When Flowers Just Won’t Cut It
How to Create Mothers Day Gift Vouchers that Sell Like Crazy
Mothers day is the second biggest opportunity of the year to sell gift vouchers. Most mothers these days would love to receive more than a bunch of flowers or a box of delicious but guilt inducing chocolates… which is where you step in!
Marketing for mothers day requires some creativity and planning if you’re going to get outstanding results. Sure, snazzy gift vouchers look great, but vouchers generally won’t leap out of the salon and sell themselves without smart marketing. So grab a pen and paper and let’s brainstorm…
Step 1: Creating the Voucher
Who is your client, and how can we create vouchers that are irresistible to them? We want your gift vouchers to appeal to new clients AND your existing clients. A basic but powerful marketing strategy is to find a problem and then solve it. Obviously all your clients for Mothers Day are mothers, so what are their most common problems and worries?
- No time to pamper themselves due to work and family
- Stress and exhaustion
- Ageing skin
- Not looking as good as they’d like to
If you can think of more problems jot them down. Now, for each major problem we solve it by creating a ‘package’ or group of services. Packages mean you make more money from each sale than just selling plain $20 or $50 gift vouchers – and they sound so much more tempting to potential clients.
Package Examples…
‘Heavenly Hair Escape’, a wonderful experience for all ladies who deserve to relax and get 5 Star Treatment. Recline and enjoy a shampoo, condition, ultimate shine treatment, indulgent professional head & neck massage, hair trim, and Hollywood Woman blow dry & style.
‘Ultimate Rejuvenation Package’, an effective and indulgent treatment for tired skin and aching muscles. Relax and release tension and stress with our therapeutic 30 minute neck and shoulder massage. Next you’ll be totally delighted at the incredible results of our luxurious 60 minute professional anti-ageing facial.
‘Feet Treat’, perfect for tired and aching feet. Enjoy an aromatherapy foot spa, salt exfoliation, and then relax as we treat you to a wonderfully rejuvenating foot and calf massage. Followed by nail shape and polish of your choice to leave your footsies looking and feeling totally fabulous.
I could carry on creating packages forever… but now it’s your turn. Remember: put some thought into solving your clients problems. Create a ‘menu’ of between 2 – 5 choices. Offer a range of prices, some people want to get mum a ’little’ treat, and you will truly be surprised at just how much others are willing to indulge their mum.
Inner Circle member Tracey Orr from Absolute Beauty says “’We are used to doing well with our in salon promos, but this was fantastic! All we did was print the packages up from the Toolkit… it was interesting to note that the more expensive ones sold best because people believed the value was better”.
Step 2: Selling the Voucher
You need to promote your mothers day vouchers to both new clients and existing clients, starting at least two weeks prior to Mothers Day.
It’s usually the partner, hubby, son or daughter who is actually making the purchase. So, mostly males who will be buying gift vouchers. You should be displaying your exciting Mothers Day Packages in a minimum of three places:
Salon Window/ A-Frame chalk board
Salon answering machine
Mailbox flyers to the local neighborhood
Online website
Posters in the salon
Flyers to be handed to each client as they leave reception
Salon Newsletter/ Email Newsletter
Here’s an idea: find those lazy men! One Inner Circle member went to several construction sites a few days before mothers day armed with her voucher ‘menu’ and an eftpos machine. She managed to sell thousands of $$$ of vouchers to men who otherwise didn’t have time or couldn’t be bothered.
Step 3: Staff Make the Difference
Book a staff meeting so you can enroll your team in your exciting Mothers Day strategies.
Make sure they understand the packages. They may even take pride in offering suggestions themselves.
Share your goals and expectations with them, you may like to offer incentives for selling gift vouchers.
Remind them to promote the vouchers to all clients: on the phone, during the treatment, and to hand clients the Mothers Day menu as they leave reception.
Remember, YOU are driving the campaign but your staff are the ones who will make it successful.
Step 4: Redeeming the Voucher
I know you’re wondering what expiry date should be on your vouchers. In the March/April edition of Professional Beauty, salon expert Faye Murray recommends “a 6 month validity date… busy people often take a little time to get organized for their special treat”. Very good advice thank you Faye.
One More Thing…
Sick and tired of staring at a blank computer screen wondering where on earth to start? Wish you could get your hands on Mothers Day postcards, flyers, posters, and great packages that have already been done for you?
All Inner Circle members will find tested and proven Mothers Day marketing campaigns in their enormous marketing manual, ready to simply modify and hit ‘print’ on the template CD. PLUS all Inner Circle members will have received FREE in April a collection of brand spanking new flyers and postcards created specially for 2008, valued at $1,457.
Not an Inner Circle member? Click here to see if you qualify for a 30-day Free Test Drive of the Inner Circle marketing and mentoring program.
