5 creative ways to celebrate International Women's Day in your salon

International Women’s Day is the perfect occasion for every beauty salon to promote their services. After all, women make up a huge part of their customers. Many ladies will consider this day a perfect pretext to get a little spoiled, others will want to get an entire makeover. Springtime sparks the need for change in people, so the 8th of March may be fully booked regardless of your marketing, sales campaigns and special offers. But what if I told you that it does not have to apply to this one day only and that your target may be wider than just ladies celebrating their holiday? This Women’s Day, dare to think outside the box and prepare yourself for a very busy season!

Announce Women’s Week

Why celebrate Women’s Day when you can celebrate Women’s Week? Just think about it, it even sounds more fitting! Instead of celebrating on one day, stretch it for a whole week. Post an announcement on your social media fan pages and mention that for a whole week preceding the 8th of March, you will be offering special promotions in your salon. Now, you can make it in two ways: laid back or turn on your creativity. The first option is to simply offer a free additional service added to every treatment (e.g. free deep skin nourishment added to every facial) or a little gift (samples, goodie bags) for every woman who books an appointment during the whole week. The second option is to change your promotion every single day - create a schedule full of tempting offers and share this information on your social media profiles. Monday with free face massage added to every appointment, Tuesday with small jars of cream (from your retail shelves, of course!) given to all booked clients, Wednesday with free skin condition consultations… the possibilities are endless, and believe me - free slots in your appointment book will disappear before your eyes.

Target specific groups of women

This day celebrates all the ladies out there, but that does not mean you have to be general when creating your social media posts and message campaigns! Refer to something more specific than just being a woman. There are busy moms, active businesswomen, teenagers who obsess over their look and precious elderly ladies who want to spoil themselves a little bit. Reach out to them specifically! If you have your Booksy software, the task will be much easier - in the system, you are able to take and store record information about your customers. Thanks to this, you will remember which of your returning clients is a proud mom, a young girl or an elderly lady. Customised messages are far more appealing and effective!

Activate a very special recommendation program

Do you want to gain new clients easily? Establish a Women’s Day-themed recommendation program that will encourage your established customer base to bring their friends and family with them! Launch a “Girl Power” campaign for the whole of March, where you reward every client who brings their female friend or a family member with them! It is really worth giving a try, as word-of-mouth recommendations work wonders, and customers who come to your salon from their friends’ recommendation have a very high retention rate.

Host a ladies-only party

A wonderful week of special offers should be topped with a real ladies’ night! How to prepare a salon event your clients will remember?

Choose a theme! It may be a very sophisticated party with glasses of champagne and cups of crème brûlée. Or a pyjama party, with the whole salon decorated with pillows and blankets and free face masks for everybody! Think about what will suit your salon atmosphere and your target group best.
Make sure to send invitations to your clients - your Booksy system once again will help you reach them all.
Create an event on your Facebook fanpage as well! Get your audience pumped for the party.
Prepare your employees. They may not be keen on the idea, because it means longer working hours for them, so create a commissions plan for the time of the event, introducing a higher rate for products and services.
Get the salon ready, decorating it according to the occasion. Maybe lots of freshly-cut flowers? It is the beginning of spring, after all!
Prepare snacks and soft drinks and keep everything looking very lady-like. Little cupcakes decorated with beauty-related motifs will surely make everybody smile!
Give a little gift to every attendee. Offer samples of your retail products along with a rose for a nice combo!
Don’t forget to thank the attendees! Send a "thank you!" message to everyone and mention how happy you will be to see them again.

Invite… Gentlemen!

Do something quirky this year! Write a light-hearted message on your social media saying that due to incoming Women’s Day, the gentlemen should look their best for their ladies! Offer a promotion for all the men that decide to treat their hair, beards, skin or nails during this event. Men can feel a little forgotten around the 8th of March, as every beauty salon targets women only, so you can easily take advantage of this opportunity! The beauty industry is dominated by women, so you simply cannot let their special day slip away! You don’t have to be predictable and stereotypical while preparing your program, just think about something you would gladly take part in yourself. Also, remember to check out your salon statistics afterwards to find out whether your concept succeeded! With a great hair & beauty salon software such as Booksy, you will not only be ready to face that special day, but you will simply own it. Celebrate Women’s Day with a blast and give the Booksy system a go!