How the Salon Industry Is Picking Up with Innovative Technology

Innovative technology- virtual reality, interactive apps, and salon management software, etc.- is shaking up the hair and beauty industry in many ways. There seems to be an app or software for every salon management task and client management challenge. New communication tools, notably social media, have changed how salon businesses reach out and interact with their target audiences.

Modern clients want instant gratification, seamless and interactive customer experiences, and personalized services. And then with the COVID-19 pandemic changing how people shop, the challenge is upon salon owners to leverage online marketing and come up with internet-based service delivery strategies. It is a good thing that innovative salon technology is up to the task.

We will tell you in this article how your salon business (and industry at large) can pick up with innovative technology.

1.         Virtual Reality Software

The salon industry is gradually integrating Virtual Reality into its day-to-day operations. For starters, the industry is now using VR to predict the suitability of different beauty products and styles to individual clients’ beauty needs. It does that with over 90% accuracy. Here are a few examples of how the salon industry is using VR to improve customer experience:

•           VR nail technology

This tech allows users to try out nail art by placing their hands in front of a VR scanner. The scanner then uses Leap Motion technology to communicate with a nail designs app. The app suggests different art designs that best fit a user’s nails, giving users the power to choose the design they feel would give them the best after-look.

•           VR makeup tech

Take L’Oréal Makeup Genius, for example. This interactive app allows beauty clients to test out different makeup products and shades. It has the ability to capture more than 60 facial data points and analyze them in real-time, consequently predicting the best makeup for a specific client.

•           Digital nail printer

A good example is the Artpro V11 Nano Printer that prints multiple color patterns on nails, both natural and artificial nails. The printer uses inkjet printing technology, but the design happens in the printer’s app. It comes with thousands of pre-set nail designs for clients to choose from. Users can also custom-make their own designs if they want.

2.         Salon management system

The beauty industry is taking full advantage of salon management systems to perform basic, tedious, and repetitive management tasks. A good system minimizes time wastage in day-to-day operations and eliminates human errors in record keeping. There is more. Good salon management software help in:

i.          Appointment booking

Hair salon online booking enables clients to book appointments from their smartphones, any time of the day. It provides the instant gratification that modern clients crave so much. From the online booking software, clients find details such as your business hours, payment options, and even when their preferred stylist is available. They don’t have to call your reception, which is a plus because not many people in the world fancy making phone calls.

Note that although clients can cancel their appointments right from the online software, online booking significantly reduces cancellations, late coming, and no-shows. That’s because of two main reasons. One, you can use the software to send automated appointment reminders to clients. That leaves no room for clients to forget their appointment time and date. Two, customers make appointments at their own appointed time, upon confirming slots’ availability from the software. It is uncommon for clients to miss the appointment time they pick for themselves and under no pressure at all.

ii.         Staff management

Salon management software tells salon owners/managers everything they need to know about individual employees’ performance. It tells you which employees are available for upcoming appointments, who among your team members are best suited to provide a particular service, and how much revenue each employee generates in a week or month. You can monitor all that from any location using the software. The good thing about having such employee data is that you are able to kick out the deadwood from the team early enough and create an unbiased, data-based employee reward system.

iii.         Digital marketing

What small businesses need in order to nail digital marketing is detailed client information. That includes clients’ physical addresses, phone numbers, social media handles, email addresses, age and birthdays, and their pain points. Salon management software encourages clients to share all this info. It then stores it in secure databases, organizes it for easy access, and analyzes it for easy consumption. That allows salon managers to customize their email, social media, and SMS marketing messages. That info is also invaluable during the creation of customer loyalty and/or referral programs. It helps you categorize clients based on loyalty and spending power, so you know who to target with your marketing materials and who to reward with offers and/or discounts.

iv.        Inventory management

Inventory management software helps salon owners to monitor how employees utilize the resources given to them. It will tell you which employees are wasteful so that you can intervene before the wastage hurts your ROI. Managers also use inventory management systems to track the availability and expiry dates of salon products.

v.         Point of sale

Salons now use their online booking platforms as points of sale for their products. Booking software allows users to create simple product catalogs and provides clients with multiple payment gateway options. That makes it seamless for clients to shop and pay for your spa or salon products right from their smartphones.

3.         Digital payments

Let’s expound more on digital payment gateways for salon businesses. There are tons of digital payment options that salon owners leverage in a bid to encourage online bookings. That’s beyond the industry standards like credit cards and Square. They include:

•           PayPal Checkout: Salons are now adding PayPal Checkout buttons on their social media profiles and websites. The buttons direct clients to PayPal’s checkout page where they can then make payments in a few quick clicks.

•           Stripe forms: It is now possible to embed Stripe payment forms on a salon business website. That allows clients to make payments from their Stripe accounts right on your website, without being redirected to a Stripe checkout page.

•           PayStand. PayStand allows clients to use foreign currencies, Bitcoins, credit cards, as well as e-cash and e-checks to make online payments.

•           Merchant Warehouse. This online payment processing system enables clients to make payments from their Google Wallets.

Conclusion

Are you tired of manual and old-school salon management styles? If you are, it is time you started investing in the latest salon technology. Of course, the upfront cost will be significantly huge, but then technology is a gift that never stops giving. It will streamline operations in your salon, help with your administrative responsibilities, and set your salon on a path of success. todaybusinesshub.com