As we approach one of the busiest times of the year, managing client requests can be overwhelming for salon owners and hairstylists.
With this in mind, Vagaro, a leading salon and spa software company, has launched Connect by Vagaro, an integrated communication tool that enables two-way chat between service providers and clients as well as between team members.
“We know that salon professionals are time poor,” says Charity Hudnall, Chief Marketing Officer for Vagaro. “They’re busy doing what they love all day long, so now they can set up automated responses and go back to the messages when they have time, without the client feeling like they’re waiting on a response.”
Promoting Healthy Boundaries
While stylists often rely on their personal mobile devices to communicate with clients via text messaging or third-party apps, one of the many benefits of using Connect is that it streamlines the communication process so it’s more organized and manageable.
In addition to keeping a record of the message history, users can add notes and even share appointment links that are added to the service provider’s calendar. An extension of the company’s business management software, Connect is available through Vagaro Pro on desktop and the downloadable Connect mobile app.
“It’s an instant messenger for your business,” says Hudnall. “Having it all in one place is really important. You can review upcoming appointments and read through conversations to make sure you have what you need. The messages still come to your phone, so it’s the convenience of being able to take the conversation with you wherever you go without having to use a third party or your personal phone number, so you can set some boundaries.”
According to Renee Sison, Product Marketing Manager for Vagaro and a former hairstylist, separating work and home life was one of the biggest challenges the company wanted to help address with Connect as many stylists are seeking more of a work-life balance.
“As a hairdresser, I actually had two cell phones for years because it was nice to put away my phone and not have to answer client inquiries on the weekend or during my off hours,” she says. “It was important for my mental health and relationships to be present and not feel overwhelmed. Creating that work-life balance within a separate app is game changing.”
Personalized Approach
Vagaro can also help with continuing to offer clients a customized experience while building loyalty. Service providers can prepare for their appointments, share links to purchase products and send reminders.
“To start the client journey from first contact, Connect helps to build a memorable experience with them so it’s more personable, creating a perfect balance of time-saving automation while maintaining that human element,” says Hudnall. “And our platform is full-cycle, so even after a client’s appointment, providers can use our email and text marketing flows to set up automated marketing campaigns to send appointment reminders [based on their service type, date and more]. Automations are important for getting those clients back in the door and reminding them of that personalized experience.”
When it comes to upselling and maximizing revenue, the platform’s automated add-on feature can automatically generate suggestions to clients within the app. Whether you want to suggest a certain treatment with a colouring service, a gloss before a blowout, etc., the platform helps make the upsell seamless and genuine.
“Upselling can be uncomfortable when you have your next client waiting for you and you don’t have a ton of time,” says Hudnall. “The software can do it for you.”
Team Building
Since Connect is a separate app, it can be used on its own or integrated with Vagaro’s software to help improve the management process for salon owners and managers.
“For business owners, they’re often spending their time using a third party to communicate with their team, so why not have everything integrated?” says Hudnall. “It has made it a lot simpler and easier to manage all the communication.”
Users can start one-on-one or group chats with team members to ask questions, share news and even motivate each other with words of encouragement and success stories for a more collaborative work environment.
“It’s definitely a connector between you and your team,” she says. “You can add images and video if you’re implementing a new process or sharing a new technique. Time is of the essence, so having a tool to communicate with everyone is really important.”
“The team aspect of Connect is what’s really unique for us because it allows you to talk to your team members more and have consistent communication, especially if you’re working in a larger salon,” adds Sison. “It helps with company culture, too, because it provides more accountability across the board and sets an expectation for everyone. You can also set up fun chats to bring teams together.”
The Future of Marketing
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, Vagaro has embraced the technology with the recent launch of Vagaro AI, a tool that’s designed to help salon owners improve client relationships and marketing.
Vagaro AI can assist with creating and refining website communication for service and business policy descriptions, improving email and text marketing messaging and more. It can also be written in a variety of tones, such as professional, casual or uplifting, and be adjusted based on desired length.
“AI is just something that’s a part of life now, so having it integrated into the software is absolutely the next step,” says Hudnall. “I look at it as your next-level personal assistant. You can use it to elevate whatever your communication is. For example, if you want to explain what your services are in a way that customers can get excited about and really understand.”
“What I really love about one of the AI features is that it’s implemented into our reviews,” adds Sison. “Every time a customer leaves you a review, you can click the AI button and it will read the review and suggest a response for you. When you respond to a review, the customer feels seen and heard. I think that’s where it can really help grow your clientele. Just knowing that you took the effort to respond back to their review means a lot.”
Fun Fact: Vagaro has even embedded AI into its Onboarding Wizard to help new users set up their account easier and faster!
Expanding Your Reach
According to Hudnall, Vagaro was the first online booking system to offer a mobile app that enables consumers to search for beauty services in their area. With Vagaro’s Marketplace, users can list their business for free to maximize their visibility to reach new clientele and increase bookings.
“We’re averaging about 35 million unique searchers every month [across the beauty, spa, wellness and fitness industries],” she says. “It’s been a huge differentiator for us. For every new business we get on Vagaro, we’re seeing about an eight per cent growth in their bookings just through our Marketplace. We’ve launched integrations on Yelp, Instagram, Facebook and Google, so clients can find your business on all of those platforms and we’ll drive them to your listing in our Marketplace to get more bookings for you.”
In addition, Vagaro has a Daily Deals section that features promotions from businesses listed in its Marketplace. Hudnall adds that this has also resulted in an increase in bookings. Best of all, you keep 100 per cent of the profits since Vagaro doesn’t take a percentage of sales.
Customization Counts
While Vagaro’s features are designed to offer personalized communication between its users and consumers, it also provides businesses with innovative and tailored solutions that can be adjusted based on their unique needs.
“We have an à-la-carte model,” says Hudnall. “Within that, we give you the flexibility to add on forms and other premium features. While we include a plethora of things that you initially need to get started, we still want to give you the flexibility to adjust and add features and not pay for the ones you don’t need.”
“Some people think they need to have a large business to use software, which they don’t,” adds Sison. “They can be a solopreneur and use Vagaro. If they do plan on growing their team, though, Vagaro’s platform can easily scale with them. It’s very versatile.”
When creating new features, Hudnall says Vagaro relies on feedback from its users to help the company identify gaps and address any challenges, which has helped the company continue to be a leader in the industry.
“We get feedback every year from a lot of our customers,” she says. “Everybody is at a different stage of business and at different levels of where they are in their tenure and at different levels of what they need. We want to be able to give you the flexibility to scale and grow as your business evolves. You can turn features on and off, month after month, so you have control and flexibility to be able to customize what you need for your business.”
As a hairstylist, Sison says listening to Vagaro’s customers when developing new features is critical to the company and its users’ success.
“Having that customer feedback really helps us grow,” she says. “It helps the customer feel heard and it solves a lot of their pain points. We’re about finding the problem—if there is a problem—and delivering a solution for our customers.”
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