No industry has been left untouched by the majestic powers of technology. Businesses are forming, transforming, growing, and flourishing with the help of latest advancements. Technology, today, is that Ark of Noah on which almost all businesses are boarding themselves to get rescued from the dangerous waters of uncertainty. At such times, even the salon industry wants to make the most of upcoming technologies to improve their overall functioning and reap higher business gains. A variety of Salon Software and apps have been introduced to not only make the functioning of salons smooth but also to help them improve their revenue and scale of operations.
Let’s peep into some of the ways by which the salon industry is implementing modern innovations and systems to reach beyond the horizon.
Responsive Website:
Beauty salons previously aimed at having an online presence to reach their prospective customers via the internet. Due to the growing number of devices, these days, they aim at getting their website transformed into a responsive one. With a responsive experience, website visitors can view the website with ease no matter what the screen size. Irrespective of the device they use, they experience uniformity in accessing and viewing the website of the beauty salon.
Software:
Tech oriented organizations are coming up with customized Salon software for beauty salons so that they can conduct their operations with ease. These software systems help them in maintaining their clientele with ease and also help them provide improved services. They reduce the overall time and effort needed to perform specific tasks. For instance, a software solution with a scheduler can easily remind the customers of their approaching appointment, thus, reducing the number of no-shows. The software also helps in sending automated messages to customers on special occasions. The operations flow in a smooth and organized way with the help of technology- powered tools.
Apps:
Several numbers of apps have evolved under the lifestyle category, including fitness, skin, beauty, etc. These aim to improve the overall lifestyle of end-users. Beauty salon apps fall under the lifestyle category. While there are apps which provide myriad of beauty services under one roof, there are apps which choose to cater to only one area such as hair, nail, makeup, skincare, grooming, etc. Salon apps are the hot-favorite among modern customers. Beauty salons can choose to go for a personalized app for their specific salon to cater to their clients personally as per their own strategy. Alternatively, they can also register with any app offering on-demand beauty services to clients. This way, they can also expand their customer base. Apps empower salons to take their services to the next level by helping them treat their customers in a special way. Apps add to the delight of the customers and at the same time, make things easy to manage for beauty salon executives.
Additionally, the analytics presented by apps help salons in tracking clients who are loyal and reward them accordingly. The reports help them in focusing on those areas, which are high revenue-generating.
Having spoken of how technology is popularly used by salons to grow their business, let us now highlight on the popular Salon software and apps utilized by them.
Shedul:
(Source: Shedul)
Shedul is a free salon software system used by Salons and Spas for better client management. It is basically a booking software which lets salons schedule appointments, manage clients, send custom messages and reminders to clients, keep track of daily appointments, cancel or reschedule appointments, receive payments and do much more.
Initially, you can avail of the basic software for free. However, for the premium or advanced features, you may have to make the desired payment to use the software in a full-fledged manner. The software is useful not just for beauty salons, but can also be utilized by Massage centers, health clinics, Nail salons, hair salons, spas, and personal trainer. It presents an organized way of conducting business and managing the client base.
MioSalon:
(Source: Miosalon)
Automating almost all tasks of a beauty salon executive, Miosalon presents an easy way to deliver superior customer experience. Its main features include customized scheduler, integrated point-of-sale system, online booking, and analytics and reports. These are just the basic features of this software. However, the software also offers a number of other features which help in improved client management.
With automated reminders, salons not only get to send messages to clients but also to employees about the appointments. The salon can also send automated messages to clients on special occasions like Birthdays and Anniversaries. The feedback system helps the salon improve their services as they get to know what clients have to say about their services. Interestingly, this software can easily integrate with your website and social media, so that all the appointments booked on either of the platforms get registered in the app too.
There is so much the software can offer. However, you can avail of it for free only for a trial period.
Booker:
(Source: Booker)
This salon software, introduced by MindBody, aims at helping clients take their care for customers to the next level. With booker, salon customers can book appointments at any time, at any place, and through any device. It makes day-to-day tasks easy to perform with lesser time and effort investment. With a built-in POS system, it is easy for customers to make payments. With the insights this software offers through reports and analytics, you can be sure you will be definitely ahead one year from the day you start using this software. Using the software intelligently can not only help you keep your existing client base engaged, but it is going to be easy to add even new clients to your business.
Booker is an intelligent software solution used by salons, spas, and fitness centers. The basic package starts at $149 per month while the ultimate one, of course with advanced and smart features, can cost you $ 389 per month.
Boulevard:
(Source: Boulevard)
This intelligent software provides easy scheduling solution to salon businesses. With a detailed POS, it helps in increasing revenue and brings down operating costs for salons, spas, and other businesses where appointments hold a crucial place. The software uses innovative technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), to optimize a salon's schedule to enhance revenue, and let customer’s book appointments only at available times. Yet another highlight of this app is its integration with social media. The software collects all the data right from social media profiles to purchase history at a single place so that they can be served accordingly.
The easy check-out process leaves a lot of time for salon staff to focus on treating customers like celebrities and upselling products. All in all, the use of this software leads to client delight, increase in profits, and reduced costs of operation.
The essential Boulevard software can be acquired at $140 per month. The other packages include custom software, the pricing of which relies on the number of features you wish to add.
Mobile Applications:
Salon industry has undergone a sea of changes off late owing to the mobile app technology. A number of mobile apps have been launched by different salons to cater to the customers, right at a finger touch. Beauty salons not just offer their clients to book appointments through their app but, they also offer home service wherein a professional visits the personal space of a client to deliver his or her services. Another way in which beauty salons are prospering is by offering their products for sale through apps. A number of apps are also offered for better management of salons and can be used by salon owners to gain a wealth of information and tools. This way, the salon industry has leveraged the power of mobile apps in various ways to record more growth on the revenue charts. Let us get familiar with the most popular mobile apps dominating the salon industry.
Fabogo:
This app acts as a bridge between customers and salons. It brings together beauty specialists and those who wish to look beautiful and groomed. With this app, end-users can find beauty salons and spas in their vicinity. They can then book their appointment to avail of the services of the specialists working with the selected salon. Customers can also buy beauty packages at discounted rates. The app rewards its users by offering cashback on all the purchases they make using Fabogo. By offering a list of salons and spas, Fabogo serves a vast customer base.
Salon 24:
This is one of a kind salon solution app, based on Android, which caters to the requirements of salons, rather than its customers, in order to help them deliver the best services. It is a one-stop solution to all the problems salons face. It provides access to salon staff so that salons can find and hire specialists to work with them. It has a repository of salon websites which even customers can access. Apart from this, it has loads of information related to cosmetics, salon software, salon products, and equipment, etc. Simply put, it has everything that a person running a salon business requires. A to Z salon needs can be met by using this app. It aims basically to augment the market rather than targeting end-users.
bgX:
This is an on-demand salon app which brings the best and the most professional hair stylists of London right at your doorstep. Whether you are at your home, office, friend’s home, or a hotel, this app offers you the privilege to avail of the services of some of the industry’s best specialists. With a number of top salons registered with the app, you can be sure that through this app you will definitely receive a VIP service wherever you want (of course, in London).
BeGlammed:
This top beauty app offering on-demand service offers the best hair, nail, and makeup treatment. A number of top-rated stylists and beauty specialists in 23 cities across the world have registered themselves on this app to offer their services. You can easily find a stylist in your vicinity using this app if the city where you dwell is covered under the app. BeGlammed makes booking appointments a cakewalk with all the easy features it has to offer to its end-users. Mainly used by brides to be, it is also used immensely by many to get makeup and hairstyling for almost any occasion.
Zeel:
This is a unique app offering massage on-demand. For anyone who needs a relaxing massage, this app is the one to go for. You have plenty of options to select from to avail a variety of massages. It is a one-stop app for anyone who has demand and needs massage service at his or her place.
ChangeHair:
This android app can be useful for men and women who are looking for a dramatic hairstyle change. Even salons will find this app very useful as they can show to their clients how the new hairstyle will transform their face or looks. Users have to just upload the image of the client, and the app will choose a hairstyle best suited to their face. Based on the outcome, the client can choose to go ahead with the hairstyle. This app is exclusively for men. The app also allows the user to save pictures with the new hairstyle and share them with their friends. Though the app is free, you can expect ads to peep from sides while you are using the app. Well, not a bad deal, considering the umpteen features it offers.
With the app industry booming with various beauty salon apps under myriad categories, we can definitely say that the salon industry is surely going to see a tremendous boost. There will also be a surge in the number of on-demand salon apps available for Android and iOS users. Also, vertically, we will see a lot of expansion with salons penetrating into various apps and the mobile app technology exploring new ways to help salons and end-users.
Conclusion:
Growing your Salon business and managing your day-to-day salon activities are going to be simple and easy with the Salon Software solutions. Most of the Salon software solutions available today are mobile-ready and they come with attractive and functional features specially designed for Salon activities.
Salonist, Vagaro, Rosy Salon, Salon Iris, Mindbody Salon are some of the best Salon Software solutions available in the market today. If you are running a small set-up, and have your own set of budget constraint, then, you can try some of the free and open source Salon Software Solutions too.
If you have used any of the above mentioned Salon Software, you are most welcome to share your opinion with GoodFirms. The company has also put together a list of some of the best Salon Software Solutions that can be of great use for both salon owners and workers.
