Almost 99%
of appointment service providers face the off-peak problem. Customers are less
interested in beauty, health or sport services at certain times of day. Off-peak
appointments are hard-to-sell and are also known as „slow” because their income
producing capability is less intensive. What factors are behind the off-peak
phenomena and how can you make the most out of it?
Seasonality
is mix of trends, fashion, weather and all kinds of other factors. Is doing
sports currently trending? Yes, it is a fact, but the highlight is upon
running, Pilates and yoga – so sports like swimming are undervalued today.
There are two things you can do to ride that wave: always know what is trending
– keep yourself professionally updated and be flexible – try to integrate those
into what you are doing.
Payday proximity
It is
rather a beauty marketing recognition than sport or health (thanks to their
common monthly passes) that average customers tend to schedule appointments not
too far from payday (last and first few days of the month). It is not hard to
imagine that going to a spa for a relaxing, anti-aging massage or to a senior
hairdresser for a party haircut feels the best when the pocket is full. As an
appointment service provider you want to focus your opening days and hours on
this period. As for your own holidays, aim for the middle of the month.
Daily working hours
Earlier I
shared a story about a squash court owner who understood how greatly his income
is affected by his customers’ daily digesting habits. If their stomach is full
they won’t come to play a running-intensive, active sport. Not until they are
incentivized to adapt. There is one greater power than lunchtime and that is daily
working hours. On weekdays from 8am till 4pm almost 80% of potential clients
are unable to come. On weekends the Saturday mornings are the more muted times.
This leads up to an unbelievable vacancy rate at most salons and sport centers.
They are open but the lack of clients leads only to facebooking…
I have a solution
for you! Based on how far the payday spike is, try to experiment with different
opening times. Instead of being closed Sunday-Monday, occasionally try a
Monday-Tuesday “weekend”. You could serve clients who do not have time on
weekdays but can save some for the weekend better.
My
other tip would be to incentivize an alternative appointment for clients
calling you. If a new-ish client tries to set her next appointment, instead of
turning a page in your calendar to the next week, ask this: “Would you be
interested in tomorrow 10 a.m. for a 30% discount?” It is last minute, it is
off-peak but you have definitely made it more interesting with the price.
Also find him on Twitter! @reserveline
