More Than An Extra Day: Leap Year Salon Promotions

Oh, Leap Year–the baffling extra-day that appears on our calendars every four years on the 29th of February. It’s kind of a strange concept, but equally as fascinating! And now you might be asking yourself…as a business owner, why should I care?

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A Leap Day is the ultimate limited-time offer. The day alone presents scarcity, exclusivity and urgency, some of the best marketing tactics all rolled up into one. You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity this month presents to boost your bottom line. Read on as we share our favorite fun promotional ideas and marketing tactics for this 2020 Leap Year.

An obvious and easy promotion to run is to save 29% on select services or for new customers if you make an appointment on or before February 29th. It’s a fun play on the date and gives old clients a reason to get back into the salon and new clients a reason to come check out your space!

Slow moving inventory? Products on the shelf that are starting to collect dust? Here’s your answer to move retail this month: collect all old or slow moving products and sell them for, you guessed it…$29 or 29% off!

This same idea can apply to certain services or treatments that you want to push or have extra inventory for. Utilize this sale in a way that will best serve your salon and boost your bottom line.

Green + Anchor Salon, San Diego, CA, @greenandanchorsalon

An extra day means 24 extra hours to do anything you please. It’s one more day of extra opportunity, another day where anything can happen.

With February being the month of love and our focus this month on breaking the self-care stigma, a great marketing campaign to run is one centered around “24 extra hours to….”. Fill in the blank! To get your hair done, to treat yourself, to focus on you. We haven’t had this extra time for the past 3 years, so if clients need a touch-up ASAP or haven’t found the time to show themselves attention and love, February 29th is the day of no excuses.

Ame Salon, Portland, OR, @amesalonpdx

All Leaplings (aka the .05% of the population born on February 29th) need a little extra love considering their birthday only comes around every 4 years! You can treat anyone that has a birthday on the 29th to a complimentary service, product or deal available just for them.

Since it is fairly rare, you may or may not have any Leaplings in your area. As an alternative and to get more people involved in the ‘holiday,’ you can run some type of contest or poll on your social media accounts. Who knows the most Leaplings? What have you done on past Leap Days? Pick the highest number or most interesting answer to win.

This is another great promotional tactic to get inventory off the shelves. It’s a fun themed buy one, get one free discount that plays even more so to client’s sense of urgency–this day rolls around once every four years, so you better snag your favorite holistic hair care item before it’s gone!

You can always put restrictions on the free product offered, such as it has to be a Travel Size or has to be from a certain line, etc. so that the sale works specifically for your salon.