Jacqueline Oliphant, a freelance manicurist, makeup artist, cosmetologist, barber, and contributing author for Milady’s Standard Nail Technology, shares her “top 10” for how to get more brides in your salon. Summer wedding season will be here before you know it, so this is a great time to start brainstorming your promotional ideas (plus, many brides like to lock their beauty services in several months ahead of time).

1. Create a marketing and/or promotional plan within your personal and business plan.
2. Start seasonal bridal nail services and create a special menu for it.
3. Create a means of communicating your bridal nails through social media outlets.
4. Begin conversations about your bridal nail services in person, e-mails, advertising, and blogs.
5. Build a specific niche to cater strictly to the bridal nail service market locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally.
6. Be the go-to nail specialist or nail salon for bridal nails.
7. Attract bridal nail business with unique services, like designing a collection of bridal nail art.
8. Be worth the talk of the town for bridal nail services with high customer service ethics.
9. Host a beauty event to demonstrate before and after looks.
10. Market to different ethnic groups, in which weddings take place different times of the year.

As a bride-to-be, I’ll share that my biggest concern when booking hair, makeup, and nail stylists for my big day — after portfolio quality and price point — was ease of communication. I don’t want to worry about not being able to get a hold of a vendor in the days leading up to my wedding, so how promptly a vendor got back to me and how well she answered my questions was truly key in who I ultimately choose. If you work in a mid- to large-size salon that handles a lot of brides, you may want to appoint one person the “bridal liaison” to make sure all phone calls and e-mails are written swiftly.

—Sree