Effective Ways to Utilise a Quiet Period in the Salon

Over the past few weeks, we have discussed ways in which to capitalise on Christmas, how to promote in the lead up to it and also how to reward your staff during busy peak seasons. What a contrasting time January is, where business is much quieter and actually you may need a few marketing tips to generate sales in a time where they’re not as guaranteed as they were back in December.

And maybe this isn’t just a time to create sales & new customers, this could also be a time to refresh your salon interior, update your services list and even re-evaluate your company prices. Competitor research is key here to understanding what else is on offer to your clients in the surrounding area and how it is that you can compete with these businesses.

Back to restoring those sales. Rewarding your loyal clients is a number one priority here, as many of them will have spent quite a lot with you over the Christmas period and may be feeling the back-lash of their Christmas spending throughout Jan. But, a great market space for you to sweep in with some promo materials that number 1 - make the client feel valued and number 2 - fill those start of the year calendar gaps. If you are a current software user of ours, great, as you can use our marketing suite to filter out your best-spending clients from November & December. You can then have a look at those clients’ history logs to see what it is they were buying from you over the festive period and also what services they purchase from you regularly. This provides you with an indication of the types of offers that you could promote, especially if there is a pattern with certain popular services. Something like "20% off <certain treatment> before 31st Jan would work, or "visit us in Jan and get your next booking half price"? Throw a little freebie sample in there and this is sure to boost some sales!

VIP event nights are another great way to re-attract clients, and also another way to increase your customer database if you recommend that clients bring along a friend. The aim of the event could purely be to sell as many retail products as possible, and you may offer a couple of treatment tutorials or mini-services throughout the night. Whichever it is, by creating something as a ‘VIP’ event, this instantly makes a client feel rewarded for their custom with you and also elevates their client status by referring to them as 'VIP', as it creates reason for them to hopefully keep spending a lot more with you in the future.

Now we’ve talked about clients that visit you a lot, but what about clients who you haven’t seen for a while? Maybe this is a good opportunity to reach out to those customers and try to get them back-in, especially as in Jan everyone’s social calendars are a bit quieter and we are all in need of a bit of a pamper-month.

With the Salon Tracker marketing suite, you can search for your customers that haven’t visited you in a while with our targeting filters and then maybe it is that you come up with a welcome-back offer to persuade them to revisit? This initially might be something as simple as offering them a free consultation and then 10% off their next booking if they come for a consultation in Jan. These mini 15-20 minute consultations then fill up any smaller calendar gaps that you may have, get some older-faces back in the salon and equally, to an outside view, make the salon seem much busier as well.

Running back over refreshing your salon décor, not only does this create uplifting energy for staff by having everything renovated, it also gives you something to talk about on social media - think of it as a little FREE PR technique. You could write a blog post about 'why you chose to renovate the salon', or simply shout about it on your Facebook & Twitter feeds; “head down to <salonname> to see our beautifully new decorated salon”. Post some Instagram photographs of it, throw a little Champagne/Prosecco reception in there and you’ve created yourself some PR and an event out of it!

Finally, reward the staff! You and your team will have worked extremely hard and around the clock over Christmas, and so what a lovely way to recognise everyone’s achievements during January. Organise a team day out, an evening meal or even just a fuddle at the salon. Team morale is the core of a business and therefore using your quieter months to boost this is a great way to keep your staff, as well as your clients, happy.


Salon Tracker x

PS...we're exhibiting at Professional Beauty London! To register for your FREE ticket click here http://bit.ly/2jBRDdb 

Why is customer service so important and how to be on top of that

Customer service is probably the most important part of any business that deals with clients on a regular basis. Your brand always depends on customer service. Without customers you wouldn’t be able to run your business after all. Good or poor service therefore can highly impact the success of your salon.

“To over-deliver in service to a customer is by far the most valuable thing to a business. Because there are only two ways to improve the operations of a business: increase sales or decrease costs” (Daymond John).

This not only applies to new salons that are just starting out, but any other well established salon that wants to grow their business. Not only is excellent customer service the perfect solution to improve client retention, it also works wonders for referrals and positive reviews. Happy, regular customers are more likely to tell their friends and family about their experience. This is a great way of direct marketing and results in new, loyal customers. Good customer service builds trust and loyal customers. This doesn’t only apply to salons, but many other businesses such as retailers. When clients acquire a product they want to feel that their needs and concerns are being understood. These days people will only stay loyal to a company if they have very good reason to and if they get offered a better service than at other places. There is plenty of competition and choice for customers and therefore businesses have to up their game in order to stand out. Customer service plays a big part in keeping existing customers and acquiring new ones. By providing the best in customer service, you will increase trust and that could mean the difference between loyal customer and the ones that will leave. So what can you do to improve customer service at your salon and be on top of the game? Here are five tips how you can be on top of it:

Motivate staff with rewards

This could be a special ‘Excellent Customer Service’ commission scheme. Ask customers for a review after their appointments. This can be in store, online or via the SMS Tool on the Salon Tracker system. Ask on a scale of 0-10 how likely they would recommend your salon to their friends, based on their experience with <insert staff name here> and ask why they gave that score. Don’t shy away from even negative reviews, because you can learn from them too. Through this method you can easily keep track of what customers think of individuals as well as the whole salon. You can integrate extraordinary services in monthly/quarterly staff meetings and reward staff member with little gifts or a day off. This will motivate other staff members to keep going with excellent service, in order to be eligible for a reward.

Listen to feedback & emphasise

Sometimes if a customer is dissatisfied they just want to be heard. Show them you understand their concerns. If they have a valid reason for a complaint then obviously take it serious and do everything in your power to fix it. Even if it wasn’t necessarily your fault, try to apologise. That way, if the customer feels unhappy, a simple apology often goes a long way and they feel satisfied that it is taken seriously, but try to avoid accepting responsibility. Tell the customers what you are going to do to sort out their problem. You can even offer them a discount on their next visit if you are worried about losing certain customers. Giving clients a simple way to give you feedback on their visit is fundamental to improving salon customer care. This way you keep well informed what customers enjoy and what doesn’t work that well.

Everything matters –even the small things 

If you can think of a unique way to make sure new clients enter the door and existing ones keep coming back then why not add something special for them that no one else does in the area. Your customer experience is what differentiates your salon from other competitors in your area. Everything counts when you’re creating outstanding client service – no matter how small or big your gestures are. Why not take a few minutes aside to think about things you can all improve and work on. You can have a look at your welcome are for example, making sure it’s well stocked with different magazines and activities for children. Maybe offer your guest a selection of little chocolates they can help themselves to while waiting. Or you can set up a little pampering station in the guest toilets. Why not offer some nice hand lotion they can try out and if they like it you can also promote retail sales at the same time. The little things may not seem important to you, as you don’t actively get involved with the customer but if your customers feel comfortable they are more likely to enjoy their overall experience. Remember happy customers create revenue.

Monitor your customer service

There is always time to reflect and improve, in order for success of your business. You can take specific time off during the week or month to reflect and to look at the little things to improve. This doesn’t have to take long. Even if you set 30 mins aside each month to focus on customer service, it will pay off in the long run. Many salons come up with an annual Action Plan in January to plan ahead for the year and to also underline how they want to improve their business. This is a great way to get everyone involved, reflect on the previous years and to look at statistics. Salon Tracker can help you with specific business reports whether you’re looking at profit, best spending customers or when your salon is busy/quiet. This not only helps with your marketing but also can assist you to determine when you have to take extra care of your customers.

Notice your customers

It all starts with a smile… How many times does a customer enter a busy salon and gets ignored for a few minutes before actually getting greeted. Salons should have a 30 second rule from when someone enters the store to being noticed by staff. A quick hello or smile in their direction will do the trick. Make sure they are aware you have seen them. Even if you’re busy with a client just smile in their direction or offer a quick “I’ll be with you in a minute”. Most customers will understand if you are busy and that you will be available as soon as you're done. If you have a receptionist, then make sure she/he is aware of this. Successful salons make sure their receptionists do this. 

So if you’re interested in building a growing business and revenue, over a long-term period, then customer service should be your top priority. To differ from your competition it will take work and you’ll have to put effort in. Find out what your customers want and offer it to them in your own unique way.

Salon Tracker x

Hello 2017!

Hello, hello, hello and Happy New Year! A BIG welcome back from all of us here at Salon Tracker, we hope you all had a fantastic Christmas with family & friends and managed yourself some well-deserved ‘me-time’ in and among handling the festive bustle in the salon.

So, a fresh New Year, a new start and business is probably a bit quieter now for you, so what a great time January is to get thinking and planning for the coming months. Maybe have a look at some new improvements for the salon? From décor, to introducing new treatments, to refreshing your marketing strategies, this is the month to do it and also we have loads of tips in our past blog posts to help you along the way, here’s a few below that you may wish 

to take a look at;

Does my Salon Need a Website?

Our Social Media Tips for Salon Owners

Why are Salon Reviews Important?

If you don’t have software already then maybe this is the time that you want to look in to how a software package could help you to progress through this year much smoother? Want a bit of inspiration, then you may want to check out our blog here about how our salon software can help to create a seamless client journey and make business management much easier for you.

Or if you’re already a current customer of ours then have a look at our latest software enhancements, and maybe you could look at upgrading your software feature set?

Saying that, what are our latest features and what can you expect from Salon Tracker in 2017?

If you didn’t know already, we are exhibiting at Professional Beauty London in February this year and therefore are releasing some new features show-ready for any of you that are visiting, so be sure to keep posted on our news feed for what's is coming up! Fancy coming along, then register for your FREE ticket here and head down to join us, we'd love to meet you!

Our most recent features however are the launch of the salon-branded mobile app, which is fantastic for salon businesses, and its clients, in ensuring that online booking is still accessible even when business doors are closed. This makes the business profitable 24/7 and enhances a salon's online profile, not to mention ensuring that it is keeping up with the ever-changing technological advances. Alongside this, we have introduced the ability for salon owners to view activity and business from the comfort of their own home, through our HQ and Homeview features. Making business management much easier, especially for those of you who are owners of a multi-site business and find it a constant struggle to split your time across multiple locations.

If you want to do a bit of Marketing or hold some promotional events, we have introduced 'Happy Hour' which means you can set offers & discounts throughout certain times of the day to entice clients to come and spend with you in your quieter periods. A great advertising technique for Jan! With this we have also recently introduced client groupings, meaning you can create certain discounting rules for a particular group of customers, such as students or friends & family, rather than having to keep a track of all your manual discounts.

We offer free demonstrations of the features mentioned above, and you can view the demo anywhere you wish as long as you have access to a PC and the internet, as we offer online demo's with members of our team. You can also trial Salon Tracker free of charge, no-obligation, for a fortnight to see for yourself how the system will benefit your business day to day. To book your demo & trial, enquire here or call our office on 0113 350 8230 to speak to a member of our team, we are on hand to answer any questions you may have and to discuss the best software options for you.


We look forward to another year of working with you and helping you to manage your salon business! Here's to 2017...


Salon Tracker x

And that’s a wrap for 2016!

Well, it doesn’t seem like 2 minutes since I was writing this post last year, but here we are, another year down – and it’s been a busy one! We’ve had a fantastic time working with you guys this year and it has been wonderful to meet some of you in person at the Professional Beauty shows. And on that note, I’d just like to mention that we’re actually exhibiting at Professional Beauty London this Feb too, stand P2, we’ll be there across the 2 day event and so hope to be introduced to some more of you in person there very soon. I know that this is an extremely busy time for you in the salon now, and we hope that our software and marketing tips have aided you in managing through the bustling festive period. As we head in to 2017, we’ll be finalising the development of several new features so keep posted on our news page for all information about up-coming releases, as there are definitely some exciting new updates to come. But from all of 

us here at Salon Tracker, it’s been a pleasure, a big Merry Christmas and a 
Happy New Year to you all and we’re 
looking forward to working with you 

next year for another successful 12 months!

Best Wishes,

Salon Tracker x

*We are closing down for Christmas on Friday 23rd December 2016. We will be back in the office on Tuesday 3rd January 2017. Should you require assistance during this time, please telephone 0113 3508230 and leave a voicemail or email info@salontracker.co.uk*

How to keep staff motivated during busy periods

Christmas is almost here. We cannot believe it is only a few days away. It seems to me that the year has only just started, but 2017 is approaching unbelievably fast. A lot of salons are especially busy over December as many customers would like last minute appointments to treat themselves before the festive period to look extra glamorous. However, this can often cause extra stress for the salon owners and its staff members. Long hours, extra promotions that bring the numbers of appointments up and customers that seem more stressed than usual can often be draining. It is understandable that energy levels can be low and it feels hard to keep motivated. This can lead to a lack of desire to give 100%, which can negatively affect customers and therefore your business. After all, those who work extra hard during this period deserve some appreciation. Therefore, we are looking at some last minute tips on how to keep staff members motivated and plan for the months ahead of you. As salon owner or manager, you have to overlook the business and manage the salon. Customers are not the only thing you have to take into consideration, but also your staff members. Without them your salon wouldn’t function on a daily level.

Happy staff = good atmosphere at the salon = happy customers!

Good customer service comes from your staff. Client retention, reputation and revenue all strongly depend on excellent customer service. However, what do you do if your staff are tired, stressed and over worked? You know, one of those days where it simply seems a bit too much for them. Especially in the run up to Christmas this can happen quite often. Here are some tips on how to keep staff motivated all year round, but especially during busy periods.

Regular breaks

This is a given, but when it gets busy I know that sometimes a break can be skipped. Every member of staff is entitled to a 30min break if they work for six hours and longer. Not only should staff members take their breaks, it also helps them to wind down, shut off and relax for a quick period. Refreshed and nourished they can then return to work with a fresh mind and new found energy.

End of Year Awards

This incentive is a great one for showing your appreciation to your staff and also combine it with treats for them. All you have to do is enlist everyone into a competition. Tell staff they will all be entered into a competition where their colleagues will nominate them for who deserves the ‘what’ award! This can be anything from a ‘Newcomer of the year, Profitable Stylist, Most appointments taken, or hardest working staff’. The winner might receive a little trophy and a goody bag, or a gift card. This doesn’t have to coast much and you provide whatever is possible with the budget you have.

Seasonal Events

Events such as Secret Santa and Christmas Jumper Days are great for promoting community and involve everyone at the salon. You can even team up with a local charity and motivate your customers to get involved and donate too. Using the Marketing Suite on Salon Tracker Software is an easy and quick way to spread the word about upcoming events. Secret Santa is always good for a bit of fun between employees. Create a theme with a set spend amount so that it is affordable for anybody and then get your staff members to pick names from a hat.

Socials

We all need some time off here and then and it is especially important to get away for a while to embrace other non-work related activities. How about you plan a social for all your staff. This could be anything from bowling to eating out, or attending a show. Find out what people are passionate about and book something everyone would enjoy. Team bonding activities such as karting are great fun and leave everyone with good memories.


No matter how busy some days can be, don’t forget you are a team and no one is supposed to handle all the customers and stress on their own. Plan in advance how you can make this time easier for you can your staff. Organisation is key and will make life a lot easier when done early and properly.

With that said, we hope some of the tips come in handy and it gives you some ideas for the New Year as well.

Salon Tracker x

Raising money for Save the Children!

Every year, Save the Children run a national charity event in December to raise funds for their global children's charity. One of our clients the 'Sun Centre' in Ormesby, Middlesbrough ran a little fundraiser to join in with the national 'Christmas jumper day' and we helped out by donating free text messages so they could notify clients of the event.

Salon Tracker donated 3000 free messages to the salon so that they could instruct customers that if they visited Sun Centre on Friday December 16 wearing their best festive knit, they would receive offers on 
their treatments and retail products - where 
suggested donations to the Save the Children 
were recommended as part of each offer.

Talking about the day, Sun Centre’s Director Kevin Conway said: “The event went well, it was decent plus we raised a fair bit for charity.”

Nicola Soanes, Marketing Manager at Salon Tracker, further added: “We assisted Kevin with his charity campaign as we always want to support clients where possible when they are hosting fundraising events, especially in this case for the wonderful cause Save the Children at Christmas time.”

Sun Centre raised more than £65 for the charity and according to the official Christmas Jumper organisation, funds raised across the nation have so far reached a massive 537,860.

Salon Tracker x

Christmas Lookbook 2016!

'Tis the season of sequins, sparkles and glam! From glitter to metallics, we have chosen our fave looks as seen on Pinterest, beauty blogs and make-up brands this year for this seasons Christmas styles. So if you're in need of a bit of inspiration, here are our selected looks perfect for your festive days out and party wear ready for you to recreate this Christmas...