How Salon Tracker Software can help to organise your client booking process!

So far in 2016, I’ve been to a salon once and a spa once. In all honesty I would have probably of gone more what with Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day just passing but I’ve been stalled, not to my own fault. The reason I have been unable to book in at the salon/spa is because every time I have called, I have been blocked by a ringing telephone or a voicemail service. Now the businesses I tried to access are both well established with great marketing offers and a fantastic team. I was sent some offers to my email and was really excited to book, but unfortunately, couldn’t get through to anybody. After trying once, twice, three times, I really couldn’t believe how hard it was to get booked in- which has fueled today’s blog. I wanted to offer some alternatives that I would have appreciated as a customer in order for you, our clients, to retain customers and deliver to their expectations because there really is nothing more frustrating for a customer than when they receive amazing marketing messages but have to miss out because nobody called them back.

Not everyone has a humongous budget to have a receptionist to organise, answer calls and attend to voicemails, which we completely understand. However, every salon must ensure they are offering customers an alternative to booking if they cannot attend to their needs at all times, which is where online booking comes into play.

Online booking is a great option for salons of all sizes because it can attract new customers and retain loyal customers. It is also a great way to give your customers ownership of their own bookings. Online booking is not only the future with regards to technology but it makes you, as a business, a convenient option.  Which, in turn, increases your profits.

Online booking isn’t the only option either, another option is to allow the customer to leave a voicemail. Here’s an idea of what to say… “Thanks for calling ‘YourSalonName’, we are very sorry we cannot get to the phone but we are busy in treatments at the moment. Please leave your name, number, a short message and a suitable time for us to call back in the next couple of days. We will keep trying until we reach you, in your preferred hours. Alternatively, we do offer online booking facilities at www.<yourwebsitename>.co.uk ”

A great way to win over a customer when they have met your voicemail is by assuring them that you will call them back regarding their desired appointment. The above is also a great message because you are asking them when a good time for them is to speak. Calling them at an unsuitable hour means you will potentially meet the same obstacle again. If on your call back the client doesn’t answer again, leave them a short message telling them you will try at the same time again tomorrow. If after the second time you still receive no answer, simply leave a voicemail stating you have attempted to call but have been unsuccessful and ask your client to call back when is suitable for them. This shows that you have tried to accommodate them, which in my books is a massive green tick!

Another grey area whilst on a call with your local salon or spa is the ‘options’ process. We completely understand this when there are perhaps 1 or 2 but when you have to go through a 6 answer process- what’s that about? Yes this means you are met with the correct employee but is all of this really essential? Some can be quite confusing and there’s nothing worse than waiting through options then being put on hold further- especially after a long day at work.

We know that most salons are great but this is just a frustrating past experience from one salon go-er. We really do want to attend your salon and we understand the busy times but help us out and offer that alternative. We promise to book with you and many others will too!

Salon Tracker x

Salon Tracker Software's tips for start-up salon owners...

It’s been two weeks since Professional Beauty exhibited at the Excel and what a weekend it was! We had a very busy two days meeting lots of new people including some of our current clients, which is always a great experience for us. Since all of our demonstrations are done through remote assistance, events like this are great for us to actually meet our clients, put names to faces and actually see how our product is helping them develop as a business.

This actually got me to thinking for an idea for a blog! The usual procedure when we get back into the office after a trade show is to spend the first couple of days back in the office analysing our leads. What we mean by this is reading through our notes on each demo form to see each individual’s requirements for a salon software system. This helps us to figure out what package will be most suitable for them and what kind of business they are i.e start up salon, multiple site salon owner and so on.

Today we will be concentrating on start-up salons! We noticed that we had quite a lot of traffic from first time salon owners whose main concerns were getting those initial clients, paying bills and inevitably making their business venture a success. This blog is designed to showcase some tips of what you can do to keep costs down and make your first salon a success.

Pay cheap, buy twice! - This is a statement that couldn’t be truer. Even though cutting costs in certain areas seems great at the time, you usually will reap what you sew and end up spending the same amount back. Sometimes bargain options work but do your research and always ask why things are being sold for less money. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

What products sell? - Research is so important with treatments AND retail products, we cannot stress this enough! ROI (return on investment) is incredibly important and if you aren’t successfully shifting product or selling services frequently then it’s time to re-evaluate what you offer. The point here is don’t always jump on the newest trend until you have done your research on its ability to sell- if this isn’t yet clear, bide your time.

Don’t burn the candle at both ends - The salon industry is non-stop and more than likely, you will be mostly on your feet. Being successful isn’t about working 24 hours a day and your tired energy and atmosphere will show to clients if you are working too hard. Practice what you preach and have some me time to pamper yourself mentally and physically. You need to look your best in such a visual industry because after all if you don’t, who else will?

You are never too old to learn! - Never be too proud to ask for advice or help to friends, family or even customers. Even if you are an expert beautician or hairdresser, there is likely to be something that you aren’t as familiar with, even if this is a more business based skill. You can learn something from everyone in this world and we truly believe this.

Learn to understand technology! Invest in a good salon management system and embrace social media and having a website. These are fantastic opportunities to grow your client database and also brand awareness. A management system will also help you by taking care of anything that can run digitally e.g. cashing up, staff holidays and booking appointments, which can all be done through a salon software.

Learn to find your confidence - The gift of the gab is an extremely underrated skill in this world. It enables you to network, create relationships and inject your brand with a bit of personality! Embrace this in your team in order to expand your network. Business management is just as an important skill in this industry as creativity is, so invest in yourself as much as you can.

Build a team that reflect you! Look for what you want your business to represent. Passion and creativity is extremely important but so are other transferable skills like confidence, reliability and good time management skills. Invest in those around you and enable them freedom to grow your business with you. These are the people that reflect you so if there is high turnover or upset in the salon, this should be addressed immediately.

We hope these tips helped. See you soon!

Salon Tracker x

The Topic of Smart Phones

We live in a world where checking our smart phone has become an essential part of our daily routine. According to Statista; last year’s global smartphone sales were 1423.9m units (Statista, 2016), which therefore means that this is the amount of consumers that currently own a smart device.

Their statistics also depict the total number of smartphone users worldwide from 2016 to 2019, in which for 2016; "the number of smartphone users is forecast to reach 2.08 billion." For all businesses that currently have a mobile app or that are having a mobile app installed, this indicates the size of the market in which they are targeting and therefore it seems now that it is essential for businesses to market through social channels that are accessible on smart phones. For anyone of us now in the current generation, we can’t imagine being without a smart phone, however we do remember a time when digital marketing wasn’t as essential, so how did we reach our consumers then and more importantly, what did we do with our time!

For anyone who was born in the noughties, they are accustomed to the technical advantages within the economy and this has been a normality from a young age. Whereas for people of our generation and above, we have lived to see the day where smart phones and apps have taken over the nation, however we have also experienced life before this and therefore can appreciate how smart-technology has changed the dynamics in many areas of our lives.

For those of us who have a daily commute to work on public transport, how many of your fellow commuters (and probably yourself) are occupied by their mobile throughout the journey? Next time you are on the train have a look around and see how many people are on their device. It’s quite shocking. Before this era, people would have conversations on a train, or read the newspaper, whereas nowadays even newspapers are downloadable in digital format!

What else has evolved with the advance in smart phones?

Can anyone remember a time when you would visit a local event, or a concert or gig where you wouldn’t have the urge to film some kind of footage to let others know that you were there? Can you recall a social gathering where you were actually alert for an entire moment rather than being pre-occupied with your mobile? Or perhaps you can relate to a time where you have been at a social event having a conversation with friends, and instead of everybody giving you their undivided attention, you'll notice a few breaking off to scan down their social media feeds, or to upload an 'Insta' or Snap-Chat of the current situation. It is something of the norm nowadays for people to feel the need to document to others what they are doing with their time. Some say that smart-phones have contributed to the loss of engagement in a moment, as everyone is always preoccupied. However in contradiction, many might say that smart phones crossed with the advance in social media has allowed a platform that grants people with the ability to be able to express ideas and have somewhere that they can voice their opinion, which otherwise may have remained bottled up as a thought. I think you can look at the situation and make a relation to both sides.

However having said all of this, why is it that for the majority of us smart phones are now a fundamental part of our day, and how can they contribute to the growth of a business? Social media is now one of the fastest methods of communication and also, if a company is wanting to send a message to the mass market, it is a quick and often cost-free way in which to do so, i.e. via a Facebook status, or an Instagram picture, etc. These methods of marketing are especially great for salon owners as a lot of the time, you have offers or last minute deals that you wish to notify clients of quickly and on a small budget.

Another great advantage of having a social business page is that anything you post has the opportunity to be shared to a wider audience on those social media sites. And again, in relation to smart phones, these messages can be acknowledged by your market when they are on the move, on the commute to work or even abroad.

But it does make you think, how did we manage to publicise promotions to the mass market when social media and smart phones weren’t around? Businesses still ran, and they still remained to be extremely successful even when we didn’t have these technological advances.

It is the evolving of social media and smart phones that has made the communication process between a business and their customers so much easier accessible and simply a lot faster. Before, the best methods of marketing would have been postal or perhaps cold calling, but then of course for salons who want to promote their last minute deals, a letter may have only been picked up when a client arrived home from work, and the same would have gone with cold calling to home landlines. The positive of a smart phone is that the messages are delivered instantly, contributing to a bigger return on investment with promotional offers. Even SMS marketing messages can now be jazzed up with pictures, emoji’s and the likes…something that was unheard of several years ago.

Therefore, looking at the growth in smart phone sales and social media technology, as much as we have discussed that they can preoccupy peoples attentions and have become an essential asset to day-to-day life, they have really improved business communications for lots of markets. And in terms of people posting daily updates about their social lives, this can be seen as such an advantage for businesses, as they can document company news, any upcoming offers and also promote new products at the click of a button. I think the reason there are contrasting opinions behind the impact of smart phones on the lives of people from this generation stems from the fact that we have knowledge of a time before they were around. But I guess for anyone being born in to the world as it is today, this is just normality to them and in the long run, it is a positive for business marketing and communications. Just a little topic that we wanted to have a think about and discuss...

Salon Tracker x

How to promote your salon this Mother's Day!

So we’ve got Christmas out of the way, we’ve done Pancake Day and now we’re halfway through lent (craving the chocolate that we’ve so reluctantly given up) thank god we’re half way to Easter! But, landing slightly earlier than usual this year, we have the day of all days to treat the mums, Mother’s Day! For salons, this is an easy, feminine event that you can capitalise on for those extra sales early March…just to kick off your Easter and Wedding season nicely. So what ideas do we have for you guys to give a try?

· Bulletin marketing…and by that we mean quick and to the point. The simple option here would be SMS promotions, as 9 times out of 10, your clients won’t even know the date of mother’s day and therefore by dropping them a little reminder this might just increase your chance of custom! You could equally send this via a newsletter, especially if you run these weekly, it could be your Mother’s day edition where you list all your discounts for the upcoming event.

· Competitions! Do you have social media sites? If so, a competition is a quick and easy way to, 1-generate awareness of your salon on social media, and 2-get people talking. Social media sharing is a great way to promote the salon, especially around an event and the more content you can create, the better your chance of receiving a greater social following, something that is also great for your SEO!

· Gift Wrapping Service. OK, so this would only apply to anyone who sells retail products within the salon but still, a creative add-on is always popular with the male population, as (no offence guys), sometimes shoving a present in a bag just isn’t quite good enough! So offer the chance of gift wrap either for an extra pound or even as a free good-will service. Another great way that you could utilise this is to team up with a local charity, so that all the £1’s go to your chosen fundraiser, a great chance to bag yourself some free PR and also to improve brand reputation.

· Freebie choccies or beauty product samples. Anything that will stand you out from your competition as a reminder to clients and to promote their return! It could be that for all clients who are redeeming a mother’s day treatment, they are entitled to free chocolate with their tea/coffee and they get a small beauty sample on the way out. Samples are a great way to also encourage retail investment, as a bit of a ‘try-before-you-buy’ strategy.

· Group treatments, these are a good idea if your clients are siblings to all girls and they want to treat their mum as a joint gift. For example, one offer might be 25% off for a family treatment. This could be sold as a bulk package of a particular treatment, which for example might be eye brow waxing for the beauty salons, or it could be for a massage in spa’s, or a blow-dry in hair salons, etc. etc.

· Do you offer gift vouchers or discount coupons in the salon? If so, these are always a winner when a client isn’t too sure what to get their mum and especially a good one to push to the male market! Make a point of promoting these using your SMS marketing tools or simply by raving about them on your social media statuses. You can even go back-to-basics when promoting gift vouchers, as they are a good add on to advertise at the till point or on decals around the salon. It could even be used as a little staff incentive among the team…try setting each team member a little target and run a fun competition of ‘whoever sells the most gift cards out of the team wins themselves a FREE treatment or a bottle of wine’! A good way to keep team morale boosted and also to keep those profits on the up!

We hope some of our tips come in useful to you and you have a best-selling Mother's Day!

Salon Tracker x

Q+A TIME! “Does my salon need a website?”

Hi there everyone! Today I wanted to use our blog post to conquer a question that we are asked pretty much every single working week by current clients or potential clients…“Does my salon really need a website?”

Salon Tracker is in the salon technology biz so of course we are pro a salon website! With all of the social media platforms available nowadays, it can seem a very long and costly process to set up a salon website especially when you have the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Here we wanted to state why a salon website is optimum as well as social media platforms so you really find success online. Here goes!

• Nowadays, everyone is addicted to Google. We have a cold, we want the best remedy, who do we ask? Google. We want to know the best nearby restaurant…who knows it all? You guessed it, Google. It’s the first place customers turn to when they want information on a business, which means if you aren’t there, you’re missing out on potential customers and these customers will instead stumble across your competitors. No thank you!

• Having a website offers the potential to sell treatments and retail products online through online booking and ecommerce. Salon Tracker actually can install an online booking widget on your site for customers to book online which means your calendar will be open to bookings 24/7! Online sales allow you to work outside of your typical day to day calendar which means opportunity to make more money is everywhere.

• By having an online website with some good backlinks and SEO, you can generate new customers and leads through having a website especially by offering data capture forms. Offering an educational blog with the ability to sign up is a great way to engage with potential clients before they use your services which creates an aura of professionality and trust before they become a customer. You can do this through texting or email automation- both proven to be successful!

• Having a website allows you to get media coverage if you hold an event that your local media would be interested in. Salons currently miss out on this market quite a lot if they do not have a website which is unfortunate because there is so much media opportunity for them.

• When you do create a website, you just need to ensure it is mobile optimised so your audience has a fantastic experience of your website and will definitely return. Nowadays, most people use their mobiles to access information online so if you aren’t mobile optimised you will miss the boat.

• Let’s be honest, we all love Facebook but the search just isn’t as great as Google. With Google we can access everything we need about that “term” which means it allows for more meaningful traffic.

• Even if you are the busiest of salons, you need a website to network to new people who might move into your area or to generation beneath. 

So you know you want a website, but what to put on it?

• Basic contact details and information
• Stylist/ therapist profiles and their experience and speciality
• Photos of treatments/ styles you have carried out
• Treatment list with all of the prices
• Products and brands you stock or use
• All the contact details we could wish for including a map and opening hours!

3 weeks until Professional Beauty London…why attending a trade show is useful and what you can expect from Salon Tracker Software

After our debut was so successful at the Professional Beauty North show last year, we have decided that we want to do it all again and go one step bigger with their show in the capital city! Salon Tracker will be exhibiting at Pro Beauty London on 28th/29th February 2016 and we just wanted you guys to be the first to know that we will be there with exclusive offers that are sure not to be missed.

For those of you that visited our stand at the Manchester show, we introduced a few new features and were in the process of developing a mobile web app. We are pleased to announce that the app is completed and ready for launch at the show this Feb, along with another brand new software release, that is built to be great for you guys who are the owners of multiple sites!

So, why should you visit a trade show?

Even if you’re a start-up salon and you haven’t figured everything out yet, trade shows are a great place to network with other businesses, have a look at new products and attend seminars to get good ideas for business growth.

With just 3 weeks until the show, there is still time to get your tickets. If you have already signed up, are you all prepped for the event? And have you arranged your time to ensure that you get the most out of your visit?

One thing we will say is, be sure to do your research before you attend! Professional Beauty London is held at one of the largest venues and is by far the biggest of all their events each year. Therefore downloading a map is probably one of your best ports of call before you actually attend the show, these can be obtained free from the Professional Beauty Website.

By deciding where you are going to head, you can then determine the stands that you want to visit and potentially make appointments with some of those companies. As you’ll find that even though the event is spread over 2 days, the hours fly and before you know it, you may have missed your chance of being the recipient of special discounts with exclusive brands and also, stands are busy with traffic so book where necessary to avoid queues!

Plan yourself in a few well-deserved breaks! Energy levels flag at trade shows, as everybody is constantly on the move, its go, go, go, and seating areas are limited. Make sure you have information of your surroundings so that if you do want to get away from the hustle and bustle for an hour, you have knowledge of nearby venues that you could stop off at and evaluate your day so far.

What can you expect from us on the day?

The event itself is open from 10am-6pm on Sunday and 10am-5pm on the Monday. Our team will be on stand throughout the whole of the 2 days, so any questions that you may have you can speak to one of our specialists and they will be able to give you a remote assisted demonstration of our salon software and arrange you an appointment for your free no obligation 2 week trial.

If you’re new to us, you will be able to take away free leaflets and brochures from the event. Something to give you a little bit of time to think over the prices and packages that we offer and discuss your software options with perhaps business partners or fellow technicians before you decide to purchase a package.

If you are already a current customer, why not drop by our stand and have a look at our new and upcoming releases? You are still entitled to register for a FREE ticket and therefore should take this opportunity to come down to the event and have a look what Salon Tracker has to offer.

We will be exhibiting at stand J1, and if you haven’t registered for your free ticket yet just click the link below to receive yours;

https://registration.n200.com/survey/0njm506qcs1za?actioncode=NTWO000194OBY

Keep posted over the coming couple of weeks as we will be releasing our offers over on our news page!

We look forward to seeing you there and helping you to improve your salon business!

Salon Tracker x

The lowdown on social media platforms for 2016!

Digital marketing and social in particular is now without a doubt one of the strongest contenders to grow a business successfully.  Though with being in such a digitally minded society with “72% of all internet users now active on social media” (Jeff Bullas, 2014) and so many readily available channels, it can be extremely overwhelming to know what platforms you should or could be using to grow your business successfully.

So we decided a brief social media guide is totally in order! We will briefly highlight the pros and cons of the channels we use, what platforms we recommend for your salon to consider and why! Just to state, this blog is for February 2016 so who’s to say things won’t change 6 months later. Get on the boat now because there is one thing we know to be definite about social, it is ever changing! 

Facebook 

First up! Facey B! We are going to start with Facebook and it’s PRO’S because it is, without a doubt, an absolute gold mine! It’s the dominating social media market and so it holds huge potential in terms of what it has to offer and more importantly, who it has to offer. Facebook holds the opportunity to really make your page its own and not just by changing the cover and profile picture. For Salon Tracker, we introduce the Facebook Booking Widget through Salon Tracker, with the ability to book online which holds huge potential for salons and their customers. Facebook also offers the opportunity to initiate some fantastic marketing through its paid advertising features, audience targeting and remarketing which makes them a leader in terms of audience segmentation. You really can stretch a small budget quite far whether it be to sponsor posts or to increase page likes. Just make sure you measure EVERYTHING and have reason to sponsor. 

The NEG’S- In the last couple of years, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand apart from competitors as a Facebook user and as an advertiser. There is undeniably a pay-to-play culture which means for those with little to no budget, it’s increasingly harder to beat your competitors. However, this doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find success. 

The Verdict: In 2016, Facebook will continue to grow and as Dan Noyes (Zephoria 2015) states, with “over 1.55 billion monthly active Facebook users, statistically, Facebook is too big to ignore.”

Twitter

PRO’S- What’s great about Twitter is you can really do some advanced searching and actually seek out every client who is looking for a business like yours! It’s also a great tool to network with people through favouriting, commenting and sharing. For businesses, Twitter requires someone to monitor it all the time. If you can facilitate this, you can potentially find great success. Images and hashtags do very well on Twitter, which is great for the salon industry. It really allows you to stretch your information onto other people’s networks, and quite easily. A tip with Twitter is to keep up to date with what’s actually trending- a great way to boost engagement and followers!

NEG’S- Twitter has had its fair bit of backlash in 2015. It had been on the rise for a few years and then suddenly plateaued, which leads to question where your clients disappeared to? There are only so many characters you can ‘tweet’ within when using Twitter- which can be a nightmare. 

The Verdict: Twitter is a great network, if it’s understood! We recommend it more for individuals, but businesses can make it work- you just have to have your brand personality and voice nailed! If you have this then with some persistence you will find success!

Instagram

Insta is Facebook’s little sister… so let’s start with the PRO’s. Instagram is on the up, up, up! It’s one platform that has huge potential and will inevitably continue to grow, especially with the Facebook strategy as its example leader. Instagram is such a smooth platform and of course very visual, which keeps its users enticed. As long as Instagram continues to grow the ability to network, then it will continue to see success. Instagram is great if you engage a lot with clients, so we’re talking client pictures, testimonials, quotes of the day… if you can use all of the above then you are likely to find someone who wants to listen to your noise!

NEG’S- Instagram have very strict guidelines in terms of copyright when reposting other people’s content.  Another “issue” is that Instagram is a perfect world with perfect expectations. Your clients want to see the absolute bees knees, the best filters, the best designs! Which means, you are expected to offer high quality content as a minimum expectation. If you aren’t up to the challenge of how much time you will spend on Instagram, then this might not be the platform for you!

The Verdict: Instagram is a must for salons... there's no doubt about it! It's the best engaging platform there is because its all about the likes to grow!

Pinterest

Pinterest is an interesting one so let’s start with the PRO’S! Pinterest is female dominated which means hair, beauty, tanning, spa pins are second to none.  Another great thing about Pinterest is that your followers will see your pins without you needing to pay to play and without them needing to follow you directly. Pinterest has some great inspiration from salon décor to salon marketing inspiration so even if you do not nail the market, you may find success on there by accessing all of the little treasures it has.

THE NEG’S- Pinterest can be a bit of a “wish list” platform as opposed to a direct buy, which is the kind of atmosphere it creates. 

The Verdict: Pinterest is great for inspiration which we stand by. Whether you find success or not is another story but what you will get is more creative ideas which will helpfully grow your business in the best ways possible.

LinkedIn

Last but not least- LinkedIn! Let’s start with the PRO’S! This platform was definitely built for networking, which is what we love. The opportunities you have to to connect with companies and people is uncapped. If you have a personal profile and are looking to build your business by accessing suppliers and new industries- it’s fantastic! There is nothing to stop you creating a company page to showcase your salon.

The NEG’S- We’re yet to be convinced of an SMALL salon’s need to use LinkedIn but being optimistic, the opportunities can always be created!

The Verdict: We're on the fence with the advertising opportunities HOWEVER, successful networking is one of the most important skills you will learn as an entrepreneur and where better to meet your peers and salon suppliers? They are all here!

And that’s it! We hope you got loads out of this blog for now but like we said remember social is ever changing! If you have liked what you read then why not come visit us at Professional Beauty London, where Salon Tracker will be exhibiting our Salon Management Software! It’s at the Excel Arena on February 28/29 2016. This event is set to have all of the biggest names in the trade making an impact on business through new sales and seminars. Think of your business beyond the day to day and act now! Get your FREE ticket to PBL right HERE!

Sources:
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2014/01/17/20-social-media-facts-and-statistics-you-should-know-in-2014/
https://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/