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Black Friday/ Holiday Specials: What have you done in the past that’s been successful?

Hello beauty professionals! My name is Maggie. I am the owner of Belle Amé Luxury Skin Studio. I am trying to get more creative with our holiday sales this year. What have you done in the past that’s been successful? Currently we plan on doing a gift card sale buy $100 get $10 free, 20% off products, and treatment package pricing. We are also doing an in-store event day where people can purchase their products and win prizes! Thank you for your suggestions! 

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Admin

Great question @BelleAmeSkin! I went ahead and pinned this to the Community homepage so that other beauty business owners and professionals can share some ideas special offers. 

 

Note: This thread is part of the Beauty and Wellness Group - join the group to connect with other business owners in the salon, spa, health, and beauty industry!

️ Helen
Seller Community Manager

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Super Seller

Great question...Can't wait to read what specials the beauty industry do.  I have a retail store so for Black Friday I'll start with a certain % off at midnight until an hour after I open.  From there the discount % goes down each hour until everything's back to full price.

Jacqueline
Owner of Jackie's Uniquely U Boutique
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Super Seller

We do 5% off gift cards and we used to run unlimited services at a flat rate for the last month of the year. No one really abused it and some people only came in once so it evened out pretty well. We've run raffles in the past with other local businesses so that helped with reach!

UV-Free Tanning Salon Owner, Northern California (Campbell)
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The two most successful promos I did in the past were:

 

Buy a gift card and get xx more.  So for every $100 I give an extra $25. 

 

Last year I did a GWP like you would get at a big box beauty counter.  I worked with my reps for free samples and travel sizes and with one of my candle makers to make mini candles and a bath bomb from one of my makers.  It was all packaged in cute custom makeup bags.  The bags were valued at $100.  They cost me $18 total for the whole kit.  I gifted them to anyone that spend over $150 on the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend.  

Doran

Esthetician
Haute Beauty Guide
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Beta Member

I'm what many would refer to as "The Merchant Of Death" -- I'm a brick & mortar exclusively and I sell premium cigars and old fashioned tobacco pipes, as well as accessories. Customers literally set my products on fire. I count on a reasonable pace of consumption that requires fairly regular follow-up purchases.

 

It's my observation that when you're always holding a sale, people lose their sense of value for products and, therefore, your business. I start by pricing my products at MSRP (plus my local taxes). Believe it or not, most of my local competitors add more to the MSRP than taxes -- making me the lowest price source in my market. Since I compete directly with on-line discounters, I'm only marketing to consumers that see the value of a brick & mortar experience with a local expert in the field. I often tell people that "You can't wash a car online." What that means to me is that you have to create a value in your business that transcends price. Always competing on price is a race to the bottom.

 

I only hold one SALE a year -- an annual THANK YOU SALE! (I think "Black Friday" is so overused that it's obnoxious.) I named my sale THANK YOU because, i really want people to know that I really appreciate their business every other day of the year. "Black Friday" carries an air of selfishness by use of the term and it doesn't communicate anything other than "Buy my crap only because I'm giving you a DISCOUNT". I hold it from November 10th through 30th every year. My customers all know it's going to happen, but they rarely hold off on their regular purchases, because it would be too expensive for them to stock up for an entire year.

 

I offer a simple 10% off just about anything i sell -- in-stock and special order. This way, I don't run into any disputes with my manufacturer's MAP prices and I don't miss a purchase because I decided to stock the blue one rather than the red one. Also, extending the sale discount to special order products means I don't have to carry as much inventory AND, because it's in November, I can get almost all special order merchandise well before Christmas / Chanukah (most years), so it can be wrapped and ready to give on whatever their special day is during the season.

 

I also make sure I apply that discount to EVERY SALE during that 20 day window, regardless of whether the customer knows about it or not. You earn trust between you and your customers that way. Of course, I mention they got the THANK YOU discount, and say THANK YOU as I'm finalizing the sale.

 

Big box stores don't have the advantage of having a real relationship with their customers. In an impersonal modern world, many people really appreciate a real hand shake and a real THANK YOU! Those are the customers you want to nurture and reward!

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Thank you ReverendMike. I appreciate the explanation of what, how, and why. You've given understanding that there are other ways to do things that are effective, practical, and still customer focused.

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Super Seller

I have a good amount of Pantry Items on sale I am currently making a list with pictures of each item to email to my customers.

 

If this project takes too long it will be my Black Friday sales weekend Thursday - Sunday.

René

Life is too short to eat boring cheese.
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Did you know Black Friday was first coined by policemen in Philadelphia in the sixties as in one weekend three big events took place every year and that meant lots of extra hours of work! The Cops called it "Black Friday" as the last day off was Thursday and no time off was permitted until Tuesday.

Then In the '80s, a department store in Philadephia started using it for their sales, and the rest is history.

 

René

Life is too short to eat boring cheese.
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Super Seller

We run 20% off the entire store from Black Friday through Cyber Monday- it's usually our biggest sale of the year.

Dina
Co-Owner Amityville Apothecary
www.shopamityvilleapothecary.com
Instagram | TikTok @AmityvilleApothecary

Podcast: Apothecary After Dark (YouTube & Spotify)
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Something I like to do is include a free service with any service. I tried to do something that they have not experienced like a simple eyebrow wax or a special treatment for their hair, maybe ann  eye treatment. To give them a great experience and let them know that this is something that I offer. It only cost me a few dollars, but down the road can add on a lot of money to a ticket.

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