No offers...ever...anybody do this?

[makeupartistzoe]

My friend has had her salon for maybe 6 years i think...quite early on she put a poster in her window advertising a special offer on facials. Apparently 2 older ladies looked at it and in big clear voices said 'oh look and offer they must be desperate' and since then shes never ever done special offers, in fact just concentrated on her beauty treatments and kept her prices medium/high for her area.....

....I'm thinking of doing the same as I think we are approaching our 2nd year and we did a pre paid pamper package as an experiment (an outside company sold packages for £55 on our behalf allowing new clients to try lots of mini treatments for free- and we didnt pay them or take any money it was just to try and 'win' them back) The pre paid pamper package was on for 6 months and people with no intention of coming back kept asking for an extension....erm...they have had the opportunity for 6 months and its now the busiest time of year!

Has anybody else 'banned' offers?....thinking of only keeping loyalty cards...

 

[emma@lashes]

I have never done offers. Not even when I first started my home based business two years ago. I have a steady flow of clients so don't have free appointment times that I want to fill. The only thing I do is at Christmas I give every client a 20% off one appointment voucher to be used before 31st January. I find that people appreciate that and often add extra treatments on to their appointments to get the discount.

 

[Petit Basque]

My friend has had her salon for maybe 6 years i think...quite early on she put a poster in her window advertising a special offer on facials. Apparently 2 older ladies looked at it and in big clear voices said 'oh look and offer they must be desperate' and since then shes never ever done special offers, in fact just concentrated on her beauty treatments and kept her prices medium/high for her area.....

....I'm thinking of doing the same as I think we are approaching our 2nd year and we did a pre paid pamper package as an experiment (an outside company sold packages for £55 on our behalf allowing new clients to try lots of mini treatments for free- and we didnt pay them or take any money it was just to try and 'win' them back) The pre paid pamper package was on for 6 months and people with no intention of coming back kept asking for an extension....erm...they have had the opportunity for 6 months and its now the busiest time of year!

Has anybody else 'banned' offers?....thinking of only keeping loyalty cards...

Mmmm I'm never sure about doing offers either. As a home based therapist my prices are a bit lower than salons and spas anyway and if you already have facials, for example, booked in then if you do an offer, you lose money on those clients who were happy to pay full price and run the risk of attracting bargain hunters!

I did a 20% off all treatments for Children in Need and got a lot of bookings. Out of those bookings, I only gained a couple of regular clients. The others just wanted the special offer and had no intention of becoming a regular. I have to say that I've done the same thing myself

I do a loyalty card scheme which offers 20% off your 5th treatment and clients really seem to appreciate that. I also think that if you run offers too frequently, you can look a bit desperate!

I personally believe that if you've got your pricing right in the first place and you offer a 1st class service to your clients, they will return and recommend you without the need to run regular offers.

Just my opinion

PB
x

 

[MrsHBeauty]

I am not going to do specials offers any more. We didn't really have anyone take them up, only regular customers who were booked in anyway.

We are getting busier now and we are in the middle of a groupon deal. After that my emails will consist of a focus of the month. I will choose a treatment explain all the benefits and advantages, give tips to help prolong results in between treatments etc.

I have a loyalty card which entitles the bearer to 20% off when they have received 10 stamps.

 

[MrsHBeauty]

Oops hit send to soon.

I dont want to be known as the salon which always has an offer on. I want to attract a different market to bargain hunters. At least when I do run a special offer people will realise it's rare and want to book in with it

 

[jacquelineanna]

I have never advertised and never do offers

My only exception to this is after chatting with a young hairdresser recently about the cost of spray tans.

She said that £30.00 was just beyond the price she would be able to pay which made me think that in this one instance for this one treatment I could indeed offer it at £20.00 instead of £30.00.

I do have a loyalty card scheme because I want to reward my lovely clients for continuing to spend their money with us and keeping us in business.

Rightly or wrongly, when businesses advertise heavily or do lots of special offers it makes me think they aren't busy enough.

And as a client, that makes me wonder why and puts me off.

 

[Petit Basque]

Rightly or wrongly, when businesses advertise heavily or do lots of special offers it makes me think they aren't busy enough.

And as a client, that makes me wonder why and puts me off.

Completely agree with this statement! I also think that people value a service more when they have paid "good" money for it rather than getting it on the cheap!

PB
x

 

[essentia]

I also do not have offers or even do a loyalty card. I have found doing offers fruitless and sometimes detrimental to my business although I understand doing it initially for new treatments. I try to keep up to date and give the best I can for my clients. I think it is tempting to concentrate on offers/cards and gimmicks to the point that the core services are being ignored. I personally don't give a flying fig if I do not get a birthday card/voucher from my hairdresser/optician/dentist as long as I get good service and they do the job well!

 

[Tiffany Dee]

Hi
We have had our salon nearly 8 years & have hardly ever done any offers. I agree that most people think that your struggling or using cheap products if you do an offer.

Our competitor does groupon, cheap deals is open all hours and still has no money. Once you go down the discount road you end up working for peanuts and the clients are the dodgy type too!

If i have a new stylist then we do offer maybe 20% off to new clients and they mostly rebook, and we look after regular clients with a loyalty scheme.

 

[aphroditeg]

As a therapist I personally do not like offers. I think they entice people to only come for the offer and then move on to the next salon with an offer on. I think loyalty cards are a good idea as they reward your good clients but I'd never give something away for free on one, only a discount off a treatment on a certain number of visits.

As a client I think that offers scream that the salon is not busy even if it is. Half price this, buy one get one free that just sounds cheap and reminds me of clothes shops. Id prefer a package where you get a couple of pounds off if you book a number of treatments if anything or again a loyalty card scheme.

However, at work I also feel that my ideas are ignored and irrelevant so I'll be keeping them for when I eventually start my own business :grr:

 

[gemmalou1981]

I have done offers and they have worked out fantastic for me.
There are a number of new salons opening near me and they do really cheap sets. I have bitten the bullet and done offers and have now got some really loyal customers who won't go amywhere else from it.
I prefer not to do it because i feel i am worth the higher price i charge. I find though that once i have got a client through the door they come back and then go on to reccommend me to other people.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using SalonGeek

 

[beautydan]

I do a newsletter each month to my clients, and will sometimes put an offer in there. I'm a mobile therapist in my 2nd year out in the big bad world, so I like to try and get some more people. People may have a friend round and have an offer together. Most of the time it just prompts people to book in for the treatment they have been meaning to have for a while...
Each to their own I suppose. Where I am it's so competitive. I actually saw a full set of acrylic extensions advertised for £12. Theres no way I can drop my prices that low.

 

[shedunlop]

I have never done offers, ever, in 18 years and I never will. My pricing is fair for my area and I give good service to my clients. Most of my clients have been with me since I moved to Gloucester from Bristol 11 years ago.

If therapists concentrated on setting prices correctly and retaining their clients then they would build a good strong business and never have to think about marketing or offers.

 

[beautydan]

If therapists concentrated on setting prices correctly and retaining their clients then they would build a good strong business and never have to think about marketing or offers.

But first starting out, you have to bring business in aswell, sometimes people are more likely to come to you if they think you are giving them a good deal? From there they see how professional you are and quality of treatments and return business from that point on? Just showing the other side of the statement. X

 

[shedunlop]

But first starting out, you have to bring business in aswell, sometimes people are more likely to come to you if they think you are giving them a good deal? From there they see how professional you are and quality of treatments and return business from that point on? Just showing the other side of the statement. X

This is often the answer I get when I post on this topic but I started once too!

I worked for 7 years in Bristol, I started out when my son was a baby and built my business up from there. After 7 years I moved to Gloucester and started again after my divorce, still with a 7 year old in tow. I started again with clients and built another business. So you see I have done this twice.

I have never done offers, I have priced myself correctly, treat my clients well and with respect. I rebook them all before they leave me for their next appointments. Some now book for the whole year ahead.

I understand what you mean, but you are looking at my business now that I have built it. I hope you understand what I am saying, I have built it up twice from nothing without any offers.

I find offers bring in the professional offer seekers who roam from salon to salon looking for a cheap treatment. Every now and again you will get one who stays but there are so many that don't or who will ask what your offer is for next month. It is entirely up to you what you do, I am not saying you must do it my way. What I am saying is that I have run my businesses successfully for 18 years without offers that's all my darling.

Starting up is a hard, slow process but the key is in your regular prices, good customer service and rebooking before they leave. Make them feel special, take notice of what they talk about, learn what their husbands etc are called, make them feel as if they are important to you.

 

[Steph86]

I offer discounts for multiple treatments, as I am mobile saves my fuel and setting up times which are accounted for in my prices, so for example a tanning party the host gets a free tan (4 paying guests are needed) and when my nail clients have 10 treatments they get a free gift ie cuticle oil/top coat as a loyalty reward. Xx

 

[Studio One]

I've been offering a 'Treatment of the month' for a long time now, and it's now got to the stage where clients call and ask what the offer is for the following month before they book an appointment. I am looking for a way out but not sure how to go about stopping this altogether, Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Balance Andover]

I've been offering a 'Treatment of the month' for a long time now, and it's now got to the stage where clients call and ask what the offer is for the following month before they book an appointment. I am looking for a way out but not sure how to go about stopping this altogether, Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

Just stop doing it, its your prerogative, and you don't have to explain to your clients why, do introductory offers for new treatments only (and for a limited period).

Michelle

 

[ADiva1]

I also do not have offers or even do a loyalty card. I have found doing offers fruitless and sometimes detrimental to my business although I understand doing it initially for new treatments. I try to keep up to date and give the best I can for my clients. I think it is tempting to concentrate on offers/cards and gimmicks to the point that the core services are being ignored. I personally don't give a flying fig if I do not get a birthday card/voucher from my hairdresser/optician/dentist as long as I get good service and they do the job well!

Very true, and where does it stop? When you do offers, what are you going to say to your loyal regulars who book in on a monthly basis?

I do offers for new treatments to benefit ME. After I am trained, practised on friends etc then I do an offer for a short period. I don't do this for every new treatment.

If you record your outgoings and what's coming in, you would never do offers!

 

[makeupartistzoe]

I always said I never would do offers but you do panic when you have a quiet week....my boyfriend has said 'wouldnt you have 50% of something than 100% of nothing?' but then hes a bar manager and has to deal with wastage which we dont...

...think for the last two years I've been a busy fool! I put all my clients numbers in a text bank last week (401, some had landline nos grr) and I just text to say i've got the new 60min fake bake...not even discounting and im having a good week of tanning ...