If it snows where you offer pedicure services, it may not be raining money during the cold winter months.
Many salons and beauty professionals report a drastic slow down in booked pedicure services during winter. The key to keeping your pedicure business booked and profitable year-round lies in creating a seasonal offer your clients can’t refuse! Along with proper education and a solid promotional strategy, an enticing offer can help ensure your pedicure services remain booked even outside sandal season.
Seasonal Add-Ons
A price discount isn’t the only way to incentivize clients. These seasonal add-ons can provide a tremendous amount of perceived value without costing much money or time:
- Scented scrubs (think peppermint and chocolate)
- Warm beverages (hot cocoa or spiked cider)
- Free gifts with pedicures (votive candle or mini top coat)
- Heated blankets and warm neck wraps during services
- Longer massages for clients who don’t polish their toes
- Paraffin and collagen hand and foot treatments
Share the Benefits of Winter Pedicures
Establish your expertise to build trust with your clients. Should a client say, “No one sees my feet during winter!” or “My feet are in boots all season, so there’s no point in a pedicure,” take the time to educate them.
Position your pedicure services as self-care. Ask your client why it should matter that others can’t see their feet during frostbite season. What about their own self-worth and care? Should a client refuse color, stating, “I want to let my toenails breathe!” remind them that toenails do not have lungs or gills and, in fact, do not breathe! Make the tone light, friendly and informative.
Question why your client should neglect their feet and legs during winter. Do their calves need rest from massages? Do their toenail cuticles stop growing in winter? Do their heels need time and space to acquire calluses?!
Communicate to your clients why these areas need attention year-round. Find out whether your clients neglect pedicure services due to finances, a lack of self-care or a true desire to let their toenails breathe.
You can provide curated solutions to your clients’ needs based on their answers and deliver an offer to care for them and their feet every month of the year.
Create a Seasonal Offer Well in Advance
Your task is to persuade your clients to continue their pedicure appointments during sock-wearing months. This can be best achieved by creating a seasonal pedicure offer they’d be silly to pass up.
Consider discounting your service pedicure price in exchange for pre-booking or payment up front; for example, if your pedicures are normally $50, charge $40 per service to clients who pay for three or four scheduled services in advance. Paying ahead of time is a huge bonus, as it gives you cashflow on-hand to utilize for expenses, savings and expansion. Afterall, a secured sale and cash flow is queen in business!
Devise a simple and practical system for clients to pre-book and prepay for their services, and make sure to include terms that cover your cancellation, rescheduling and no-show policies.
Surprisingly, summer, the peak of pedicure season, is the best time to announce your winter pedicure offer. Promoting the offer well in advance will you stay fully booked toward the end of the year. Here’s a rough timeline:
- Announce the offer by mid-July.
- Push the offer between August and October – before the holidays and after school starts.
- Close the offer by December 1.
- Promote the offer throughout the year on social media and anywhere else you communicate with your clients (email, text, a sign in your salon’s restroom!)
- Display the offer so its visible to your pedicure clients, or include it in a nice booklet clients can review while relaxing during their summertime feet-treats.
Educate your clients on the benefits of winter pedicures throughout the year. Their pampered feet and legs will keep them coming back, and keep your pedicure business profiting, all year long.
About the Author:
Naja Dev, aka The Nail Guru, is an award-winning nail artist, international educator and seasoned salon owner. A key-note speaker and published writer, her nail work has been seen on Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, LL Cool J and many more. Dev holds a Guinness World Record for the most polish changes in an eight-hour period with 69 polish changes. She has a passion for helping young entrepreneurs in the beauty field make consistent cash from their craft. Dev offers online classes, monthly workshops and coaching for professionals on the business side of the beauty industry. Visit Naja Dev at @the_naja and www.najanailguru.com.
