STMAS
Preparing for Christmas
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chools are back, the nights are beginning to draw in, the UK’s long, hot summer is already fading from memory. Now’s the time to roll on Christmas.
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Seriously? Yes, seriously. In fact, to maximise your readiness and profitability for the Christmas rush, you should be starting to plan right now for the all-important festive season. Here are seven things to be getting sorted. ßPin down your team rotas. “One of the first things I would recommend to do is have your Christmas hours all done by the start of October. You want your salon’s hours adjusted and any additional staffing hours and rota all done by this time,” emphasises Steve Hilliard, of Steve Hilliard Coaching. “Make sure you add your changes to your website, marketing emails and any social media.” “We probably get 30-40% more appointments a week during the Christmas period, so it is a hugely important time,” agrees Darrel Starkey-Gettings, owner of Hair Studio By Darrel in Skegness. “We are normally closed on Mondays but as this year Christmas Eve will be on a Monday, we will of course be opening. That makes it even more important we have our staff rotas pinned down. “Planning the team Christmas celebration and any post-Christmas holidays is also important,” he adds. It also makes sense to organise in advance that your team’s hair has been done, perhaps at the beginning of December, suggests Penny Etheridge, of Radiant Hair & Beauty Consultancy. “Perhaps on a Sunday and make it fun with Christmas songs and food. One
thing you don’t want is miserable members of staff wandering around your salon because there is now no chance of getting their own hair done for Christmas. Happy teams make for happy atmospheres make for happy clients!” she highlights. ßBegin pre-booking. “Think about pre-booking your clients at least 12 weeks before Christmas,” explains Steve. “So all your clients from the 01 October need to be told about pre-booking. For example, a stylist could say: ‘As Christmas is only x weeks away, I am suggesting all my clients book in now for Christmas, as it is very busy time, and make sure you get your slot’.” Offering incentives to pre-book early can be another good way to get ahead. “Why don’t you run a competition for all your clients that book in up to Christmas and six weeks after?” argues Steve. “For example, any client who books two appointments in October, say, for December and January 2019 can get a free cut and finish in January. This gets your clients booked in for the busiest time and the slowest as well.”
ßTalk to your manufacturers and local wholesaler. “Make sure you have seen all your manufacturers by October and have ordered your Christmas stock,” advises Steve. “Go to your local wholesaler and have a look around; you might be a hairdressing salon and not do beauty, but you could still sell gel nail colours to your clients for Christmas.” ßLink up with local venues. One good tip is to scope out the restaurants and venues that tend to be most popular for Christmas, and which may also be putting their plans in place at this time, advises Darrel. “We make a point of linking up with the venues that do Christmas parties as there is a market for hair up and make-up beforehand. It can also be a good idea to review your booking system to ensure everything is co-ordinated. For example, that the junior knows what to do, that the text reminders are set up OK and so on,” he adds.
Sept/Oct 2018 | salonfocus