Overwhelmed by software package options? Here are some of the essential features of salon software to look out for and why they’re important.
Good salon software should make daily salon management faster and easier. The most useful systems combine online booking, payments, staff scheduling, client records, and automated reminders in one place.
With so many software options available, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the choices. Choosing your salon software is an important decision, and it’s one that you probably only want to make once. Switching between systems because of a lack of features of functionality could lead to salon errors that irritate your staff and customers.
With this in mind, we’re looking at some of the essential features for salon software and why they are so important.
If you’re still asking customers to request an appointment and then following up to confirm, you could be simply making more work for yourself. This style of appointment booking inevitably leads to miscommunications and double bookings when you could simply allow customers to book appointments in real time.
Taking your booking service online will allow customers to book and confirm appointments at any time of day or night. This removes barriers to booking that could get in the way. For example, some customers want to select their time slot and pay in advance, they don’t want to submit an enquiry and then wait until the next working day for confirmation.
No-shows will often have a detrimental impact on your profit margins. To help reduce the chance of no-shows, you can use automated appointment reminders to let customers know they have an appointment on the horizon. If they can no longer make the appointment, they will have the option to cancel or re-book.
Appointment reminders can also be paired with a waiting list feature, so if a customer cancels at the last minute, this appointment can be offered to those on the waiting list.
Another key feature to look for in your salon management software is email and text marketing tools. If you can automate this, even better. Once your customers have signed up for your email and text marketing lists, you have their attention and their trust. This is an ideal opportunity to encourage repeat bookings, upsells and cross promotion.
It’s common to ask customers to book their next appointment before they leave the salon, but for a haircut this could be 3 or 4 months ahead of time. It’s far better to reach out with a follow-up email or text after 2-3 months to encourage customers to book their next treatment.
One of the best ways to encourage repeat custom in your salon is by offering rewards through a loyalty card scheme. Good salon management software will make light work of this by keeping track of customers’ reward accounts and allowing you to apply discounts as they have earned them.
Physical loyalty cards can get lost, but using a digital system can make the entire process more efficient and ensure that no one can cheat the system. This will also make your salon appear more technologically advanced and modern, which can be a huge selling point for customers.
Another key feature to look for in your salon software is stock management. Selling products in your salon can be stressful when you manage the process the old fashioned way. This can lead to over ordering products that aren’t selling, which means you have to sell them at a loss. You can also lose track of stock and allow it to go out of date, which means you’ll also have to sell this at a discount or throw it away.
By using your salon software’s stock management features, you can accurately predict how much of each product you will need, ensuring you never over-order or sell out of products again. You’ll also be able to see what you have in stock at a glance, ensuring you can plan promotions and push products on social media when you need to get things moving.
The most important features are the ones you will actually use. Before making the switch, speak to your staff about what they feel is missing and how you could improve the customer experience. You can also seek customer feedback to learn more about what they want. This will help to inform your decision making and ensure that you make positive and impactful changes.
Ready to find the right fit for your salon? Book a free demo with Salon Iris today and explore how our software can support your team, enhance the client experience, and help your business thrive.
