How A Booking App Can Streamline And Revolutionize Appointment Management For Your Salon
If your salon is struggling with appointment management, it might be time to consider investing in salon software technology with an appointment booking app. Streamlining your appointment management can have a positive ripple effect through all aspects of your business, revolutionizing your salon to become the highly-efficient and spectacularly successful salon or spa business that you always dreamed it could be.
Today's modern salons use scheduling apps to go beyond appointment booking to improve many aspects of client management. Let's looks at some of the ways you can leverage booking software to bring your salon business to the cutting edge of customer service.
Salon Booking Software Helps You Do Better At Every Stage Of The Customer's Journey
The success of your salon business relies heavily on client appointment management.
Excellent appointment management improves the workflow for your staff and leads to satisfied customers which, in turn, boost your salon's reputation, bringing in new customers and driving revenue growth.
Poor appointment management can frustrate your clients, driving them to seek out other salons, leading to income loss for you and your service providers.
Booking an appointment is the first step of the client's journey with your salon. It's where you make your first impression, and you need to knock it out of the park.
That said, salon software with a mobile app that has appointment scheduling and management capabilities can help your salon business improve the customer experience at every step. It will free up your front desk staff to better tend to face-to-face client interactions, improve communications between appointments with automated reminders and push notifications, and even streamline your client notes and preferences – impressing customers with your salon's efficiency and attention to detail.
Choosing A Salon Scheduling Software
The best salon software programs will help you streamline, and even automate, many of the time-consuming appointment management and administrative tasks that are required when running a salon business.
Salon and spa software with a booking system, appointment management features, POS features, online payments, and even email marketing campaigns will ensure your business runs smoother and more efficiently. The results are greater opportunities for revenue growth and business expansion.
When choosing your booking software, you want to make sure it comes with all of these features. And it must have a mobile-friendly, online booking app for your customers to schedule their own appointments.
A Salon Booking App Lets Customers Book Appointments From Anywhere At Anytime
Today's salon customers don't want to be bothered with having to make a phone call that can only take place during your salon's business hours to schedule their appointments. This greatly limits the time they have in their own busy day to book an appointment. And they definitely don't want to spend long wait times on hold while your front desk staff handles calls that are already in progress or are processing customer payments.
Your customers want to make their appointments on their own time, whenever that may be for them, and not feel rushed through the process.
Online booking is the best solution that today's salons are looking for and the convenience feature that your salon customers expect.
Online Booking Takes The Pressure Off Of Your Staff
When you adopt salon software, one of the biggest benefits is the amount of time it frees up for your front desk staff. When clients can do their own online bookings for salon services, your front staff will see a significant reduction in the amount of time they are tied up on the phone scheduling appointment bookings, taking last minute cancellations, and confirming appointment reminders.
This means your front desk staff won't have to spend nearly as much time on appointment management, and they will have more time for tending to client relations. This translates to more time for staff to be attentive to clients as they welcome them into the salon or during their check-out time before they go.
Your welcome desk will become a more peaceful space when your front desk staff are not simultaneously juggling a stream of appointment management phone calls and in-store clients. Checking your customers in and out of the salon will be quicker, smoother, and more pleasant all the way around.
Your customers will appreciate the more attentive treatment, and their good experience means more positive reviews for your salon business and great word-of-mouth marketing.
An Online Booking App Allows Clients To Do Their Own Data Updates
Another one of the time-consuming tasks that you can take off the shoulders of your staff with online bookings is client data updates. When your customers are making their salon appointment bookings, they can conveniently and securely update their own personal information.
Phone number, address, credit card and payment information, and other profile features can be updated directly in the salon software booking app. This will save time for all parties and make the check-in and check-out process much smoother and more efficient.
Streamline Communications With Your Clients
One of the best features of a salon booking app is the automated reminders. Appointment reminders simply are not something that a hair salon or spa can ever do away with. People are busier than ever, and even with calendars in their smart phones they can still forget to enter appointments after making them. A text or phone call can interrupt the task and getting that appointment onto their calendar is easily forgotten.
Your customers rely on automated appointment confirmations and reminders to help them manage their schedules. Appointment reminders and confirmations are proven to help people arrive on time and to significantly reduce no-shows. So, you can rely on automated reminders as well: to keep your books filled and your salon's income steady
You can easily set up appointment confirmations and reminders in your booking software, and your client can select their preference of email or SMS text reminders in their mobile booking app.
Push Notification Features On Your Salon Booking App
Online booking apps with advanced features for messaging and push notifications facilitate appointment management with ease. With these features you can let a client know that you need a few extra minutes to wrap up or clean your station; then send them a push notification to let them know when you're ready.
This is especially helpful for hair salons and beauty spas that are in locations with other nearby amenities. If you notified your client that you need a few extra minutes and they popped into the shop next door to grab a cup of coffee or do some shopping while they wait, a push notification will let them know when it's time to come back for their salon services. This will help your stylists and service providers stick to their schedule as closely as possible.
Simplify Your Waiting List With Salon Software
Your salon scheduling software can help simplify your waiting list procedures. Instead of using a time-consuming process (like paper lists), your salon software can use a notification system to help fill an empty spot, even at the last minute.
When a client cancels an appointment via the booking app, a notification can be sent to the next person in line on the waiting list. They can accept or decline the appointment. If they decline, the next person on the list will be notified. This automated feature will save your staff time and help your stylists keep their books filled, preventing loss of income for them and for you.
Track And Store Client Preferences For More Efficient Appointment Management
Another great way to streamline your appointment management and enhance salon service is to use your salon software to track and store client preferences.
Keep note of important information such as a client's color formulas, preferred retail products, and lifestyle or health notes that impact their beauty routines or hair style choices. With these notes easily accessible in the booking software, the service provider can review them any time before the appointment. This can save time on the day of the appointment and will help the stylist make sure they have everything they need for the client's services on-site and ready to go.
Personal details can be included as well. It always improves the customer experience when a service provider recalls important details like a client's birthday, anniversary, children's names, and upcoming events or vacations!
Appointment Booking Notes From Clients
One of the most popular features of salon scheduling software is client notes. When a client uses online booking to schedule appointments, they can leave detailed notes about their upcoming services for their hair stylist or spa service provider.
This can include pictures or written notes pertaining to their appointment. This will allow the stylist or service provider to do any preparations before the appointment that might take extra time or care, or to order any specialty products needed for the service.
Being better prepared for client appointments will help keep the work day flowing well and minimize scheduling issues that can occur when a client shows up with more involved plans than could be conveyed through the appointment booking alone.
Additionally, if the stylist reviews the notes in advance and recognizes any potential issues with the service, they can reach out to the customer to discuss their best options. This can save a lot of time on appointment day and help the stylist keep on track with their schedule.
Recover Customers With Custom Messages From Your Scheduling App
If you're trying to bring customers in that you haven't seen for a while, leverage your scheduling app to encourage their return. You can set up your salon software to recognize when a customer hasn't made an appointment in the time frame of your choosing and it will send them a message.
For example, if it has been four months since a client's last visit, your booking software can send them a customized message that you design. You might simply send a "We Miss You" message, or you can take it a step further and include a coupon for selected services or retail products to entice them back more quickly.
Recovering "missing" customers is a fantastic way to boost your online bookings and, if you're thoughtful and deliberate about how you approach this technique, you can even use it to fill your books at a time when salon businesses are typically slow.
Better Appointment Management Boosts Customer Loyalty
Appointment management is all about efficient scheduling. And efficient scheduling reflects a well-run business.
Today's salon customers are savvy and have high expectations. If they spend too long waiting for a scheduled appointment, they'll remember it. But they will also remember when everything goes smoothly: when your salon makes it easy for them to manage their appointments and transactions, when the welcome desk staff is attentive, and when your stylists are well-prepared for every service.
All of these factors will earn your customers' trust and increase their loyalty to your salon or brand. So while appointment management may not seem like the primary factor that contributes to a successful salon, it needs to be recognized as the first and foremost stepping stone to a fantastic customer journey at your salons and spas.
Salon Owners: Do What You Love, Let STX Do The Rest
Salon software with an online booking app will undoubtedly improve your salon's appointment management and, by extension, your customer service. And, appointment scheduling software helps everyone on your team access the salon's appointments – keeping the entire team on the same page and preventing human error.
If you're ready to get back to what you truly love, providing exceptional salon services and fostering a fantastic salon environment, let STX salon software provide you with the tools you need to make that happen.
Contact Us Today To Learn More About STX Salon Software
STX salon software has all the features you want to streamline appointment management and revolutionize the way you run your salon.
Give us a call at (800) 766-4778 or visit our website to book a live demo with our team. Let us show you how STX can be the salon software solution that you've been looking for!