COMPETITION WINNER!

We are very pleased to announce our winner:

BEVERLEY FLOYD @ CAPITAL BEAUTY, PORTSTEWART 

The winner of our ‘Enterprise’ Software Package Competition. 

Thank you to all of you who have entered our competition and we have some exciting news for all those who have taken part very soon…

Please keep checking back for further information! 

The Salon Tracker Team! x

Party of the year!

So 2014 has some brought some pretty serious showbiz events. Our Instagram feeds have been taken over from the likes of The Met Ball, The Kimye Wedding and Fashion Week!

So in the run up months to a huge bout of showbiz events in the hair and beauty industry, we thought it would be a good idea to think outside the marketing box and look at the benefits (and fun) hosting an event can have for your business! Not only can you reach out to loyal clients but it also works in good stead to build a new following at a relaxed and fun environment. So where do you start to gain fantastic PR for a potential event? Let’s lesson into the 6 imperative ‘Party P’s’ of event planning that you are going to need...

                        -  Plan
                        -  Prepare
                        -  Promote
                        -  Props
                        -  Pep-Talk
                        -  PARTY!

Plan- Firstly it is important to understand hosting a party will not organised overnight, even if you are a socialite! One of the biggest obstacles is putting together a strategic marketing plan, guest list, delegation tasks and idealistic outcomes you wish to achieve. Are you going to work with a charity? How much will you charge on the door? Will it be in the summer or winter months? When is your peak in business? What will be your decorative theme? To organise a successful party there should be months of implemented planning and ideas in order to prepare a magnificent evening for all parties. That being said, it is hugely important to have an events team who will be prepared to regularly meet with motivation and enthusiasm.

Prepare- After planning with your chosen team, you should have shortlisted a number of venue’s whether it be an in-salon event, the local community centre or a function room at the Hilton. Each venue has its perks and can be tailored for start-up salons or well established. Preparing the venue, guest list and invites are all fundamental to the prepare stage. By the second stage everything should be organised in thorough detail even down to whether you will provide food such as fruit bowls in the summer or mince pies in the winter. Most successful salon events combine expert advice, shopping opportunities, demonstrations and little-big touches!

Promote- Promoting the event is key to create a hype about the event, so therefore should be done long before the evening. Use SMS Marketing, word of mouth, hard invites, emails, letters, in-salon promotion, raffles, reception desk print, local media print, your website or social media. There are so many options that can be done at a non-expensive cost. The aim is to show people what they could potentially be missing and this is how you will ensure a high attendance. Be creative and personal with your promotion! Don’t let this stage catch you out, the trick is to find the balance between too much and just enough.

Props- Think promotions, treatments and goodie-bags. Clients love little freebies and appreciate the generous effort behind them so use them as a main enticement. Make sure you load goodie-bags up with leaflets, promotions and offers at the salon as well as what you have at the event. Why not run a month long promotion where if people book at the event they get 40% off or a free selected treatment. This way they can see what they are gaining by booking early. Props is not just beauty, hair or tanning related. You need to think about what you might need at the event such as toilet signs, raffle tickets, badges with your staff’s name on are all important little touches which show effort and thought process and will in turn be a great reflection on the business.

Pep talk- When it comes to the event, make sure your team is knowledgeable on their individual role, what they need to do to upsell, promote and establish a reputable aura of your business. Have friends or family on hand who can point people in the right direction or get attendees to fill in a contact form so you can add them to your database. Arrange for staff to advise guests on which products and treatments will suit them and their skin tone or find out what they are looking for.  Targeted professional advice is much more appreciated than being in sales mode. Remind all staff to upload photos to Twitter and Facebook throughout the night or even get guests to tag themselves in to win a FREE beauty package worth £100.

PARTY!!!- Work hard, play hard! Network and speak with new people and friends. Enjoy the evening’s professions. Events still have an element of personality in them so this should be projected with fun giving your team a platform to showcase what they can do also works wonders for morale. Whether the evening attracts 20 or 200 people, be optimistic! Each attendee has paid an entry fee and if you follow the ‘6 P’s’ will have had an enjoyable evening so expect to see this back through your client loyalty. Even if you receive a few extra retail figures, raised money for a local charity or filled the appointment book for January, it was an all-round success.

LA Tanning FAQ's

If you offer spray tans at your salon and your solution isn't quite providing......... LA Tanning have got together a few FAQ's for their products so that you can provide your clients with the perfect bronzed glow for summer! 

Frequently asked questions to LA Tanning

1. Which solution is the best?

Different tan’s suit different skin tones and people have different preferences so it is hard to say. Our biggest sellers are the two 10% solutions, both are designed for fair to medium skin tones but one is a golden natural shade and the other is a more noticeable brown shade.

2. How many full bodies will I get from 1 litre?

Everybody is different shapes and sizes so naturally you will use more or less on individual clients. A guide to usage would be between 50ml and 75ml so you should get at least 14 full body tans.

3. Does the solution have an expiry date?

The solution we dispatch is always fresh stock. Stored correctly, the shelf life on an unopened bottle is 12 months and on an opened bottle will be around 6 months.

4. How do I store my solution?
Solution must be stored in a cool, dark area and not exposed to natural light. Always keep the lid on the bottle to avoid oxidation which would cause the solution to deteriorate. Shake well before use.

5. Does LA tan solution contain any parabens or alcohol?
No, our solutions are paraben and alcohol free. They do however contain skin nourishing ingredients such as aloe vera gel, white & green tea extracts and vitamins B3, B5, B6, C and E.

6. Does LA tan solution have a colour guide?
Yes, our tans do have a dark colour guide except our gold range which has a light colour guide to help the technician create a perfect tan.

7. Do your machines come with a warranty?
Yes, all our machines come with a 12 month warranty.

Salon Tracker COMPETITION!

If you are passing through our blog, why not take a quick 30 seconds out of your time to enter our competition to win FREE Salon Software! http://bit.ly/1liie8P

COMPETITION TIME!! 
Enter your details for the chance to WIN Salon Tracker's most premium software package for your salon usually priced at £1299! It just takes 30 seconds to input your information so what have you got to lose? 

Ready, Set, GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 tips to getting more referrals!

1. Make it so both the client and the friend receive a generous promotion. If the scheme is well rewarded, further recommendation is encouraged by the current client.

2. Make clients feel good by providing a relaxing atmosphere as well as service or treatment. A salon’s success rate is largely derived by the staffing and aura as well as the treatment.

3. Your clients must feel confident that if they recommend you, their friends will have a great experience too. Their referral directly reflects their taste as well as your business.

4. 10% discount may not cut it. Calculate how much your current client spends and what a new client treatment would cover cost wise and push your marketing incentives.

5. Promoting the scheme may seem obvious but not everyone remembers. Use your website, social media and in salon point of sale to regularly advertise and reinstate the promotion.

How Salon Tracker can instantly improve your business

Increases Customer Loyalty. A salon software system can help you with this by simplifying the process of capturing, storing and organising client data. Salon Tracker allows you to stores all client details in one place, such as hair type, colouring history and even how your client takes their tea, ensuring you are providing a tailored service. Every client is valuable and important, even if they only visit twice a year, it is important to show them you care.

Improves Marketing Campaigns. Salon Tracker allows you to target your customers direct, through a fast and affordable inbuilt SMS marketing feature. The system stores clients personal and purchase history details, ensuring you market more effectively. Salon Tracker allows you to create criteria on your client database to market to. For example, you may want to target irregular customers with a 20% off promotion to encourage a repeat visit.

Gives You Greater Control Over Your Business. Instead of manual reports, we can work out your sales figures including commission, VAT, trade and retail price. Computerised charts enable owners to access and make informative decisions based on live updates, productivity and staff performance and also ensure key products are managed and maintained.

Utilizes Internet Marketing. Businesses can reach a vast audience online quickly and more effectively than traditional marketing methods. It is also important to use email marketing effectively; every time a business fails to capture someone’s email address they’re turning down the opportunity to contact them for FREE, for weeks, months and years ahead. Salon Tracker allows you to store emails so you can promote, thank or gift your customers. 

Reduces No-shows For most salons no shows can be very weakening, the hour or so that is wasted and has lost money is inefficient for business, Salon Tracker can help prevent these occurring by sending out text messages to clients to remind them of their appointment. In addition, the SMS feature can allow you to fill in cancelled appointments by offering 50% discount on all treatments in cancelled appointments. This offer is sure to get your free slot filled and ensure you spend your time productively, making money!

Increases Profits Introducing Salon Tracker management system into your business will ultimately increase your profits and save you money with the use of its advanced applications. Its effective marketing feature will help increase customer loyalty, attract new customers and increase your revenue. By reducing no shows you can save money and use time more efficiently in the salon. Furthermore, Salon Tracker’s detailed reporting function will allow you to evaluate your business performance and easily see where improvements can be made and where opportunities to increase profits can be taken advantage of.