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Communication CelebrationBy: Adrian Mills // Date Posted: 6/26/2007 1:15:30 PM
Manchester 21 June 2007 - Shortcuts are celebrating a landmark figure, as their UK customers have sent, between them, 100,000 texts to their clients in one month. And Terry Calvert’s Clipso salon sent the 100,000th message. It is the first time that Shortcuts customers have broken the mythical 100,000 barrier. Salons and spas appear to be embracing this technology as a great way to communicate to their clients. The texts are sent for a variety of reasons; to reduce no shows, communicate marketing messages, promotions and keeping clients informed on what is happening at the salon.
Best Way to Reduce No-Shows Shortcuts, the world standard in salon and spa management software, offer an SMS service with their software. Unlike many other salon software solutions on the market, the Shortcuts SMS service is two-way. This means that salons can have their clients respond, especially useful in confirming appointments. Nicky Oliver, of Nicky Oliver Salons, experienced incredible results, since using this feature. “It has been invaluable for us. Since using Shortcuts SMS service it has helped reduce our no-shows from 30% to just 5%.” said Nicky. Mack Hairdressing too have benefited greatly, over the last 6 months their no shows have been just 0.7%. Texts are more effective than a phone call for many reasons. The salon knows that the client will receive the message, and it is more discrete than a phone call. When phoning someone it may be an inopportune time or you may not be able to get hold of them. Massive Savings As well as saving salons literally tens of thousands of pounds a year in reducing no shows, it can be used to keep in touch with your clients, as Alison Wilkes of Francesco Group testifies. “The text system has been used as a useful reminder for clients who have colour to have a skin test and at present is informing clients of our new salon telephone number.” SMS delivered 30% upturn in Business Of course it is a great way to market to your customer base. It is quick, cost effective and you define the audience whilst you know they will get and read the message. Adele Lock, managing director of Gentry Grooming, explains they use it for their monthly promotions. One of their most popular promotions was ‘the buy one service and try another completely free.’ “We found an upturn in business that month of around 30%. We had men queuing out the door. It worked well as it introduced clients to a new service that without the promotion they might never have tried.” Catch Up It is not just salons that have gone text mad. SMS messaging has become a cornerstone of communication and this boom is showing no sign of slowing down. In the UK in 2000 there were 630 million texts sent each month. Just 7 years later that figure has risen to 4.5 billion texts per month. According to Mike Sowden, Head of UK and European Operations at Shortcuts,
text is becoming the best way for businesses to reach their clients. “Salons
can contact their clients to wish them a happy birthday, inform them of special
promotions and so on. It is so much more effective and immediate than a letter,
advert or phone call. More and more salons are buying into this and in May
Shortcuts salons sent over 100,000 texts for the first time.” And what of the salon that sent the 100,000th text? Well that was Terry Calvert’s salon, Clipso in Watford. "The 2 way text messaging service is excellent, “enthused Terry. “Not only has this minimised the no-shows at Clipso, saving us tens of thousands of pounds a year, but it is also such an effective tool for marketing to our client base, delivering brilliant returns." Texts are here to stay and if your salon is not already using text messaging then we can give you 100,000 reasons why your salon should be. LOCAL NEWS ARTICLES |
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