Deliver More Personal Client Experiences with Phorest AI
AI is changing the way businesses operate, but in the beauty and wellness industry, one thing remains true: the human touch is irreplaceable.
by Staff
Avoid the Summertime Salon Slump with These Proven Strategies
Frederick CEO Corey Kossack offers some appointment-filling strategies to owners facing a summer sales slump.
by Corey Kossack
July 13, 2017
3 min to read
Ah, summer — long days, warm temps and weekend getaways. While your customers are hitting the beach and soaking up the sun, you may be stuck inside, scrambling to fill a wide-open appointment book. If you’re not based in a beach town, it can be a challenge to reach customers when they’re away on vacation or to convince them to pass up time outdoors.
So what can you do as a salon owner or manager to continue to drive regular foot traffic and avoid the summertime salon slowdown?
Try these tips to convince customers to trade the beach and backyard for haircuts and massages:
Maintain a strong social presence. Continue to gather reviews on Facebook and Yelp so that seasonal visitors looking for services can find reliable recommendations without the word-of-mouth suggestions that they normally rely on.
Bring back former customers. Use an automated marketing tool to easily send out targeted promotions to clients, whether it’s a last-minute reduced rate for same-day appointments or custom specials based on client preferences.
Embrace text message marketing. SMS messaging is the perfect way to reach your clients while they’re out and about enjoying summer. 91% of consumers who opt in to receive SMS messages from a business see those messages as somewhat or very useful and 82% of consumers open every single SMS message they receive.
Offer online booking directly from review sites. Integrate online booking into websites like Facebook and Yelp to make it easier for visitors to make an appointment without having to click to another page.
Start summer specials and discounts. Offer summer-themed specials and promotions, for first-time and returning customers, designed specifically for summer months with special discounts to appeal to new seasonal visitors and/or regular summer clientele.
Make mid-day appealing. Use automated email targeting to tap into customer data and send relevant emails to offer discounted services during the slowest times of the day, whether that’s lunchtime, evening, or weekends.
Partner with local businesses. Establish partnerships with nearby non-competing businesses to leverage one another’s customer base. Swap promotional materials and find ways to complement each other’s services in a way that appeals to consumers.
When autumn rolls around, examine which promotions were most successful and use these insights to develop a marketing plan for the following summer. Meet with your team to discuss what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve upon the previous year.
Take control of your salon this summer and every season by listening to what your clients want, offering customized promotions, and analyzing customer data.
Corey Kossack is founder and CEO of Frederick, the marketing automation platform that helps local service-based businesses such as salons and spas fill last-minute openings, bring back lost clients, and increase revenue through personalized marketing recommendations. For more information, visit hirefrederick.com.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Technology
BeautyDeskAi Announces Official Partnership with Square to Power Smarter Salon Operations
This collaboration marks a significant step forward in streamlining operations for salons and independent beauty professionals, bringing together customer service with thoughtful intelligence.
They Predicted AI Would Make the Salon Experience Feel Robotic. The Opposite Happened.
Salon owners expected AI to deliver efficiency. What they didn't expect was what it did to their team, and what their clients started saying in reviews.
Aura 300 Enters the US Market, Bringing AI Revenue Infrastructure to American Salons
An AI platform already trusted by salons across Australia, Ireland and the UK is expanding to the United States, with a focus on the data-driven salon community.
SEO and AI: How Clients are Finding Salons in 2026
Your Instagram may introduce your salon to new clients, but it's your digital footprint that seals the deal. Dawna Jarvis walks you through how clients are discovering you online and what to do to make sure you show up.
Here’s How to Make Running Your Salon Feel Less Like Chaos
If your day-to-day feels like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole, you’re not alone. The hair and beauty industry runs on creativity and connection, but behind the scenes, it runs on systems. When you spread those systems across a few different tools (plus a couple of sticky notes and a prayer), even the best-run salons feel like they’re working twice as hard for the same results.
Millennium Systems International Introduces MeevoPay Giving, Enabling Seamless Checkout Donations
Fundraising for important industry iniatives and philanthropies just got much easier, with MeevoPay Giving, which allows salons, spas and med spas to invite guests to give at checkout.
How Salons are Using Technology to Help Improve Customer Retention
Modern tools provide practical customer retention features. Discover which software platform can help increase your return rate.
Is Your Software Underperforming? Switch it Up with Shortcuts
Your salon software is the backbone of your business. And now is the time of year to evaluate its efficiency: Is it providing the tools you need to grow? Does it improve the guest experience? How does your team interact with it? Are you happy with your software’s customer service? If you’re not getting what you need from your current software, it may be time for a switch.
Sponsored by Shortcuts Software USA
Igniting Momentum
Choosing the right technology partner with Aura Salonware drives success and elevates client and staff experiences at Trios in Fort Collins, Colorado. Plus, Owners Joe and Karen DeAnda share a marketing success story.
Aura Partners with Tippy for Integrated Tipping Options
Aura Salonware partners with Tippy, the all-in-one customer checkout kiosk that electronically send tips directly to salon or spa service providers
An App to Keep Your Team Organized and Communicating Harmoniously
Meet Salon Symphony, one of the salon technology tools profiled in our "Salon Necessity, Tech Innovation" series. This robust app combines the best features from about a dozen platforms to create the perfect tool for salon team communication.
by Stacey Soble
The Phorest MedSpa Platform Streamlines Operations, Engages Clients and Boosts Profitability
The platform delivers a 48% lead-to-client conversion and 19X ad spend return of investment in one complete operations and acquisition system.
SALON TODAY 2025 Technology Solutions Guide
Your software and technology aren’t just tools; they’re the backbone of your business. This guide is designed to help you identify the ideal software platform or technology solution to drive your salon or spa’s success.
The Surprising Role of Payments in Creating a Great Client Experience
What keeps clients coming back—and bringing their friends—is a seamless, frustration-free experience from booking to checkout. Discover how payment preferences shape client loyalty and why modernizing your payment process may be the smartest upgrade you make this year.
Sponsored by Discover/Boulevard
Powering Your Spa Concept
From financing options and memberships to dot phrasing and medical documentation, software management experts list the myriad of features you should consider as you shop for a tech partner to power your wellness concept.
by Stacey Soble
How A Barbershop's HR Team Saves 15 Hours a Month with POS Integration
The Man Shop, with 13 barbershops across three states, promises its stylists same-day payout of tips. But when the company switched its point-of-sale system, that had to be calculated manually which drained the HR team. Partnering with Flexspring, a leader in HR data integration, helped the company get back on track with their promise.