How to get ready for switching your salon system to SalonIQ

Great news, you have decided to switch from your existing salon software to SalonIQ, you would be forgiven for thinking it is your data so it will be easy.

No data migration is ever 100%, some systems are easier to migrate than others. With some suppliers however, it is becoming increasingly difficult. In this era of choice it is disappointing that some suppliers appear to be deliberatly making  it more difficult. Rather than helping salon owners, in my opinion they are effectively punishing and even potentially damaging a salons business.

The two main issues are;

Check your Contract and the Small Print 

Some of the UK’s Salon suppliers have quite frankly (in my opinion) onerous and unfair contracts, salons can often find themselves (unknowingly) locked in to long 5 year contracts and even if they are not, cancelling a contract is not straightforward with contracts that automatically renew if you haven’t given enough notice. Leave prematurely and salons can find themselves with large demands or worse still being taken to court.

Your Data

The latest tactic with some suppliers is to encrypt your data, so effectively you can not easily transfer clients or appointments. Data encryption generally is a good thing assuming you the salon owner have the tools to export the data in a machine readible and friendly format. But some suppliers make this very difficult, impossible or charge you for the previlledge.
 

So even if you hate your existing salon software or supplier you may end up at their mercy unless you are prepared to pay. Held at ransom by any other name.

SalonIQ have converted literally 100’s of salons and salon groups from existing salon systems to SalonIQ. If you are interested to know what we can or can’t transfer from your existing supplier please contact us and we can go through how to plan for a successful salon software migration.

Below are just some of the salons that we have migrated

And even if you are not planning on switching  to SalonIQ, whoever you choose for your next salon software suppier we strongly recommend you establish their policy regarding data (in writing) if you want to switch your supplier in the future – and if I were you avoid any long term contracts, it just should not be necessary in this current day and age.

What does Black Friday Mean for Hair & Beauty Salons?

Black Friday is becoming the biggest shopping event of the year – did you grab a slice of the action?

Recent stats coming in have shown a staggering £7 million cash injection for the British sector with the majority of sales being made online. 

Everyone is making the most of the media coverage plus it is extended across the weekend being Cyber Monday to maximise sales.

2018 saw many high street stores have record sales again, lets take a look…

Digital

Some of the biggest mobile apps were downloaded more than 2 million times on Black Friday.

Customers spent more than $2 million via their mobile devices – hence the high number of app downloads. Amazon’s app was the most installed – they added around 115,000 new app users in just one day. According to TechCrunch.

The high street didn’t see as much action as our online store, however a well known brand being John Lewis who are not in partner with Waitrose said “its total sales were boosted by a 13.1 per cent surge in fashion sales, which were driven by Black Friday promotions on both branded and own-brand items.” Source: RetailGazette

So, with all this is mind, we need to prepare our salons ready for Black Friday 2019 to soak up some of the online sales – how do we do this?

Two things which ping to mind straight away are Online Bookings and Online Gift Card purchases

Online Bookings

1. Get your online bookings active and in order – Have your favourites at the top. This isn’t something to guess either, you will more than likely be surprised at the results when you run your top services report. 

To do this on Salon iQ go to Main menu -> Reports -> Team -> Services -> Ranking

Look at your Top 10 services, these are the services you need to make your favourites so when your clients book online they haven’t got to search for services that are rarely booked. 

Please note this can be changed at any time. 

2. Promote your online bookings – There are a number of ways you can promote online bookings for your salon business. 

– Have a ‘Book Now’ button scattered across your website, the home page is a key area that all viewers will see almost immediately. 

– Add a book now button onto your Facebook page

– Promote your online bookings through your social media platforms 

– Spread the word in salon – let your clients know face to face that they are able to book their appointments online

Online Gift Card

These days if we see something we want we tend to buy it there and then and not wait for Christmas or Birthdays. Thats why gift cards can be a great way of giving without getting it wrong.

Generally speaking gift cards can be used in the salon to buy both services and retail but this is up to you if you choose to have both. 

Salon iQ  gives you the ability to offer gift cards at a reduced price. For example: Purchase a £50 gift card for £40. So the face value if £50 but you can offer £10 off.

Your clients are looking for the deals to arrive in their inbox on their social media platforms and in your salon windows. 

Take a look at just some of the high street windows are caught on Friday. 

Do you have bookings that need looking at?

Booking conflicts are a great tool accessed via the Appointment Dashboard on the Hub. This area will list any appointments that have been made but clash with another booking, bookout or schedule at the same time. 

What are the benefits of using Booking conflicts?

– Give plenty of notice to move a guests appointment

– Reduce time looking for appointments that may need moving

– View conflicted appointments all in one place

Salon Contact Details Form

Have you ever needed to get hold of a client, you then dial the number and realise there is a digit missing or you notice the @ or .  is in the wrong place? 

When you have a couple of minutes please log into the Hub and enter your contact details. With this information we can then easily keep you up to date with our latest news and features.

It will take just a minute or two to complete – if we don’t have these details correct we will not be able to contact you.

FREE Unlimited Online Training for Salon IQ Software

Do you ever get stuck on running a certain report or not sure where to go on Salon iQ to pull out your top spenders?

You can have training at Salon IQ when it suits you and get the answers to all your questions.

Many salon owners and managers like you prefer to have online training on certain topics so they can really nail that area of the business. 

They are usually just 30 – 50 minutes long allowing you to still run your salon and busy column.

You have unlimited FREE online training – all you need to do is contact our Educators to get this booked in on 01892 280123 

“Work hard in silence, let your success make the noise.”