Feature of the Month- Post Delay

Another month, another feature!

This month’s feature of the month is all about out ‘post-delay’ feature. This is a feature that is available on all three of our different software packages and is mainly utilised by our hair salon customers.


The way this works is that when you have a customer who had come in for a colouring and then a finish such as a cut or blow-dry, we realise there needs to be a short break in between for the colour to develop. This feature allows you to insert an automatic development time in-between each of your colour treatments so that there is a gap on the calendar for you to book another client in.


This means when one of your clients is sat waiting for their colour to develop, instead of waiting and having a gap in your calendar you can book another client in. This feature also works when customers are booking online, it will leave a gap between the colour application and the finish for you to either book someone else in in the salon or online.

This feature isn't just for our hair salons either, any salon who offer services where a break is needed in-between for any sitting time!

This also works when booking in your customers from out new and improved Siteview app. As mentioned in last months blog out Siteview app is now editable meaning you can put bookings in from your phone or any other laptop or pc even when you’re not in the salon.

If you’re an existing customer who would like some more information on these features or if you’re interested in getting booked in for a free demo and two-week trial of the system please give us a call on 0113 350 8230 or email us on info@salontracker.co.uk


Stay Safe!


Salon Tracker x

*A Message to all of our customers in Republic Of Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland*

We’re so sorry to hear the news that you have to close your salons.


To further support you during this time, we will be freezing all subscription payments until your local government lift the restrictions in your area.


For our clients in Republic of Ireland, payments will be frozen from today (21st October) until 1st December, unless we hear of any alterations otherwise from your local government.

For our clients in Wales, payments will be frozen from this Friday (23rd October) until Monday 9th November, unless we hear of any alterations otherwise from your local government.


For our clients in Northern Ireland, we will continue to freeze your subscriptions, as all were frozen on Friday 16th October, until Monday 16th November, unless we hear of any alterations otherwise from your local government.


You will be credited any pre-paid days you had remaining from your recent payments, once you are able to reopen.


Should you like any advice, extra training or help with anything over this time please don’t hesitate to contact our team on 0113 350 8230. We are still on hand to help with marketing campaigns and planning for peak season once you are able to reopen!


Stay safe and take care 💕


Salon Tracker Team x

How Salon Tracker Specialises in Multi-Site Salon Management

Are you the owner of a multi-site salon business, and are looking for a software system to help you with the management of your salon chain? Our software specialises in the organisation of multi-site salon companies, and therefore we have outlined our main features below that may benefit you, by investing in your own Salon Tracker system.


HQ/Siteview

Providing the ability for you to oversee all business locations from one machine, anywhere in the world. Whether you have a main office, work from home or find yourself travelling a lot, we all know that multi-site salon owners have a busy schedule and it can be very hard for you to monitor all locations regularly, without being present at the sites themselves. So, we have introduced the ability to oversee and impersonate each site with our Salon Tracker HQ system. From overseeing staff shift-times to tracking KPI’s and stock, everything you need to know about your businesses can be accessed through our HQ.

We have then simplified this further, with our ‘Siteview app’. This provides a live dashboard, access to daily reports and also the calendars of each site, so you can easily access these main aspects of your business from your mobile phone or tablet, when on the move. Salon employees can also have access to their individual calendars from their phones, in order to plan their schedules without having to be at the salon location itself.


Online Booking/Online Registration

Especially since the Covid-19 lockdown, the demand and requirement for Online Booking and Self-Registration has really increased due to new social distancing regulations. However, this has always been a really beneficial feature for our multi-site salons, as it provides clients to be able to take control of their bookings, 24/7, without salons needing extra staff members to handle booking requests. With Salon Tracker, our system does this for you, saving you and your employees time by saving you resources! Your online registration form can be customised to include certain fields that you may require, dependant on your type of salon; and your salons terms and conditions can also be implemented, to ensure that these are agreed to electronically before a client is then registered in to your database. We implement the online registration and booking on to your website, Facebook page and also offer you this as an app, making the whole process simple for you and your clients!


Share Client Data

For those of you that have a large client base and have a lot of salons in a few local areas, you may wish to offer the option for your customers to use your services at multiple locations. We offer the ability to share your client data across all locations, so say they have a salon close to home and then another salon that is close to where they work, for example; they then have the option to book and use services at both sites without having to re-register.


Marketing (SMS/Email)


Similarly, with a large client database, whether you decide to share your clients details at all sites, or keep it to individual locations; with our HQ feature, your salon marketing team can still communicate messages to all clients from the main headquarters machine. Using the HQ, you can identify a list of all clients, or split this site by site. Meaning that if you need to send site-specific promotions or whether this is an overall company campaign, you are able to do both either way from one main system.


Reporting/Dashboards

Business reports and KPI tracking is really important for any business, but especially with a multi-site, as the data is so extensive. You also may want to know information such as, how well a site is performing against another, your peak and quiet trading times, what your best-selling products are, and so on. So, with the Salon Tracker HQ you are able to view all reports site by site, or as a whole, in order to see how the company is performing overall; and to also compare site by site. We also integrate with Microsoft’s Power BI software, to provide the ability for you to be able to analyse your data in further detail, such as based on geographical area, age range and so on.


Stock Control

Delegating retail products between sites and tracking the sales of these can be a really lengthy task if this has to be done manually. With Salon Tracker, we provide a smart stock control system, that monitors and tracks all the retail sales and stock usage for you, making the management of your stock so much simpler. By having a universal system, this not only improves efficiency within the salons, it saves you time and improves accuracy, by eliminating the chance of human error or anomalies for if you were to use different methods per site. Stock control and stock level reports can also be pulled from the HQ for all sites, meaning you always have a clear understanding of stock levels at each site and the monetary value of this.


Security/Staff Management

Ensuring the security of your business at multiple locations can be a quite a strenuous task, especially when you can’t be at each location at once. Our system ensures the same level of security and punctuality is being applied at all salons. Through biometrics, by integrating with a fingerprint reader, we can track staff start and finish times, as they clock in and out with their fingerprint. A benefit to this being that other staff members can’t cover lateness, as a fingerprint is unique to any one person. This same level of security applies for customers, as you can save a customer’s fingerprint to their client card, meaning that you can ensure the client is who they say they are before allowing them to have treatments with age-restrictions. For example, sunbeds or laser treatments.


Flexible working

We earlier mentioned that you can share client data across all salon locations; you can also do the same with staff! This being a great tool if you have staff that cover shifts at multiple locations. Shift reports can then be pulled from the main headquarters machine, in order for working hours to be tracked that week for each employee, no matter which location. Salon employees can also have access to the Siteview app, in which this allows them to add, edit, update and cancel any appointments that they need to make within their own column, which is extremely useful if they need to work from home for a day, or need to alter a few appointments whilst on the move.


Universal Branding

By implementing a salon software system at all locations, you keep the brands booking systems consistent across all sites, which means you are aware that the quality and working operations remains the same at all locations. This also is a great tool if you operate as a franchise, where you want the brands aesthetics and equipment to look and remain the same, even if you don’t necessarily run that site yourself.


Free trial?

Interested in anything we’ve talked about today and think this could benefit you? Why not have yourself a free trial of Salon Tracker? This is a no-obligation, fortnight trial that gives you a great insight in to how our system could work for you, before you decide to sign up to a package! Simply enquire for your trial at www.salontracker.co.uk/freetrial or call 0113 350 8230 to speak to a member of our team.


Salon Tracker x

*Important Message For All Of Our Customers In Northern Ireland*

We're so sorry to hear the unfortunate news that your salons are being forced to close for 4 weeks from tomorrow, Friday (16th October)

In order to do our best to support and help you during this time, we will be freezing all of your software payments until you get the go ahead to re-open.

You will also be credited for any days that you have already pre-paid on your account once you are able to reopen.

In the meantime, we are still on hand to help you with any questions or advice that you may have or require.

If you would like any help, training on the system or want some tips on sending a marketing campaign to your clients, please don't hesitate to call our team on 0113 350 8230, or drop us an email at info@salontracker.co.uk.

We wish you well during this time. Stay safe!

Salon Tracker Team x

How to market your salon during the Halloween period with the circumstances which is Covid-19

This year has been extremely different for everyone, from how we carry out our daily activities to attending the shops and salons. It has also changed how we are able to spend our beloved holidays, including Halloween, the festival second to the Christmas holiday season. There are still certain restrictions in place which prevent us from attending Halloween events, such as parties and this means that people aren’t attending appointments to have their makeup done for the evening events - therefore there may not be a Halloween rush as large as last years. To prevent these restrictions from affecting your business, it is essential that you market other options to your clients and keep them up to date with any changes in regards to what services you are able to carry out, or if you have to close temporarily. Whether you have our Salon software or not, the ideas listed below will be relevant and worth a try!

In order to maintain functional operation of the salon it is important that the ambience within the salon is high priority, as it can help prompt consumer buying habits. Due to all the distress of the current situation which is Covid-19, doing a good dead such as offering free retail products or when it is Halloween, all employees could wear fancy dress, to lift the spirits of the customers to help create an uplifting atmosphere. Focus on window decorations, make sure there is a theme behind each one and this will ensure that clients are aware you are still able to offer Halloween treatments that oblige by the current legislations.

Offering exclusive offers just for Halloween is another way to promote your business during these difficult times. Promoting these products and services allows you to maximize your salon and its assets, an example could be promoting longer lasting treatments such as facials, manicures, eyelash treatments and many more. Instead of prompting Halloween nail art, you should promote autumnal artwork and colours as these are longer lasting because they apply to more than just one day.

Another technique to marketing your salon during the Halloween season should be to upsell retail products, as all salons and high street stores will be competing to sell out their remaining Halloween products. How can you make your salon stand out? A fantastic idea would be to market your products in a more visual way, as we say “a picture paints a thousand words”. An example of this would be to create a photo book showing the Halloween services you have carried out through the years and list the retail products that were used within this treatment.

Display tables are another crucial aspect in promoting your salon, arrange these so that they show the retail products and gift packages that you offer and surround them with Halloween accessories. The way you decorate your display tables is important, it must have a theme that is carried throughout.

Social media is the main tool to promoting anything that happens within your salon, an idea could be to do a raffle were the winner receives a free treatment of their choice and where all the money is donated to a charity that is suffering during these horrible times. Communicate with your clients show them the decorations and offers that you have in place!


If you’re looking for a software to help you manage your business this festive season don’t hesitate to contact us on 0113 350 8230 and we will be happy to assist.


Make the most of this year!


Salon Tracker X

How Enterprise Upgrades Helped Our Clients

I can’t believe that it’s now October! Where did time go? This weeks blog is going to focus on how our customers have benefited from upgrading to our Enterprise Subscription. For those of you who aren’t aware, our Enterprise Subscription includes our Online Booking and Siteview features. Over the course of the last few months we have had numerous customers upgrading to the Enterprise package, specifically for the ability to use Online Bookings, which is perfect for adjusting to the new normal.

Since the reopening of salons, we have seen a huge spike in the number of online bookings being made, with many salons introducing a booking only system. Online booking offers customers the flexibility of being able to book an appointment at any time of the day, whilst ensuring that restrictions are in place to follow the Government Guidelines. One of customers has seen a significant growth in bookings since getting the online system, with almost 8,000 bookings being made since the reopening of their salon! With such an increased demand for our online booking feature, we introduced a booking delay time to make sure that with each booking there was extra time being added to allow for cleaning and to adhere to the social distancing guidelines.

There are several other benefits of introducing an online booking system, such as reduced phone calls and emails, as customers are able to book at their own accord instead of contacting you and your team. For those of you that own Tanning Salons, customers are able to see how many minutes they have remaining on their account. Customers also have the ability to see your opening hours and an interactive map view of where the salon is for those that may not have visited before.

Our Siteview feature is one that has been available for the last few years, however given recent circumstances we realised this needed to be modified in order to make your salon life easier. Hence, we introduced Editable Siteview, allowing users to book, edit and cancel bookings straight from their phone. As well as having the ability to view customers booking history, remaining services and details. This feature is perfect for all salons, so that if you get messages away from the salon you can still book clients in. Even more so, for anyone with self-employed stylists or beauticians, as it can be set so that they can only view their own columns on the calendar, ensuring that double bookings aren’t being added. The calendar view will also allow employees to view their working hours, this is great for those of you that work in a rota format, as employees can quickly and easily check what days and times they’re working. The Siteview app is ideal for taking a quick overview when you’re away from the salon, enabling you to look at a dashboard of the days takings, bookings and customers, as well as being able to see the reports.

If you would like to take a look at our enterprise package in further detail don’t hesitate to contact us to get booked in for a free demo and trial on 0113 350 8230, or alternatively you can email info@salontracker.co.uk.

Salon Tracker x

How to make this Autumn your best one yet!

I know you'll all be just as shocked as I am when I say that Summer is officially over and as of last week, Autumn has officially begun! Last week also marked 6 months since the UK was put into full lockdown and everyone's world was turned upside down. Now you are open and in full swing, how about we make up for all that lost time and make this your best Autumn yet? After all, the autumnal vibes are our favourite!

 

Lets start with a start with a few marketing tips:

Back to School Bundle 

This is one for the Mums and Dads that suddenly have a lot more time on their hands! After 6 months of no school I think all those Mums and Dads out there deserve a bit of a treat... A back to school mini bundle could be a great idea for your salon. For example, offering a package deal with some mini treatments, such as lash and brow tints, could increase your profit and help you gain a selection of new clients that you may not have previously had. Pairing this with a ‘back to school’ pamper day including a range of the different treatments you offer would be a great start as it really encourages them to book for a relaxing day after 6 months that properly felt like a decade for them!

Halloween

Although Halloween may not be the same this year, it's still a Holiday that everyone loves and why not make the most of it? Advertising early your Halloween makeup pictures will get people interested and make them want to plan ahead. You could even do a petrifying package deal such as Makeup and spooky hair for a set price and why not throw in a Halloween goody bag full of Halloween themed treats or retail products? 

What platforms can you use to get the message out?

Facebook and Instagram

Facebook and Instagram are the top social media platforms to advertise your business on.
Most importantly, they are free! Just a simple post on facebook advertising what you are going to be doing this Autumn will go a long way, followers of the page will see it and following that they may be inclined to share it with Family and Friends which could reach 1000's of new clients. Similar to instagram where you can carry out interactive stories which will engage your followers. You could do a vote story or an answer box story with the caption 'what would you like to see from this salon this Autumn' then not only are you drawing the readers in, but you are also finding out what your target market would like to see! All this client research for free - you can't go wrong. 

TikTok

Now i'm sure you'll already know that whilst boredom was taking over in lockdown, TikTok the video app became very popular and people all over the world were doing dance routines and make-up tutorials. This extremely popular platform would be a great way for your Salon to advertise their services such as autumnal nails, Halloween makeup and hair styles due to the sheer popularity of the app. I'll work a treat!

SMS Marketing

The advantage of SMS marketing is that you can target specific customers or audiences. For example, if you wanted to target customers who haven’t visited in the last 3 months, you can do this through our filters. Our software has a built-in marketing suite which gives you the opportunity to easily use SMS and email marketing. You can choose client groups or make your own in order to send out your message to the group of people it was intended to. For example: 

Hi << Customer Forename>> 

We miss you! Book in advance for a space for your new Autumn look! 

<<Company Name>><<Company Contact Details>> 

As you see, summer finishing may put a frown on many faces but with these tips you could turn it into an incredible opportunity for your salon and help you get back on track before the year is out!

If you're looking for something to help manage your Salon this Autumn enquire at https://www.salontracker.co.uk/FreeTrial.aspx for your free 2 week trial!

If you already have the software and would just like a bit of free training please feel free to give us a call on 0113 350 8230 and we'll be happy to help!

Make the most of the end of this year!

Salon Tracker x