If you’ve never ran an event in your salon or spa, there’s never been a better time than now to start planning one! There are countless benefits to hosting an in-salon event and in this blog post, we’re going to run through the pros as well as give you everything you need to get started on your next event!
BENEFITS OF HOSTING AN IN-SALON EVENT
Besides the simple fact that they’re a great opportunity to dress up and socialize, in salon events are so incredible beneficial for many different reasons.
Networking Opportunity
Events are a great way to link up with other local businesses and collaborate! This not only builds strong relationships in your community, it also gives the opportunity to cross promote to another businesses customer demographic!
Client Recruitment
Speaking of reaching new customer demographics, salon events can also be a great way to create brand awareness and potentially recruit new salon guests! Once they’ve experienced your salon space and team in person, they’re far more likely to feel comfortable enough to book an appointment with you. We also recommend offering some type of booking incentive to new guests when they book their appointment at the event!
Not only are events a great way to recruit new clientele, it's also a great way of letting your spoiling your existing clientele and letting them know you appreciate them. For even more client appreciation ideas, give this blog post a read!
Retail Opportunity
What event is complete without a juicy retail incentive!? There are countless different promotions you can run to encourage retail and gift card sales. You can get creative with discounts and added value promotions by incorporating your event theme!
We've got tons of other amazing retail promo ideas in this blog!
Photo Opportunity
It’s no longer enough to post great hair content on your salon’s social, your audience wants MORE! It’s important to show the behind-the-scenes action at your salon as a way of engaging with new and existing clients on a different level. A salon event is the absolute perfect photo opportunity, and we recommend setting up some type of photo backdrop to snap pics of your attendees and team members! Don’t forget to take a ton of candid's of the event in action.
HOW TO PLAN FOR YOUR SALON EVENT
To make sure your event goes off without a hitch, there’s a few important things you need to keep in mind.
Theme
Every event needs a theme, and luckily the options are endless when it comes to the beauty industry! Keep it seasonal, promotional, or collaborative, and establish a cute and catchy name for your event to tie it all together! Once you’ve chosen a theme, you can decide on decorations, treats and beverages, and dress code.
Here are a few simple ideas of themes to get your started:
- Seasonal theme for winter, spring, summer, fall or holidays like Valentine's Day, Halloween or Christmas.
- Themes surrounding a specific concern (ex: scalp care, damaged hair, curly hair, etc.)
- Themes surrounding a specific service feature (ex: blow outs, spray tans, hair treatments, etc.)
- Themes around a specific retail product/type/line (ex: hydrating products, hot tools, full product line feature, etc.)
- Celebration theme (salon anniversary/birthday, grand opening, bridal, etc.)
Promotions
Whether it’s a discount or added value promotion, an event is the perfect time to feature specific services and retail. You may choose to offer discounts or gift with purchase for retail sales or you may offer pre booking incentives for appointments booked at the event. Whatever route you go, you won’t want to miss this amazing opportunity to encourage retail sales and service bookings.
Marketing
Once you’ve got all the basics of your event in place, you can start creating a marketing game plan! Are you selling tickets to this event or is it open invite? Is it come and go or split appointment times? Are you collaborating with another business or inviting only existing salon guests? These questions will determine how you go about marketing your event. You can then create aesthetically pleasing marketing content on Canva to promote on your social media, email, and website!
Swag Bags
No event is complete without a little swag! Swag bags are a super fun way to treat your event attendees and thank them for supporting your salon. We recommend including things like trial sized products, hair accessories, service/retail coupons etc.
CONCLUSION
There is so much competition in the salon industry, and there are more than enough clients to go around. However, if you want to continue fostering growth in your salon business, it’s important to think outside of the box and get creative with how you promote yourself. Hosting a salon event is the perfect way to not only reap all the benefits listed above, but also to create and grow new relationships with existing and potential clients. It’s also an awesome team bonding experience as your staff can interact with each other and the guests in a different atmosphere than a typical day in the salon.
We cannot wait to see how you put your own twist on a salon event, make sure to tag us in your posts on social @salon.s.o.s
For even more digital marketing goodness, check out our YouTube Channel!
‘Til Next Time,
Your Team at Salon S.O.S