HOW YOUR SALON CAN HAVE THE best winter season ever

We asked consultant Helena Van Der Vyver of 1nespa for her top tips on planning for the winter months

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About eight years ago, I was on a mission as a beauty business coach to ensure that winter for one of my clients would not be a down period for her salon in terms of income. Up until that point I always believed that because of our industry’s incorrect perception about the winter months being bad for business that it was. So, the salon owner and I put our strategy and plans together with targets. Coming out of that winter, we found that she TRIPLED her income from the previous winter. We planned for and expected growth, and we got it!

So, my first bit of advice for salon owners is to change the lens through which you approach your beauty business’s winter season. Expect abundance and massive growth compared to the previous year. Let winter become an equal peak period of income as the summer months in your business long term. This will relieve your annual cash flow as well.

Ok, so what now? Let’s look at a blueprint to realise this goal by probing around the when, the what, and the how to achieve this.

The When

Winter season is for three months, i.e. June, July and August. Which dates should we highlight in this period?

JUNE

Friday, 16 June is Youth Day Sunday, 18 June is Father’s Day Friday, 23 June is when the schools close

JULY

Tuesday, 18 July is when schools reopen Tuesday, 18 July is also Mandela Day

AUGUST

Tuesday, 9 August is Woman’s Day

Also bear in mind that two of these three months (i.e. July and August) are 31 days long.

“REMEMBER THAT during the WINTER you will HAVE MORE DAYS TO GENER ATE INCOME with TWO CONSECUTIVE MONTHS ”

being 31 days.

What can you take away from this?

In the autumn months of April and May, check in with your clients as to what their plans are for the winter holiday season. Are they going away and how does that affect their time and budget for their regular treatments with you? This way they can be more mindful of budget for their treatments, or inform you in advance that they won’t book as many treatments and you can ensure a strategy to fill their gaps and not be left surprised with a slow column and too little time left to fill it.

Remember that during the winter you will have more days to generate income with two consecutive months being 31 days.

Your target market is women and the month of August heroes them on the 9th, so you can use this as an opportunity for a promotional event with one of your brands. Or, you can host a breakfast/ lunch with a speaker, or collaborate with other businesses already doing an event as a sponsor, speaker, on-site treatments, etc. When you collaborate with a business, ensure they have your target market as their clients.

“AS CLIENTS tend to HAVE A BETTER HEAD SPACE IN WINTER, you also have MORE TIME to GO THROUGH their CLIENT HISTORY. This is a GREAT OPPORTUNITY to EDUCATE THEM and CROSS-SELL OTHER TREATMENTS and retail HOME CARE to them. ”

The What

Clients’ behaviour does change in winter. People are prone to staying indoors because of the cold weather and they also like to eat more. Also, they tend to have a bit more head space during this time, as well as a slower schedule, which means they can spend more time with you.

Depending on your clientele, identify if they will travel overseas during our winter for an overseas summer holiday, or even to neighboring countries like Naimibia and Botswana for hunting, safaris or holidays.

What can you take away from this? Add small food options to your treatments like manicures and pedicures for instance. These could include hot chocolate and marshmallows, or an immune shot with ginger and a citrus fruit. In the packages you offer, perhaps consider adding a soup and bread option and cost it in with profit.

As clients tend to have a better head space in winter, you also have more time to go through their client history. This is a great opportunity to educate them and cross-sell other treatments and retail home care to them. Introduce clients to more offerings and retail products in your business.

We have more time in winter to treat clients, so ensure to focus on add-ons that take more time. For example, add a 15-minute massage for the hands, head or feet to treatments, etc.

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Consider offering packages that are half day or full day that run in the winter only.

Work out a winter programme for skin clients that combines peels, micro-needling and/ or mesotherapy.

Winter is also the best and safest time to run skin programmes that treat skin pigmentation. In autumn, focus on marketing your laser treatments more so as to have your best sales in winter.

Sell winter massage packages such as, for example, ‘Buy 3 and get 50% off the 3rd one’ or ‘Buy 5 and get the 6th free’. Both of these offerings include a 17% discount, which is viable on a massage as it normally has a profit margin of 30-50%. So you will still make 13-33% profit. When you do discount, always ensure that you include small add-ons around R100+ each (e.g. back exfoliation; adding a specialised treatment aromatherapy pre-mixed oil for the full body; a massage candle just on the back; or hot stones, etc).

“You must HAVE YOUR WINTER OPTIONS PLANNED, COSTED, PRICED and SHARED with your TEAM IN EARLY AUTUMN. Then SHARE directly WITH THE CLIENT and through SOCIAL MEDIA. This should be MARKETED TO CLIENTS in the THREE MONTHS PRIOR TO WINTER so that they can’t wait to BOOK IT. ”

Prime those clients who are going away for overseas summer holidays as they must be well groomed before they depart. Even consider retailing a home care travel kit for their holiday to make it more convenient for them to use their SPF (tinted is always a good option), hydration serum/ mask, lighter moisturser for day, etc.

The How

I always hear of therapists ‘fearing’ or ’dreading’ winter as their income drops. They say that clients skip waxing in winter, stop doing pedicures and hibernate in general.

As we therapists are the specialists, it is up to us to lead our clients. Unfortunately, many therapists take the lead from their clients, allowing them to disappear over winter.

What can you take away from this?

Create winter-only treatments and packages. Edit your pedicures to have a longer massage done with hot stones or a soy candle, include a complimentary heel peel instead of the toe paint and / or also include a paraffin wax treatment. Definitely include a winter food and beverage component as mentioned above. Call it a ‘Winter Pedicure’ (you can have shorter and longer options or just one) as then it is exclusive only for June to August.

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If you rarely do specials, consider winter to entice new clients, as they are non-negotiable because a business must always stay consistent in its growth and avoid decreases. Discount or add value for the same price on your higher profit margin for treatments like massages and facials.

Waxing can also work by offering a ‘3 for 2 Promotion’ – so the client can book 3 areas, but only pay for 2. You need to educate clients when it comes to waxing – there is no purpose in waxing only in summer and skipping winter as you miss the anagen growth phase of the hair and thus on the weakening and thinning of the client’s hair.

Very importantly, you must have your winter options planned, costed, priced and shared with your team in early autumn. Then share directly with the client and through social media. This should be marketed to clients in the three months prior to winter so that they can’t wait to book it. You can’t start selling this during winter as clients need time to process and budget, Sales are closed when the offer is repeated 5-12 times, or around at least 6 repetitions.

Set a target for winter – go for 30% more than the same time last year.

Helena van der Vyver has been a beauty business coach for almost 10 years. Her 30 years’ of beauty industry specific experience sets her on the level of ‘Beauty Industry Titan’. Van der Vyver coaches aesthetic doctors, beauty/hair salons, spas, brands as well as non-beauty entrepreneurs, having herself gone through the ranks of beauty therapist, assistant manager, manager, operations manager and entrepreneur. Email info@1nespa.co.za