Spring has definitely sprung in my neighborhood. While I don't see the dramatic season changes here in northern California, I do enjoy the birds singing and tulips sprouting! And I also enjoy the energy that Spring brings with it to clear out clutter and freshen new routines.
Because March & April fall between two big gift certificate holidays (Vday and Mother's Day), finding something worthy to talk about in your marketing can be challenging. This year, you might try a Spring Cleaning campaign to encourage your clients to clean out their bathroom cabinet clutter of old products and freshen their skin or hair care routines. Here are a couple ideas for your Spring Cleaning promotion.
Personal product safety review. Offer a 15 minute personalized product safety review to anyone -- regardless of whether they come in for a service at the same time. In this review, have the client bring in every single product they have for skincare (for reviews with estheticians) or haircare (with stylists) or makeup (with cosmetologists) or nail care (with nail techs). The applicable expert will review the products for obvious signs of "bad" product (discoloration, odor, etc), ask questions about the age of the product, how often the product is used or not used, and so on. The first benefit you provide the client here is to weed out products that are clearly in need of being thrown out due to age or being rancid. The second benefit is to determine whether that product is applicable to their skin/hair/makeup/nail needs. Perhaps they have a product that made sense to use way back when, but today it may not be the optimal product to use. This requires a little time to very briefly analyze a clients hair or skin so be sure to not spend too much time on that in a free session. The final benefit to your client is a recommended plan that is tailored to them which includes types of services, time between services and products that would help address the client-stated concerns. You could book these appointments anytime, or create a special event specific to this activity.
Product recycling or trade-in program. Whether you do this as a one-time or ongoing program, offering a $5 or 10% discount for every product they replace with one of your products has several benefits. First, you motivate clients to get rid of product that they probably don't use and feel guilty about "just throwing it out." Secondly, you know that when they buy your products that they don't have a back-up product to use instead of repurchasing your product. Thirdly, you know they aren't going to muck up your recommended home care regimen by inserting a product that contraindicates their condition. I recommend setting an ongoing and somewhat generous policy -- if they bring in 3 products of the same time (shampoo or cleansers or nail polish) and buy one of yours give them the same benefit for each one. [Clearly stated limitations are also recommended.] Remember the reason why you want to be generous here is to 1) clean-out bathroom cabinets and drawers so that your products are the only thing in there; and 2) have your client voluntarily discuss the products that haven't worked for them in the past. It is an excellent relationship builder and competition squasher.
Spring packages or seasonal services. Create a package(s) for a limited time only that focuses on fresh and new things. In a salon, offer a discount on non-chemical color with a full cost hair cut and blow-dry to encourage a stuck-in-rut client to try something new. In a day spa, create specialty packages that focus on skin resurfacing or microderm, body scrubs, cellulite treatments or callus treatments in pedicures. You aren't going for gift certificate sales here, but more about encouraging clients to return and prepare themselves for spring. These packages can be designed for your Mother's Day promotion as well giving you an early start on that holiday.
Whatever you do for your March/April promotion, keep it fun and run it for as many weeks as you can. When you keep the same marketing theme for more than four weeks, it provides a higher return on your marketing spending.
What other springtime promotions have worked for you? Please let us know in the comments section.
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