Why Black Friday is the Perfect Time for Salons to Stock Up
As a salon owner, you’ll aim to make the most of seasonal events to bring new clients into your orbit, and Black Friday is a great opportunity to do this. Just a few weeks before Christmas, Black Friday is a huge retail event, and it’s well placed in the calendar for you to set yourself up for success.
Black Friday is the perfect time to stock up because customers are actively looking for bargains and may also be trying to save some pennies on their Christmas shopping. It’s a great chance to replace equipment and consumables, take advantage of cost-effective bulk offers, and you’ll be able to pass on savings to your clients and become an essential part of their seasonal shopping experience.
Let’s take a look at some of the products you should be stocking up on as Black Friday approaches, and find out why this is the ideal time of the year to consider your stocking strategies and make great decisions for your business.
Why Black Friday?
Black Friday has become a global phenomenon, with businesses offering discounts and slash sales to entice customers to spend their hard-earned money with them. It’s a great time of the year to make the most of your retail opportunities, and stocking up on both your salon kit and your retail range will ensure that you are ready for this.
As Black Friday is just before Christmas, people are likely to be considering bigger purchasing decisions and working their way through a long shopping list. In the current financial climate, they’ll be looking out for ways to save money, and if you can provide stylish, cost-effective solutions for them, they’ll become your customers for life.
Here’s why Black Friday is the best time to stock up:
Black Friday is the perfect time for:
1. Re-stocking your essentials. Your clients will be flocking to get their treatments and appointments booked in before Christmas, and you’ll be ahead of the curve if you ensure that you’ve restocked all the essentials by Black Friday. Hair colour appointments, tanning, waxing and beauty treatments are all likely to be in high demand at this time of the year, so you’ll need to make sure you have enough consumables to get you through the festive season. You can buy items such as foils, cotton wool, disposable gloves and towels in bulk, and these are small and convenient to store so you can avoid the panic of running out!
2. Special offers. There are lots of ways to save money throughout the year when you’re taking advantage of special offers, and Black Friday is a particularly good opportunity to save. Many companies clear discontinued stock at this time, and you can benefit from discounts here; you can also use this strategy yourself, offering low prices on older stock to clear storage space and boost your sales. Bulk buying is a great way to save money and maximise profits, and you’ll probably find even more savings available on Black Friday.
3. Upgrading Equipment. If you need to replace equipment in your salon, especially frequently used appliances such as hair dryers, straighteners and clippers, this is a great time to do so. As you approach the busiest time of the year, you need to know that your equipment won’t let you down, so upgrading on Black Friday makes good business sense. Sales and special offers will enable you to upgrade or replace your equipment cost-effectively, and if you sell equipment to clients on a retail basis, you can also make a profit at this time of the year.
4. Shopping frenzy. Put simply, Black Friday is a great time to stock up because it’s a shopping event that has everyone on the planet focused on making savings! Shopping fanatics save all year for this occasion, and that means they’ll be looking out for bargains. The deals and discounts you offer will make your business stand out and earn you a little extra on Black Friday, but they will also entice shoppers to build a relationship with you, which lasts long after the event ends.
Black Friday is an excellent time to invest in your business, and stocking up ahead of time will prevent that last-minute panic as the festive season approaches!
Black Friday Promotion Ideas
Making the most of Black Friday is a chance to let your imagination run wild. There are many different types of promotions that you can use in your salon, and we recommend:
• Referral campaigns. You’ll probably find that a lot of your business comes from word of mouth, and you can encourage this by incentivising your clients to recommend you to their friends. Running a referral campaign can work well for Black Friday, offering a free treatment or product to clients who bring a friend along, for example, or a discount when a friend makes a purchase or books a treatment.
• Create a VIP experience. Making your clients feel special will ensure that they value their treatment and shopping experiences with you, and this will keep them coming back to you again and again. Designing an exclusive event for Black Friday can work very well, and you can choose to reward regular customers for their loyalty with a luxurious shopping and demonstration evening or offer a limited number of special treatments to make those who take up your offer feel special.
• Use social media. Social media promotions are useful to build your business all year round, and you can ramp this up to make Black Friday a success for your salon. You’ll notice many local businesses offering social media offers and competitions at this time of the year, and you can get in on the action by launching a competition with a luxury gift set or a treatment voucher as a prize. You can grow your social media following by offering entries into your prize draw in return for following you and tagging friends, or come up with a creative idea such as naming a nail colour or nominating a friend for a freebie.
• Offer bundles. Bundles are a great way to increase your profits, especially during a retail event such as Black Friday. You can put together packages for nail care, haircare or skincare or combine these to create treatment packages that are targeted to reduce stress or prepare for a Christmas party. You can also use your retail stock to offer aftercare bundles, or offer voucher bundles for those who are buying Christmas gifts. This can be a great option if you’re not keen on slashing prices and offering extreme discounts, and you can add in little extras to ensure that everyone feels they are getting a bargain.
• Discount off-peak appointments. Everyone wants a bargain on Black Friday, and offering low-cost or discounted treatments for the time slots that are hardest to sell will boost your business and make the most of your staff time while ensuring that your clients get a great deal. You might offer a bonus or a discount on treatments booked on weekdays, for instance, or take a moment to identify the time slots that are the most difficult to book and promote these with a special offer such as a hot drink and a free blow dry, or other incentive to book.
• Use add-on treatments. Add-on treatments can help to boost your profit margins, and you can incentivise your clients to book an additional service when they are booking a regular hair or beauty appointment. This can work out better for your business than discounting the core services you offer, and can encourage clients to return once they discover how much they enjoy the additional treatment!
Don’t forget that your email list is one of the best methods of promotion you have at your disposal, and this is a great way to reward loyalty by offering early access or discounts, especially for existing customers. Offline advertising can also work wonders, and a few well-placed posters can draw in new clients. It’s also a good idea to remind your staff to mention your special offers to every client to encourage them to spread the word!
Hennessy Hair & Beauty in Ireland
At Hennessy Hair & Beauty, we are committed to providing the best quality products to salons and stylists across Ireland, and we have a great range of bulk buying offers for you. Our experienced team can help you to find solutions for hair colouring and styling, beauty treatments, tanning, waxing or nails, so that you can give your clients the excellence they deserve.
We have been supplying hair and beauty products in Ireland for more than 40 years, and we have received several industry awards in recognition of our work. We are a second-generation, family-run business based in Ireland, and you can contact us today to find out more.