Gone are the days when you can manage your salon from an appointment book. The world has gone digital and the opportunities this has revealed for salons and spas are incredible. Customers can now book an appointment any time from anywhere. And automated appointment reminders help to reduce no shows.
When it comes to choosing the right salon software to manage your business, there’s no shortage of choices. But what works for one salon might not work for yours, so it’s important to shop around. Here are some of the things you need to think about when choosing the management software for your salon or spa.
Give yourself room to grow
It can be tempting to choose the cheapest salon software option just to save yourself some money in the beginning, but this can be a false economy. You need to give yourself room to grow, so always choose a salon software package with more features than you need right now. Switching packages further down the line could cause some serious problems, so it makes sense to think big and give your business room to grow.
Think social
Social media is big business for salons and spas. Can you think of a single salon or spa that doesn’t make use of social media in some way? If your salon software package doesn’t offer some kind of social media integration, you have to ask if it’s the right choice. Many salon software packages will include social media booking, so your customers can book an appointment without ever leaving Facebook.
Make the most of free trials
You don’t have to make a decision right away, you can always test the water first. Most reputable salon software companies will offer a free trial period so you can get used to the features and decide if it’s right for you. Make sure most of the things like guided introductions so you can discover the full range of benefits available, as it might not be immediately obvious.
Find something all-inclusive
You should look for something that does more than just manage your appointments. The best salon software packages will have lots of added extras such as automated SMS appointment reminders, stock ordering and management, staff management and marketing tools. As we outlined above, you might not need these tools straight away, but they might come in handy in the future.
Choose the system that will boost profits
When all is said and done, the real point of beauty salon software is to help you grow your business and boost profits. While you might be drawn to the friendly and quirky interface of one particular package over another, if it doesn’t help you to boost your profits then it isn’t doing the job.
The best salon software should be easy for you and your staff to work with, it should make it easier for your customers to interact with you and it should help you to up-sell and cross-sell your services like never before. Don’t worry about being a little picky in order to get this essential part of your business right.