Our Favourite Tanning Creams!

 It’s that time of year when busy season in tanning salons is underway and we thought what better to write this week’s blog around than our favourite tanning accelerators. It’s no secret that the best way to tan using sunbeds is with a cream so we spoke to our friends at BLISS and also a few members of the Salon Tracker team to discuss their favourite tanning creams and this is what they said.

We spoke to Mark over at Bliss to see what are this seasons must have tanning creams. Bliss LTD is the ultimate ‘one stop shop’ for everything tanning related in the UK and are the leaders in everything from UV lotions to all other tanning accessories.

One range that Mark mentioned was their ‘bestselling line to date’ was the Pro Tan Beaches and Crème range. This range has many different types of tanning lotion to suit all tanners no matter what their skin type. This makes it the perfect range for all sorts of salons to make sure all types of customer needs are met!

One favourite for Ellis, our senior accounts executive, is the Fiesta Sun ‘Pure Grapeness’.  Ellis has tried many different tanning lotions, many of which had great results but this one stands out due to the incredible smell. All of us in the office can attest to this smelling great as she often returns to the office after her lunchtime sunbed!

Mia, one of our business executives here at Salon Tracker, says her favourite is the trusty White 2 Bronze Pomegranate. This is another product which has a really nice smell and also helps you get a deeper tan much quicker than if you were to forgo a cream. This has been a firm favourite of Mia’s for years and no matter what other creams she tries she always seems to go back to this one!

 For some more information on the creams mentioned in this blog or for some expert advice visit Bliss’ website www.blissdirect.co.uk

If you interested in getting booked in for a free trial of Salon Tracker software just enquire here: www.salontracker.co.uk/freetrial

Salon Tracker x

Hidden Features within Salon Tracker!

In this blog we will be describing some of the features within Salon Tracker that you may not know about! These features can help you get the most out of Salon Tracker, whether it's saving you time, increasing your efficiency or improving your security. Read on to discover Salon Tracker features that are hidden in plain sight!

Find in Reports

Need to find something specific in your reports but don't want to spend ages scrolling through it? You can now search within reports to find what you need. Simply click on the report and click the find button and type in what you're looking for.

Online Chat

As the busy season is now in full swing, you may be finding yourself needing some help from our lovely support team, but don't have time to call. Now you can use our support chat straight from Salon Tracker, meaning you can get our help while also continuing to talk to and serve your customers! 

Staff Management

Track your staff members' shifts with our clock-in and out features so that you know exactly how long their shifts are! If you have our fingerprint reader, staff can use this to clock in and out so that you know that it's accurate. View shifts and create shift reports on Management > Staff Management. 

Auto-Lockout

Increase your security by using Salon Tracker's auto-lockout feature, meaning that Salon Tracker will automatically log out after a certain time period of not being used. You can select times between 30 seconds and 1 hour of inactivity before it turns off, depending on what suits you! 

Tube Tracking

Salon Tracker automatically tracks the life of the tubes in your sunbeds so that you know when they need changing. You can see this at a glance from the timer view! If the bar is red but near the beginning of the bar, this means that the beds have been newly retubed, and it may be wise to advise customers to reduce their minutes. If it's in green, this means that the bed is within its lifespan and you can see how far it is by how far along the bar it is. If the bar is at the end of the line and red, this means it has hit its lifespan and needs retubing. Once the bed has been retubed, you can reset the counter under the timer tab of the bed in management.

We hope you enjoyed learning about some of the features that you may not have known about within Salon Tracker.

If you are looking to book a free demonstration and 2-week trial, please contact us on 0113 350 8230 or info@salontracker.co.uk for more information.

Salon Tracker x

Feature of the Month - Reports!

On Salon Tracker we offer a variety of reports which you can generate! 

This blog will give a rundown of this feature and some of the reports that customers find useful on a daily basis.

Action Log

The action log shows you every action that has been performed on Salon Tracker, accounting for every second from when you open Salon Tracker, to when you shut it down! It also tells you which user was logged in at the time. This means that you can have peace of mind when you’re not in the salon, knowing that you’ll be able to check every action whenever you need.  

 

Day End

The day end receipt is a great summary of the day at your salon, including a breakdown of sales taken from bookings or retail products, customers that have been in, a summary of your bookable items (sunbeds or beauticians e.g.) and much more! This report is great for everyday use to be able to see how your business is performing at a glance, day-by-day.  

 

Service Minutes Remaining by Customer

This report allows you to see your customer list and how many minutes they have left to use on the sunbeds. This is great to be able to see which customers have minutes on their accounts and when those minutes expire. It is a lot quicker to see customers’ minutes from this report rather than having to individually look at everyone’s customer cards to see their remaining minutes so it will save you time so that you can focus on other things! 

 

Stock Check/Stock Levels

The stock reports are extremely useful for monitoring the stock levels of your products in the salon. With the stock check report, you can use this to physically count how many of each product you have in the salon, and then compare it against the stock level report which tells you how many of each product there should be so that you can see if there are any discrepancies between the two. This is extremely useful as if the levels counted were different, you would be able to identify this and then look into why and notice if it is a continuous occurrence.

 

Sales/Bookings by Day Chart

On the sales by day chart, you will be able to see your total sales, booking sales and retail sales split up by day. This is very useful for identifying which days your salon performs best, which could help you adjust different components in your business to bring the sales up on the underperforming days. This can be used alongside the bookings by day chart which shows how many bookings have been made on each day of the week, including charts for cancellations and no shows. By using these reports, you will be able to identify your strongest and weakest days for business. 

 

If you would like to have a look at all of the reports that Salon Tracker has to offer or want to go through any reports you are unsure on just give us a call on 0113 350 8230 or email us at info@salontracker.co.uk.

Salon Tracker x

How to convert a walk-in customer to a loyal client!

A question at the forefront of salon owner’s minds is ‘how do you add value to ensure a loyal client?’ 

There are several marketing strategies that your salon can use to get people through your door, but what's important is making sure they come through it again. This means retaining the volume of new customers you get in the salon as a result of the better marketing, salon renovations, offers or whatever it is that your doing to get fresh friendly faces in your salon. 

 With the power of social media and Salon Tracker's SMS and email marketing feature  

A main aspect of running a business is running the hype of your business. If you cannot shout about your offers and promotions then how can you expect others to? 

Besides the techniques such as refer a friend schemes and new customer loyalty vouchers, here are a few friendly pointers to remember when consolidating your message with clients… 

• Personalise messages- Entering a customer’s name into an email is more likely to increase click through rates and loyalty, get this information by capturing as much client data as possible with Salon Trackers customer information cards. Our software provides a great marketing feature enabling you to tailor your marketing messages to a various customer types in your salon. Turn those once in a while customers to consistent visitors by using the SMS and marketing feature to draw them in with exclusive deals or loyalty schemes which can be promote using SMS or email marketing.

• Be consistent- Emails and texts should go out to customers on a consistent basis, whether its once a month or once a week ensure there is a structure to your marketing. Of course not everyone takes advantage of the deal or promotion in the message but customers will take a mental note that you do have consistent marketing promotions and deals available should they want to use them as customer loyalty is created by heightened familiarity. 

• Use client purchase history- Marketing products to a client’s purchase history is a brilliant way of utilizing information as you know at some point or another they have expressed interest in this product. Research has shown that emails are more likely to be read if they are of relevance to the reader, so make content informative through a friendly tone. 

 • Aesthetics- Well-chosen imagery, logos and colour enormously enhances a messages impact by distinguishing your company from competitors and making it pleasing on the eye, get set up on our enterprise package to have your online booking web page with complete customised colours and logos for your salon implemented on the site.

 • Short and Sweet- Due to the high popularity of short form content and an increase in low attention spans, do not overload your messages and email, keep them short and straight to the point, include emojis, bold lettering and enticing titles to stand out.

 • Undertaking a loyalty scheme- providing new customers with discount vouchers encourage customers to return frequently to get that ‘tenth tan FREE!’

Contact us

If you would like to know more or want to have a chat with a member of the sales team please call on 0113 350 8230 or email info@salontracker.co.uk

How Can Your Salon Be More Secure?

In today's digital age, it's crucial to protect your salon from cyber-attacks like ransomware. But what exactly is ransomware, and how can you keep your business safe?

Understanding Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of harmful software that locks you out of your computer until you pay a ransom. It's often spread through fake emails or attachments, and it can wreak havoc on businesses, including salons.

Protecting your Salon with Salon Tracker

Salon Tracker is designed to keep your data safe. It's installed directly on your computer, so you don't always need an internet connection. Plus, if you're using our online features, you can be assured that your data is securely stored in our cloud system.

Simple Security Tips

Be careful with your personal information online. Think twice before sharing it.

Keep client data safe and only share it with trusted team members. Delete it securely when necessary.

Protect your computer with strong passwords and keep your software updated.

Be cautious when downloading anything from the internet and avoid opening suspicious attachments on emails.

Salon Software Features

Salon Tracker offers extra security features like Secure Shell, which limits staff access to non-business websites. You can also create separate logins for your team and control what they can do within the system.

Get Help When You Need It

If you're unsure about keeping your salon safe, reach out to us. We're here to help with any questions or concerns about security.

For assistance, contact us at info@salontracker.co.uk or call 0113 350 8230.

By taking these steps and using Salon Tracker's security features, you can protect your salon from cyber threats and keep your business running smoothly.

Salon Tracker x

May Day Marketing!

Tanning season is well and truly in full swing right now and what better way to keep footfall in your salon high than marketing your salon to new and existing customers? In this blog we will be sharing our best tips and tricks on how you can use different forms of marketing to help your salon stay booked and busy.

 Social Media

One of the most popular, and cost effective, ways to market your salon is through your social media accounts. For the past 10 or so years,  Instagram has been the platform of choice in the salon industry. Instagram is great for interacting with both existing and potential new customers and also sharing news regarding new offers and new products that you may be introducing.

In recent years, TikTok has also become a firm favourite amongst salon owners with many choosing to share short videos on that platform. 

Some potential video ideas for your salons TikTok could be:

·       A behind the scenes on what it takes to run and work in a salon

·       Informative videos from industry professionals educating customers on safe practices within your salon

·       Tips and tricks for how to get the most out of the services you offer

By posting on social media platforms, this gives your salon a more friendly and welcoming vibe and will encourage customers to pay you a visit.

SMS

A way you can market your salon to your existing customers and try to encourage them to keep returning to your salon is through SMS or text message marketing. Text message marketing is one of the most successful marketing channels to use with these messages getting a 98% open rate.

In Salon Trackers intelligent marketing suite you can create personalised filters and pick and choose what customers you would like to send your marketing campaigns to. 

An example of a message you could send from the intelligent marketing suite using the personalised filters is:

Filter :

Customers who haven’t had an appointment in the last three months.

Message :

Hi <<Forename>>

We miss you!

Come in the salon this bank holiday weekend for a free sachet of cream when you buy a course!

<<CompanyName>>

Email

Another way you can use our intelligent marketing suite is to do email marketing . This works in a similar way to the SMS marketing where you can use the filters to choose who you want to send the email campaign to. After you have filtered out these customers you can then either connect your Mailchimp account to Salon Tracker and sent the campaign through there or you can export this list off emails into an CSV to upload into any other email marketing platform of your choice.

If you have any questions about anything mentioned in this blog or if you would like to get booked in for a free demonstration and two week trial give us a call on 01133508230 or enquire here: www.salontracker.co.uk/freetrial

 

Salon Tracker x

Enhance Customer Experience and Security with Our New QR Code Scanner!

Are you ready to take your salon's customer experience to the next level? Then look no further than our latest innovation – the QR code scanner available soon for only £99 + VAT! Designed to streamline booking processes and enhance security, our QR code improves the way you manage appointments and interact with clients.

How does it work? It's simple yet incredibly effective. Through your customer's online booking profile, they will have their own customisable QR code. This unique code can be used in-store with our scanner. Once scanned, it automatically pulls up the customer's client card, providing you with instant access to their booking history and preferences.

Need more convincing? These are the ways our QR scanner will upgrade your salon.

Effortless Booking Management: Say goodbye to manually searching for client records or searching for bookings. With just a scan, you can access all the information you need to manage appointments seamlessly. Whether you need to add a new booking or edit an existing one, it's all right there at your fingertips.

Enhanced Security: Protecting client information is important in all salons. Our QR code scanner adds an extra layer of security by ensuring that only the authorised account can access client data. Plus, with each customer having their own unique QR code, the risk of wrong services being put on someone else’s account or others services being used is significantly reduced.

Time-Saving: Time is precious, especially in a bustling salon environment. By streamlining the booking process, our QR code scanner helps you save time and serve more clients efficiently. Spend less time on administrative tasks and more time doing what you love – making your customers look and feel fabulous! 

If you would like any more information on this feature or would like to book in for a free demonstration and two week trial then please do not hesitate to get in touch on 01133508230 or enquire here: https://www.salontracker.co.uk/freetrial

Salon Tracker x