In our business, traditionally the fourth quarter of the year can be one of the busiest (and profitable!) during the fall and holiday season. Doing some planning prep work for your business using targeted treatments, promotions and marketing will help you give your clients a great spa experience and boost your bottom line in the process. Take some inspiration from these tips from Dr. Lisa Jenks in this week’s post.

1. Plan Festive Marketing

When it comes advertising your holiday offerings, it is important to start showcasing any “Get Ready for the Holidays” treatments in the early fall. Since many treatments need multiple sessions to see the best results, you need to start selling them in September or October. It is also good to keep in mind if any of your holiday treatment offerings require any downtime, so that your clients can properly prepare for that as well during the busy season.

You should also use festive and fun holiday verbiage in your marketing to grasp your client’s attention. Phrases such as “Get Your Glow on for the Holidays” or “Get your Lips Mistletoe Ready” create excitement around the season. Remind your clients in your ads how quickly the season will be upon us, (e.g. “Only three months left until Christmas”) in order to create a sense of urgency.

2. Offer Package Deals

Packaging your treatments in new ways will help your clients feel as though they are getting a “cutting-edge” treatment. For example, combining a dermaplane and mild peel to create a “Soften and Glow Facial” will help women feel as though they are experiencing something new and wonderful. Discounting packages of treatments can also be a great way to pique client interest. Consider offering a package of three services at a slightly discounted price to not only hook your clients in for more than one treatment during the holiday season, but also provide them with the best possible results. Offering a product that is appropriate to pair with a particular service can increase retail sales as well.

3. Decorate Early

Consider putting up holiday displays and decorations in early November before people have gotten tired of them. This allows you to reach your clients while they are still excited and ready to spend money before they are burnt out from all of the holiday shopping. As we have all likely experienced, it is easy to grow numb to the decorations by December! Plus, this is a great way to get your clients excited and thinking about the holidays to come if they have not already started doing that.

Using fun, bright signs that advertise “stocking stuffers” or “easy gifts” can be a great way to add some festive vibes to your spa while also increasing impulse sales at check-out. The holidays are the perfect time to have a nice variety of lower cost items available close to the check-out area to encourage spontaneous purchasing.

4. Plan Social Giveaways

The fourth quarter is a great season to have fun on social media. Create posts that have holiday themes, promote your specials, and encourage clients to pamper themselves. Many people tend to feel exhausted and burnt out during the holidays. Acknowledging this and encouraging your clients to “give gifts to themselves” and “treat themselves to beauty” will help them overcome those feelings.

It is also considered the time and season for giving, which makes it a great time of year for social media giveaways. Consider having contests for your followers to create interactions with your audience and possibly boost your follower count. You can also create the rules to your giveaway as a chance to boost your social media exposure. Having followers share posts of a retail bundle you’re offering to their story and tag you, can help your account gain more traction. You can also consider having followers comment or DM you with why they would like to win your giveaway and offer a free treatment to the one that moves you the most. Follow up with all the entrants, offering them a special deal even if they don’t win the free service.

5. Strategize Gift Card Sales

Gift cards should be a big part of your sales during this time of year. There are several fun ways to increase gift card sales. Starting in early fall, ask your clients to give you the emails of the partners that they would like you to send an offer to. You can then create ads that target this group and encourage them to buy gift cards for their significant others. Be sure that they can either purchase online or call you to minimize the work they need to do to get that perfect gift!

You can also run a special in which you allow your clients to buy a gift card for a friend and receive something for themselves. One example is, for every $100 in gift cards that they purchase for somebody else, they receive $20 spa credit for themselves.

6. Collaborate with Vendors

Utilize your reps during this season to help you come up with fun promotional ideas. Companies often run specials prior to the fourth quarter that allow you to get free products with larger purchases. Organize your buying this time of year, so that you submit a large order instead of more frequent, smaller orders, if this will help you get free products or other promotions. Product reps can also help you determine how much you should buy, so you can get their best deals of the season.

7. Host Events

This is a fun time of year to host events. Again, doing them early in the season, when people are still excited, will increase attendance. Ask your reps for help with the food or with door prizes. Offer small free services during the events such as brow waxing, tinting, or makeup application. Encourage clients to bring a friend with them and capture everyone’s contact information by having them sign up for giveaways. Highlight gift certificates as well as the special holiday treatments and products that make for good gifts.

8. Give Back

Lastly, don’t forget to give back to your community during the holiday season. This is a perfect time to hold a toy drive within your spa, or to collect items for women’s shelters. Engage with both your staff and your clients for this and post about it on your social media. Doing some outreach will help both your employees and your customers remember what the season is truly about.

Lisa S. Jenks, M.D. began her medical career as an emergency room physician. In 2007, she opened Genesis MedSpa, a medical spa in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Recently, Jenks started Genesis Consulting to help spa owners and other physicians open successful medical spas. Reach her at lisa@genesis-medspa.com or 719-579-6890.