The Salon Magazine

How to make your salon software work for you during isolation

Posted: 05 May 2020 04:15 AM PDT

During isolation your salon software system could potentially be one of your greatest tools. When government restrictions are lifted and normality begins to resume you can be in a position to hit the ground running if you maximise the functions and tools provided by your software system. Hosting a wide range of different features from intuitive appointment calendars, the ability to manage team members, cloud based reporting and potential access to a full marketing suite to promote your salon.

Communication at this time with your team and clients is paramount. Unless you are communicating frequently with both groups, you run the risk of being out of sight and out of mind. This is when your software system comes into play and provides you with an abundance of communicative channels – now is the time to use these to your advantage.

SMS Marketing

Your salon software will provide the option to create and distribute personalised messages to your clients. Use this invaluable tool to let clients know about gift vouchers you may currently have available. Or perhaps you'd like to share updates on upcoming appointments or online booking system (closer to the salon reopening). Within this message you can also include a link to your website in order to drive traffic to your page and increase awareness.

Email Marketing

Email marketing campaigns are a great way to stay in touch with your clients. You can provide regular updates on your team, share tips for styling your hair at home and let

them know as soon as they can book appointments again. With iSalon Software you are able to view analytics from these campaigns and track clicks and open rates, which allows you to further target those that have not read your communication.

Reporting

Now more than ever it is crucial to look at all aspects of your business and consider where and how improvements can be made. With iSalon Software, you can track team members' performance, evaluate retail stock, look at services sold and appointment book gaps. From analysing this information you can consider how best to move forward, increase profit and make more informed decisions, as you will have an increased understanding of what works and what doesn't.

Team Members

Via the reporting button available through your salon software you will be able to closely look at the performance of each individual member of your team. You should be able to calculate their utilisation to show any obvious gaps in diaries. You will be able to look at client appointment times and possibly identify patterns with this. For example, one team member may tend to be busier in the evenings, whilst another is always fully booked from early morning to early afternoon. Information like this could help you to establish a shift or roster pattern when the salon is open again. This would help you fit in as many clients in as short a space as possible. Certain team members could potentially work early morning to afternoon and others from early afternoon until late evening. With iSalon Software you can assess their retail statistics and evaluate whether additional training may be required or perhaps further education on the sales process.

Online bookings

Whilst it is likely you have had to disable this function for the time being, this tool will be invaluable to you when it is safe to open the salon again. You and your team are likely to be rushed off your feet with clients when the salon reopens and having online bookings in place will allow for clients to book in easily and at their convenience. iSalon Software provides a user friendly experience which enables all team members to easily access the online booking system and allows the salon floor to run as smoothly as possible – an invaluable asset on a busy day.

Darren Pick, iSalon Software Managing Director commented, "whether you make use of one of the above tools or all of them, utilising your software now assist you in preparing for the reopening of your salon once the government declares it safe to do so. How you come back from this difficult period is incredibly important, why not take steps now to help your salon business in the long term. iSalon are here to help in whatever capacity we can so please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will do our best to support you."

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