The cost of no shows to the beauty industry can amount to as much as £12,000 a year for the average salon.
Our research shows that just one client forgetting to turn up for their appointment will cost a salon £30 in lost income as well as impacting on the stylists’ income.
Salon Tracker managing director Lorraine Cave said: “So-called ‘no shows’ are one of the single biggest costs to salon owners and are a huge frustration to the beauty industry and are all too familiar to beauty professionals in all areas.
“Salons are trying to mitigate the loss from no-shows by charging anywhere from half to full fee when a customer chooses not to honour the reserved appointment – but getting the money out of them is very difficult.”
Another key issue for salons suffering from persistent no shows is being able to fill the booking left empty by tardy clients as working schedules are based on the number of employees salons need to serve their customers.
As a result employees who are on-site to work, are paid for their time but don't generate revenue, so the payroll and is out of balance with income.
Mrs Cave said: “It's like calling a restaurant and asking them to have your meal ready a month from now, then not showing up to eat it and pay for it. That’s the reason why Salon Tracker has been set up to alert clients of their bookings via mobile text messaging and email to ensure the salon seats remain full.”
That’s why Salon Tracker can be configured by salon owners to send out reminders to clients 48 hours ahead of their appointment and can help cut no shows by as much as 70 per cent. Moreover, clients who cannot make an appointment can alert the salon giving it ample time to send out a message to other clients offering the vacant spot at a discount. Salon Tracker recommends marketing texts such as: “Due to the cancellation of a treatment today between 2pm and 3pm 20% discount on all treatments, first person to book will receive the discount!”
Salon Tracker user Lynsey Bennett from The Secret Day Spa, Belfast said: “We have found Studio Tracker to be an invaluable part of the day-to-day running of our salon. Our no-shows have decreased by at least 70 per cent and our revenue has increased using the effective marketing features.
“Having moved premises Studio Tracker has been brilliant, we initially did an advertising campaign to let our clients know our new address, however, it wasn’t until we used SMS messaging that we saw a significant increase in client foot fall. In the first week after sending SMS messages at least 60% of those targeted visited our new salon.”
Fully integrated with Facebook and with a dynamic SMS messaging service, Salon Tracker allows users to manage and prioritise appointments, capture customer information and build an interactive database – which can even tell users how clients like their coffee and market special offers to customers direct from the system with mobile text messages.
The system also delivers fast and efficient Point of Sale with simple business sales reports, cash flow and profit and loss accounts management, staff commission and stock management, and remote access from anywhere in the world – even when the salon owner is on holiday.
Salon Tracker is available in three formats – Standard, Professional and Enterprise – and allows users to manage every facet of their beauty business.
Using a PC, tablet or mobile phone users can access their business online 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year to ensure it is run efficiently and profitably.
Another Salon Tracker user, Luke James of Ultra Tan based in Hull, said: "We put a text message together on a Friday morning to people. We had 48 people in that afternoon and evening alone in response. That's a 33 per cent response in less than eight hours. In real terms that was an extra £1,000 sales for a cost of under £20. It's great because the cost is low and it’s easy. We are now experimenting with Salon Tracker with other offers and getting good responses."
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