You’ve heard it before. “Oh dear, Valentine’s Day huh? More like Hallmark Day! If it’s not Christmas, it’s Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day. It’s never ending!”. Talking about the virtues of these marketing opportunities is easy. The reality, though, is that certain promotions and marketing ideas work for some salons while others, not so much. Connor Keppel, Head of Marketing at Phorest, talked to two salon owners in the UK and Ireland and asked them for the hard reality of what works and what doesn’t with salon clients and Valentine’s Day. Most importantly, he asks: are consumers really feeling the ‘lurve’ this February 14th?
For February salon marketing ideas, have a listen to one of our latest podcast episodes!
Interview With Mary Gilmore, From Beauty Essence (London)
Her advice in a nutshell: Focus on the men and focus on families. Don’t get caught up with couples when dealing with clients and Valentine’s Day!
“While I think there is negativity about how ‘retail’ Valentine’s Day is, I look at it this way: how bad can Valentine’s Day be, if it’s an opportunity to turn to the people you care about and tell them ‘I love you’? In fact, I get my family presents for Valentine’s because to me, the day is about love, not so much about romance.”
Cleverly, Mary is applying her philosophy about clients and Valentine’s Day to Beauty Essence:
“This year, we’re heavily targeting men. They are almost without exception last minute shoppers when it comes to gifts. We’re targeting some of them with SMS marketing to increase voucher uptake, but we’re also using social media to push out gift ideas such as small hampers ‘for her’ with products, chocolates and the choice of Prosecco or Champagne.
Price points will be £50, £75 and £100. The deluxe type hampers will include a voucher. When we market these things, it’s essentially a last minute way of going the extra mile and trying to be the best person in the world to her.
If you’re single, or perhaps in a ‘shaky’ relationship, you’re not going to feel romantic or want to celebrate Valentine’s Day. We’ve focused this year on the guys, but also on targeting women directly with ‘hers and hers’ packages. Sometimes, just saying ‘bring a friend, sister, mother, daughter, or treat yourself and be your own Valentine’ is much more effective. Very few salons have the right market for his and hers packages!”
Speaking of the past, Mary mentioned an idea that didn’t work so well.
“One year, we gave everybody a free box of chocolates when they booked an appointment for February 14th. Being honest, there wasn’t a real appeal to it for our clients that booked in. People loved the decorations and the warmth of it all, but they weren’t overtly bothered with the chocolates.”
Interview With Ellen Kavanagh, Owner of Waxperts (Dublin) and Founder of Waxperts Wax (Ireland and UK)
Her advice in a nutshell: It’s not all about the selling when it comes to your clients and Valentine’s Day!
“This year we are using the love theme of Valentines to take the opportunity to show our clients we love them. So we’re gifting them with a pack of our new Waxperts wonder pads (€7.99) when they book in for a Brazilian or Hollywood.”
When it comes to your clients and Valentine’s Day, says Ellen, again it’s about the love, not just romance:
“It’s good to keep in mind that it doesn’t always have to be about selling something. Why not take this chance to treat, thank or reward your loyal clients. It is all about the love after all. So people love to know their custom and loyalty is appreciated.
Many clients won’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. They might have no interest in it, or perhaps they’re single. It’s important not to alienate these clients. Include everyone! Instead of gearing your promos to ‘date night preparation’, why not go with a ‘love yourself!’ angle. This way, all your clientele can benefit.
Clients And Valentine’s Day: Key Takeaways…
All in all, there are some great tips here regarding your clients and Valentine’s Day. Focusing on the man in the relationship, and rewarding them with a gift to show your love and appreciation actually works. Also, don’t just focus on couples’ offers, instead get the ladies thinking about family and friends too.
One resounding message is consumers and clients will care if you seem genuine about your message. Appeal to people by being unique, targeted and focused on love and just not romance, and you may just turn the love-weary into loyal clientele. Best of luck!
Got feedback? Let us know either in the comments below or tweet us @ThePhorestWord! (Pssst! We’re on Instagram too!)
This post was originally published on February 5th, 2014. It has since been updated for clarity and additional content.
