National Hairstylist Appreciation Day 2016!

It’s that time of year again, the day that is celebrated nationally, recognising the hard work and commitment of all the great stylists out there – its National Hairstylist Appreciation Day! For those of you who followed our news page last year, you may remember that we shared our top 21 points that we need to thank our hairdressers for (and if you didn’t catch that, here’s the link http://bit.ly/1Ag8zqh ). This year, we’ve opted for something a little different. As National Hairdressers is celebrated on April 30th each year, we thought that we’d post a little earlier this time, giving you guys some ideas as to how you can celebrate it in the salon and also, use it to promote your business as well! So, here goes…

Appreciation Day Event

The great thing about this year is the national day falls on a Saturday, which is brill in terms of the custom that you would have in on a weekend and also, a fab day to host an event! Advertising your event is also easy, for all of you who are already on Facebook, create an events page which is free to do and list the details to all of your followers. If you have salon software, send out a bulk SMS or email campaign, for a small price you can target hundreds of clients and see the return across the weekend. If neither of the above apply to you, you have always got the traditional paper marketing method, send out postcards to your clients’ addresses, places like Vista print usually have great deals on and it’s often nice for a client to receive something through the post- as it’s quite a rarity nowadays!

Event ideas; you could have a champagne reception for all clients on arrival, with a non-alcoholic equivalent for the kids and some sweets or cupcakes? You could do a re-booking offer, where if customers re-book that day they receive a small discount on their next appointment. Or even run a ‘specials list’ across the weekend, where certain treatments are a cheaper value for ‘one weekend only.’ They are just a few ideas but obviously, you guys will know what has worked well for you in the salon before so National Appreciation day is another excuse to throw another fantastic event!

Goody Bags

A way to recognise the celebration and also, a way to 1. Make clients feel valued and 2. Promote your own treatments & retail products. Some of the beauties of salon goody bags are that you can hand out product samples to prompt clients to buy next time and also, include vouchers or money-off coupons to persuade them to book further treatments. You can get gift bags personalised for a small cost on eBay or on paperbagco, which not only makes the bag feel more luxury, it also increases brand awareness.

Rewards

For any salons that currently have a reward or loyalty scheme, why not create a one-off reward for clients based on the national event. It could worth as little as £5.00 or 10% off. The message could be something like; “We’re celebrating national hairstylist appreciation day & we’d like you to join us…book before <whichever> date to receive £5.00 off your next treatment?” If you push something like this to clients, especially those of you who currently have a mobile app or an SMS marketing feature, you are likely to see return pretty quickly as the message will be received instantly!

Competition

Always a great one to generate brand awareness and a bit of fun between clients. Set up some rules that clients have to abide by to enter, for example it may be £1.00 to enter their details, then all the money generated you could put towards the winning client having a treatment or perhaps vouchers for somewhere- good for any of you salons that team up with other local businesses in the area. Alternatively, you could host a free competition, by adverting this on your social media sites and getting clients to take part by commenting their names below. Another great idea, to boost some team morale, why not host a little competition between you and your colleagues? Up the price of entry a little bit, say £5.00 and depending how big your salon team is, contribute some of the money towards a team night out and the rest towards a little gift for the winner!

Happy Hairstylist Appreciation Day, we hope you have lots of fun celebrating! And to our own hairdressers…here’s to you, thank you!

Salon Tracker x

How you can support ‘Earth Day’ in the salon…

We all know how important it is to recycle and to be as economical as possible within our day-to-day routines, however on April 22nd 2016 the nation will celebrate ‘Earth Day’. It is a day to stress to everyone the importance of looking after the environment, our natural surroundings and also to remind people of the ways in which they could contribute further to looking after our planet. What with global warming on the rise, Earth day is designed to unite the population in how we can all work together to become more Eco-friendly!

So, some of you who have followed our news page for a while may remember that last year we shared a few ideas on how you can ‘be green’ and improve your daily tasks to become more economical. Today we’re going to specialise this purely to salons, as for you guys as business owners and therapists, some of the main improvements could be made whilst you’re at work. Here goes…

1. The obvious one, RECYCLE! Where ever you can, try your best to re-use or renew recyclable materials. Shampoo bottles can be refilled, product packaging can be recycled and delivery boxes can be used for storage.

2. Buy fair trade compliments such as tea, coffee & biscuits…hey they might be a little pricier but at least you know that you’re doing your bit to help.

3. Car share with other fellow employees or if home is within distance, walk to work! Cut down on carbon gasses and also get a bit of exercise out of it, win win!

4. Invest in low energy lighting, the bulbs last longer and they use less electricity than normal ranges!

5. Cut down on the amount of paper that you waste and if you need paper, make sure to buy a recycled batch. Or, even we can help out here…say goodbye to wasting paper completely and invest in our Salon Software! :D We are aware that this will increase the electricity usage, but if you have thousands of clients, it’s surely got to be better than wasting a bit of paper per every client that you have!

6. Do away with disposable towels and use normal cotton ones. Again, this will increase water waste but if you ensure that you only use the washer when there is a full load, then this must be helping save on disposable waste and improve the management of that!

7. Buy natural ingredient products wherever you can, for example soaps in the kitchen or bathroom areas, or even certain cleaning products. Obviously, being in a salon the majority of your beauty products/hair dyes won’t be primarily natural ingredients and this 100% can’t be helped, but by investing in the above products mentioned then at least you are contributing a little bit!

8. Decorate your salon with eco-friendly trimmings! Plants and natural flowers are a great one here, or stones and sand accessories. These will also create a clean feel to your salon which is always a winner with clients!

9. Watch your salon heating! Only have it on when necessary and keep it to room temperature rather than over exceeding.

10. Make sure to switch plugs off, lights off and don’t leave anything on stand-by, not only are you cutting down on energy waste you are also chopping down your electricity bill!


Salon Tracker x

Do you want to improve your tanning business with Salon Software?

So, for all of you who have followed our news page for a while you may remember that around this time last year we shifted our focus on to the safety and security of tanning salons. As we approach the desirable time for tan-lovers again, we thought that we would re-visit this and remind you guys of why Salon Tracker Software can really help to improve the safety, security and efficiency of your tanning business.

Business Security

A main gripe that we found last year was that a lot of tanning salon owners were noticing that their reports from sunbed usage weren’t matching up vs their client record cards. Our salon software eliminates the chance of any miscellaneous minutes, meaning that it accurately tracks all client usage and records this on their digital client card- no more mystery minutes! Business security is improved with our T-Max timer integration, as our software integrates with the timers and tracks client usage exactly as it is, meaning that all sunbed minutes are accounted for and there is no way that a sunbed could be used maliciously, as minutes must be assigned to one person at any time.

Efficiency and Organisation

Our software encompasses a seamless welcoming process for clients, in which in a tanning salon is something that is very beneficial when it comes to the registration process, as you know that every client must be over 18 to tan. Salon Tracker stores all client information under one digital record card, meaning that your salon can become paperless. This also includes disclaimers, as our software has the ability to link up with an electronic signature pad that can be used to sign the disclaimers that will then remain on the customers’ digital record card- no more searching through realms of documents!

Safety and Legality

As we have just mentioned about all clients needing to be over 18 before they can use the sunbed, how can you be sure that you completely eliminate fraudulent behaviour? Our client cards come with password protection so that a customer has to input a 4 digit pin in order to open their client card and book on to a sunbed. However, you do still have that small chance of a client telling a friend the pin and that person may still be under 18, therefore you then have the unfortunate risk of a person using the sunbed illegally. To completely eliminate this, we offer a fingerprint recognition feature where a client’s fingerprint is saved on their record card and only by the presentation of that matching fingerprint are they then able to book on to a sunbed.

Salon Management When Absent

In the past, we have had a couple of Salon owners mention that certain staff members were using the sunbeds for free in their manager or boss’s absence. We have now introduced a ‘HQ’ feature where salon owners can access reports, Salon Activity and staff rotas from home. This being especially useful for tanning businesses with multiple sites, as it can prove to be difficult to keep track of salon happenings at each location throughout any one day. Our enterprise software package also includes a ‘Siteview’ feature that means the same reports can be accessed on the move via a mobile phone or tablet.

So, does this sound like it could help you? For more information why not enquire in to a FREE demo & trial of our software http://bit.ly/RGeGVd or call and speak to a member of our team on 0113 350 8230.

We look forward to hearing from you.


Salon Tracker x

Salon Tracker Software; Tips for 'Spring-stepping' in to Wedding Season!

HAPPY SPRING guys! We absolutely love this season change in particular because it officially means- bridal season (as you can probably tell our marketing team is all female!) We just love seeing all of the hair and beauty looks on social media and seeing all of the new promotions everybody offers. Wedding season is really a great opportunity to capitalise on in the salon industry because every bride (and groom!) wants to look their absolute best on their big day and of course where there is preparation, there is success!

For any bride, especially on her wedding day, it’s absolutely imperative to look 10/10, which is why the preparation and glam squad joining her have to be absolutely on point. On the most important day of her life, she is looking for the WOW factor, which is why below we have detailed alllll the points where you can absolutely nail the marketing with wedding season approaching.

· Marketing- Coming from a salon software point of view, your marketing has to be in tip top shape! Are you engaging with clients and giving them incentive to give you the nudge when they have a friend who is getting married? Nowadays, every business is marketing so you need to give your client reason to choose you, perhaps a complimentary treatment.

· Don’t just focus on the big day- as we mentioned above wedding planning can be a long process, as can new habits and changes in the skin. You need to educate your clients and ensure them that over time, differences will appear in the way they feel and look with investment and commitment. Being a bride is no quick fix situation! Another good point is to remember your bride will have a hen party or engagement that you could potentially up-sell to using group packages.

· Get the groomsmen involved!– There’s more to a wedding day than the bride (I know we don’t get it either). Offer to cater for the male too in terms of shaving and waxing services, or to provide for his skincare for the day. If you have a great brand you use within retail products, why not recommend this. Most males nowadays are extremely open to treatments and services at the salon.

· Online Visibility- For brides, a big part of preparation is research. When they are scouting around researching their options, you need to ensure you are there for them to fall upon. Do you have a website and social media page? Is your website mobile optimised? Are your bridal packages all online with the prices? It’s one thing getting your clients to view you online but it’s another thing getting them to reach out and make that call. Have you thought about targeting your search on Facebook to find ‘engaged’ couples in your area? A great way to get in front of those to be married!

· Imagery Enticement- people aren’t going to come to you without seeing a few reviews; both verbal and visual. They want to see some inspiration with regards to wedding hair, makeup, tan and nails- are your services for them? It could be worth asking your brides and their photographers for professional pictures from their big day to publish on your site for that look of professionalism! 

· Networking- Are you speaking with other wedding suppliers such as photographers, planners and florists? Do they attend bridal fares for customers- how do they get their customers? Speak to them, they are not your direct competition so are probably willing to help or even partner up, if this is something you would consider doing.

· Trust- is crucial and what better way to establish this than with a heart to heart over a nice cup of English tea. Find out about the individual and offer a consultation. Be open about the products, style and techniques you use and what you would recommend for her judging on her appearance, makeup, face shape etc on what you have witnessed so far. You could also offer a bridal beauty checklist, which is a great way to find out their current skin type, body or hair concerns. For example, do they want to build on their natural nails or grow their eyebrows? How can you help them with this? She must feel your priority and know she can trust you to make her look her best on her big day.

· Complimentary Consultation- if you can justify it, don’t charge your bride to be for the consultation. Your sales skills and using all of the above tips should help you out with winning her custom, but not paying for a consultation means two things; you are confident in what you can and will offer, and also, you are looking for the right look and feel for her on this occasion- even if that means trying out a couple of techniques.

· Look and act professional!- This is the most understated tip of the century. If someone turned up late to a consultation, who is to say it won’t happen on your big day? Traffic, the kids playing up, whatever it may be, avoid it at all costs. Be over punctual and over prepared- always! Looking good is also imperative. You are selling your visual skills so who better to model this than yourself.

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