How to Ensure that your Tanning Salon is Secure as we Enter Spring/Summer

We can’t believe it’s the start of another spring again (although we’re verrrry glad about it!) But this is the time of year that salons see a massive increase in their footfall, especially those in the tanning industry as everyone wants their holiday base-tan!

You will all be aware that The Sunbed Regulation Act 2010 came into practice in April 2011, forbidding anyone under the age of 18 from using a tanning bed, or being within a booth that a tanning bed is situated.

In relation to this, the Sunbed Association also highlighted some recommendations that they suggest tanning salons to advise their clients of before they tan.

As we enter the Spring/Summer period, a very peak sales time for tanning salons, our Salon Software has extra tanning rules built in to help salon owners to abide by the current regulations act during the busy season.

In this post we explain how our rules work, and also the consequences that your business could face should you happen to break the law, even if it is unknowingly.

Salon Tracker Tanning Rules

Our system has 5 rules implemented, in which for each of these rules Salon owners can select the level of security that they want from the system for each rule.

The options are Disabled/Warn/Stop, meaning that you can either disable the rule, ensure that the customer is warned about a particular rule, or force that the system stops a customer from tanning altogether if their client details don’t meet the rule criteria. We however recommend that you don’t disable any of the rules, as at the end of the day there is no harm in warning clients with safety advice!

Below are each of Salon Tracker's 5 built-in rules and what they mean:

Age Limit

The Sunbed Regulations Act 2010 states that no one, by law, should use a sunbed or be within a booth containing a sunbed unless they are 18 years or over. Therefore you can ‘Stop’ on this rule, which means that the system would forbid anyone to tan with a date of birth that makes them under 18 years of age.

24 Hour

The Sunbed Association recommends that no one tans more than once in any 24 hour period. You may want to ‘Warn’ on this rule, so that you can tell a client if they have had more than one booking in the last 24 hours.

No Skin Type

There are many different ways that salons identify skin types, for example they may differentiate by putting ‘sensitive, fair, medium, dark’ or may put ‘1, 2, 3, 4’ with 1 being the most susceptible to UV. Salon Tracker has a skin type setting that can be saved on all clients individual record cards, in which you could again ‘Warn’ for this rule to let a client know that they haven’t specified their skin-type.

48 Hour Depending on Skin Type 

As mentioned above, if a client has sensitive or fair skin, it is recommended that they only tan once in any 48 hour period, as they are more vulnerable to burning from the over-exposure to UV rays. Again, you may want to set a ‘Warn’ with this rule, so that you can advise clients with fairer skin types if they have had a booking in the last 48 hours.

Bookings per Year

The Sunbed Association recommends no more than 52 sessions per year, which amounts to 4 sessions per month, 1 session per week. Similar to the rules above, this again you might want to set to ‘Warn’ just to keep clients updated of how many times they have tanned per annum.

Other Features we offer to keep your Salon Secure are:

Fingerprint Reader

Our system is compatible with a Fingerprint Reader, in which it has built-in technology so that once a fingerprint is saved against a client card, only that client themselves can then activate their own details. This means that no one can tan fraudulently in anyone else’s name, saving you from the risk of underage clients using fake identification to tan.

Signature Pad

All tanning disclaimers can be signed for via our electronic signature pad and stored within the system on the client’s digital record card. The benefit of this is that should you ever need proof of a signature of acceptance for a client, the disclaimer cannot be miss-placed or lost as it will be saved on the system.

T-Max Integration

Our system is compatible with T-Max, meaning that all minutes are tracked accurately and have to be processed through Salon Tracker itself rather than through the sunbed. This means that no one can manually activate the sunbed using purely the T-max without disabling the integration cables first, and if they do this you can then track how many minutes have been through the sunbed using Salon Tracker’s reporting tool, and if these don’t match up to the minutes on the T-Max timer itself you can then identify malicious activity.

Should your salon ever receive an unannounced visit from Trading Standards and fail to be seen complying with the current Regulations Act, you could find yourself subject to a 20,000 fine. We can minimise that risk with our Salon Software, don’t let that be you!

If you want to try out our salon software before you make any decisions, then you can have a FREE 2 week trial of Salon Tracker, which is no-obligation, to see how it works for your business.

For your demo and trial visit http://bit.ly/RGeGVd

We look forward to hearing from you!

Salon Tracker x

Easter & Spring Email Marketing Advice

Today we will have a closer look into email marketing techniques and share some promo examples you can use this spring to get more customers through the door. 

Whilst Christmas is obviously one of the best time of year to market to customers, Easter and spring is not far behind. In fact, a well thought out Easter campaign can have a positive effect to your business and increase your revenue. Email marketing is a fantastic way to tell your clients about any products, offers or special discounts you are running. Why not even offer an additional discount if they sign up to your newsletter. This way you get more  people to market to and simultaneous increase interest in your products. 

Marketing yourself can improve your business and revenue by a long way. The great thing is that there are plenty of opportunities to promote offers and discounts, from Social Media to poster, SMS messages and emails. UK holidays, such as Easter are the perfect opportunity to jump on the marketing band wagon as many businesses are offering special incentives, because more people are off from work and will enjoy their free time shopping or thinking about special purchases. If you have an attractive offer advertised, you motivate them even more to visit and book with you. What a great opportunity to participate in! 

If you want to stay on top of customer’s minds then email marketing is a great way to promote your products and services, but how do you even get started? 

First, you’ll need an email marketing service such as MailChimp. Many offer a free version up to a certain number of emails per month. These services offer plenty of different templates that allow you to create different designs to match your business. However, don’t overload your customers with too many emails and make sure you ask them if they’re happy to receive special offers via email. Here are some tips you might want to consider when you send email campaigns:

- It’s great if you know your clients preferences and you can send them tailored messages. This way, only relevant emails will reach them. I know however that this can be time consuming and you might send just a generic email to all your clients.

- Record what you learn from customers in a database. This way you can adjust your marketing. For example, if there is a popular time people open your email then send campaigns around that time. This might require some initial trial and error testing but after a few attempts, you should have some valuable info what clients prefer. 

- Many email marketing services such as MailChimp let you create different templates to match your brand; take advantage of that.

- Include a click-through link to your website, so clients can book or find out more information

- Use a grabbing subject line that is to the point

If you use Salon Tracker or other Salon Software, then you can probably sort your customers by applying different filters such as ‘Upcoming Birthdays, VIP customers’ etc. This is a great way to target very specific customers rather than all of them. Simply apply the filter and export the email addresses so you can use them in MailChimp or another provider. Emails doesn’t have to be long and always work better with images. Make sure you use a neutral font and a visible text colour. Here are three ideas of short but to the point promo emails:

Option 1

Hi <<name>>

As spring has arrived, we want to offer all new and existing customers a special discount:

Save 25% off your next visit

(include a promo code that can be redeemed in store)

Make sure you include relevant images and have a call to action, such as Book now, or call now to motivate customers to make a booking).

Option 2

Hi Everyone

Happy Easter!

Join us for our Easter Egg Hunt this year to win some special gifts and discounts.

(Include an event link to your Facebook Page)

Don’t miss out!

Your Salon Team

Option 3:

Easter Greetings
from <<insert Salon Name>>

Dear <<insert customer name>>

Have a Happy Easter and our very best wishes for the remainder of the year.
This year we want to treat you and a friend to a special gift. Why not enjoy a luxurious pamper treatment of your choice. All our treatments for 2 people will be half price when you book over the Easter week.

Book now!

Your Salon Team 

There are plenty of email templates out there you can use for free. Even if you just have an Easter inspired image such as the one below, you can add your message to the image and send it to your customers. It’s quick and to the point and your customers don’t have to read through paragraphs of text to know what the email is about. 

Extra option:

For more information Email marketing, you can ask one of our friendly team members who will be happy to assist with any questions. 

On our software, you can even filter through your client list in the marketing section, if you want to send promo emails to only certain groups of people. Call now for more help with your salon marketing or if you would like to trial the software: 0113 350 8230 or email info@salontracker.co.uk

Salon Tracker x

Salon Tracker Feature of the Month: SMS Marketing

Marketing methods are extremely important for businesses with a B2C model, especially in the salon industry as it is so media-influenced by current celebs and bloggers, content needs to be constantly refreshed and up to date with present existences.

There are many different methods of marketing direct to the consumer, however for salon industries, dependent on size and budget, these channels may differ from business to business in terms of affordability.

SMS marketing however is one of those types of marketing that costs exactly the same per message to each client, obviously dependent on how large a salon’s database is, that is when you then see the cost increase. Like any business though, the larger your client base and annual revenue, this usually results in the higher your marketing budget. So for March, we’ve chosen SMS marketing as our feature of the month and here’s why we think its’s so useful to salon businesses.

The simplest reason why SMS marketing is such a beneficial marketing opportunity is that nowadays consumers always have their phones to hand, meaning that your message is instantly communicated to them. You’re probably thinking now, well, an email is easily delivered and that’s free? The same with an app notification, or a Facebook post? And yes, we would agree with you, and all of these types of marketing are equally just as good, but the reason we focus solely on SMS marketing is that this first of all can be used by salon businesses of all sizes. For example some local salons may not have a company social media page setup yet, or their network following of those may not be very strong. Similarly with an email campaign, it’s often that for retailers and salon businesses many consumers’ sign up to newsletters with their so called ‘spam’ accounts, in other words ‘un-important email accounts.’ This increases the chance of a message being missed due to being hidden in a rarely checked email inbox alongside many other B2C marketing emails. With a text, the message is instantly delivered to the clients’ phone and they are likely to open it immediately on receiving it.

Great methods to utilise SMS marketing is to plan ahead when you are going to be running an event or around national holidays such as Spring Bank Holidays or Xmas. Work out what promotions and new products you’ll be offering around those times, weigh up your client database and work out how many messages you would need around that time to directly market to all your clients with SMS. What is great about the SMS marketing feature on Salon Tracker is that you just purchase the messages ad-hoc when you want to run a campaign, meaning that there are no marketing funds wasted as you can run it on a pay-as-you-go service. An example of a promo message that you might run for Easter or May Bank holiday for example could be:

Hi <<Forename>>

Be Beautiful this Bank Hol! We're offering a free [ENTER VALUE] voucher with every booking made this week, redeemable against all of our bank holiday services!

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

For an even better return on investment and to help you to increase your client database we have also included many marketing filters, which help you to direct your SMS marketing messages even further. One of our filters is to advertise to customers that haven’t visited you in a while, in which the system will track customer spend and highlight clients that haven’t been in for an appointment for some time. An example of how one of those pre-filtered messages would look is:

Hi <<Forename>>

You are missed! All appointments booked before [ENTER DATE] will receive [ENTER DISCOUNT] discount. 

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

You can then manage the return on how sales have reacted to your campaigns by using the Salon Tracker reporting tool, which you can also view annual sales charts to identify which times SMS marketing campaigns may also be essential to help boost footfall. Similarly, we have just introduced a Sales by Hour report, which identifies peak and quiet times of the day. Another great tool for determining when to run a promotional campaign and also when to schedule the SMS message to notify clients of the offer.

For more information on our SMS marketing tools or any of our software features, head over to www.salontracker.co.uk or call our office on 0113 350 8230 to book your software demo.

And don’t forget, you can also trial Salon Tracker FREE of charge for 2 weeks, and we give you 50 FREE texts to try out the marketing feature for yourself!

Salon Tracker x

Mother’s Day Marketing Ideas –Make it special

Mother’s Day - Every year we celebrate all the contribution and work our mothers have done for us and this year isn't any different. 

The lead up the day always presents incredible opportunities to boost sales for most businesses; especially for salons, this great opportunity should not be ignored! Hence, why many salon owners join the cause to drive business forward and increase revenue. If you offer something special and unique, you help the customer’s buying decision and make it easier for them to choose your business over others. In the end, why should they purchase from someone else if you have the better offer. So be creative, unique and put some effort in to stand out.

Often salons, spas and florists are the first places to come in mind when thinking about mother’s day gifts. It also means that everyone around you will likely do the same. If you want to stand out and be picked by the customer, you need to think of something else, something unique. 

I know it is easy to say all these things than to put into your ideas practice. That is why we have created some examples for you on how you can promote sales over the next few weeks, leading up to Mother’s Day. 

Discounts: This is old news, but discounts always work. Research have proven that buying behaviour is heavily influenced if there is something special on offer. 

Have you thought about customising your discounts though? How about a ‘Children Only’ discount week or a ‘Daddy’ Discount week. This can attract children who are looking to spend their pocket money on a mother’s day gift but do not have unlimited funds available. Offering products just for children. With a discounts, it will motivate them to consider and choose the right one. You can even offer consultation and have a special shelf for them to choose their gifts from to make it even easier for kids to get something nice for mummy.

Create special moments: Create meanings and memories behind products, instead of wrapping items ‘just’ nicely. Don't get me wrong, a nice looking gift will always be appreciated but why not think of offers that include special treatments for two, such as a mother daughter or mother/son time at the salon. Instead of husbands, kids or partners buying products, they can also purchase a luxury treatment as a 2 for 1 offer that will only be available in March/April. This will encourage them to spend quality time together and make new memories. 

You can even come up with special event names, such as ‘Mum and Me’ or ‘Mum treatments’, ‘Mother and child’…and announce it on your social media and website.

Use the web and social media: There are endless opportunities on the internet. Social media is especially good to reach out to younger audiences and target them in particular. Make sure it is relevant to your business and something that interest lots of people. You can create gift guides on social media for example. These ideas can be a mix of your own products and inspiration from other websites. Being visible online gives customers the chance to share, like and talk about your business. In return, others may discover you through your followers and become new customers, and therefore purchase from you. 

You can run a favourite gift of the week campaign where a member of staff introduces a treatment or product. The same thing applies to your website. If you update your website with fresh, relevant content, it will help you to stand out of the crowd.

Another great way to make yourself visible online is through targeted advertising. You can use ads and run special campaigns for people close to your business. Why not run a ‘Mother’s day gift’ campaign for new customers and use Facebook to advertise it on.

Last Minute campaigns for him: There are always some last-minute panics when husbands and partners (no offence guys) are frantically trying to find a present the day before Mother’s Day, or even on the day itself. Use this opportunity and host a special ‘late evening shopping’ or 'early morning' event for them. You can invite them via text or social media, which is quick, and to the point.

The event itself can be anything from a specific evening to a popup event where they can purchase gifts, get free consultation and get gifts nicely wrapped as well. All they have to do is place the order, choose what they want and take it home. Alternatively, if they rather wish to give treatments and voucher you can also have someone there to help with the decision-making. It’s easy and hassle free so that they can treat mums to something special, with a little bit of help from the salon.


Help with DIY: A unique twist on the usual beauty present is definitely handmade gifts or gifts that involve action. These options are usually on top of the list for mothers. Now, there are some creative ways you can get involved in this. Why not offer some events children or spouses can buy mothers that they can attend, either together or alone. This can include fun things such as ‘Beauty Products Making’ or ‘The Art of Contouring’ Masterclass. Think what your salon specializes in, what resources you have available and how you can offer that to your customers.

We hope some of our tips are useful and you got some ideas on how you can boost sales this Mother’s Day.

Salon Tracker x

Thank you for Visiting us at Professional Beauty London!

So that’s another trade show down and what a busy event it was this year. A big thankyou to everyone who visited our stand at PB London, it was great to meet you and to also see some familiar faces of our current clients too. It's always great to catch up with customers at trade shows, and to also find out what we can do to help new clients to improve their salon businesses - we had a fab weekend and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! 

Just a quick reminder really for those of you that did manage to have a chat with us - our show offers are valid until Friday 31st March 2017 and to recap on what we are offering, these are:

3 Months Free on all Subscription Software Licenses

20% off all Hardware Purchases 


And another quick few pointers, why should you invest in Salon Tracker Software?


WE OFFER MULTI-SITE FUNCTIONALITIES

If you are the owner of a multi-site business you can link your client data, treatment lists and manage stock from a main headquarters. 


24/7 ONLINE BOOKING 

Clients can book through your Website, Facebook Page and your own salon-branded mobile app, meaning booking on the go is available to clients, 24/7. Clients also have their own individual login to be able to book services at the tap of a button. 


ONLINE REGISTRATION

Increase your client database by offering a registration form for clients to fill out online, or on an iPad at your salon reception to minimise waiting times and organise customer queues.  

WE INTEGRATE WITH T-MAX TIMERS

We integrate with T-Max for seamless minute tracking for all clients, to ensure that your salon is as secure as possible and client minute usage is managed accurately.

STAFF CLOCK – IN & OUT 

With our fingerprint reader you can keep a track of staff performance by forcing the scan of their fingerprint each time they clock in and out of a shift, to ensure that other employees aren’t maliciously signing them in and hiding lateness from you. 


After speaking to many of you at the show, we highlighted that some of the main gripes were that you struggle to split your time across your salon business alongside other commitments, in which you also would like some extra help in managing sales & performance. This is where we can really help you, our highly-skilled team are dedicated to growing your business and improving your salon profits. Salon Tracker will relieve you from stress and save you some extra time in the process - see for yourself and try it out in the salon with our FREE fortnight trial.

To book your FREE demo and trial simply head to http://www.salontracker.co.uk/FreeTrial.aspx  

We look forward to hearing from you.

Salon Tracker x       

Trade Show Survival Kit - Tips and Tricks for attending Trade Shows

Have you ever attended a trade show or some kind of business exhibition, either as a visitor or as exhibitor? If yes, you know how busy these shows get, as everyone tries to talk to you and offer their products and services. Vast amounts of people are on the lookout for the best deals, newest products and their favourite brands. It can be easy to lose all focus and business goals when bombarded with information that does not even seem relevant to you. The trick is, no matter if you are a visitor or an exhibitor to keep a clear head and to know exactly what you are trying to achieve from the show. Our team at Salon Tracker will be exhibiting at Pro Beauty London in less than a week and we know many of our customers, and business partners will be going too. 

Therefore, we have explored the web for some tips and tricks on how to survive a trade show for both visitors as well as exhibitors. Read below our top three tips for visitors, followed by three helpful tips for exhibitors. Maybe you’re even thinking about exhibiting yourself in the future, or just want to explore the options. There is nothing wrong with getting some ideas and getting ahead of your game early. Even if you aren’t quite sure where your business is taking you, trade shows can be beneficial to you in many aspects. 

Tips for Visitors

Plan ahead

Know the purpose of your visit in advance. If you have come and just want to browse to see what is on offer then go ahead. Stroll through the aisles and stop for things that interest you. If you know which businesses you definitely want to see, I recommend checking out where they are located. This way you can head straight to the important bits and enjoy the hustle and bustle after all your business and shopping enquiries are satisfied. As most trade shows are located outside of most city centres makes sure you plan enough time getting there as well. Check out public transport times and nearby stops, as parking is often limited at these events.

Take advantage of any discount and exclusive offers

If you own a business, are about to open one or have a favourite brand that you now will be attending, then why not take advantage of exclusive offers. What a great way to stock up on products for a discounted rate. Especially if you’re on the lookout for new products, equipment or anything else. Now will be the perfect time to get them. Most products and businesses at shows offer VAT free items and services, meaning you already save 20% on items. On top of that are most exhibitors willing to negotiate little extras on top of that. All you have to do is ask. 

Know what you want

Most people come to a trade show roughly knowing what they want. Before signing up to an event, you must have thought about the industry and how it can benefit you. If you own a business, thinking about opening one or are just interested in the field then trade shows are a great place to network, check out competition and get some good deals. 

Take some time aside to thing about your business and if there is anything to improve that, you can potentially get at the trade show. Remember most businesses have special discounts available; therefore, this might be the perfect time to stock up on certain retail products, try out a new brand or finally try out that one product you always wanted to. Exhibitors are experts in their field and it’s a great way to get more into, test products without committing to them straight away.

As visitors, you can easily get overwhelmed with all the stands at the show, so make sure you get out the events brochure for a better overview.

Tips for Exhibitors

Planning and researching your target audience will help you identify your goals and gain customers for the long run. Attending a trade show is never going to be just you. You have to deal with your competitors attending as well. You need to carefully plan and make sure potential customers see what your stand, services are about, and where you are located. 

Plan your business goals

First things first, you need to attract qualified visitors to your stand to promote and sell your products and services. The advantage with trade shows is that most visitors are attending a trade show to buy, so great news. Most established businesses know what they are hoping to achieve throughout the financial year and in what ways. If you are a new business and you’re not quite sure where you want your business to go, then trade shows are a great way of face-to-face marketing to potential clients. As a business, you plan months ahead and spend money to exhibit at shows. You obviously want to make the most of it and generate new leads for your business and overall gain new customers. Do you think about maybe exhibiting in the future, when this still applies to you and might give you a good idea of what to consider.

Use the right tools

Make sure you stand out with your brand so that visitors can see your excellent service and offers you are representing. There is nothing worse than seeing a stand and not knowing what the brand is offering. Make sure you marketing material is clear to visitors, explaining what you do and what features you are offering. 

Investing in some good exhibition display stands, with high quality images and brochures for visitors to take away. The more relevant info you provide, the more chance you have that people remember your brand. The same applies to speaking to any potential clients directly. Try to talk to potential customers without losing focus, adapting to their tone and eliminating those who don’t seem qualified and are basically a waste of time or who just come for the freebies. 

Gather ideas from around you

Have a look around and explore what others you are doing and how they’re doing it. Not only is it fun to see what your competitors are up to, you can also gather some ideas for upcoming shows. Say, you saw a nice quality stand display; it won’t hurt asking them what supplier they have used. After all, getting ideas that improve your business in the end are always helpful.

As I mentioned before, Salon Tracker are exhibiting at Professional Beauty London this weekend. Our helpful team will be available Sunday and Monday, all day for any questions, information and live demonstration of our products and services. Make sure to pop by and say hello. If you haven’t registered to the event yet, make sure to click the link for a FREE ticket: http://bit.ly/2jBRDdb

Not going to Professional Beauty London? No problem, you can still trial our software for 2-weeks free of charge, just call our office and speak to one of our helpful team members on 0113 350 8230 or email info@salontracker.co.uk

Salon Tracker x

Salon Tracker: Feature of the Month

Need to improve security in the salon, perfect your business organisation and also ensure that no one is tanning fraudulently or illegally in your absence?

Then read on to see how our Feature of the Month - The Fingerprint Reader can help you to achieve those improvements.

Our salon software has a unique fingerprint recognition built in, which enables a fingerprint login security for all clients, and on top of that, allows staff to clock in and out of their shifts. An essential feature for all salons, and especially those in the tanning industry.

The beauty of fingerprint reading is that no one can replicate another’s fingerprint and sign in as someone else, like what unfortunately may happen with pin logins and barcode readers. This applies to both clients and staff, as before we introduced the fingerprint feature we used to hear stories of clients who would try and tan using a friend’s login, in which if the friend was underage then tanning salons could be allowing people to tan illegally without actually being wise to it.

Not only however does this stop clients tanning fraudulently, is also eliminates the chance of malicious behaviours, for example if staff were using fake client record cards to tan mischievously whilst on a shift in the salon owners absence. We know that this probably isn’t a usual occurrence, but unfortunately we have had feedback of this happening in some salon businesses, and therefore you just want to make sure that your salon is as secure as possible, and you are using your salon software to its full potential.

Further benefits include being able to accurately track your staff rota, in which this is the feature that is really beneficial to salon owners that are away from their salon locations for long periods of time. Our salon system has permissions that force the use of a fingerprint before a staff member can be logged in to a shift, which means lateness can be identified and followed up quickly and eliminates other colleagues from signing in for other staff members at false times.

The fingerprint clock-in and out report is updated continuously and this can be accessed by salon owners when they are away from the salon via Salon Tracker’s site view app, in which ensures that staff are still being punctual in their salon owners absence.

For owners of multi-sites, the fingerprint reader ensures full salon security across multiple locations, as we understand that it is difficult to split time across several sites to maintain salon management to a high expectation. Salon Tracker’s HQ feature allows multi-site business owners to track fingerprint reading reports for all salons from one main headquarters. Saving salon owners stress, time and ensuring that each site is as secure as it can be.

For more information on our Fingerprint Reader head to www.salontracker.co.uk or call our office on 0113 350 8230 and speak to a member of our team who will be happy to run through a software demo with you.

And don’t forget, you can also trial Salon Tracker FREE of charge for 2 weeks, so don’t miss out on improving the efficiency of your salon and let us help you out today!

Salon Tracker x