Promotions

[angela]

I'm looking at doing a promotional calender for next year.  In your experience, do people like discounted offers or added value?  Thanks 

[LucyD]

I think you need to look at your clientelle and see if there are any patterns of previous promotions that have appealed to them.  You may find that open evenings have worked well but 10% off in March was still really quiet.  Stick with the ones that work and theme them depending on the time of year or event you are promoting, such as summer or valentines day for example.
If you are starting from scratch then you can look at a mixture of promotions as different themes will appeal to different people.  You should find that there will be a theme of popular choices.  Be carefull that you don't always discount your treatments as you don't want clients to feel you are having to always lower your prices as they were too expensive in the first place or because you are really struggling.  I do think people like value for money, promotions such as free eye lash tint with your facial or free back massage with every body scrub.  Use a treatment which you are giving away with low product cost.  Bring a friend for free always works well in quiet times. Typically January and June are quiet months in the Indusrty so look for really good promotional ideas for then.  Work with your product house, can they help with any 'give aways' with certain treatments?  Good luck and I'm sure you will have a great 2010 

[Lee Harper]

In 2010, unfortunately, one size will not fit all.  You have a market of one but you have lots of them. Give each of them what they need.

For those who have a slow frequency of visit = Give them a reason to pre-book adn get regular
For those that don't buy retail = Give them a reason to start by getting them into the products for less
For those that have only one service = Give them an aggressive discount for having a second
For those who have never referred anyone = give them a neatly packaged gift card to pass to a friend
For those that haven't been in for a while = Reach out to them and tell them you've noticed their absence

You get the idea!

When you publicise discounts or any added benefit to EVERY client.  You will lose what you gain by discounting items that many clients were perfectly happy paying for anyway.

Good Luck.