The holiday season is here, and we wanted to offer you some holiday marketing tips that will help you maximize the cheer and minimize the stress. These tips may also help you to bridge the gap on any year-end financial goals. Don’t let the pumpkin spice lull you into winter hibernation - let’s make these last three months your most profitable (and fun) yet. Plan Ahead The holidays tend to creep up on us. All of a sudden, the calendar has never been more full, clients seem stressed, and on top of all of that, you are planning your own holiday happenings with friends and family. To avoid the last-minute panic, plan ahead by putting these dates in your calendar, and deciding early which ones you’d like to capitalize on this holiday season: Thanksgiving: Monday, October 14th Halloween: Thursday, October 31st Daylight Savings Ends: Sunday, November 3rd (Remember to adjust your sleep schedule and set your clocks back!) Black Friday: Friday, November 29th Small Business Saturday: Saturday, November 30th Cyber Monday: Monday, December 2nd Hanukkah: Evening of Wed, Dec 25, 2024 – Thu, Jan 2, 2025 Christmas Eve: Tuesday, December 24th Christmas: Wednesday, December 25th Kwanzaa: Thursday, December 26th New Year's Eve: Tuesday, December 31st New Year's Day: Wednesday, January 1st Photo by STIL on Unsplash Set End of Year Goals Once you have mapped out the holiday season with regard to your time in and out of the salon, we recommend working backward from a goal. Make sure to be realistic. It's more than okay to reassess your goals from the beginning of the year and make new ones for the end of the year. What are your year-end goals for the last 3 months of this year? Some end-of-year goals to consider: Bring in X new clients Publish 3 pieces of content - TikToks/Reels, videos, blogs, or photo series - showcasing your artistry Sell X service to 10 clients Make X dollars via retail product sales Sign up for one continuing education opportunity Make your business plan to start 2025 on the right foot Run X holiday promotions to raise X # of dollars Also, when your books are filled, almost too filled - that is a good indication that it may be time to level up. If you are overbooked, it may be time to raise your prices on services to bring you into the New Year with business growth. If you plan on raising your prices for 2025, the last two months of 2024 are a good time to announce this to clients. We recommend letting them know via email and perhaps in person for some of your most loyal clients. Plan Promotions When it comes to holiday promotions, there are infinite ways you can go. Figure out what works best for you and your clientele, and determine the details of the specific promotions you want to run. Include information like: What: What are you offering? When: Promotion start and end date Channels: Where you will promote the offering? Will you post on social media, create in-salon signage, post to community boards, send emails or SMS blasts? Marketing Collateral: What literature, graphics or images do you need to create to advertise the holiday promotion? Maybe you are a makeup artist offering spooky Halloween looks; a color expert crafting fried summer hair into the latest fall hair trends; a nail-tech offering sparkly New Year’s nails. What works for your salon will be unique to you! Get creative and go with what makes you feel motivated and inspired. Remember that your promotions can, but do not have to, include discounted services. Holiday specials are special because they are time-limited offerings. Your time and artistry does not need to be discounted in order to attract more traffic during the holiday season. The promotions can instead draw attention to awesome seasonal offerings, packages or services that bring you and them joy to give and receive. @colorbombsalon) Holiday Flash Sales If you have retail products that you have been wanting to get rid of, the end of the year is a great time to say out with the old and in with the new! A great way to move products quickly is to create a holiday-themed flash sale - discounts that highlight products and get them sold. 10-20% discounts are often enough to catch a client’s eye to a holiday display. Don’t forget about sample sizes - these can make great stocking stuffers and can turn clients on to a product line for life. Holiday decor can bring attention to retail promotions and reframe standalone retail products into cute holiday bundles that double as good gifts and self-care steals on discount for a limited time only. Move that product before 2025 to keep things fresh and your clients trying new things. (@allthatjazzyhairstylist) Stock The Walls When it comes to the holidays, your schedule gets packed with appointments and personal obligations, so the last thing you want to worry about is your backbar and your retail products running low with all the increased salon traffic. Not only will your backbar and retail products be in higher demand,