As the leaves turn from green to red, it’s always a beautiful sight. This may be pumpkin spice latte season for some, but for salon owners, you’re already thinking ahead. Once fall hits, the holiday season is nearly upon us! Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and beyond are all around the corner. The bookings will begin. And they won’t start to slow until next year.

Before the first leaf hits the ground, you’ll want to make sure your salon is prepared for the upcoming busy season. But don’t panic! With a little planning and strategizing, you’ll not only be ready for the holidays. You’ll be in the holiday spirit too!

Take Inventory of Products

Before the gift-giving season truly begins, you’ll want to take careful inventory of the products you have available. Look at historical sales data to determine how much product you’ll need. Stock up on any bestselling stocking stuffers like brow gel or wax. Don’t have any products in your salon yet? Now is the perfect time to order products for the holiday season!

Many people love to give the gift of beauty. So, dig into data on your historical gift card sales as well. You’ll want to take note of how many gift cards you have and plan accordingly. Order extra physical gift cards to keep at the front desk. Also, now would be a good time to try online gift certificates if you haven’t already. Set up the digital cards to go straight to your customers’ email addresses. Make it easy and painless for customers to give the gift of gorgeous brows!

Establish a clear booking strategy

If your booking strategy needs some work, now is the time to put in the effort. Before the bookings flood in around major holidays, you’ll need to be prepared. Establish online booking if you haven’t yet. Pick a platform that’s user-friendly for both you and your customers. Make it super easy for customers to set up an appointment with your salon.

Simultaneously, the holidays get busy. Customers may book a brow wax only to miss it due to competing priorities with holiday parties or events. It’s important to establish a clear no-show and cancellation policy so your schedule isn’t abused. A good rule of thumb may be to cancel at least 24 hours in advance or face a fee. Set up text reminders through the online platform to remind customers of their upcoming appointments as well.

Create A Holiday Marketing Plan

During the holiday season, your customers want something a little special during their routine brow services. Your holiday marketing plan should start with carefully planned promotions. There are countless ways to promote your salon and have fun while doing it!

Get interactive with your promotions. Some salons might hire Santa and provide a photo op after services if your clients often bring children. Or you might throw a costume contest for Halloween. The spookiest or most creative costume gets a free service during their next visit!

The holidays are a time for giving, so keep that in mind when creating additional promo plans. Other excellent promotion ideas include gift card deals, like an extra $10 if the customer buys a $100 gift card. If you can, partner with a nonprofit in town and give back to the community too. Whether it’s offering your services to them or participating in a charity run, you’ll connect with community members and feel great about it.

Revamp Your Social Strategy

If your holiday promotions aren’t on social media, did they really happen? It’s critical to create a digital holiday strategy alongside the promo plan in your salon. If you haven’t already, create a digital content calendar so you don’t skip a beat before any major holidays. Schedule posts to post automatically at peak times during the day.

The holiday digital promotion possibilities are infinite! Create giveaways, snap photos of your events, and much more. It’s one thing to tell people to follow you on social media. It’s a whole other game to create compelling reasons for them to engage with you on your social platforms! Now would also be a good time to run local digital ads in your area to increase your reach.

On a practical note, your digital strategy can help promote services and products when done correctly. Give customers stocking stuffer ideas with clear photos of your products. Take pictures of happy clients to encourage customers to pre-book. Inform clients about any holiday hour changes on social media as well.

Keep Up with Email Marketing

When customers willingly give you their email address, it’s essential to put it to good use! Email marketing should absolutely be part of your holiday preparation strategy. The holidays are very hectic for some. Your super busy customers may not have time to check their social media pages or stop in the salon. So, get in front of them via email!

Schedule several emails for key dates. Right before the peak holiday season hits, let your loyal customers know to pre-book with you. Make sure your booking link is clear and present at the end of the email. You’ll also want to think about promotions you can provide repeat customers for the holiday season. Let them know about any upcoming holiday events as well!

 Reevaluate Staffing

As preoccupied as you are, remember that the holidays are busy for your staff too. Their days are packed with waxing, threading, and greeting new customers. Plus, they may be feeling the holiday stress in their personal lives, too.

Take time to check in with staff and make sure they’re okay. During your check in, ensure that they’re well-trained on any holiday offerings as well. Your entire staff should know the salon’s holiday strategy. But keep their mental health in check too.

Based on your staff’s feedback, it’s possible you’ll have to hire some new people too. If your busy season starts to overwhelm your staff, seasonal or part-time employees can be a great help.

Create an Upselling Strategy

You’ve ordered tons of inventory. But it won’t sell itself. Establish a clear holiday upselling strategy with staff. Create a commission structure, allowing them to keep a percentage of their product sales. The extra cash during the holiday season will certainly motivate them! The promise of the commission will also encourage staff to get creative.

Make your products more enticing by packaging them for the holidays. Christmas stocking stuffers could include brow wax and gel in a small stocking. You can even repackage your products with candy for Halloween too! Let staff get creative with how they’d like to sell their products. Keep a few festive gift boxes at the checkout counter as well.

Start Booking

Once your strategy is established, your staff is prepped, and your inventory is in stock, you’re ready to book. Announce that holiday booking is now available on all your major social channels. Make decorative signage for the salon as well.

Encourage your regular customers to prebook for the holidays. Expect that you’ll get some new customers. It’s an exciting time for new business, but prebooking ensures your regulars still get their monthly brow wax. Train your staff to pre-book their next appointments with regular customers as the holidays get closer.

It’s a crucial time to keep your booking schedule clean and tidy. Routinely check your calendar to make sure there are no errors. Double bookings and lack of staff coverage can derail your holiday booking strategy.

Consider Holiday Themes

Customers want to escape the hectic holiday season while relaxing in your salon. Your décor needs to reflect that! Get festive but keep the spirit of your salon during each holiday. This could be as simple as including some spooky plastic bats and soft orange lights for Halloween.

Or you could go all out and really commit to the theme with fake snow, big packages, and a visit from Santa at Christmas! Whatever your level of commitment is, customers will love the effort. Plus, you and your staff will have fun putting the themes together.

Christmas is also a good opportunity to try raffles. Put together a cute, themed basket with brow products and self-care items. Clients can put their names in a hat for a drawing near Christmas. Announce the winner over social media for more engagement!

Celebrate with Staff

Phew, you did it! But without your dedicated holiday staff, a successful season wouldn’t be possible. Show your appreciation for all the hard work they put in during the holiday season. Have a holiday party to celebrate a job well done and relax. If you hired new seasonal staff in the past few months, this could be a great way for them to bond with the team.

A Secret Santa gift exchange or white elephant gift exchange are fun ways to get your staff to unwind and connect. Provide refreshments and themed decorations. Show your gratitude, kick back, and have a good time. You’ve earned it!