Wedding season and warm weather are upon us! Which means two things for your salon/spa. First, that if your clients aren’t already starting to book their holiday flights, they’re about to. Time to get them prepped for the sun before they head off. Second, those who’ll be tying the knot will start booking their hair and beauty appointments. Plus, if you’re based in North America, you’ll also get Mother’s Day to market your treatments and services. Add that to this year’s May salon marketing guide… Isn’t the first month of summer just the greatest?
Listen to the audio version of this blog, and subscribe to the Phorest Blog Podcast here:
May Salon Marketing Guide: There’s Always A Reason To Celebrate
If you’re the type to religiously wait for our monthly marketing ideas, then you’ll have noticed that there was none for April (well, technically speaking). In a few days, we’ll be wrapping up the #30Days2Grow salon challenge, which in itself was a massive marketing toolkit, and so we’re now back to the regular program.
Wedding Season
June is one of the biggest wedding months. This means that in May is your time to build your reputation in the field and outshine competitors. Why not start by giving your salon a fresh new look (spring clean) and add in some flowers to the mix? Then…
- Attend and display at local shows
- Offer pre-wedding trial runs
- Reach out to bridal magazines, introduce yourself and your services, and possibly pay for advertising
- If you don’t do make-up, but do hair (or the other way around), try to establish a relationship with an MUA or a salon who specialise in that and cross-promote each other
- Set yourself up for onsite services (something to consider as an additional branch to your salon/spa)
- Hire a photographer to capture the behind-the-scenes of your salon’s bridal activity and use the photos for social media advertising, print publications and/or a lovely email souvenir follow-up for your client (or take your own photographs)
Don’t forget to start promoting the treatments, services and packages you already have, leaving couples ample time to book in before their important day.
For bridal package ideas from salon owners based in the US and abroad, click here. And download license-free bridal images from this May salon marketing guide at the end of this post.
Warm Weather & Sun Protection Awareness
Sun’s out. Smiles are re-appearing on people’s faces… and so will sunburns. Be prepared for this; make sure you have all the information and retail products at hand to inform your clients (and potential customers) about the risks of being exposed to the sun without protection.
- Offer informative pamphlets
- Recommend products to clients going on holidays
- Set up a retail display at your reception desk and highlight the 1-3 benefits for each product
- Offer a 3 for 2 promotion on certain UV/sun protection products that you can promote in your email newsletters or in a targeted SMS campaign
- Write a blog (if you have one) or a guest blog for a local online magazine on the top 3 products to bring with you on a holiday this summer
- Cross-promote your loyalty system: encourage retail purchases by giving an extra 100 points for every sun protection products bought during the month
New to blogging? Get a free template (structure and ideas) in the downloadable toolkit at the end of this post to get you started.
Mother’s Day (North America)
This year, we covered Mother’s Day as part of the March marketing toolkit and ideas. Click the links below to access all Mother’s Day content we published:
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3 Successful Salon Mother’s Day SMS Campaigns You Can Steal
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Salon Marketing Opportunities To Avail Of This Coming March (includes toolkit)
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March Salon Marketing Ideas To Please All Clients & Tastes (includes toolkit)
“Spontaneous” Day Promotions
Sometimes it’s nice to just take so-called funny “international days” and build a 1-day only campaign around the concept. In this month’s toolkit, you will find 2 subject line and 2 SMS templates for each of the days below. Take it from there and have fun! That’s what’s going to make it feel authentic for your clients!
Garden Meditation Day (May 3rd)
Perfect for spas, you use the premise of this day to buy a few plants and create a meditation/relaxation space with a few pillows and anything else you see fit for clients to quiet down before heading into their treatments (tea, soft ambient music). Encourage clients to try it once, and if you end up getting positive responses from many, then you know what to do… 😉
No Socks Day (May 8th)
For this one, we’d recommend taking the pedicure angle, the “treat your feet” to the same care you do for the rest of your body. Keep it simple, a few graphics a targeted SMS to clients who usually book pedicures and haven’t been back in a while.
Pizza Party Day (May 18th)
Who doesn’t like pizza?! Celebrate the summer warmth with some pizza to share with staff and clients! If you tuned into Phorest FM episode 70 with personal trainer Aaron Carroll, then you’ll know that pizza isn’t good, nor is it bad. It’s just about how much you eat of it (ha)! Listen here. Go on, indulge, and treat your clients! Don’t forget to announce the special day on social media and/or send an SMS to your most loyal clients if you’d rather make this more of “VIP summer bash”.
If you’d like to collaborate with a local pizzeria for this, get some tips here.
And To Recap The Month…
I’m sure the “fear of missing out” concept is nothing new to you. After all your marketing efforts, surely you’ll want to create that FOMO effect? The end of the month is the best time to recap everything you did and make people who didn’t take part envious! A few ideas on how to do this:
- Send follow up emails & cards with a refer-a-friend promotion to clients who booked in throughout the month (download this month’s toolkit for an email template)
- Create a blog post to highlight all activities/campaigns you’ve taken part of in May
- Send an email newsletter to
N.B. If you are currently using Phorest Salon Software, the May Newsletter template has been uploaded to the system. Happy campaigning!
The Countdown To GDPR Has Officially Begun… Is Your Salon Ready?
The closer in time we get to May 25th, the higher the chances that businesses will be facing a much more GDPR-concerned and ‘private’ customer. For a salon who prides itself on delivering a standout salon experience, could GDPR turn into an opportunity to build even more trust with existing and potential clients? Listen to Phorest FM Episode 67 with salon owner Nicola Sharp of Enhance Beauty & Spa to find out:
To get more information on GDPR talk with a Phorest advisor about our GDPR compliant salon software solution today!
Got feedback on these salon marketing opportunities? Let us know either in the comments below or tweet us @ThePhorestWord! (Pssst! We’re on Instagram too!)
Download the May salon marketing toolkit here:
