Salon International

A JOURNEY INTO SALONGENIUS SOFTWARE…WITH A TWIST!

On the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th of October SALONGENIUS was back to Salon International for the fifth year in a row! During the weekend, we met many Hair & Beauty professionals and we couldn’t miss the chance to take a picture with them.

David Pickering with Hilary Hall from National Hairdressers Federation

Sian Barnes with Adam from Salon Spy and Andy from Strategiq

We would like to thank our partners Salon Spy, National Hairdressers Federation and Gappt who came to visit us and to take a selfie with us on the SALONGENIUS selfie wall. If you have missed the pictures, you can still have a look on our social media @salongenius. If you have taken a picture on our wall, do not forget to share it tagging us on Facebook and Twitter!

At Salon International we had the chance to meet numerous hairdressers and beauty professionals and talk them through the newest version of our software. If you didn’t get a chance to see us and you want to discover more about our software, don’t hesitate to contact us on 01202 311826 and be sure to book your tickets for next year’s show to discover more exciting news and take even more exciting selfies!

Boost your Christmas Revenue in the Salon

So it is nearly that time of the year again, the nights are drawing in and the likes of X Factor and Strictly are on the TV marking the countdown to Christmas – all we need now is the Coca-Cola advert! We all knowin the salon this is the busiest time of the year, but, are you ready to really tap into this time of the year to maximise your profit? We’ve put together a few hints, tips and ideas for you to make the most of the festive period!

1.       Utilise your database – have you emailed, txt or utilised your social media to advertise availability of your staff for the 6 weeks running up to Christmas? I should imagine as a salon owner you want each member of staff to be fully booked to maximise your takings. If you are using a salon management system like SALONGENIUS, you can look at your quietest times in the salon and do some targeted marketing to fill those gaps!

2.       Stock up – Christmas is the perfect opportunity for retailing! So many of the major brands have some gorgeous offerings for Christmas. Make sure your retail shelves and products are clean, tidy, organised and well displayed with shelf talkers! Create a focal point in the salon and eye catching window displays to draw the clients into the salon. Apparently subconsciously when walking into a shop we go to the right so pop your retail on the right side of the salon!!!

3.       Cash in on the Christmas parties – get your juniors set up with a blow-dry and hair-up bar or a festive nail bar – they can run their own columns concentrating on these skills. Clients will love a quick simple fix for looking and feeling fabulous for their work parties. Perhaps create a set menu of 6 different style options clients can choose from!

4.       Make sure your clients are rebooking for 2017 – January and February are always a bit quieter in the salon, why not create an incentive for anyone who comes in to the salon in December to get them to rebook for the new year. This way you ensure you will be continuing on the wave of the festive period well into the next year. You can utilise recommend a friend vouchers in your SALONGENIUS system which you can print with your receipts to get some new clients in for the beginning of the year! 

5.       Mix up your drinks menu – have you thought about offering a glass of fizz or mulled wine with a mince pie or a festive biscuit? Those little touches may take a little longer but clients really appreciate you going that extra mile to really make their experience in the salon! By switching up what is normal in the salon for Christmas helps not only your clients but also the staff get into the festive feel and hopefully help bring in some extra revenue!

Wishing you all the very successful end to 2016 in your salons!

HOW CAN A SALON SOFTWARE IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY THROUGH THE SALON?

It is not a secret that clients always need to feel welcome, special and unique when entering the salon. Nobody would like to see the staff focused on something else or staring at their mobile phones. The personal touch of a salon will help the clients to relax, feel comfortable and will also determine their satisfaction. That means that a professional service sometimes is not enough to make the client return to your salon and to increase your profits.

The SALONGENIUS system can be used at all points in a client’s journey, from booking an appointment online from the comfort of their sofa either with a salons website or appGENIUS, to paying their bill at reception. A stylist can check their column for the day with myGENIUS – their appointment book in their pocket - which can be used on a phone or tablet. SALONGENIUS technical histories and skin test alerts integrated via myGENIUS also allows the stylist to conduct a consultation with a client with all the relevant information at their fingertips which could be done at the backwash, styling station or in the reception area. Additionally, surveys and questionnaires can be conducted from myGENIUS on a tablet at the client’s leisure from anywhere in the salon.

Through customer contact manager, clients can be contacted via text or email to either remind them of their next appointment, let them know the latest offers, thank them for their visit to the salon and can they leave a review or wish them happy birthday – the opportunities are plentiful!

Meanwhile in the salon your SALONGENIUS system can help make bookings, dealing with staff and salon management less stressful and giving you more time with your clients, allowing you to remember the little touches – such as offering them a cup of tea and that all important biscuit.  As well as the simple things of booking in clients’ appointments, you can store notes for each client and record each client’s drink preference. This will enable the salon staff to read all clients preferences before their appointment; for instance, if they have any particular interests or hobbies they often speak about or if they would like their hair to be treated in a certain way. It’s all about the personal touch.

The personal touch that SALONGENIUS gives your salon will not only make your client feel special but it will also increase the return rate and the profits of your salon. Have you already tried it? How do you usually make your clients feel at ease?

Keeping Your Computer Safe!!

Why it’s important to regularly back up your salon data!

Cyber-crime is on the increase and with this time of year being the busiest shopping season, it’s also the busiest time of year for malicious attacks. There are several steps you can take before SALONGENIUS steps in to help prevent an attack…

·         Be wary of suspicious social media posts

·         Don’t click on links in emails or social media without confirming that they were sent intentionally, no matter who the sender

·         Don’t download mobile apps outside official mobile stores

·         Use Antivirus and Antimalware software

·         Keep your applications and operating systems up to date

If a malicious attack, fire or theft was to affect your salon would you be prepared for it?

Security of business critical data and business continuity are vital issues for most salons and spa’s. The ability to secure business and client data in the event of a disaster is essential to both the continuity of your business and the protection of your clients interests. Loss of data related to customers and clients can have an adverse and detrimental impact on your business.

Is your data safe should a fire occur? Would your business still run smoothly if your backup was stolen or mislaid? Are you certain that whatever the disaster, you could recover the data quickly and easily?

If the answer to any of the above questions is no, then our backup solution will give you the peace of mind you need.

With our archiveGENIUS solution this is all made simple. archiveGENIUS is a secure, automated backup system that intelligently backs up the critical files to a remote or local storage server, ensuring your business data is safe and securely available from any connected computer should you need it.

What else do SALONGENIUS do to protect your salon?

Our brand new ‘Managed Workplace’ is now part of your SALONGENIUS software support package but what exactly are the benefits?

·         PC monitoring – We are alerted to potential PC issues so they can be investigated, potentially before being noticed by the end user.

·         Auto heal – As problems are diagnosed we can set an ‘auto heal’ in place, setting a procedure for the software to resolve the problem if it re-occurs on another monitored PC.

·         Security monitoring – We will be alerted of suspicious activity.

·         Remote tools – We are equipped with more remote tools. Allowing us to make necessary changes or updates without disturbing the end user.

·         Patch management (Windows updates) – We will have the ability to schedule windows updates, keeping windows security up to date and scheduling necessary system restarts.

·         Antivirus monitoring – Coupled with our antivirus, managed workplace allows advanced monitoring, enabling us to monitor updates more efficiently. It allows us to auto deploy Antivirus for sites that should have antivirus installed.

How can you get complete of peace of mind and what is the cost?

All you need to get started is a live internet connection at your salon and we will do the rest. It’s as easy as that.

You can have complete peace of mind for just £9 per month + VAT. This includes the software license, set up and installation.

If you would like to get your salon data protected today, call the sales team on 01202 311826