Over the last two decades, the beauty and wellness industry has clocked a healthy CAGR of 12%. While much of the reasons for growth can be attributed to increased demand, rising disposable incomes, growing awareness, and a paradigm shift in the way how people now view salon grooming services as self-care, technology too have played an important role in the growth story. It has moved from being merely a computing tool to being a holistic, all-in-one solution that can assist in managing all aspects of the business. As a result, an increasing number of salons are opting to deploy salon appointment booking software to improvise business processes, improve efficiency, and achieve better revenues. In this post, we explore the 5 reasons why salon booking software should be an integral part of your salon business.
Boost Efficiency
Think of it this way, if there is a process, which can be automated there exists simply no reason to execute it manually, and an online salon booking system helps you in the process. Various administrative processes such as booking appointments 24/7, auto synchronizing it with salon and staff calendar, processing payments, managing inventory, running payroll, and managing loyalty programs can all be done through a single platform and executed with complete accuracy. Simply taking over all the repetitive tasks, it saves your business long man hours resulting in you and your team spending more time engaging with service, working on marketing campaigns, and charting out business strategy.
Reduced Idle Time
One of the great advantages of deploying salon scheduling software is that it ensures that your appointment calendar remains full. With features such as automated reminders and active waitlisting, the system works to ensure that there are minimal no-show bookings. Sending a secondary confirmation request well in advance, not only reminds the guest about the upcoming booking but also ensures that the booking doesn’t turn into a no-show one. In the occasional eventuality of an existing booking being rescheduled or canceled, salon scheduling software automatically informs the waitlisted clients about the vacancy and offers them to avail of the slot. The salon scheduling software from Zenoti comes with an integrated booking cum waitlisting feature, which in the eventuality of the preferred slot not being available, automatically offers to enlist the guest on the waitlist in just one tap.
Increased Revenue
Believe it or not but a salon booking system can help you boost your revenue in multiple ways. From engaging analytical tools to help you redesign your booking calendar to offering guests the convenience of a single-user interface to shop for products and services, the software can help you earn more bucks for your time. The Zenoti salon software utilizes a host of techniques to help you achieve better revenues. One of the renowned men’s luxury salon chains that operate 42 stores in 7 US states, Boardroom was looking to transform their guest experience. By implementing Zenoti salon software they offered a host of renewed services such as new service bookings in just about 4 steps, one-tap rebooking of past service, auto-redeem loyalty rewards, and shopping for products on the Zenoti webstore. As a result, they saw a 27% jump in revenue from repeat clients and a 20% improvement in client retention rates.
Payment Automation
When it comes to settling invoices, the world is no longer limited to the choice of cash or card. With a host of fintech solutions such as mobile wallets, and payment gateways such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc. it is important that guests are offered the option to settle their invoices using their preferred payment method. An online salon booking system, ideally fully PCI compliant, provides your business the flexibility to offer multiple payment options whilst giving guests complete peace of mind about the security of the system.
Business Mobility
In a time when everyone is busy, the need for business mobility is more pronounced than ever. In simplest terms, business mobility means that your business data should be available to you anytime, and anywhere. Salon booking software makes this a possibility. By storing all the business data on a remote cloud-based server, and allowing you to deploy role-based authorization, the software ensures that your business data is available to you as and when you require it. No longer do you have to go over voluminous pages of data or be physically present at the store. Essentially, the software lets you take your business wherever you go.
Reporting & Analytics
If you’ve ever wondered about how to understand where your business is going, there is perhaps no better tool than a salon booking system to help you in the process. Being the central repository of all your business information, it makes the process of organizing the data for better comprehension very easy. Some salon booking systems such as Zenoti come with a centralized dashboard, and up to 100 pre-set reporting formats for you to choose and pick from. The interactive centralized dashboard lets you understand the both micro and macro picture of your business, both holistically and location–wise. Further, by generating statistics related to sales, margin, staff performance, etc. the salon booking system helps you keep a complete pulse of the state of affairs.
Aside from the above a salon booking system can help you in managing your employees, maintain a comprehensive sales record, improve your marketing and run your loyalty program. By automating almost all tasks, the system takes the burden off your shoulders and saves you time and money, whilst empowering you to take your business to the next level.
