So 2014 has some brought
some pretty serious showbiz events. Our Instagram feeds have been taken over from the likes
of The Met Ball, The Kimye Wedding and Fashion Week!
So in the run up months to a huge bout of showbiz events in the hair and
beauty industry, we thought it would be a good idea to think outside the
marketing box and look at the benefits (and fun) hosting an event can have for
your business! Not only can you reach out to loyal
clients but it also works in good stead to build a new following at a relaxed
and fun environment. So where do you start to gain fantastic PR for a potential event? Let’s
lesson into the 6 imperative ‘Party P’s’ of event planning that you are going
to need...
- Plan
- Prepare
- Promote
- Props
- Pep-Talk
- PARTY!
- Plan
- Prepare
- Promote
- Props
- Pep-Talk
- PARTY!
Plan- Firstly it is important to
understand hosting a party will not organised overnight, even if you are a
socialite! One of the biggest obstacles is putting together a strategic
marketing plan, guest list, delegation tasks and idealistic outcomes you wish
to achieve. Are you going to work with a charity? How much will you charge on
the door? Will it be in the summer or winter months? When is your peak in
business? What will be your decorative theme? To organise a successful party
there should be months of implemented planning and ideas in order to prepare a
magnificent evening for all parties. That being said, it is hugely important to
have an events team who will be prepared to regularly meet with motivation and
enthusiasm.
Prepare- After planning with your
chosen team, you should have shortlisted a number of venue’s whether it be an
in-salon event, the local community centre or a function room at the Hilton.
Each venue has its perks and can be tailored for start-up salons or well
established. Preparing the venue, guest list and invites are all fundamental to
the prepare stage. By the second stage everything should be organised in
thorough detail even down to whether you will provide food such as fruit bowls
in the summer or mince pies in the winter. Most successful salon events combine
expert advice, shopping opportunities, demonstrations and little-big touches!
Promote- Promoting the event is key to
create a hype about the event, so therefore should be done long before the
evening. Use SMS Marketing, word of mouth, hard invites, emails, letters,
in-salon promotion, raffles, reception desk print, local media print, your
website or social media. There are so many options that can be done at a
non-expensive cost. The aim is to show people what they could potentially be
missing and this is how you will ensure a high attendance. Be creative and
personal with your promotion! Don’t let this stage catch you out, the trick is
to find the balance between too much and just enough.
Props- Think promotions, treatments
and goodie-bags. Clients love little freebies and appreciate the generous
effort behind them so use them as a main enticement. Make sure you load
goodie-bags up with leaflets, promotions and offers at the salon as well as
what you have at the event. Why not run a month long promotion where if people
book at the event they get 40% off or a free selected treatment. This way they
can see what they are gaining by booking early. Props is not just beauty, hair
or tanning related. You need to think about what you might need at the event
such as toilet signs, raffle tickets, badges with your staff’s name on are all
important little touches which show effort and thought process and will in turn
be a great reflection on the business.
Pep talk- When it
comes to the event, make sure your team is knowledgeable on their individual
role, what they need to do to upsell, promote and establish a reputable aura of
your business. Have friends or family on hand who can point people in the right
direction or get attendees to fill in a contact form so you can add them to
your database. Arrange for staff to advise guests on which products and
treatments will suit them and their skin tone or find out what they are looking
for. Targeted professional advice is
much more appreciated than being in sales mode. Remind all staff to upload
photos to Twitter and Facebook throughout the night or even get guests to tag
themselves in to win a FREE beauty package worth £100.
PARTY!!!-
Work hard, play hard! Network and speak with new people and friends. Enjoy the
evening’s professions. Events still have an element of personality in them so
this should be projected with fun giving your team a platform to
showcase what they can do also works wonders for morale. Whether the evening attracts 20 or 200 people, be
optimistic! Each attendee has paid an entry fee and if you follow the ‘6 P’s’
will have had an enjoyable evening so expect to see this back through your client
loyalty. Even if you receive a few extra retail figures, raised money for a
local charity or filled the appointment book for January, it was an all-round
success.
