Salon Software company Salon Tracker's 10 top tips on; How Salon Owners can make the best of Professional Beauty North!

Our salon software company ‘Salon Tracker’ are exhibiting for the first time this year at Professional Beauty North, however we have spectated at many previous trade shows. Here are our 10 top tips for salons that are going for their first time this year and how to maximise their time to the best potential at this year’s 2 day event in Manchester!

1. Sort your travel, early!

The vast majority of you will be travelling from afar so travel is a necessity for you! Consider the implications of traffic on the day if you are going to drive, you don’t want to be late and it eat into your time to speak with the industry professionals. Instead why not research into deals with rail networks, in which some actually do discounted offers for Professional Beauty attendees.  Also, if you require a hotel, many close by will also have similar deals.  Make sure to arrange it in plenty of time, it’s a popular show and things book up fast!

2. Forward-Plan!

It is important that you make a thorough itinerary for the time that you are there, whether it be one or two days.  Trade shows are busy and time is limited at each stand due to the high volume of traffic, therefore know which stands you need to visit and for how long!

3. Identify your objectives for the event.

There is obviously a key reason why you are visiting the event, however you need to establish the main objectives that you hope to full-fill whilst you’re there.  Pin-point any problems that you may have in the salon at current and decide on the stands in which you think you will most require information from.  List these then in priority order, in case of contingencies on the day!

4. Have your questions ready!

By identifying problems, you should then prepare relevant questions to ask at each particular stand, because as we earlier mentioned, the event is busy and therefore time to speak with stand representatives is minimal in some cases.

5. Be confident

Don’t be afraid to ask out of the ordinary questions and also don’t shy away if a stand looks a bit over-whelming.  You are there to get information, and people at the show are there to help YOU!  Remember that!  Have a think about which team members might be a good asset to go with you?  If you have a bold, fearless technician, then, maybe take them along as a side-kick!

6. Know your competitors

Being knowledgeable of your competitors is always key to any salon.  Identify what your competitors are currently doing well, that you’re maybe not quite reaching them with and then use this to your potential to gather research from the trade show as to how you can do better!

7. Plan yourself a couple of breather breaks in!
Trade shows can be exhausting!  You are on your feet the majority of the day, plying information out of so many different people, its thirsty work and can be a lot to take in! Make sure that you make time for a couple of short stop offs to re-fuel!  Also, it gives you chance to go over your information that you’ve gathered so far that day, and re-evaluate should anything be different to how you planned.

8. Take down notes and Contact Numbers

Your head will be bombarded with information on the day, in such a short space of time. So, to avoid details slipping the mind, make some notes at each stand whilst you are enquiring.  Also, don’t forget to take some names, telephone numbers and emails down as references, just so that you can get in touch with the professionals after the show, using the notes you have made to prompt the subject of your call.

9. Take your own business cards

You never know!  One minute you could be on a stand chatting about how to improve your salon profits, the next another visitor could overhear you and ask you about your salon business?  At trade shows, anything goes!  Everyone is there to network, it is such a sociable affair so be ready on the off chance that you could do a bit of brand promotion whilst your there!

10. Don’t forget your freebies!

It is standard, at a trade show 9 times out of 10 you come away with something free from every stand, whether it be product samples, trials of programmes or brochures.  The thing is you will visit that many brands that particular day, it can be difficult to memorise the branding of each, so the little freebies will refresh your memory.  Also, any product samples you get you could even take back to the salon for clients to try and give their feedback on before you purchased any from suppliers?

If you are a salon and it is your first time visiting a trade show this September, why not drop by our stand B35, and get a bit of information as to how salon software may work for you?  We’ll be more than happy to give you a bit off free advice!  No harm in a bit of cost-free info!  See you there!

Salon Tracker x

Salon Tracker software on why SMS marketing is imperative for salon growth

Here at Salon Tracker we have come up with the top five reasons as to how simple SMS marketing can improve succession in your salon.


1. Appointment Reminders

Whether your salon specialises in hair, tanning or beauty, the majority of your sales will come from bookings.  Text message reminders are a great way to improve the amount of no-shows, as they prompt clients to ensure that the appointment doesn’t slip their minds.


2. Tips

Cosmetic clients are always eager to know any kind of information regarding beauty regimes or tips, for example suggestions on how to grow their hair, improve their skin or pro-long a tan.  Tips can also tie in well with your salon retail products, as you can send SMS's to recommend your own stock items along with advice as to how those will benefit your client.  Another way to promote and increase retail sales for the salon!

3. Thank you 

This is a nice little gesture to send out to clients upon leaving their appointment, reminding them of the great service that they have had at your salon.  A bonus is, if those clients receive that SMS message whilst with friends, it can spur a conversation and create WOM (word of mouth) promotion for your business.  It is said that people naturally take advice from their friends over any other source and therefore any way that 'word of mouth' promotion can be generated will be extremely beneficial to all salon businesses in gaining new clients. 

4. Exclusive Offers

You may decide to do a seasonal offer throughout the summer, for example; a holiday treatment package, however your regular clients will just be used to your traditional ongoing treatments.  The quickest and cheapest way to ensure that any new offers reach clients immediately is via SMS messaging.  You can obviously also post new offers on your social media pages (if you have them) free of charge.  However the danger sometimes of just solely using social media posting for your advertising is that the message you're trying to deliver could potentially get lost in other news.  Therefore with SMS marketing, you are guaranteeing that your customer actually receives the message personally, as it is sent directly to their mobile phone. 

5. Texts that connect to social media pages

90% of people keep their phone with them at all times, whilst more than a quarter of UK women & 18% of UK men check their social media networks 10 times daily, according to the Independent.  By linking text messages to your social media pages, it will prompt customers to visit your salon's social media sites, in which you can publicise your business further.  A great feature is to generate an SMS message that invites customers to leave you a Facebook review a few days after their last appointment. Reviews and testimonials are a key feature that many ‘first time users’ of your salon will check out and take in to account, before deciding whether to use your services or not.  Therefore, the more positive feedback you can generate through reviews, the better it is for your salon sales. 

We offer an intelligent marketing suite as part of our professional salon software package, in which customised marketing campaigns can be devised to suit a particular salon.  If SMS marketing is something that you feel will benefit your business then why not enquire today at www.salontracker.co.uk or alternatively feel free to call us on 0113 350 8230.

Salon Tracker x

Improving Tanning Businesses with Salon Software

Salon Tracker software, whom are hosting their first exhibition at this year’s Professional Beauty, now integrate with T-Max timers.

For Salons that are struggling to manage minutes or have difficulty keeping track of how many a certain client has used, Salon Tracker software could be the answer.  Salon life will be made easier as our software promises to ensure that your tanning business runs smoothly, even in your absence!  We even eliminate the chance of staff abusing your tanning system as all minutes are tracked. So no more mysterious losses of minutes or tanning packages!

By Salon Tracker integrating with Sigma and T-max Timers, it encourages business security!  With its advanced seamless integration process, sunbed usage and all minutes are tracked from the software.  Not only does the software operate the timers, and ensure that no client is going over the duration of their selected course, it also accurately tracks the usage of each sunbed in order to produce reports that can be printed daily.   The reports will show recordings of all sunbed activity in that particular day, including the details of the client that has had a sunbed treatment, to ensure that they can’t book a tanning course for at least another 24 hours.  Ensuring that you are tanning safely as well as improving your salon management systems!

So if you are a Salon that still uses tokens, then the switch to Salon software could improve the efficiency and organisation of your business.  It also means that your salon can do away with all your paper client cards, as the minutes are tracked through the system alongside the user who has had the treatment.  The advanced calendars are a feature on the software, and they link to the sunbeds and timers.  So no more tokens, no more client cards, everything under one system!

There are many other features of Salon Tracker software to suit the tanning industry, including the ability to link multiple salons.  This essentially allows you to manage each site from the comfort of your own home, when abroad and on the move, 24 hours a day.   It also ensures that clients can’t then flit between one salon and another in any one day to cheat the system and have illegal sunbeds, as the minutes will be tracked across the board of your salon chain.

Another key to this is that you can oversee all business happenings, including cash flow, staff movements, client bookings and end of day reports without having to actually be present in the salon.  Giving you a helping hand in the management of your salons so you don’t have to worry about it whilst you’re not there!

If this sounds like it would benefit your tanning salon, why not visit us at our stand at Professional Beauty North!  Our sales and support team will be there to answer any questions that you have and we can do you a live demo of how the tanning beds would work if they were linked to the software.

Alternatively, enquire on our website www.salontracker.co.uk

Hope to hear from you soon!

Salon Tracker x

Salon Tracker software are soon introducing new feature; ‘The Fingerprint Rota’

Calling all multiple salons who are having difficulty tracking their staff login times.

Some of you reading this may already be our customers and might currently use the Salon Tracker Fingerprint Reader to check clients in for appointments and to locate their online record card. However, we have developed this feature and have now tailored it to monitor staff rotas, recording their shift start and finish times.

As a salon owner you have certain requirements when it comes to your staff.  You need to be able to see that they are acting professionally and also, arriving and leaving work on time.  A feature due to release is the 'Fingerprint Rota'.  This is where all staff members log in and out with their fingerprint to avoid misbehaving or getting colleagues to sign in for them, ensuring visibility and authority remains consistent in salon owners’ absence.

The Fingerprint Rota allows salon owners to identify which staff members have signed in and out of the salon instantly.  We will be launching this feature at Professional Beauty North this year, as we are exclusively exhibiting there on September 20th and 21st.  Our team will be holding live demonstrations of all new features at the event, which will be held at Manchester Central.

The rota will accurately track the duration of staff shifts, also highlighting lateness, meaning salon owners can follow up staff members accordingly.  For multi-site salons, this feature is exceptionally useful as records generated by the Fingerprint Rota can be accessed at salon headquarters or when on the move, via Site View.

Site view is another of our features in which all salon records, including cashing up reports and monthly takings can be viewed from any PC, mobile or tablet from home or whilst on route.

So, if you are a multi-site salon owner and are looking for something to improve the customer management process for your business then why not call up our office today?

Our telephone number is 0113 350 8230 and we would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have and also give you a FREE demo of our salon software.

Or why not visit us at Professional Beauty North, where we will be launching our new features to improve business management for multi-site salons.  You’ll find us at stand B35.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Salon Tracker x

Graduation Season: Salon Tracker software give three tips to salon owners for improving sales

It’s July, the month of graduation for many, and the dates are fast approaching. What better an opportunity for salons to capitalise on and bag themselves a few extra sales? Here were giving a few little tips on how beauty, hair and tanning businesses can make the most of graduation season.

Graduation Pamper Pack

Throughout the middle of July and early August, why not run a special treatment package that incorporates all of the standard treatments that typical graduating clients would come for.  This goes for all salon types; hair, tanning and beauty.  Tanning salons could offer a selection of free retail products with every 60 minute course purchased, for example something to pro-long a tan or replenish skin.  Hair salons may do a discounted deal on a cut and colour, maybe the client gets a blow-dry style of their choice for free with every colour treatment?  Beauty salons could link up a manicure with an eye brow wax and spray tan and maybe do the three as a multi-pack buy for a certain amount? Just a few ideas for you to think about.

Student Discount

This is the big one to capitalise on round graduation time, as obviously for those graduating, the time on their student card is limited and edging closer to expiry.  Many salons will promote student discount round fresher’s period, obviously, as towns and cities are crawling with new students exploring their new salon choices!  However, graduation season is just as big of an advantage, so maybe up the student discount percentage for a few weeks, and be sure to promote it across your salon on decals, window graphics and on your social media accounts.  You should see an increase in foot fall in no time!

Bring a Fellow Graduation Buddy

Clients always love their pamper days with friends so why not make it a bit of fun for the soon to be graduates?  Offer your current clients the chance to bring another graduating friend?   If you are a user of salon software, create an SMS campaign that filters out to all of your existing clients, ensuring that you get a quick response from any that are due to graduate.  The offer could include a selection of treatments for the pair at a third of the usual selling price, or a free mini treatment with every appointment?  The advantage of this for your salon is that it essentially could improve your customer database, should the ‘friends’ be impressed with your treatments, they may re-visit and become a loyal customer!

Hope these help to improve salon awareness and increase your profits over the coming weeks!

P.S...if you are interested in salon software, please visit our website at www.salontracker.co.uk and enquire for more info today!

Salon Tracker x

Salon Tracker software can improve your multi-site salon business!

If you are already a user of Salon Tracker software at the moment, or aren’t and are looking for a way to improve you’re multi-site salon business, then our HQ feature could be of great benefit to you.

Presumably, if you are the owner of multiple salons, you have a substantially large client database, with each separate salon having its own local clients.  However, you may have clients that flit between several of your salons.

With the HQ feature, it eliminates all clients from having to re-register at other salons among your chain and the database will recognise treatments that they have had in the past, including all previous skin tests.  So for example, say if a customer has visited your ‘London’ salon, the technicians in your ‘Manchester’ salon will be able to see their past treatments and retail purchases.  All client information will be stored at your companies HQ, so that skin disclaimers can be viewed at any salon, meaning that the safety tests don't have to be repeated.  Saving time in your salon and for your customers!

HQ also improves business organisation, by linking all of your salon businesses up so that overall salon activity can be seen from your salon headquarters.  This including end of day sales, KPI tracking and monthly cash flow. 

Salon Tracker are currently updating the online booking feature meaning that soon customers will be able to actually register for your salon chain online.  All online bookings will be fired straight over to the correct salon calendar, so technicians can see these bookings immediately and this way appointments won’t cross over.

So, if you are a multi-site salon and are looking for something to improve the customer management process for your business then why not call up our salon today?  Our telephone number is 0113 350 8230 and we would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have and give you a FREE demo of the software.

Also, not sure if you've heard already but we will be exclusively exhibiting at Professional Beauty North in Manchester this September, where live demos of each of our software features will be available.  We'll be at stand B35 so head on down for more info and selective special offers!

Hope to see you there!

Salon Tracker x

How Salons can use Father’s Day to their advantage

Father’s Day is fast approaching and here at Salon Tracker we have thought of a few last minute ideas that salons can use to promote retail products and increase treatment sales.

Typically, according to Mintel, the percentage of women salon users is 72% whilst for males it is 52% and this figure includes all salon types including spa and tanning. Therefore generally for hair and beauty salons, it tends to be predominantly a female client base.

However, it is the ladies that will be buying the presents for their Dads, Grandads and other halves!  So great opportunity for you to highlight treatment packages and your best male cosmetics to your female clients whilst they’re having their treatments.

With male grooming on the increase, you could advertise product hampers, a discounted treatment or even a gift voucher (if you’re a salon that has them).   For those unorganised panic buyers who really don’t know what to get Dad, what better way than to be able to purchase it whilst having their weekly manicure or blow-dry!

Think of the best ways you can market, for example, use Father’s day graphics in front of the products that you have on offer, have hanging cards displayed around the Salon promoting the father’s day treatment packages or, if you’re a Salon that already uses salon software, filter out an SMS or email campaign to your customers for immediate advertising.  The email can be generic, as obviously the majority of your male as well as female clients will still have a father around, but not everyone.  So just keep it simple and to the point.  Something like ‘Father’s Day Deals’ then go on to explain your salons offers.

For new to the scene dads, whose wife’s and girlfriends will be buying on behalf of their little bambinos, why not offer a joint treatment package?  A great gift for the couple to spend together!

Hope this helps you to achieve a few extra sales this Father Day!

P.S

…for you salon owners who are a little bit ‘last minute Annie’ with your presents, here are Salon Tracker’s five ‘play-safe’ gifts for Dad that you just can’t go wrong with!


1. The Dad and Son/Daughter photo frame

Some silly childhood photos are always good!







2. Shaving Set

Something Dad’s always need! Nivea and Ted Baker do a range of packages & usually have offers on!

3. Good old pair of wacky socks 

Next, M&S, House of Fraser & BHS always have novelty Dad socks!









4. Aftershave

 

You can’t go wrong with a good Hugo Boss cologne! 

The Fragrance shop and The Perfume Shop always have 

discounts this time of year!









5. Chocolate selection 

A good Thorntons classic box or Hotel 

chocolat selection is a fail safe every time!

Salon Tracker x