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How to Slay Small Business Saturday
Posted on November 8, 2022
Sola Salons
It’s the most wonderful time of the year... almost! But first, we have to get through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. These shopping "holidays" were created to help consumers prep for the enormous season of gift-giving that is upon us, and as a small business owner, you can actually benefit from all three! You just have to be savvy about preparing your sales and promotions in advance. Here are some tips to get you prepped and ready for the late November shopping frenzy.
Black Friday
Friday, November 29th is Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving - in which brick and mortar stores offer major deals on consumer products. The term Black Friday was coined shoppers were so ravenous to grab deals that the frenzy created traffic and violence, hence giving it the name Black Friday.
Kind of scary, but hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, offer them sales! And of course, you actually know your Sola clients, so they shouldn’t bang your door down. Just make sure the offers aren’t so good that your clients cause a stampede in cleaning out your inventory!
Black Friday is great for moving stuck inventory! Because this holiday is particularly suited to brick and mortar retail stores, Black Friday is an excellent opportunity to move inventory in your salon that you have been hanging onto for a while. As you know, products do denature, and it is best to keep inventory moving, even if it cuts slightly into profits. Plus, you never know who might get turned onto a product and become a lifelong product-lover and repeat customer.
Have a pricey hair treatment that has been in stock for more than a year? Put it on sale! No more room for last season’s nail colors? Offer clients a two-for-one deal. Been storing a face treatment that you always forget to recommend to clients? Offer it for free along with booking a facial. Have a bunch of sample-sized minis that have been stagnant? Offer free sample sizes with any purchase above $50.
Get creative - your salon, your rules! Just make sure that you are still making some kind of profit by ensuring that each discount will at least have you break even. We’d hate to have you losing out on recouping wholesale costs. Make sure the discounts remain between 10-50% off, never going higher than 50%. Offering deals or free products for customers that spend over a certain amount (i.e. more than $100) is another great tip for making sure that you are offering great discounts while still churning a profit.
The great thing about Black Friday is that people are actually planning to spend money - for themselves and others. When consumers have planned, in both their budget and their schedule, to shop discounts and deals, they tend to go all out. Because hair care is likely a must for their day-to-day regimen, Black Friday is an incredible opportunity to purchase something they would already be buying at their appointment - but this time it’s on sale. It is also a great opportunity to try new products offered below retail value.
With Black Friday sales starting earlier and earlier each year, you can offer it up as early as you’d like to ensure that many people get the opportunity to participate in the sale as possible.
Small Business Saturday
This is our favorite day to celebrate Sola’s 19,000+ independent salon owners! Small businesses are integral to building healthy communities, and we are so proud of you, our Sola small business owners, for making your communities a better place to live.
Once in a while, it is great to express to guests that when they are supporting a small business, they are supporting your dream. Customers often forget that as a small business owner, you are contributing to their community in a deeply impactful way, and their business contributes to your life in a significant way.
On the heels of Black Friday, people are often still in the buying mood - finding steals and shopping deals! This craze usually lasts through Cyber Monday. So why not take advantage of the spendthrift style weekend and offer a shopping party to honor clients, move product and have some fun!
Here are some ideas on how to celebrate Small Business Saturday...
Post this graphic on your Instagram Story or Facebook Story to encourage your clients to support you!
Host a Small Business Saturday Soirée:
Invite clients to join you on Small Business Saturday for a joyous shopping experience and a time to express your gratitude for their loyalty and business. Think about ways to make it feel festive in a tight space, like offering holiday mocktails/cocktails, champagne and/or a raffle to get them in the holiday spirit. People do tend to buy more when they are having a good time! Add in a bit of spirit or bubbly... and well... you get the picture.
Think about the deals described above in the Black Friday section, and offer those in addition to some exciting party extras. This might include a free sample size gift with purchase, or a raffle to win a styling tool or beauty treatment. Perhaps everyone with a receipt is entered into a raffle drawing, with the winner announced via email or social media.
Another fun way to earn business at a Small Biz Saturday party is to offer a discount on services pre-booked for after the new year while they are checking out. That way, they can feel like they are getting an extra perk. Ask if they’d like to pre-book a service in the new year to get 20% off. This is a great way for clients to start their “new year new you” plan by scheduling a new do with you for 2023.
How to get the word out about your event:
- Send an email and text to your clients about the event. SolaGenius makes it super simple to alert all or some of your clients. Read more about SolaGenius's easy text message marketing.
- Invite clients in-person at appointments
- Invite friends and/or acquaintances who have not yet been to your salon. This is a great way to get their foot in the door, literally and figuratively. Perhaps your sale and vibrant holiday spirit will attract a new client beyond the sale.
- Create a Small Business Saturday event on Facebook and invite clients to join you for the event. List details, discounts and offerings for the party to entice them to join in the festivities.
- Create an invitation graphic. We like using canva.com. Make sure your invite gives all the deets - what, where, when and how - and post this up in your salon, on your website, and on all your social media channels. This graphic is also excellent to include if you choose to create a Facebook event! Make it festive, so people know that it is a holiday-themed shopping party.
Cyber Monday
Finally, when the brick-and-mortar shopping weekend is over, Cyber Monday creates another venue for shoppers to hunt for deals online. Shoppers are looking for hot deals and Cyber Monday sales, so the best way to reach them is through email and text and let them know that your salon is having a Cyber Monday sale!
Cyber Monday is a great time to email and social media promote a sale for your services. Blast out communications that remind your guests to take advantage of your greatest cyber offering: 24/7 ONLINE BOOKING. Offer discounts, like 10-20% off services, or a free hair conditioning treatment or nail flair with services that are booked for the new year, post-holiday rush. Pre-booking for next year over the holiday season can go a long way in filling up any holes in your calendar. Who doesn’t want to look forward to a productive 2023? What better way to kick off a prosperous start to the new decade than having full books?!
If you offer eCommerce for your retail products, this is the biggest day of online shopping so make sure to include a link to your site. Be sure to include any product discounts on your email blasts with photography included catching your customers’ eyes. If their favorite products are on sale for one day only online, they are likely to scoop it up, perhaps even two or three.
So, host a Cyber Monday sale! Invite people to the sale with a cute graphic (try canva.com) and send it out via email, text or social media post. Post some Instagram Stories and even host an Instagram Live session to tell people about all the amazing deals you have to offer.
So whether you love Black Friday, want to celebrate your Solapreneurship on Small Business Saturday, or online sales are more your thing - try to participate in at least one shopping “holiday.” Your business will see a big boost that can launch you into a fabulous new year. 2023, here we come!
