window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-206511945-1');
Facebook-f Youtube Linkedin
Login
Search
Sign Up

Author: Steve B

Categories
salon software

Switching to Encore Software Made Easy

Encore Salon Software logo

Switching to Encore Software Made Easy

With Encore Salon & Spa Software, we are dedicated to providing you with an effective business management system. From getting set up to booking appointments and processing transactions, Encore makes it easy.

Set Up

Simply create your account with no credit card required.  It just takes a few seconds, and from there, you are ready to use Encore!

 

Coming from another management software? We provide data conversion services; speak to an Encore representative for details.

 

Simple, Logical Interface

We developed Encore Software with the user experience in mind! We made it as simple as possible for you to accomplish your objectives!

 

Book appointments and record client information in seconds. Send reminders and confirm appointments with emails or text messages. Set pop-ups to remind you of client preferences or to up-sell clients. Automatically create invoices based on appointment information.

 

From the management side, manage employee details and schedules.

 

Training and Support

As easy as Encore is, we are still here for you. Looking for advanced features or have a question about the software? Talk to a live representative! We have an experienced customer support team ready to provide assistance.

 

Encore Salon & Spa Software offers numerous features including appointment booking, client and staff management, inventory tracking, marketing tools, and point-of-sale. Encore makes it simple to get started and is even easier to use. Don’t delay; give us a call for a free consultation: 1-888-919-5841.

Encore Salon Software logo
Recent Posts
Tag Cloud

If you are not already using Encore Salon & Spa Management Software click here to try it now for FREE

Try Encore Now

If you are not already using Encore Salon & Spa Management Software click here to try it now for FREE

Try Encore Now
Categories
marketing

Easy Back to School Marketing Tips for Best Results

Back to School Marketing Tips

Back to School Marketing Tips

Reaching Students

Students will be heading back to school in just a few weeks, so now is a great time to catch their attention with these Back to School Marketing Tips! They may want to be pampered with one last spa day before the summer is over. Perhaps they want a fresh look for the new school year. Or they may want to stockpile some beauty supplies. Below are a few ideas to draw them into your salon or spa:

  1. Advertise around the community. There are always new families moving into the area or students arriving to attend a nearby college, so make sure they know about you! To keep costs low, check for community bulletin boards at local libraries, grocery stores, schools, and other places around town.
  2. Post trendy or unique designs on your social media, on your website, and even in your salon. Catch your followers’ eyes and show them what you can do.
  3. Host a tutorial event for students. Teach them a few simple tricks for doing their own hair or painting their own nails. Remember to recommend some of your products to them. Offer a great deal for purchasing products or for booking their next appointment before they leave. If you are thinking long-term, plan to have a series of events and print off small cards so your attendees can invite their friends to the next event.
  4. Refer a Friend programs and group discounts are great for bringing in new clients. Give your clients a place to hang out with their friends or family. Provide them with a great experience and they will return with other friends too.

Turn Teachers into Clients

Back to school isn’t just for students; be sure to remember teachers as well. Teachers have a great influence on the people and the community around them. They invest their time and energy into their students and provide them with the education and skills to contribute to society. Show your appreciation to them:

  1. Have a monthly Teachers’ Appreciation Day. Offer them a discount, provide a free service upgrade, gift card, or double the loyalty points they receive from that day’s purchase/service.
  2. Bundle together a few of your retail products and promote them as a gift for teachers. Be sure to have a business card or a menu of services in the bundle and possibly even a coupon.
  3. Hold a contest. Have teachers enter a draw and have students/parents nominate teachers too. The prize can be a gift basket (see above) or it can be service-based, liked a free spa day. To make the contest go viral and ultimately increase your brand awareness, you can even offer a prize to the winning class. Everyone loves a pizza party!

Don’t forget the parents!

Back to school is also a time of change for parents. They may be worried for their child’s first day at school or they may be relieved to get the kids out of the house for a few hours each day. Either way, now that the kids are at school, they deserve to relax:

  1. Pick a weekday or a few hours when your business is typically quiet and offer a salon or spa special. You can draw in stay-at-home parents or even working clients who have a day off or who have flexible hours. This will help you fill your appointment book in the quieter parts of the day.
  2. Connect with the teachers and administration of nearby schools. Ask if you can provide a stack of coupons for students to bring home to their parents or explore the possibility of advertising in a school newsletter.
  3. Support the community. Consider sponsoring a youth sports team, hosting a block party, or giving back to a local charity. Build awareness of your spa/salon, all while making your community a better place. People will take note when you are investing in the future!
Back to School Marketing Tips
Recent Posts
Tag Cloud

If you are not already using Encore Salon & Spa Management Software click here to try it now for FREE

Try Encore Now

If you are not already using Encore Salon & Spa Management Software click here to try it now for FREE

Try Encore Now
Categories
gift cards marketing

Cross Promoting Your Salon or Spa for Growth

cross promoting

Cross Promoting Your Salon or Spa

Marketing & Sales

2 minute read

Looking to grow your client base? A great and inexpensive method is partnering with another business and cross promoting with them.

 

What are the Benefits?

Cross promotions will raise awareness of your business in a positive manner. Every business has built a trusting relationship with their loyal customers. When they refer those customers to your salon or spa, they are connecting their reputation with your business.

 

Partnering with another business can also reduce promotional costs. Split the cost when you advertise together or mail out promotional postcards.

Who Should I Partner With?

Your partner should either provide a different service/product to the same audience or serve a different target audience.

 

Think about your client’s needs and desires. Is there something that will complement the services you provide to them? For example if you run a hair salon, it may make sense to partner with a nail technician. Alternatively, you can team up with a business that serves a different target audience. Your clients may be interested in finding a quality barbershop for their husbands, and perhaps the barber has a few clients whose wives are looking for a new salon! Pay attention to your clients because they might give you some clues.

 

After identifying some potential businesses, you can then consider if the partnership will be balanced. Will their clients be similarly inclined to visit your business and possibly become loyal customers?

 

One caution is to ensure that your partnering businesses are in line with yours. Do they share a similar values? Do their prices align with your clients’ budgets? Remember that your clients trust that you have their best interest in mind.

How Do We Work Together?

  • Display each other’s business cards or brochures. Leave them in highly visible areas like the front desk.
  • Mention your partner when talking to your clients. You don’t need to make a sales pitch, but if you’re talking about a relevant topic, you can naturally mention the partnership.
  • Extend your reach by mentioning each other through your social media networks. Send an email to your clients on behalf of your partner and get them to do the same (be careful not to share your client’s information unless they have given you permission to do so).
  • Sell each other’s gift cards if your partner is targeted at a different market. For example, men at a barbershop may want to treat their wives to a spa day. By making it convenient for them to purchase gift cards to your spa, you will attract new clients without affecting the barbershop’s sales. If your partner is serving the same people, consider whether selling their gift card will cut into your own business’s gift card sales.
  • Bundle related products and services. If you are a hair salon, connect with a cosmetologist or nail salon. Assemble a range of retail products to bundle and sell. Create a wedding package so brides will easily find someone to do their hair, nails, makeup and everything else!
cross promoting
Recent Posts

If you are not already using Encore Salon & Spa Management Software click here to try it now for FREE

Try Encore Now

If you are not already using Encore Salon & Spa Management Software click here to try it now for FREE

Try Encore Now
Categories
gift cards marketing

4 Practical Ways To Skyrocket Your Gift Card Sales

Gift card in shopping cart

4 Salon Gift Card Promotions to Boost Sales

Marketing & Sales

3 minute read

Gift cards provide amazing opportunities to build brand awareness, encourage client loyalty, and win back customers. Take a look at a few ways to utilize them in growing your salon and spa business.

Build Brand Awareness

Method: Offer an incentive for gift card purchases

 

Primary target: Potential clients and their significant others

 

Communication: Targeted Facebook advertising, cross promotions

 

Often, the greatest challenge for a new salon is to get people through the door so that you will have an opportunity to wow them and convert them into a loyal client. Especially around the holiday season, gift cards are valuable for attracting new clients. While gift cards are consistently the most-requested item on holiday wish lists, it can be a challenge to push your salon’s gift card to the top of that list.

 

When targeting potential clients (or their significant others), consider boosting a Facebook post to your ideal clientele based on demographics (gender, age, etc.) and interests. Another option is to partner with another business which serves your intended audience. For example, men frequenting a barber shop would appreciate the convenience of purchasing a gift card to a salon for their spouses.

 

Whichever channel you choose to use, showcase your salon brand and offer an incentive to entice them to purchase right away. It could be a free hair product or nail polish to be used as a stocking stuffer. Or you can sell $100 gift cards for just $80.

Raise Engagement

Method: Run contests for gift card prizes

 

Primary target: Everyone

 

Communication: Social media, email newsletters, text messages, cross promotions

 

Everyone loves free stuff! Even people who aren’t within your target audience may enter to win for a friend or share your post with their own social networks. Either way, it is a great way to build brand awareness, keep current clients engaged, and win back lost customers!

 

There are many ways to run the contest: selecting a random client who visited your salon this month, choosing a random person who shared one of your Facebook posts, or having people nominate a friend or family member who deserves a makeover or a spa day.

 

The gift card gives the winner the flexibility to select how they wish to utilize the prize from selecting specific services or bringing a friend with them. Gift cards of lower values can also be used as secondary prizes as well. More chances to win will likely encourage more people to enter the contest.

Gift card in shopping cart
Recent Posts

Increase Client Spending

Method: Encourage additional spending by offering free gift cards

 

Primary target: Existing clients

 

Communication: Signage within the salon, email newsletters, text messages, social media

 

Gift cards can be a great way to say thank you and an incentive to increase client spending! The key to making the most of this promotion is to set a necessary spend level to be slightly higher than the average client’s invoice amount. Clients will then need to purchase an add-on service or product in order to reach it. This opens the door to get them hooked on to new services or add-ons, thus increasing their spending for future appointments as well.

 

In addition to the immediate revenue boost, you are also providing an opportunity for clients to spoil themselves when utilizing the gift card at their next visit. When paying with a gift card, many people opt to purchase something that they would not normally spend their own money on. But even if they stick with their regular services or products, you are still building a positive relationship between your salon and the client.

Build Partnerships

Method: Negotiate prices for bulk gift card orders

 

Primary target: Businesses

 

Communication: Networking with business owners and managers

 

Over 80% of businesses use gift cards as an employee incentive, according to GiftCards.com. Talk to people that you already know (start with existing clients, family/friends, and surrounding businesses) and promote your gift cards as an excellent reward or present. If they are interested in purchasing a bulk number of gift cards, you can negotiate a special rate as, realistically, the full value of the gift cards will probably not be used. However the more they are used, you will have more opportunities to win over new clients.

Learn more about our custom gift cards!

Click Here