5 Software Features that Hair Salons Love

Hi, I'm Lester from SleekDigital, a software development company based in Singapore.

Do you run a hair salon here in Singapore?

Today, let's explore how a digital product company like SleekDigital can value-add to your salon business.

Based on our research, these are the goals of hair salons:

• Get more new customers
• Get existing customers to become repeat customers
• Get existing customers to spend more
• Get new streams of revenue
• Reduce cancellations & no-shows
• Optimize bookings (no overlaps/missed appointments)

Without proper systems in place internally, manual processes might result in significant business losses.

How can software help achieve these goals?

Now, let's explore how different features and strategies can help bring us closer to the desired goals.

The key is using software development and product methodologies to help you come up with a solution to build happier teams and happier customers.

Feature #1: Appointment Booking Module

As weird as it sounds, we've seen numerous hair salons still sticking to pen and paper for this process.

Yes, it does the job well, but it is still an opportunity to save that much time for your company.

Moreover, if you have a company with multiple outlets and hairstylists, it might cause confusion and issues related to overbooking or overlapped appointments.

Therefore, the best way is to use a simple appointment booking system.

Not only does the appointment booking system help automate internal processes and prevent miscommunications, but it also serves as a channel to increase the number of bookings.

The quickest way to book an appointment would be using the booking system as it allows the user to immediately know the hairstylist's availabilities.

Rather than going back and forth about the hairstylist's availabilities over calls or texts, a booking system makes the experience an immediate confirmation.

This will help increase the number of bookings.

Feature #2: Automated Reminder Systems

To solve the problem of missed appointments, an automated reminder system is a good implementation.

Depending on the needs of the salon, the salon can either choose to notify the customer by SMS (paid) or email (free).

If the salon has a custom mobile app in place already, then it's a good opportunity to use push notifications, which are also FREE.

Usually, we recommend sending reminder messages 24 hours before the actual appointment.

We would also send a link or contact information for the salon staff for cancellation or reschedule purposes.

A customized reactivation campaign can also be initiated if there is a cancellation with no reschedule.

This can improve the bookings of the salon significantly.

If you are looking for mobile app development, SleekDigital is also an app development company that can help you set up your bespoke salon mobile app for better engagement with your customers.

Feature #3: E-Commerce Solutions

Selling products that complement your services is a good way to create a new revenue stream.

If you are running a hair salon, it is good to sell a variety of hair products. Allow online ordering and repeat ordering can also help you improve your sales.

Eventually, you can even offer packages where if you get certain services, you have a choice to buy the product at a discounted price.

If you notice bigger brands of hair salons, beauty parlors, or even massage parlors, you will find that they sell products that are both for profit and to remind the customer of the brand when they have the product at home.

This is a really important concept to shift the paradigm of hair salon software.

Feature #4: Package Management System

Some salons sell packages where you buy X number of sessions for a fixed price and can use the package for a certain number of months.

Usually, there will be a physical card and chop to track the package and the number of sessions you have left.

Although this is good, technology has evolved. We can now create a mobile-based package management system so that you can track your packages.

Moreover, you can send notifications to the customer to remind them that their packages are expiring or to remind them to utilize the package.

A simple trigger in the admin panel can allow the package information to be updated.

You can even automate the renewal of the package with a simple payment gateway integration.

Feature #5: Loyalty Systems

One of the goals of the hair salon is to have repeat customers, right?

Therefore, the way to do this is the implementation of a loyalty system.

Whenever a customer spends money, they accumulate points that can then be exchanged for further perks in the future.

This can be in the form of a discount, a free session, or even a free product.

We use loyalty tracker software to ensure that we have tracked the right amount of spending that gives the right number of points.

At times, you can also partner up with other companies to offer complementary products, but that's a story for another day.

The Future of Hair Salons

We have built software for numerous industries. Hair salons and beauty parlors are common inquiries that we have received. We have used software development, marketing, and design to help these companies grow.

SleekDigital aims to create exceptional experiences for the customers of our clients. By getting more sales and creating better digital experiences using software, we hope that these clients can grow with us.