Technology is essential to every salon’s daily operation, as software applications can make almost every aspect of business management easy. Recently, Rosy Salon Software asked some of its Salon Today Top 200 Salons what technology they use and their favorite features to help drive and streamline their business. Here’s what they said:
Technology is now an essential partner for us. It runs our communications to our guests and staff; it enables us to be a cashless business model.
How has a color management system helped your color services and bottom line?
Vish has reduced our color waste by 5-10% so far, enabling stylists to recreate their looks seamlessly and share clients without any confusion.
How does salon software benefit your business?
It substantially lessens the load on our front desk with the check-in texts, auto pay checkouts, and the online booking system. This enables us to have fewer hourly employees up front, saving us overhead. The booking system and online app is a can't live without, saving time and energy with comprehensive guest files, formulas, and saved history. Integrated payment processing makes checkout easier and helps decrease our no-call, no-show rate, as we have their card on file, and each guest is informed of our cancellation policy.
Technology plays a huge role in our salon. Some of our first hired stylists had only ever used a paper book and never a software system. We’ve incorporated Rosy Salon Software from the beginning to allow our employees to easily book and manage appointments from their phones.
We also have three stations in the salon where stylists can always view their schedule, adjust appointments, and track valuable data such as color formulas and the retail history of guests. This has helped day-to-day operations tremendously.
On the owner's side is the ability to create custom commission scales. When I do weekly payroll, I can easily run a commission report and a time clock report and import them into my payroll. It has made my life so much easier.
What’s the best aspect of retailing online?
We use SalonInteractive for our online eCommerce business. We are a pretty big retail-based salon, so having that option is a big perk. If a guest is going to go online and shop, we want them to shop with us. I truly don’t think this feature has taken away from our in-salon sales. It’s a different clientele doing each. We also have our On-Behalf Marketing turned on for many brands we don’t carry in the salon. There are clients that maybe want to try something else that we don’t stock.
Technology Used: Rosy + RosyPay, Salon Ninja, Girl Fridays, Salon Scale, Tippy
How has introducing Tippy to your checkout process worked out for you?
It's been nice, and we saw our tipping percentage go up 5-10 percent. It's also been a great savings account for some of us who choose to save our tips, not to mention the salon is no longer paying the credit card fee on those tips.
How has SalonScale helped your bottom line?
The cost of doing business is no longer a thing I have to worry about as we are charging according to our services with Salon Scale. My business generated $55,000 in profit from Salon Scale as we markup our color 210 percent to cover gloves, foils, Scrummi towels, etc. This was a huge win for us.
What is your favorite salon software feature, and how has it helped your business?
The tracker, by far, is my favorite (feature); if I can measure it, I can grow it. And it helps my team accelerate their growth too.
How has Salon Ninja helped your business and keep your chairs filled?
Marketing and attention to leads have been huge with us for Salon Ninja. Paired with Girl Fridays, connections happen even when we are not in the salon. Leads are always getting followed up with, and we are keeping our junior associates busy!
We are running smoothly and cost-effectively, which will help us see more profitability and allow us to do more for our teams.
Time is a commodity we don’t get back. When we employ technology to automate areas of our business, we can focus on keeping the main thing, the main thing—which is growing the team and growing our revenue.
What are your favorite salon software features, and how do they benefit your business?
We like the overall ease of use, especially for new team members. We appreciate how the appointments are displayed; it’s easy to follow, move things, add notes, and schedule. We also appreciate having online scheduling, as many clients like to preview our openings on their own time.
What’s your favorite part of using RosyPay, and why?
The speed of receiving our funds with RosyPay is great. We’ve saved money by using RosyPay.
How do you use technology for communication with your clients?
We use all the email marketing features with Client Connect as we believe that consistent touchpoints with our guests are pivotal to increasing their frequency of visits and increasing our average tickets. The automation aspect is key, so we set it and forget it.
Technology has provided tools that, when implemented consistently, offer opportunities for us to measure critical success indicators. And what we know is that what gets measured gets managed.
How have the digital consultations helped your business?
Our retention rate and average ticket price of new clients whose onboarding experience includes SnapSnip is 82% and $238. In comparison, our retention rate and average ticket price of new clients who onboard without SnapSnip is 29% and $98. Last year, SnapSnip reduced our free 15-minute consultations by 40%, creating an additional 104 hours of stylist availability.
How has technology made salon management easier for a.salon?
From online scheduling to client profile management and color formulation storage, the platform has been an essential part of a.salon for 4+ years. Our favorite feature is online scheduling. Clients are looking for a seamless experience and often would like to schedule appointments during off hours. Rosy online scheduling has enabled this client flexibility. The financial reporting has also helped us make informed decisions on how to proceed and adjust our business.
What’s your favorite part of using RosyPay, and why?
The best part of RosyPay is the seamless integration with Rosy. We have not had to worry about compatibility once. Also, the reporting feature is very helpful for QuickBooks journal entries and tax submissions.
How has implementing eCommerce improved your income?
The best part of having an online store is the passive income. Once the store is launched, there is very little work to be done to earn additional revenue.
How has your color management system affected your salon?
Salon Scale helps us stay on budget. We do a parts/labor pricing structure, which has really helped with managing our overhead and expenses.
What is your favorite salon software feature, and how has it helped your business?
My favorite feature is Client Connect. Emails are still a huge part of how we get our information out to our guests, and we will see a better return on our guests seeing it through the email service versus social media.
The reports are also amazing; they are everything we need to check for our monthly coaching meetings. Not only do they have every report you need, but they are so easy to find and use.
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