HOLIDAY GIFT CERTIFICATE PROMOS

[Bubbly!]

It's never too early!

Does anyone have any good ideas for holdiay GC promotions? For 2-3 years I've done "buy a 1 hour Swedish massage GC and receive a 15 min hot stone massage" (must be booked together). . I don't like giving discounts, I like to do added value.
I advertised online, BNI (good), color mailer (not so good) and sent out cards to clients.
It was an online promo (get the special if you buy online) as I don't have a receptionist and people show up when I am not avaibale and get mad. I did have a frined sit there the last 2-3 days before Xmas.
Any other good ideas?

 

[swimmergirl247]

you could do something like buy 1,2,3 (how ever many you decide) GCs and the purchaser receives something, like a half hour massage able to be upgraded to an hour, or free hotstone to their next massage. Reward the purchasers rather than the person getting the GC

 

[Courtney Thibodaux]

Thank you, I think it's a good idea. And I can say something like "Treat THEM and...treat YOURSELF!"

 

[Elsa84]

we're upscaling this year to not only offering the gift certificates but we're also doing wellness gift baskets with or without gift certificates. we're having a holiday open house in mid november and then will be doing another special, bringing back the open house special, later in the month and possibly again right before christmas. we're doing it this way because i learned last year that if you wait too long you miss the early bird shoppers and let's face it - if you aren't at the mall they can forget about you.

there's some good threads here about gift baskets:
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1221&highlight=gift+baskets

http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1161&highlight=gift+baskets

 

[Aziz Shobash]

ooooh on the idea of gift baskets.... put one together, with lots of stuff, wine, bath stuff, 1/2 hour massage, chocolates etc, and for every GC purchased, the purchasers name will go in for a draw for the basket.

 

[b8ee1]

I hve done similar with success. Spend so much in GC's and receive a free 1/2 hour for yourself.

 

[mickiinpodunk]

I always do the following:

Buy 5 get 5% off
Buy 10 get 10% off, etc all the way to 25

I put it in a Holiday Letter that I send out to every client I worked on that year. The Newsletter will also have a couple holiday related articles.

if anyone wants a copy let me know.

 

[jomonjimmy]

i've just finished up my orders for our gift baskets. our holiday open house is a week from tomorrow. we're doing pre-sales and deliveries to the buyer or the receiver. this will help us to know how much of an order to make so we don't end up with buying too much.

i've also found a way to have an online store, which will debut the day of the party. people can click on what they want to buy which will give them a paypal link then we will ship/deliver the pkg.

i'm looking forward to this. it's definitely a step up from last year!

oh, and i've prayed on and have set our $ goal for the holidays.

 

[Pompal 09.]

In general, we are morally opposed to offering discounts, upgrades or any kind of "bonus" during peak seasons -- holiday, Valentine's or Mother's Day.

Incentives are supposed to create purchase when you otherwise would not have purchasers. The Holiday season certainly does not qualify. It is downright amusing when people call on Valentine's Day asking what "specials" we have for couples!

Halloween candy is marked down on NOvember 1, not October 1.

First, you have to figure what the goal of your promotion is

Attracting new clients
Rewarding current clients
Creating referrals
Getting more from existing clients
Filling a slow time

and tailor your promotion accordingly.

For example...a local bike shop sells GCs at 20% off face value through Christmas, but they can only be redeemed January - April. Their goal is to get cash flow during the slow winter season, and get people to redeem/buy during the remainder of the winter, before the heavy Spring selling season.

 

[Matt W]

In philosophy, I am 100% with R&R, and for the same reasons. After all, you certainly don't see sales on roses or chocolate around Valentine's Day!

In practice, we are indeed offering an Early-Bird Gift certificate special this year, though it has a couple caveats that serve specific purposes for us. For the month of November only, save 10% on all GC totals of $200 or more, and must pay by cash (no checks). However, this special ends promptly on the last day of the month. All GCs have a 1-year expiration, which means that they'll be redeemed before the peak December through April season.

Hugs!
~Jyoti

 

[daddyzlilangel.......x]

I believe I saw the light after a post last year, probably from R&R lol I did used to discount GC during the holidays, but it does not make sense. I still have people trying to haggle me down, though! Instead I may offer a special service for the holidays (not at a discount, though)

 

[Mr. Systemic Autistic]

Other businesses seem to always be discounting at the holiday season. If RelaxandRejuvinate's no discounting at the holidays holds water, then why do other businesses discount for Christmas? After all... people are going to buy holidays gifts whether they are on sale or not regardless if they are buying a massage or a toaster.

Face it, at Christmas time, spas are competing with all the stores and any other business which sells a lot of gift certificates at Christmas time. If a spa's average gift certificate sale per client is $75, why not encourage gift certificate buyers to spend $100 on a specially priced package which regularly goes for $125? This works well if you have a package which has a lot of value added services worked into a basic service and doesn't add a tremendous amount of time to a service nor does the product you may be using cost a lot. Paraffin treatments and scrubs work well for something like this.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Other businesses seem to always be discounting at the holiday season. If RelaxandRejuvinate's no discounting at the holidays holds water, then why do other businesses discount for Christmas? After all... people are going to buy holidays gifts whether they are on sale or not regardless if they are buying a massage or a toaster.

Because toaster sellers are in a different business.

Retailers make money on sales/sq foot of space they rent. The more they sell, the more they make. If discounting 20% sells 50% more toasters, then they will do it all year round -- and pretty much do.

the Spa industry is a capacity based - hence capacity constrained - business model, sort of like hotels and airlines. You can only do X # of appointments a day/week/month/year, so you are trying to get the maximum price per hour/seat/room.

You can do 1,000 appts a year at $50 or you can do 750 a year at $75 -- either way you make the same amount of money. One is a lot more work than the other, but selling that many more toasters is relatively easy in terms of the employee effort put forth.

Also, gifts that are in demand - or in short supply - do not get discounted. By definition, a capacity-constrained industry is in short supply and should only discount to fill unused capacity. Look at when airlines do their fare sales...not during the holiday travel season, Spring Break or the Fall busienss travel times. Cheapest night at a hotel is Sunday -- the weekenders have all gone home and the business travellers have not yet arrived.

If someone is deciding between a toaster and a spa GC as a gift, I don't think the recipient is likely to be a long term customer. So why discount a one-timer?

 

[brawlmania(luis)]

i'm thinking discounts or package deals = more $$ spent by the consumer

 

[googly eyes]

I am also going to put a little sticker on each GC that says something along these lines:

Redeem during your birth month - and receive a free paraffin dip (sample, mini hot stone treatment, dry brushing etc.)

Otherwise they wait until the last moment and come in at once (I had someone wanting to come in on Xmas Eve b/c that's when their GC expired). It already started. I have so many GC's this week I barely have time for other clients!

I will also expire all Xmas GC's on January 31 of the next year - to give them even more time to use the GC.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Buy 3 gift cards for an hour massage @ $65.00 each and get a free massage for yourself. The gift cards must be given to and used by new clients only.

I think it is too good of a deal though because I have sold a few already. I've decided not to advertise it in my next newsletter.

 

[Aero]

i've just finished up my orders for our gift baskets. our holiday open house is a week from tomorrow. we're doing pre-sales and deliveries to the buyer or the receiver. this will help us to know how much of an order to make so we don't end up with buying too much.

i've also found a way to have an online store, which will debut the day of the party. people can click on what they want to buy which will give them a paypal link then we will ship/deliver the pkg.

i'm looking forward to this. it's definitely a step up from last year!

oh, and i've prayed on and have set our $ goal for the holidays.

Where did/do you order your gift baskets from?

 

[M T]

i've just finished up my orders for our gift baskets. our holiday open house is a week from tomorrow. we're doing pre-sales and deliveries to the buyer or the receiver. this will help us to know how much of an order to make so we don't end up with buying too much.

i've also found a way to have an online store, which will debut the day of the party. people can click on what they want to buy which will give them a paypal link then we will ship/deliver the pkg.

i'm looking forward to this. it's definitely a step up from last year!

oh, and i've prayed on and have set our $ goal for the holidays.

Where did/do you order your gift baskets from?

i think i may have written that wrong - i get my baskets from local places here: old time pottery, hobby lobby, etc. i ordered bath salts, eye pillows to go in them, gift certificates, and we made customized massage oils and bath oils to go in them. we've just put them all together and when i can i'll post pics. they've turned out so nicely! the open house is tomorrow.

 

[misuti]

i've just finished up my orders for our gift baskets. our holiday open house is a week from tomorrow. we're doing pre-sales and deliveries to the buyer or the receiver. this will help us to know how much of an order to make so we don't end up with buying too much.

i've also found a way to have an online store, which will debut the day of the party. people can click on what they want to buy which will give them a paypal link then we will ship/deliver the pkg.

i'm looking forward to this. it's definitely a step up from last year!

oh, and i've prayed on and have set our $ goal for the holidays.

Where did/do you order your gift baskets from?

i think i may have written that wrong - i get my baskets from local places here: old time pottery, hobby lobby, etc. i ordered bath salts, eye pillows to go in them, gift certificates, and we made customized massage oils and bath oils to go in them. we've just put them all together and when i can i'll post pics. they've turned out so nicely! the open house is tomorrow.

Oooh, they sound GREAT!!!

 

[Bonzo]

I understand what some are saying about not discounting gift certificates during our 'peak' season of selling. However, this is my personal take on this issue.

I do not yet have what I consider to be a full practice. I could very comfortably see 5 more clients each week, and that is my goal. I am in a city where you open the phone book and see over 100 listings for therapeutic massage, and there are easily over 200 people offering bodywork in town. While I would love to get my full rate for each and every session (or in this case GC sold) I might compromise to get new clients.

Each holiday season the majority of gift certificates sold (close to 90% for me) are existing clients purchasing for people who will be new clients. I feel that by offering a 'special' for the holidays, it entices clients to buy an extra gift certificate or two thus resulting in more possible exposure to new clients. Now, I will admit that many of these clients are one time only clients. However, it is more people who experience my work and more people in the area who know me. It also helps bulk up my mailing list. Those who come back to see me become far more valuable than the $20 I may have lost discounting my gift certificates for the holiday. Plus, I find that many of those who redeem gift certificates tend to tip a bit more; often making up for the 'lost' income from the discount.

I also like to take into account the gift certificates which never get redeemed. Over the past year, approximately 17% of my gift certificates sold have not been redeemed. With this being pure profit in my pocket, it absolutely helps off-set any 'loss' which may have occurred by discounting my rates.

As a sole proprietor, I need my business to be as profitable as possible. It's about taking advaneforum.xxxe of the holiday seasons and getting as much cash flowing into my business as possible. Offering holiday specials on gift certificates does this for me. I don't see it as being any different than offering a new client rate. Its about wanting to get new clients into my business. So, while I understand the theory of not discounting, and it may work for a spa, its actually profitable for me to discount at this time of year.

Just my $.02
Brian