Party season is just weeks away, so what can we do to help get our salons and our teams ready for the busy period? OSMO IKON ambassador, Adele Clarke shares her tips on how to prepare…
What should be our mindset as we approach the festive party season?
At this time of year, it’s always tempting to look at that white space on the booking columns and consider slashing prices. It’s a natural reaction but never fear. The quiet times will not last, and this is the perfect opportunity for us to get our thinking caps on and create some beautiful inspirational looks for our social media, ahead of the big Christmas events. These lean weeks will soon disappear and from approximately the second to last week in November, party season starts so brace yourself to be inundated with the office party crowd. It’s the one time of year, our clients really want to impress their colleagues who might usually only see them in their strait-laced office wear so let’s get our hair magician wands out and get our transformation skills on! It’s time to add volume, drama and glam. Well, it only comes once a year, doesn’t it? Remember too, that this is the ideal time for your team to boost their wages with extra commission or incentives set by us salon owners. Not only are you gaining your team loyalty with the security that the extra income provides for them, but we all know our customers are open to buying gifts during the festive season. Grab these opportunities with both hands, be prepared for that overtime and make the most of the Christmas cheer ahead.
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How can we spend our time wisely in the run up to the busy festive period?
It’s often said but ‘think outside the box’. Invest in some clip in hair extensions to volumize and add lustre to our hair up game. Take some before and after pictures as inspiration whilst practising on each other if necessary, during these quieter times and get splashing them over the all-important social media platforms. Send some personalised DM’s or emails to a few chosen clients who love that little extra special attention expressing how you thought of them whilst you created this work of art. It need not be pushy if done in the right way. Just a “this reminded me of you” goes a long way to make a person feel special and valued as our clients look forward to the party season. Part of the party season is the all-important gift buying and what better way to encourage your customers to shop local easily, all from the salon chair! It’s the ideal opportunity to destress the madness of shopping, that your clients will be experiencing and of course they respect your knowledge.
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Should you invest in festive gift sets?
Let’s remember we have a captive audience in our chair. Think time poor, busy clients who have so much to do without the added pressure of a gift list to fulfil and here we are with these fabulous gift sets waiting to be snapped up! It’s a quick easy win for both. Our OSMO Festive Sets are ideal as we can use them display around the salon and placing them near the reception and on the styling areas, means it’s an easy conversation starter. They’re already boxed up, easy to wrap (why not have a few wrapped up for even more of an easy sell?) and who doesn’t love a hair set! Plus, on a side note, should you have over ordered your festive sets, don’t worry, with the ability to split these packs up after the festive season has passed, there really is nothing to lose and everything to gain from the savings per item that’s been made. Now’s a great time to invest for your retail shelves for now and the year ahead.
What products or treatments can we be introducing our clients to at this time of year?
Think about stocking some hair accessories – that everyday hair product you know your clients love so encourage them to buy another for a gift. OSMO Wonder 10 Treatment is a must-have for so many of our clients and word of mouth and gifting is an ideal way to encourage more sales in the future. These are an amazing opportunity to up sell over the festive period. Our clients generally have that one office party to impress their work friends and turn heads, they really are willing to splash a few extra pounds to sparkle, after a couple of years whereby the pandemic had put a stop to socialising. There are also lots of temporary options to add a glossy hint of a tint in a non-chemical process way that will appeal to your clients at this time without eating into your valuable column time. OSMO Colour Revive processes in only 3 minutes and adds a beautiful gloss to the hair with no commitment. As experts, we also know that once your customer has had the experience of using finer quality ingredients and professional products on their hair, the likelihood of them wanting to go back to that chemist or supermarket brand will be slim. Also do remember that this is a time of year that our customers have saved a little more funds to buy for others. So, when an interesting gift set or products are recommended to them, you’ll have their attention. Plus, be sure to explain that the gift packs make the individual products within them cost much less per item – so you’ll find they will be much more on board with the bargains to be had! Encouraging them to buy the gift sets is, in a way future proofing their buying habits for future hair professional product buys.
At such a busy time of year, how can hairdressers/barbers prevent burnout?
Leave work at work – many stressors that our experts experience include emotional fatigue, focusing on other’s needs rather than their own, client emergencies and crises, administrative task build up, not to mention the physical toll that the career takes on the body! It’s also important to connect with colleagues and peers for support. If possible, eat lunch with colleagues and eat nutritional food, mindfully. Also in your downtime, tap into your hobbies, a great way to improve mood and switch off from work!
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We love hairdressing; we see and we hear how you can become the best hairdresser, colourist and salon owner possible. Contact us if you’d like to know more about us. If it’s worth talking about, you’ll read it here.
