Farewell 2015!

Can you believe it’s this time again! It’s been a busy year and quite frankly, it has flown by. For us at Salon Tracker, 2015 has been great, packed with lots of fun-filled events including our debut exhibition at Professional Beauty North, in which we actually got to meet some of you in person. Our software packages have advanced and we have really enjoyed helping you guys to improve the management of your salons throughout the past year. We know for some of you the year isn’t over yet, as you’ll be jam-packed up to Xmas with people wanting their last minute tans, lashes and highlights. However, we hope that after the hustle and bustle this week you all have a fantastic and well-deserved Christmas and we wish you all the best going through to the New Year. Salon Tracker have some exciting new features to come in the Spring so keep posted. We’re really looking forward to working with you over the coming months and hopefully, meeting a few more of you at Professional Beauty London in Feb! So, here is to 2016 and another successful year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Salon Tracker x


**We are closing down for Christmas on 23rd December 2015. We will be back in the office on January 4th 2016. Should you require assistance during this time, please telephone 0113 3508230 and leave a voicemail or email info@salontracker.co.uk.**

Salon Tracker Software: Intelligent Marketing Tips for the New Year

You may have seen recently that we’ve done quite a bit of posting on New Year planning, looking at how to improve your business using salon software and also how to market in 2016. We’ve mentioned SMS marketing, competitions, promotions and offers. Having said that, we know how busy you guys will be in the salon this close to Christmas and so we don’t want to bombard you with a wordy blog packed with information during this time. Instead, we thought we’d create something a little more helpful and so have come up with some snappy, quick fire marketing examples that you can refer to when it comes round to your January planning!

SMS

For those of you that are already Salon Tracker users and have our SMS marketing feature, here are a few examples that you can create using our message templates. However, there is no reason why any of you who don’t currently use our salon software cannot take these ideas as a basis to set up the campaigns yourselves in an alternative way.

Hi <<Forename>>

[Happy New Year! Do you like us on Facebook? Click here <<link>> to follow us and enter our competition for the chance to win 25% off your next treatment]

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


Hi <<Forename>>

[Happy New Year! Fancy a 2016 makeover? Begin here with our updated treatment list and receive 10% off selected services]

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


Hi <<Forename>>

[Sparkle in 2016! Book your appointment today and receive 10% off selected treatments]

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


Hi <<Forename>>

[Need a bit of pampering after the Christmas Party season? We’re offering <<%>> off <<treatment>> on <<date>> Book now to receive your discount!

<<CompanyName>> <<CompanyTel>> T&C’s Apply


Hi <<Forename>>

[Get Glam in 2016…we’re offering a FREE <<treatment>> when you spend over <<£>>! Call <<CompanyTel>> to book today]

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


Hi <<Forename>>

[Got any friends who are looking for a beauty change-up this New Year? Refer a pal and receive 10% off your next treatment. Click here for more details <<link>>]

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



Social Media 

Your social media networks are the fastest methods of communication in which to reach a client. Status posting also costs nothing and so is a quick and easy way to market yourselves free of charge. Here are some example Facebook posts that you can use to promote to clients and gain that extra footfall throughout Jan.


**January Competition**…to enter comment with JANCOMP below this post for the chance to receive a £5.00 off voucher for your next treatment. Winner announced on 31st Jan!


**New Year, New Look**…to enter comment with JANCOMP below this post for the chance to receive a 25% off voucher for your next appointment with us. Winner announced on 31st Jan!


**Refer a Friend**…recommend our salon to a pal, get them to quote your name on appointment arrival and the two of you will receive 10% off your next treatments!


**New Year, New Services**…we’ve updated our treatment list! Book an appointment before 31st Jan to receive an exclusive discount!


We hope these tips come in useful! Have a fantastic countdown to Christmas & here’s to a successful 2016!


Salon Tracker x

Salon Software Q+A: What you need to know if you’re thinking about salon software for 2016!

Why do I need a computerised system in the salon?

It is important to computerise your business and keep up with modern technology to compete effectively. Salon software will make operations cleaner and more efficient as it implements a certainty element. It also allows your calendar to be accessible 24/7 with online booking, therefore aiming to improve the business and increase profit, even in your absence.

As well as bookings, what else can they do?

Salon software systems effectively manage every aspect of your business allowing you to store endless information, track appointments and communicate with clients under one easy to use, personalized system. There are also services such as marketing, automated stock management, performance reports and online and Facebook booking. Software allows you to incorporate everything as a combined impact so that you are saving time and money in other areas of your business.

What are the business benefits of using a salon software system in general?

There are numerous business benefits of using salon software but most of all it will save you time that you can be spending elsewhere. Managing figures, reports and cash flow can be a tedious process, which is where software management can give you a helping hand. All you are required to do is generate a customised report and your figures are complete.

The marketing function will also be beneficial for your business. Salon Tracker’s marketing suite encourages regular contact with clients via SMS and email marketing, whether this is showing thanks for their custom or offering a promotion tailored to the client profile. Contacting clients on a regular basis heightens familiarity which leads to increased customer loyalty. The features also enables you to contact customers directly which can help turn around last minute cancellations. In addition, the tool can be used for appointment reminders, consequently reducing the amount of missed appointments.

How easy are they to use?  Do you need to be a computer whizz? Is training available?

Our Salon Tracker system has been designed so it is easy for clients to use. Even someone who has hardly operated a computer before will be able to use it with ease. We offer free training, support and updates for all employees within the salon so if any problems do occur through usage, we will be on hand free of charge… there are no hidden costs.

What is the single biggest advantage of having a dedicated software system?

It is very important to have a dedicated software system provider in order to ensure you have the reliable support you require to develop your business. Salon Tracker is constantly evolving with new features, releases and updates which should be available to every user free of charge. This will help constantly improve your service and help you build positive relationships with clients. We are so confident in the software that we offer a free trial, free support and free training. All of the features within our system have been designed to help us fulfill our mission of making salon life easier.

How is your system different to competitors?

Salon Tracker prides itself on its customer service, support and updates being FREE. We are so confident in our product that we even offer a free two week trial beforehand with no obligations to ensure our software suits your business goals.

What are the costs involved?

Salon Tracker offers three flexible packages with software and hardware options to suit salons of all sizes. Our ‘Standard’ package is £499, the ‘Professional’ £899, and ‘Enterprise’ £1299. There are no additional monthly costs but an annual license fee of £199. We also offer the above packages on a monthly subscription at £30, £60 and £90 PCM with no upfront or additional fees.

Salon Tracker Software: How to plan for Jan!

After the busy Christmas period, we all know that sales throughout Jan deplete a little, as everyone is a bit strapped for cash and tend to tighten their purse strings. However, during the quieter months whilst you have some spare time, there is no better time to analyse previous business years, evaluate, and plan for the year ahead. Here at Salon Tracker we have thought of a few things that salons can take in to account moving forward in to 2016!


Evaluate Previous Years

Some of you may have salon software and therefore can run reports and charts for analysis at the click of a button, others of you may still be using paper KPI trackers and reports. Whichever it is, January is a good time to observe the reports, to see what worked well, and what maybe didn’t. You can then use this data to forward plan and identify any key areas that may need work or any sections of the salon where improvements are no longer necessary.


Run Over Pricing

During your analysis of previous years, you need to ensure that you are evaluating your prices and also comparing those to that of competitors. Also, make sure that your prices reflect your services. For example, there may be certain technicians that have worked in the salon for some time and your loyal clients don’t mind paying that little bit more for their treatments. Having said that, you don’t want to offer your services at too low prices either, as the last thing you want is clients believing that your work isn't up to par and also you don't want to be labelled as a cheap-salon service. However you also have to make sure that you aren't charging so much that clients find your services too un-affordable that they go elsewhere for their repeat treatments.


Marketing & Offers

January is always a great time to market and offer discount, as every company is renowned for doing this early on in the New Year, especially as everyone is a bit strapped for cash. On the days that you’re quiet, for example a Monday/Tuesday, offer discounts on a few selected treatments, as by doing this it will make the offer seem a little more exclusive as a pose to discounting your entire treatment list.  In terms of marketing and promotions, run monthly email and SMS campaigns, for example a good idea would be to start a monthly newsletter promoting new services, information on new staff members and any special offers. Another fab idea for some extra salon promotion would be to partner with local photographers or universities who may need hair stylists for their shoots.  If you're currently training new technicians, you could advertise for 'styling models' then collaborate with the local photographers & students, as you then should receive a copy of the artwork for free which you can use for salon display!


Salon Aesthetics

Clients who are impressed with the experience that they receive when visiting your salon are more likely to return and also spread the word to friends.  As we have said before, the experience starts when a client walks through the salon door. Your salon décor, layout and level of cleanliness is therefore really important.  If all of this is up to scratch, it instantly impresses a client and should encourage them to recommend your salon. Your digital aesthetics is also something to think about.  How is your salon website and social media accounts looking?  Use January to give these a little re-vamp...post client photos online, select the best photos of your salon technicians' work and share these on your social network accounts.  You could even create landing pages for each of your technicians' on the website, so when clients are booking online they can see an example of certain technicians' work.  This being especially beneficial if it is a first-time client, as reviews and testimonials are key in terms of winning that client over and getting that sale.

Improve Business Presence

Create a blog and let your staff members share their beauty stories with clients. A great way to improve SEO (search engine optimisation) for your website and also beneficial in terms of offering advice to clients. Reviews are another great technique, as again you can hashtag the brands of the latest products, contributing again to the SEO for your site and also, the sales of your retail products. Something else to think about, how many places is your salon listed on the web? Ensure that your salon is listed on all the top local business directories to make sure that you have as much publicity as possible. If online isn't for you just yet, produce and hand out some business cards.  You can get bulk cards printed for quite a small cost at places such as Vista Print, and this is a simple and effective way to gain added exposure for your business.  Hand them out at reception after treatments so that clients can pass them to friends.  You can also ask local businesses if they wouldn't mind displaying one in their shop window, as you might just gain a little extra local business by doing this. 

Complimentary Promotions

Mini promotions on your website, Facebook page and other social media accounts are great in terms of networking and word-of-mouth promotion for the salon.  These don't have to be anything too costly either.  You could just have a competition running throughout January where for each person that enters, there will be a daily winner that is entitled to a free £5.00 voucher of a 25% off coupon for their next treatment. Followers who subscribe to your feeds can stay informed of any businesses competitions and will be more likely to book an appointment with you.  Complimentary gifts are also a great way to win clients over in terms of their loyalty towards you, as little extras after appointments are the things that make your salon stand out from the crowds. These could literally be something as simple as a free product sample or sweets in reception.  A little gesture goes a long way. 

January Return Vouchers

Introduce vouchers that can only be used from 1st to 31st January 2016.  These are a good way to promote a 'bounce-back' in custom and improve the footfall in the salon during quieter periods. Start handing them out now throughout the busy Christmas season and promote them on your social media pages to ensure that your salon starts off the New Year with a bang. 

We hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and that some of our ideas will come in useful for a great start to the New Year!


Salon Tracker x

Salon Tracker Software: How to plan for trade shows and why you should think about it now

Christmas is in full swing and I’m sure all of your salons are bustling with clients coming for their festive treatments all ready for the big day. Some of you may know, however some of you may not, that we are exhibiting at the Professional Beauty London show next February at the Excel. Even though it seems ages away with all the Christmas hustle beforehand, February will come around fast. Therefore when you have a spare minute, do a bit of research in to the potential trade show events that you may want to visit after the New Year, as Jan and Feb are great months for future planning! For those of you who are thinking of attending the February Professional Beauty show, we can’t wait to meet you all and so we just thought we’d give you a few tips on how to prepare for a trade show & why it is so useful to attend one.

There are two types of trade show goers. The first are people who know that they want something, the second are people that are there to enquire and browse. However, trade shows are always busy and there is so much to see, so it’s handy before to download a floorplan and gage the companies that you may want to visit before you actually attend. So having said that, the first tip is;

Do your Research!

Aside from having a look at the show plan before the event, you should also research into places to stop for breaks, where all the local facilities are and also, your transportation! There are so many different stands that you may wish to see and you have to take into account the traffic of those stands and where they are positioned in relation to one another. Plan breaks throughout the day, as this gives you time to reflect on the companies that you have already seen and allows you to alter your questions accordingly for the next brands that you are to visit. If you are one of those show-goers who isn’t sure what they are at the event for, then a good idea would be to plan exactly what it is that you want to get out of your visit. It is important that you make an 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 work out which stands you need to visit and for how long.

Improving your Retail Product Range

At the majority of trade show events, you’ll bag yourself a couple of free goodies. A brilliant way to trial and test the products that are on offer. You can take samples back to the salon and do some first-hand primary research with your clients by seeing what they think of the product samples. This is great in terms of choosing your retail product selection, as by getting client feedback before you go to the suppliers, you have more knowledge of the products that are going to be popular. Obviously the other benefit is you get a couple of freebie gifts for yourself, winner!

Team Building Exercise

One of the biggest challenges in any business is maintaining a happy and motivated team, and a great way to do this is to give staff members’ ownership of a project. After creating a vision for your event (which show you will attend, the purpose of attending and what you wish to get out of the event) why not select a few staff members to go with you to the show and give each a certain area to focus and gather research from. After the visit, organize a team meeting to discuss the show findings. This could just be something at the salon with some nibbles, or a meal out somewhere. Whichever it is, employee bonding is really important within any business and it is a great team building exercise to allow employees to present back to one another what they discovered from the event.

Take Notes

When at a trade show, you retrieve so much information and your head will be bombarded with information from the day, in such a short space of time. So, to ensure that you remember everything, take some notes along the way. 9 times out of 10, you will receive leaflets from the stands that you visit and therefore you can make little references on those alongside the brand information. This will help to prompt the subject of your call, should you contact a particular company after the show.

Network!

Take your own business cards, as after all you may be there to view the likes of salon software and retail samples but remember that the staff on the stand are still normal salon-goers. You never know, you might just bag yourself a bit of business too!  Another benefit is that companies will remember you if they can attach something like a business card to your lead form, which is great in terms of call backs after your enquiry.

If you are a salon and it is your first time visiting a trade show this February, drop by our stand J1 and we will be happy to give you advice on how our salon software will work for you. For further info, visit our website www.salontracker.co.uk where you can also request a no-obligation FREE demo and trial.

You can register for your Professional Beauty London ticket FREE using the link below https://registration.n200.com/survey/0njm506qcs1za?actioncode=NTWO000194OBY

Hope to see you soon and a very Merry Christmas!

Salon Tracker x

Some of our favourite looks for Christmas 2015!

 

 

How important is customer service at the salon to you and your staff- REALLY?

This is a true but anonymous example of a friend who encountered a bad experience at a salon which in turn neglected her need to return. Make sure this isn’t you or your colleagues...

The hair salon in question was visited by one of my friends Caitlan* who was due to spend £475 for luxury micro ring hair extensions. As one would assume, with quite a large investment, she had high expectations. Caitlan* really values customer service. She’s one of those kinds who religiously tips over 10% at restaurants, more if it’s great service.

Firstly Caitlan* arrived at the salon and was not greeted until she had been sat down for about 15 minutes. When she had finally been greeted, there was no further engagement except who she was and what she wanted. Now she loved/ loves her extensions and the treatment itself went great. However, she seemed really distressed as we discussed the event.

Caitlan’s biggest problem was she found that the salon were constantly nattering about other clients, the state of their hair and the things they complained about. She also said her hairdresser texted her friends back about 9x throughout the 4 hour stint which elongated the process somewhat. She found this irritatingly uncomfortable and afterward, and was therefore, anxious about her return for maintenance. Her hairdresser was the salon owner.

Needless to say, Caitlan* researched another hair extension specialist and never returned to the salon after this experience. She has had the hair extensions in for 2 years and they have lasted well. This means the original hair extension specialist who charged £80 every 10-12 weeks for maintenance has lost at least £640 in maintenance costs from this one client.

This really is something to think about! You might wonder why we are writing a blog on this, stick with us! Salon management software isn’t only for booking services and treatments. You can improve your staffs abilities and attitude with the endless access to reports, targets and performance. Here are a few ways you can manage your staff and really help them succeed in your working environment.

First of all you need to prioritise and make a plan of what it is you would like to improve at the salon with regards to staff, be it their attitude, retailing or overall performance. Consistency is key so if you start with a new development programme, make sure you are managing expectations.

KPI’s and Performance

Even if your employees have regular clients and are always booked out, this doesn’t mean they are underperforming on other business fronts. Are they selling retail or ensuring they rebook clients before departure? Are they, like the above, using their phone midway through doing treatments? With Salon Tracker you can not only delve into overall business KPI’s but individual staff strengths and weaknesses. These features are so important since as a business owner, it’s also your responsibility to encourage training and development. Everyone has an ‘Achilles Heel’ when it comes to work, but it is essential that salon managers know what this is and how to nurture it and in turn, motivate and turn this into a positive.

Aim with targets

Researching your KPI’s is great but not if you aren’t going to put anything into action. Key point indicators are exactly that, indicators of what to do next! A salon management system will allow you to track targets and monitor consistency through your reporting function. As long as you know the catalyst for underperformance and how to develop this, you are being a great manager. 

Don’t let them get stuck in ways

Not many people like change but switching things up is so important once in a while to prevent complacency. Junior staff who haven’t been with you as long can usually be trained to a result you require, and are usually looking for ways to improve and deliver. Ensure that all staff respect your decisions with training development, regardless of their serving time. If they are insulted, why not use them to train in strong areas to improve overall performance of the team.