It's Sunbed Awareness Week; so here are Salon Tracker's 'Tanning Rules'

It’s that time of the month again, where we run through one of our most relevant and favourite features with you. And with the recent amazing weather, we have had lots of feedback from our fellow tanning-salon clients that their footfall has been through the roof! So, with this summer-spurt hopefully continuing and as we enter the holiday season, we just wanted to discuss how to ensure that your clients tan as safely as possible when using your beds. And with the sunbed association running a 'sunbed awareness' campaign this week, we thought that this was the perfect time to 
share our feature for this month: Tanning Rules.

So, what are our tanning rules? These are little checks, if you like, that we have put in place to ensure that your clients are as safe as possible according to current laws and regulations, when using your sunbeds. Below, we explain each of our rules and what our system uses to check each client is as safe as possible.


Rule No. 1

“Forbid a client to book a sunbed if their date of birth field shows that they are under 18.”

First off, it is illegal in the UK for anyone under the age of 18 to use a sunbed. We are aware however that it is easy for a client to lie and make a date of birth up, but not so easy if you have the relevant checks in place.

With our software, we have fields on their digital client card that prompts a client to have a photograph added to it, so that this can be matched up with a form of their ID before they are allowed to book on to a sunbed. We have also introduced fingerprint recognition, which again means that a client's perhaps younger sibling can’t try and pass as their elder brother/sister as the fingerprint will have to match. For further security, we have also implemented a signature pad so that a client has to sign a disclaimer stating that they are over 18 and that they will comply with your salon T’s & C’s before using a sunbed. Protecting your business from any lawful damage as you also have the clients consent on file.

 

Rule No. 2

“Warn a customer if they have not set a Skin Type.”

To advise clients on how long they should be using a sunbed for, we have implemented a field that asks the customer to state which skin type they are. This is because if the customer describes their skin type to be sensitive to the sun, or fair, it is recommended by the sunbed association that they do not tan for longer than 6 minutes every 48 hours. Therefore, if your salon staff are aware of this, it gives them the option to advise the client appropriately when they come to book a sunbed.


Rule No. 3 

“Warn a client if they have had a sunbed in the last 24 hours (or last 48 hours if they have skin type 1 or 2/sensitive or fair.)”

The sunbed association also recommends that no one at all, no matter what their skin type, tans more than once every 24 hours. Whilst this is not yet illegal, it is still a recommendation that we like to follow and would advise all tanning salons to operate with too. As just mentioned, if a client has specified that they do actually have a sensitive or fair skin type, the sunbed association recommends that these individuals don’t tan more than once in 48 hours, and so our system will keep a track and record all sunbed use so that your staff can advise clients appropriately.


Rule No. 4

“Maximum Minute Usage.” 

Finally another recommendation from the sunbed association is that unless a client is using a low-powered sunbed (such as the Sun Angel where we are aware courses are 21 minutes each time), no one should go on a sunbed for any longer than 15 minutes for each session. We have therefore set all of our sunbed configurations to a maximum usage of 15 minutes by default, in the hope that all tanning salons that are users of our software will stick to this recommendation to eliminate over-use from clients.


How do you implement these rules?

All salon owners using our software will have access to an ‘admin’ section, in which we have tanning calendar settings within this section, where the owner can choose the level of enforcement for each of these rules. Aside from Rule No.1, in which this is a legal enforcement that all clients must be over 18 to use a sunbed and therefore we force this rule by default, all our other rules can either be forced by recommendation, or you can simply warn the client by giving advice. Recommendations are at a salon’s discretion; therefore, we have put these rules in place for the safety of your clients, it is up to you how you use them.


So, if you currently have a tanning salon and want to ensure that you maintain the highest level of safety possible, get in touch with us today on 0113 350 8230 and we can offer you more information on our tanning safety rules. Or alternatively, send us your details at http://www.salontracker.co.uk/FreeTrial.aspx so that we can arrange you a FREE 2-week trial.

Let us help you to keep your tanning salon safe this season!

Salon Tracker x

5 fault-proof tips on how to provide a 5* star Salon service

It’s common knowledge that your sales are bound to go up and down, but great service is forever. Which is why we’ve written a helpful blog full of tips and tricks on how to provide the most memorable, 5* service!

Wondering why great service is so important?

· It increases your client loyalty – Clients are much more likely to return to a salon they know they’ll feel special at.
· Increases referrals – Similarly, clients are likely to talk about a good experience they’ve had in a Salon, or even better, people will ask your clients where they got their hair or nails done.
· Ultimately, higher profits – Repeat customers and a bigger client base overall will work wonders on your revenue.
· No more gaps in your calendar – Your staff will no longer have to carry out pointless tasks to keep themselves occupied, there will always be a client to see too.
· Widespread brand awareness – You’ll find yourself with clients who travel for miles to receive your service. Word of mouth is something that spreads far and wide!

Facts to remember

According to Harris Interactive customer experience report:

· 85% of customers would be willing to pay 25% more for a superior customer experience.
· 40% began purchasing from a competitor after a bad experience.
· 55% became a customer to a company for their great customer service reputation.

How do I make it happen?

1. First thing’s first. You need to know all your clients like the back of your hand. Old and new. Get to know them, how they like their tea, their preference of nail length, hair style, routine, everything. Now I should hope you know your long-standing customer’s pretty well by now, but for your new customers; try a survey. Ask personal questions, but not intrusive ones. Are they an introvert or an extrovert, casual or glamourous, confident or unconfident? Don’t lose sight of these surveys, revise them, store them – use Salon Tracker to note all their important answers on their client card to give you a helpful reminder.

2. Make them feel at home - nobody wants to make their clients feel like coming to the Salon is a chore. Offer them a drink, hot drink, cold drink (related to their preferences), and offer them regular. Biscuits, cake or snacks is always a nice gesture and having a comfortable waiting area is so important. Modern, comfy sofas with a choice of recent magazines and a TV wouldn’t go a miss. And don’t forget cleanliness. Hire a cleaner and ensure that the Salon is spotless every day. Think of what a perfect salon in would be like in your client’s eyes, it is always good to look at things from other’s perspective.

3. It’s the small things that matter – Remember the details. You had a client come in for her nails doing last month for a wedding, how was the wedding? Did they have a nice time? Small things like this will make your clients feel special and form a great relationship between staff and customers, therefore encouraging loyalty.

4. Be consistent – So you might have started off small, offering only a few treatments at a at a very professional level. So now it’s time to expand your service line and offer more treatments – which is great! CAUTION – don’t step over the reachable line. It’s great that your business is expanding but every service you have to offer needs to be to an exceptional standard, displaying consistency. This will place a level of trust between the staff and clients meaning your salon will become the hub for every treatment.

5. Communication is crucial – When your clients leave you in charge of their valuable possessions such as their hair, they are putting their full trust in you and rely on you to make them feel and look good. This means It is very important that you clearly communicate with each client and find out exactly what they want before carrying out any service/ treatment. On top of that, keep checking if that’s how they like it, giving them compliments to make them feel good about it before they even get to see the final result themselves.

And there you have it, 5 useful tips for a 5* service. Put them into practice and your reviews AND results will show it!

Any questions or queries? Email info@salontracker.co.uk or call 0113 350 8230.

Salon Tracker x

Spruce up your Salon this Spring!

It’s May! The month with double Bank Holidays and plenty of Spring weather (we hope!). We’re officially in the Spring/Summer season, so your salon footfall is naturally going to increase with everyone rushing to get their pre-holiday treatments booked. And if any of these are new clients, your salon atmosphere and appearance are the first identities and long-lasting impressions that a client has of your business. This being said, throughout Summer, we therefore think it’s really important that your salon reflects the season that we’re in, just like at Christmas you would always put up your best festive decorations. It should be the exact same with Summer, as this is equally one of your busiest times.

So, you’re probably thinking, what can I do differently that doesn’t cost too much but will make a huge difference to the Spring/Summer styling. We’ve got a few simple ideas for you here to get you off to a good start. So, let’s re-vitalise! And by that we don’t mean a huge costly renovation that’s going to take forever, just a few simple little alterations that can really enhance the mood of your interior.


Colour

Currently, what colours are the walls and floors in your salon? What colour is your ceiling for that matter? It’s a natural fact that lighter colours increase your space. Even though your salon doesn’t literally grow in size, by using brighter colour tones, this helps to create an illusion that the salon is bigger as the light makes the space seem larger. Similarly, to if you put a large mirror on the wall, or just simply mirror a whole wall of a room, this instantly makes the space look larger as the reflection helps to enhance the size of the room. So, if you currently have a dark colour theme, why not try painting your salon walls a shade of cream or white as a starting point? We’re not expecting you to alter the entire room, as sometimes a colour theme can reflect your business branding, however by just lightening the tones a little bit, this can really have a great impact on your salon’s ‘spacious’ effect.


Minimalism Design 

Refreshing the salon also doesn’t mean spending hundreds on new accessories either, you can keep things really simple and apply the 'minimalistic' touch. This is such an easy way to enhance an interior and plus the beauty of this type of style is that it keeps your salon looking clean and your work-spaces clutter-free. You could simply switch up your colour theme by purchasing a couple of new little accessories (such as retail product holders or salon-themed photographs/wall art). Or it could simply mean that you purchase a couple of Spring-themed indoor plants, like an orchid or a bamboo palm to create a fresh, natural environment.


Shelving

A simple and easy way to enhance plain walls and create a homely vibe. Even if you just use the shelves to display some of your latest Summer retail products or put up some photo frames to showcase your best work. This could simply be postcard size photos of client’s nails after treatments, or one of your recent hair colouring services. Another great idea would be to get a polaroid camera for the salon, and if clients don’t mind then you could snap a polaroid of each customer after their treatment and have a little photo-line of all the snaps? For any new clients visiting the salon, this then allows them to see the extent of your client base and all of your hard-work, which is always a good sign for longevity!


Enhanced Waiting Area

If you take a lot of walk-ins, then you would expect that at some point clients are going to have to spend time waiting in your salon. Now, depending how long the wait time is, this gives client prime-time to look in detail at your salon surroundings, and pass judgement if something doesn’t feel up to scratch. Therefore, first pointer - don’t allow them that time! Ensure that waiting spaces are comfortable and inviting, and that there is plenty around to keep the client occupied – whether this be having a TV on the wall, magazines in a basket or a complimentary tea and coffee station. Secondly, ensure that your décor is finished off properly, that painting is neat and that accessories are up-to-date. If a client feels that they have had a relaxing experience in a trendy waiting room, this can go a long way in keeping their custom. For this season, you could simply alter your cushion covers to spring pastels to give the furniture a fresh look. You could also colour theme your mugs to match this new scheme so that all your accessories co-ordinate. You can always store them and then re-use again next year if you want to switch them back to your usual accessories during Winter.

Re-Vamp Old Furnishings

Now if you really want to improve your salon on a tighter budget, then re-cycling your current assets is one of the best ways to do it! It could be something as simple as re-painting your storage furniture or creating a new effect like ‘shabby-chic’ with any of your wooden fixtures! You can really revitalise an old piece of storage equipment with a bit of paint and a design change. Pick up some interior design or home magazines to look at the latest Spring colour schemes and experiment with your current furnishings.


Your Salon Entrance 

This section of your salon really is the first impression, so we’re OK discussing how to alter your interior, however if your outside doesn’t match the inside this can then be just as detrimental. For example, think of if you were looking to try out a new salon, but the outside of it looked a little shabby. Same instance if you were deciding on a restaurant and the entrance looked run-down. We all know that we instantly are put off by untidy business fascia’s, therefore you should take as much pride in your salon entrance as you do the inside rooms. A fresh lick of paint, a clean doorway and some nice spring plants outside will do the job. Just ensure that it remains clean and neat at all times sure that no-one ever passes you up!

So as the weather is due to warm up a little bit, now is definitely the time to give your salon a good spring-clean and spruce up. Take a couple of our ideas on board and try them out to see if it enhances the feel of your salon. We hope that you’ve enjoyed our little tips and look forward to seeing how they help to bring a bit of Spring to you! If you do happen to alter anything, we’d love to see your pics so please email them to info@salontracker.co.uk, in which you could also be in for a chance to feature in one of our posts this Summer!

Salon Tracker x

National Hairstylist Appreciation Day!

I would like to think that you all already appreciate your hairstylists, but on National Hairstylist day you should make sure you go that extra mile. The official day isn’t until the 30^th April, so hopefully this will give you a few days to make sure that you are fully prepared for anything special you might do to show your appreciation. Here are just a few ideas that we’ve put together for both your hairstylists and your customers:

Rewards

If you already have our Salon Tracker software then this would work perfectly for you! Get your customers into your salon on National Hairstylist Appreciation Day by promoting an offer. An example of text that you might a send out would be “We’re celebrating National Hairstylist Appreciation Day, visit the salon on April 30^th for 15% off!”, just a little incentive to get your customers in. Even if you don’t have our software, you can still push some sort of offer, Social Media is a great place to promote any offers, or even just putting something up in your salon window.

Gift Vouchers

Why not treat your staff to a gift voucher, it doesn’t have to be much, maybe just £10-£20 just to show your appreciation. If you know each of your staff’s favourite store then props to you, but if not there’s those ‘One4all’ gift vouchers which let you use the voucher at pretty much any high-street store.

Competition

How about creating a little competition for your customers or a raffle where you can give away products or gift vouchers for services in your salon. It’s a great way to get all of your customers involved and engaging with your salon and with your hairstylists. There are plenty of competitions that you could try out, maybe something like ‘Guess how many hair grips are in the jar’, customers can then pay an entry fee to make their guess and the winner will then receive the money entered.

Staff Party

You could even treat your staff to a team night out, something to give your team morale a boost. It doesn’t have to be an itinerary that’s bursting to the brim, just something to make sure they know that they are appreciated by you.

We hope that this give you a few ideas that you can use in your salon in order to celebrate Hairstylist Appreciation Day! If you need any help sending an SMS from our marketing feature don't hesitate to contact us on 0113 350 8230.

Salon Tracker x

Your 4-week count-down guide for a fully compatible GDPR Salon

We are just over 4 weeks away from the grand release of the GDPR, that’s only 28 days to make sure you are more than ready for it, and don’t end up being charged 4% of your annual turnover. To put that into perspective, if your salon makes £80k a year, you’d be charged £3200 just for making one silly error. That’s not something you want, so here’s how you can avoid it:

• Data must be processed in a way which guarantees suitable security of client’s personal data. This comprises protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and covers accidental loss, destruction or damage by having applicable technical structures in place and suitable organisational measures. Salon Tracker hides all client data, it needs to be unlocked to gain access and every time it is unlocked it is tracked in the data base.

• Data held on clients must be accurate and kept up to date. Salon Tracker software allows you to view all a client’s data in the same place under one client card. This way, you can put a regime in place to regularly check client’s data when the client comes in and ask if it is correct.

• All data must be kept in a form which allows you to be able to identify how long that data is required for and be able to eliminate that data after that duration or if the clients asks for that data to be eliminated. Salon Tracker will be able to assist you with this and look into the data bases to be able to find out all this information and subtract their data from the system permanently.

• The data you hold must be processed lawfully, fairly and in a clear manner. This means stating exactly why you need the data and how you will use it.

• Data is only collected for specified, explicit and legitimate interest and not used in the future in a manner that wasn’t agreed by the person that the data is given from. This means no selling of client data to other businesses, and no giving out information of clients to other clients.

• All data held on clients must be specified for a reason and limited to what information is necessary for the purposes in which the data is used. Within Salon Tracker, customers have to tick to agree to marketing and text service.

Now hopefully you haven’t miss-judged the time you had left to get prepared for the release of the GDPR, but if you have, and this blog still rings alarm bells for you… don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.


We’ve got 4 weeks to go, that means 4 weeks worth of preparation. We’ve made it simple and produced you a check list of activities you can do each week so you can relax a little.


Week 1

• Create a privacy policy 
• Assign one of your staff members with the responsibility of being a Data Protection Officer 
• Go through your customers and remove customer’s data that is no longer needed. For example, customers who haven’t visited the Salon in over a year. This will make things a lot easier. 

Week 2

• Define an age range of consent, 18+ perhaps? 
• Make sure on your marketing campaigns there is an option to opt out of marketing. 


Week 3

• Give clients the right to be removed from the database.

Week 4 – The final week

• Be prepared for client’s data requests - they are entitled to ask for a SAR report on everything you have on them at any given time. 
• You then have 30 days to retrieve the data. Don’t worry, we’re here to help with that. 
• Relax, if you have followed each step you have nothing to worry about. 4% of your annual turnover won’t be going anywhere 
• Make sure your clients are aware that you follow the GDPR legislation closely, it shows your professionalism. 

Any more questions? Don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0113 350 8230 or alternatively email christie@salontracker.co.uk.


Salon Tracker x

Feature of the Month; Help Videos!

I'm sure you all know the struggle when you just can’t figure out how to do something, or the feeling of not wanting to do something wrong. Well, recently on Salon Tracker we have added a new feature; help videos! We’ve created over 50 help videos that you can watch (as long as you have an internet connection) ranging from just simply adding a customer to setting up your customer discount groups.

To find the help videos, just go to the help section and then click on the help videos tab. They are split into the different left menu options, and within each tab you can watch the related videos. To watch a video, just click on the title and it will automatically play. The videos are simple and easy to follow, and have a step by step guide on how a certain task can be completed. However, if you are struggling or something isn’t working quite right, don’t hesitate to contact our support team on 0113 350 8232 and we will be happy to help you out!

This is just a short example of how the videos work, and if you already have the software you can have a look through them now. They tend to last around 1-2 minutes, depending on the complexity of the demonstration, however for videos such as the 'Getting Started' videos these will be around 5 minutes long. And with all the new features and updates we are planning to do in the future, I’m sure that the list of videos will become even longer.

If you have any further questions or would like to get booked in for your demonstration and FREE 2-week trial of the software don’t hesitate to call on 0113 350 8230 or email on info@salontracker.co.uk.

Salon Tracker x

Marketing your Salon this Spring

Hello, and welcome back! Hope you all had a lovely Easter and managed to have some fun even though Winter decided to hang around, we know some of you even experienced a bit of snow on Bank Holiday! But hopefully that’s the last of it now and we can finally start to get in to Spring-mode. So, speaking of Spring, it’s time we did some marketing and discussed some top-tips on the upcoming events that you can use to ensure you have a successful season.

Online Visibility – Let’s get social! Do you have an active company website and social media page? In this day and age, everything is technological and so if your business isn’t active online, this can be detrimental to your sales. Facebook has vastly become a popular ‘check-point’ for people to identify a business. Where in the past this may have been through your Google listing, or just through word of mouth, nowadays people go to social media pages to look at your businesses recent activity, to determine whether they’d like to purchase/buy a treatment from you. It’s crucial that you regularly update your social networks, to ensure that clients can see that you are current and that you constantly communicate with your followers, as this can help to prove a good business reputation.

Email marketing. Do you have all of your clients’ emails at the moment? Email marketing is such a quick and easy way to market to clients in bulk, or to get a message across speedily! There are also lots of email providers that provide analytics about the open and click through rate of your campaigns, one that I like to recommend is Mailchimp, as it is also so user-friendly you’ll soon get the hang of it. According to Wordstream, ‘email is one of the greatest drivers of customer retention’, in which this is a great stat to go by when thinking about sending regular e-newsletters or product news.

SMS marketing. Similarly, to email, SMS marketing is another direct way to reach customers, and quickly too. When we’ve had a scout about looking in to text marketing, we found that a lot of sites, including Instagiv, state that ‘32% of consumers respond to promotional SMS messages’. This is a very high stat, meaning that over a quarter of your client base are likely to react to any marketing messages you send to them by text. Our software actually has its own SMS marketing suite built-in, to make text marketing campaigns simple and easy to create. We also have our own search filters included in the tool so that you can easily identify and pull out certain customers dependent on the sort of campaign you wish to send. For example, if you want to select your best spending customers, no problem, as with 2 clicks you can have the entire list ready to send a text message to, using our software! Keep your eyes peeled later in the blog as we’ll give a couple of SMS examples to get your started.

So, now that we’ve established a few marketing channels that you can use, let’s take a look at some of the events to look out for this Spring, that you can take advantage of for company advertising and let’s put some of our marketing techniques to practice!

First off, Mayday. Only 4 weeks away and a great opportunity to get some Spring promo ideas together, to get your salon footfall increasing! Closely followed by Spring Bank on the 28th May, 2 Bank holiday opportunities in one month! A good idea to get you started is to do a little bit of research in to the current hair & beauty trends, to identify what the up and coming styles are going to be this Spring/ Summer – and then advertise these to your fellow clients across social media. For example, it could be ‘Get your golden Balayage Bank Holiday Ready with <your salon name>’, then perhaps even bundle a little offer in with this, such as ‘Book before end of April to receive <X % off your chosen product>’. Obviously, there are lots of techniques that you can use social media for, whether this be running a Bank Holiday competition, or even a salon selfie contest for your clients to part-take in after a treatment.

Wedding season. From the beginning of May right up until the end of September, especially if you’re a Hair and Beauty salon, you are likely to see an increase in bridal party bookings. So why not advertise that your salon is doing this now and get ahead of your competition. I mean, the chances are the majority of your direct competitors are also going to be offering wedding packages, so what can you do differently to attract clients to choose yours? What about a free complimentary bottle of Prosecco for the bridal group whilst they have their treatments done? Or even collaborate with another local business if this is possible (such as a café or a local bistro) and see if your clients can receive a little % off voucher for food or drinks if they book a wedding package with your salon? A good promotional technique for both your business and theirs!

Dance school packages. A lot of local dance institutes require salon professionals to attend their shows for hair & makeup prep. During Spring and over Bank Holidays, some dance groups may put on shows, whether this be at theatres or even at school galas. This could be a brilliant opportunity for your salon to get some business and to also improve your brand awareness. Your work will be seen by the audience of these dance shows and if you shout loudly about your salon, perhaps even paying a small amount to sponsor the dance college itself, this provides you with even further publicity. Meaning that you can hope for improved recognition for your salon and hopefully the audiences of these shows could be a large volume of potential customers for the future! A little something to think about this Spring.

School and College Proms. We may be a little early here, however lots of students start their dress and suit shopping around this time and so why not advertise early to ensure that they book your salon for their treatments too. Advertise your prom packages on social media, flyers at schools and colleges and even via email/SMS to your current client base to ensure that your salon is full this June!

You’ve then got your all-round seasonal marketing in general, and we mentioned SMS marketing earlier and how our software has a built-in marketing suite with texting tools. Therefore, below are a few little Spring-examples to get you started off;


Hi <<Forename>>

PAYDAY & MAYDAY! Why not book your appointment early to secure your payday treat and bank holiday slot! Book an appointment with us before 30th April to receive 10% off!

<<CompanyName>> <<CompanyTel>> T&Cs Apply



Hi <<Forename>>

Stepping in to Spring! To celebrate the start of the season we are offering a FREE complimentary gift with every appointment booked in April!

<<CompanyName>> <<CompanyTel>> T&Cs Apply 

Hi <<Forename>>

Get your Trendy Golden Balayage or Fresh Highlights with <your salon> this Spring! Appointments are booking up so don’t miss out! Call up to secure your slot today.

<<CompanyName>> <<CompanyTel>> T&Cs Apply



We hope we’ve inspired you and given you a few little things to think about for your marketing this Spring. With these few fresh ideas, by putting these in to practice your salon should see a seasonal boost, setting you up nicely for the rest of the year. And if you want a little bit of extra advice, no problem, our marketing and sales team are always on hand Mon-Fri to help you every step of the way – just give our team a call on 0113 350 8230! We look forward to hearing from you.


Salon Tracker x