Sales & Marketing

Tried And Tested Salon Black Friday Campaigns You Can Steal

4 min

Tried And Tested Salon Black Friday Campaigns You Can Steal

Did you know that 30% of annual retail sales occur between Black Friday and Christmas*? Did you also know that the National Retail Federation‘s annual surveys have revealed, for the past 8 years, that the most requested gift during the holiday season turns out to be gift cards? In fact, it’s said that the total spending on gift cards has increased 28 percent since 2006. Where am I going with this? Simple: Black Friday falls on November 24th this year, marking the official start of the holiday season. We gathered great Black Friday campaigns from last year and thought we’d share the results with you!

*according to the National Retail Federation.

Related | Fun Marketing Ideas To Boost Black Friday Retail Sales

Some Of Last Year’s Best Salon SMS Black Friday Campaigns, And How You Can Replicate Them

*The messages below are based on actual Phorest Salon Software client campaigns from last year. However, for confidentiality reasons, we have removed all brand name mentions and real opt-out numbers. ‘City Salon’ is a fictional salon name.

Please keep in mind that for SMS marketing to be successful and affordable, you must target a specific part of your audience. Sending an SMS to your entire database will end up being costly, and the return won’t be worth the investment. The 3 Black Friday campaigns below provided an average 21% return on investment because they were well targeted.

Book 3 Treatments, Get The Cheapest Free

The message: Outa my way-Its Black Friday! Book any 3 treatments on Nov 24th @ City Salon & Get the cheapest FREE (to be used in Jan) (Online booking link) OptOut:0874009147

Amount of SMS sent: 1254 SMS

What it cost: €75.24

Revenue generated: €1617.66

Why it worked: The salon added value instead of discounting, but because the clients receiving the SMS saw “get the cheapest free”, it automatically entices them to buy. The salon, on the other hand, still gets 2 full price treatments on the day while also eliminating any white spaces in January’s appointment book.

Buy A Voucher, Get An Additional 10% On It

The message: The pre-Black Friday Sale has begun at City Salon. Purchase a voucher on November 24th & receive 10% extra FREE (to be used in January) OptOut:0874009147

Amount of SMS sent: 950 SMS

What it cost: €57.00

Revenue generated: €1482.00

Why it worked: Gift cards are the most requested gift during the holiday season, so by offering an extra 10% free on the value of their purchase, the salon was able to reel people in. So, say a client purchased a 100 euros voucher, the salon added a 10euros to the card, Black Friday gift. However, this campaign can only be a success if the voucher is made redeemable in January. If you omit to add this condition, people will just use it on the day they buy it, and this won’t be to your advantage come January and its quiet times.

Salon/Spa Treatment Package

The message: Its here! The City Salon Black Friday relaxation package is back. Manicure, Facial, Back Massage – Only €X. Book: (Online booking link) OptOut:0874009147

Amount of SMS sent: 3750 SMS

What it cost: €225.00

Revenue generated: €3465.00

Why it worked: Packages are often more accessible and tend to sell well. The SMS this salon sent was clear, concise while promoting wellness and relaxation. Additionally, by saying the the “Black Friday relaxation package is back”, the salon adds scarcity to the offer, encouraging targeted clients to act fast.

black friday campaigns
Click the image to access the download page.

Related | November Loyalty Marketing Ideas For Salons And Spas

Find Inspiration In Email Campaigns From Other Industries

You know how easy it is to get into a routine of some sort with day-to-day operations? It’s the same thing with marketing. You shouldn’t just be replicating a campaign because “it’s easier to copy/paste and change the dates.”  If you’re to replicate a campaign (email or SMS), it has to be because you have tracked its performance and came to the conclusion that it was a success.

It’s good to branch out of your industry sometimes and see what other companies are doing, why they succeed at doing it, and how you can apply the concept to your industry. Salon owner Alan Stewart, from Rainbow Room International, is probably the best example I could ever give you. On episode 43 of the Phorest FM podcast, he explained how, between the year 2000 and 2006, he looked at the airlines’ online booking system and developed a similar system in his salon branches. Now, although it sounds crazy for a salon not to have online bookings today, bear in mind that this was unseen of at the time. And that all came from him looking outside of his own industry.

So I did some digging. Here are 2 Black Friday campaigns from outside the hair and beauty industry that I believe could see a massive success when applied to a different context and audience.

Everlane Email, Profits For Charity

black friday campaigns

Why it worked: Notice how the email doesn’t discount? Instead, Everlane uses Black Friday/Cyber Monday as a platform to raise awareness and money to a cause they care about. Essentially, they made the “big spending day” all about people in need. It’s a great opportunity to build brand awareness, give back, and make your customer also feel part of the movement.

How you can replicate this: The same concept can easily be applied to Black Friday campaigns in the hair and beauty industry. Perhaps you could advertise something like: “For every treatment and product bought on the day, X% of our revenue will be given to X charity. Our goal is XXX euros. Let’s get it done together.” 

Storq Email, Free Gift With A Purchase

black friday campaigns

Why it worked: Staying away from store-wide sales and massive discounting, Storq created an opportunity to increase their clients’ spend. Plus, who doesn’t like a gift?

How you can replicate this: This one is quite simple, you simply have to pick a minimum spend for your clients to receive a free gift, give them a link to book their appointment, and that’s it!

Tips For Writing Performing Black Friday & Cyber Monday Subject Lines

  • Use your salon or spa’s name (surprisingly, it works!).
  • Be short and to the point.
  • Try to be funny.
  • Include the term “Black Friday” or use other popular terms such as “holiday”, “gift”, “sale”.
  • Don’t use excessive exclamation signs.
  • Include some sort of call-to-action.

Black Friday/Thanksgiving/Cyber Monday is coming up fast! Make sure you plan your campaigns. In fact, more and more brands are starting to advertise their offers before the actual Black Friday day, and it has been working. According to the past 5 years’ sales and trends in other industries, the number of deals hit a peak the week before Thanksgiving.

I’ll leave you on this: for more information on how to craft the perfect email campaign and subject line, be sure to also read our Email Marketing Gameplan eBook!

black friday campaigns
Click the image to access the download page.

Got feedback? Leave us a comment or tweet us @ThePhorestWord!

Thanks for reading,

#LetsGrow


Featured imaged shot on location of Nu Essence, in Dublin. © 2017 Phorest Salon Software.
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