Archana G
Thanksgiving holiday season is among the busiest times of the year for grooming and personal-care businesses. With family gatherings, holiday travel, office parties, and unofficial holiday photo season quickly arriving, clients want to look their best, rushing to grooming shops. For businesses, this rush is both a boon and a bane. To efficiently manage a grooming business, bring in more clients, and create memorable client experiences, preparation is indispensable. As such, grooming businesses need workforce staffing and scheduling, inventory, customer communication, and an online presence, to get ready for the Thanksgiving rush, eliminating the challenge for themselves and the clients.
How To Prepare For Thanksgiving Rush
For grooming businesses which are more up with the times, preparing for thanksgiving involves a lot of planning, organizing, scheduling, and upgrading. Some of the key preparations to be made for the upcoming holiday rush include:
Understanding Trends and Adapting
Advanced planning is the best way to reduce stress during peak seasons. If you have access to booking data from previous years, use that data to understand appointment volume and service demand. This data can help you understand the following customer behaviors:
- Do clients typically book early morning or evening appointments?
- Which dates, within a week, surrounding Thanksgiving, were the busiest for appointments for the year before?
If you are a new business and do not have booking history, take note of what timing and trends are occurring in the shops around you or in the neighborhood. This will give you an idea of what you can expect.
Create a Seasonal Service Plan
Create realistic service offerings to attract clients towards your business. For instance, provide express versions of your most popular treatments or create bundles of complementary services such as holiday glow packages. At the same time, make sure to establish clear booking appointments with realistic time frames. This will help prevent overlapping appointments and rushed jobs.
Reach Out To Customers Early
Good communication decreases confusion, allows for smoother operations, and builds trust with clients. Some ways in which you can connect with customers and communicate your offers and updates include:
Sending out a Thanksgiving newsletter which includes service announcements, appointment reminders, offers and discounts information, holiday special packages, extended hours or restricted hours information, and a CTA for early bookings.
If you have a digital presence, make sure that you actively use it to spread more awareness. For example, you can share about holiday policies, cancellation policies during holiday season, late arrivals policy, deposits for booking, etc.
Increase Your Digital Footprint
Your digital footprint is just as important as your physical presence. Many clients make their decision about whether to discover and use your grooming services or not through an online experience. This is especially true for holiday seasons when customers actively search for last-minute openings or seasonal promotions. To make sure your online presence is attractive and useful:
Make Online Booking a Priority
Clients are seeking convenience during the chaotic holiday season. Make sure your website is easy to navigate, especially when it comes to booking appointments. Your website should feature:
- A simple and attention grabbing ‘Book Now’ button
- A mobile-friendly booking page
- Appointment types and clear duration of time needed for each service
Update Seasonal Content on the Website
Updating seasonal content shows clients that their favorite business is alive and active. Make sure that you keep updating the website with all the latest holiday content such as:
- Information about seasonal bundles and specials
- A blog post regarding a Thanksgiving tips on grooming
Examine Website and Mobile Presence Performance
Holiday customers are impatient. If your webpage has a slow load time or does not function properly on a mobile, you may lose bookings. Make sure the website is properly functioning on both PCs and mobiles to prevent such issues.
Stock Up On Your Product and Supply Inventory
The last thing you want is to run out of important products during one of the busiest weeks of the year. Do an inventory check to account for all essential products like shampoos, conditioners, styling products, towels, capes, razors, blades, hair colors, tools, sanitation products, etc.
If your shop has a holiday retail display, keep the shelves stocked and exhibited clearly and attractively. Many clients can also be impulse shoppers if the item is displayed in a visually appealing way. Items tend to sell fast during the holiday, such as styling creams, beard oils, hydrating masks, and gift cards. Keep ample inventory and display them in a way that encourages purchase.
Optimize Staff and Workflows
Your staff is your most vital resource during the holidays. The most important thing is ensuring they are ready and supported. To achieve this, adjust allocation of workers to prevent overwork and burnout. If you expect a rush, extend working hours for a limited period, bring in part-time workers, and delegate tasks and duties carefully.
Prepare for Walk-Ins and Last-Minute Appointments
Even with flawless planning, your Thanksgiving clients will be spontaneous and either book last minute or simply walk in for a treatment. For successful businesses, it is essential to expect such occurrences and have some room to cater to these clients. Prepare by leaving time blocks available for last minute bookings or walk-in appointments.
Enhance the In-Shop Experience
When holidays approach, clients aren’t just getting a haircut, they are getting an experience. The more comfortable and enjoyable they are during their experience, the more likely they will return. Create a warm, seasonal feel by adding small touches like including fall decor, seasonal scents, offering warm seasonal beverages, and playing mellow background music.
Conclusion
Preparing your grooming business for the Thanksgiving rush involves careful consideration of planning, staffing, inventory, and client communications. Nowadays, it also means making sure your digital presence is prepared for ease of use, accessibility, and engagement. An organized and prepared grooming business won’t just survive the holiday craziness, it will thrive in it, developing a great relationship with the client, and preparing them for your busy holiday season.
