Recreating Salons and Making Life easier!

Darren Lloyd,Sizzling Sarah’s » North Yorkshire

“Salon Tracker has helped me overcome the main day to day concerns of running a salon such as customers exceeding their recommended tanning minutes, customers sharing their tanning courses and the management of the salon whilst I’m away. 

The system logs everything: whose accessed the till, how many clients we've served, how much money we've taken and what stock needs replacing. If I'm away for the day I can look at the system and know in minutes what needs to be done. The secure-shell system [which prevents staff from accessing the computer for non-work purposes] has also helped as it means I know staff cannot browse the Internet when they’re working. We use the finger print reader to identify clients, this has eliminated the opportunity for clients to share tanning courses or exceed their recommended number of minutes. It has also taken pressure of our receptionist, as clients can just swipe in when they arrive. 

Having the peace of mind whilst I’m away from the salon is priceless. Also, the elimination of shared tanning courses has improved my profit margins. The reduction in paperwork has taken the pressure off me, meaning I can spend more time getting more important things done”.

Another day, another satisfied customer...

Louise Tillotson –Dreams Wellbeing Salon - Bradford 

“Salon Tracker software has made day to day salon tasks a lot simpler and we are a lot more productive because of it.  It is simple and effective.  Customers love the fact that everything is stored on the system and they don't need to bring in appointment cards or receipts.  With the integrated T-Max system it also means no more tokens! We regularly use the SMS marketing to inform customers of our offers.  This has resulted in customers re visiting us when offers are running or when we have product ranges on special offer.  We also wish high spenders a happy birthday and offer them something free if they visit us that week.  This is not only great customer service but it also gets them through the door when they may not have come in. Salon Tracker has also been a big help with the management of our employees, we can leave staff alone with the confidence that everything is logged and tracked through the system.  We can also check that they have been logging in and out as they should be, they know they cannot come in late or leave early without it being noticed.  We can even dial in if we choose to and see exactly what sales etc have been made while they are there. The complete stock control built into the system also makes it easier and more accurate than ordering by eye furthermore the reporting functions mean cashing up and tracking things like customer spend take no time at all.”

Increase your sales by up to 20% with SalonTracker

Did you know that you could increase your annual income by as much as 20 per cent by investing in your marketing to new and existing clients?

With Salon Tracker, a medium-sized, independent salon generating annual sales of £210,000 with six staff can add a further £35,000 a year in income through the best use of salon management software combined with a series of dedicated marketing campaigns.

Marketing manager, Rachel Scott says: “Salon management systems provide an excellent platform to manage your beauty business but you only get out of them what you put in.

“That means taking the time and effort to enter all the correct data about your customers. A good salon management system should allow you to communicate directly with your clients using SMS text messaging on their mobile phones or embracing social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.”

Scott says, "when salon owners take the time to get their key marketing messages in place and match it with a service offering that genuinely impresses, the client income stream can grow by as much as 20 per cent."

Salon Tracker can be configured by salon owners to send out reminders to clients 48 hours ahead of their appointment and can help cut no shows by as much as 70%.

Marketing messages – whether by text or through social media channels – can be adapted for seasonal events such as Christmas celebrations or summer holidays. If you know the clients’ birthday or special anniversary you can even offer a discount on a treatment through your system.

Fully integrated with Facebook and with a dynamic SMS messaging service, Salon Tracker allows users to manage and prioritise appointments, capture customer information and build an interactive database – which can even allow users to market special offers to customers directly from the system.

The system also delivers fast and efficient Point of Sale with simple business sales reports, cash flow and profit and loss accounts management, staff commission and stock management, and enables remote access to the software from anywhere in the world – even when the salon owner is on holiday.

To get the best out of your salon management software Salon Tracker has the following top five marketing tips:

Increase Customer Loyalty:  Your best immediate sources of additional profits and increased business are your existing customers. Salon Tracker can help you capture, store and organise client data using it a distribution list for key messages that suit your clients’ tastes. It allows you to “Googlize” your clients.

Improve Marketing Campaigns: Salon Tracker allows you to target your customers direct, fast and low cost with the use of the inbuilt sophisticated SMS marketing suite. As the system stores clients purchase history and personal details it allows you to market to them more effectively. Salon Tracker allows you to create contact mailing lists from your client database using any criteria you want, for example you may want to target irregular customers with a 20 per cent off promotion in order to encourage a repeat visit.

Measure Success: It is essential that you measure the response to all of your advertising with Salon Tracker’s business reports in order to evaluate whether you’re getting a return on your investment with improved sales. If it’s not working change your messages.

The Power of the Internet: To drive as many customers as possible to your appointment book Salon Tracker’s online booking service will also integrate with your Facebook business page giving you access to the biggest social network in the world.

Seasonal Messages: Make sure messages engage with the clients’ needs. So, as we head into winter and the Christmas festivities use messages that appeal to them. Messages might include – “Beat the cold weather and keep your skin soft and hydrated this season with 20% off facial treatments” or “Look fantastic this Christmas with our festive hair rescue remedy with every cut and colour."

‘Top 5 Tips’- How to use Social Media to promote your salon

1. Snap away!

Pictures are an underrated form of marketing. We are surrounded by thousands of adverts on a daily basis that when we like or follow a business online, people have a tendency to skip through elongated passage writing. This is not due to lack of interest but more so due to what we presume we already know about that particular business.

Pictures are not only more aesthetic but they are quick, snappy, and, to the point. The right image might just make your customer want to read on so choose tactically!

2. Gossip…

Salons tend to have a warm, cosy and friendly atmosphere which is exactly what people seek on social media. The key with social media is to be the person who you are behind the computer. Facebook and Twitter are fantastic ways to sell new products or shout about promotions but the idea is to be ‘social’, to create a persona that people are attracted to so that they, in return, like and share your business.

Some marketing myths are that the more promotion and marketing a company does, the more successful but this is not necessarily true until you have built and established loyal clients. Many people like originality and variety on their news feed; the key is to stand out, share pictures, throw in some jokes and build rapport with customers as though they are in your salon to make them feel at ease and valuable.

3. Cross Promotions

Connect with local businesses to cross promote to different networks. This era’s media focus is largely surrounding celebrity culture which has consequently given people more interest or made more aware of their appearance. Why not try linking up with local gyms to find a new network? Combine a prize package for people in your town to win a completely free makeover and 5 free PT sessions? If this doesn't appeal why not try local florists for events such as Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day?

4. Social Media Metrics

One of the most important aspects of Facebook is knowing whether it is growing your company. It might be worthwhile making a marketing strategy to surround what works for you as a company. Measuring your strategy will show you what your audience are more attracted to or offers that appeal to them. There are many free measurement metrics that will give you the availability to see when your audience are generally, most active too, which can be your push promotion period.

5. Blogging

Social media isn't just surrounding Facebook and Twitter. Blogging is not as hyped as what connection media is, however it is just as popular. The appeal with blogging is that someone can follow what you do and see pictures, passages, tips you have to share and it can be shared through Facebook or Twitter.

Why not try delegating a staff member for 10 minutes in the day, where they can have the freedom to write an anonymous customer story of the week, post fun and relevant articles, pictures or even health and beauty tips of the week.