holiday Marketing Tips to Capture Last Minute Shoppers
There is still sufficient time to maximize customer holiday spending at your hair/ lash/ brow salon or spa no matter if it’s a corporate entity or single person operation. I’m totally loving April Maguire’s tips to make our last minute Christmas income even merrier. Of course I added my own twist with a nod to my international spa tribe.
- Send a Holiday Message
Just because Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed you by doesn’t mean it’s too late to start marketing your goods for the holidays.
Choose a holiday template from your email service provider and send your holiday greeting electronically. (You do have an e-mail list for your guests don’t you?) For best results, include a gift or special savings offer with your holiday wishes. If you operate a brick-and-mortar shop, you might want to include an exciting coupon that encourages shoppers to visit you in person.
Consider an added value offer for the first 20 gift card purchases for 2020. Sending a holiday card is also a great way to remind last-minute shoppers to get their beauty services scheduled before the holiday parties begin.
2. Support Late Shoppers
If you’re just creating your Christmas marketing plan, then you can probably sympathize with those shoppers who are also late to the gift-buying game. One of the best ways for e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shops to support last-minute customers is by offering gift guides.
Create a gift basket or assortment of items or services that complement one another and showcase it prominently on your website, Instagram or retail store.
3. Be Visual
People tend to be in celebratory moods at this time of year, and they are more likely to wander into a shop if the windows are decked out in bright holiday décor. You can also evoke the essence of the holidays by using diffusers in seasonal scents and giving away holiday cookies and other snacks.
When you’re doing your decorating and marketing, remember that Christmas isn’t the only gift-giving holiday at this time of year. Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Chinese New Year frequently fall at or near the same time as Christmas.
Don’t have a retail store? Decorate your website and social media pages with holiday pictures and colors. By getting your customers into the holiday mindset, you increase the odds of them buying gifts—and therefore spending money in your establishment.
- Host a Themed Giveaway on Social Media
Holiday giveaways are great last-minute marketing tools. Consider creating a social media contest through which customers can win gift baskets or other holiday prizes. While Facebook giveaways that celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas are popular, you can also invite customers to share their glam tips, cookie/dessert recipes, exotic holiday vacations or even post about the worst gifts they’ve ever received. The goal is to have fun, boost engagement and, ideally, increase traffic to your website or establishment
5. Be Considerate and Friendly
The holiday season tends to inspire kindness and generosity in people. Spa and salon owners should be no exception. Even if you haven’t created an elaborate marketing plan for December, you can boost seasonal sales by treating your customers well. Show shoppers you care by providing free holiday beverages like hot cider and cocoa. You can also set up a gift-wrapping station in your retail shop to save customers’ valuable time—and paper cuts—and offer gift wrapping on your e-commerce site.
If you sell online, you should mitigate miscommunication and increase goodwill by posting clear “ship by” dates on your web pages. The last thing you want is for a customer to order a product on December 24th thinking it will arrive on Christmas morning.
6.Don’t Forget the New Year
If your store is a salon, spa, or sells anything that might be part of a New Year’s resolution, play that up in your marketing and in store.
Run a special that gives customers a small discount, a free service, or gift for themselves if they buy a gift certificate or product of a certain value to give to a friend. Market anything fitness- or health-related as the perfect, lasting gift to give a friend and to give oneself.
Linda Harding-Bond
