Welcome to the Salon Owner’s Podcast, Phorest FM Episode 29. Co-hosted by Killian Vigna and Zoé Bélisle-Springer, this show is a mix of interviews with industry thought-leaders, roundups of our most recent salon owners marketing tips & tricks, all the latest in and around Phorest and what upcoming webinars you can join. Phorest FM is produced every Monday morning for your enjoyment with a cup of coffee on your day off.
Phorest FM Episode 29
Phorest Salon Software marketing team members Alex Quinn and Aoife Kelly-Cooney guest-star on this episode and discuss the Client Experience Awards which were recently sent out. They also unveil Phorest’s new initiative, 30Days2Grow, which aims to increase average client spend for participating salons around the world. Lastly, we summarise a recent blog post and share how you can make your employee’s bios stand out.
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Transcript
Killian Vigna: Welcome to the Phorest FM podcast, episode 29. I’m Killian Vigna.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: I’m Zoe Belisle-Springer. In this week’s episode of Phorest FM, we’ll share 3 tips from our blog that will make your salon employees’ bios stand out.
Killian Vigna: We’re gonna bring in Alex, our PR manager, and Aoife, our Cultural Officer, to talk about the Phorest Salon Software’s 2017 Client Experience Award, and to officially announce the 30 Days 2 Grow Salon Owner’s Challenge.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: As always, we top off the show with our upcoming Phorest Academy webinars.
Killian Vigna: This podcast is produced every Monday morning for your enjoyment, with a cup of coffee on your day off. Now, let’s get into the show. Welcome Aoife, welcome Alex; we have two announcements today-
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Welcome, welcome.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Thank you!
Killian Vigna: I suppose we’ll kick off with the first one. A lot of people will be receiving this one in their post this morning?
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Yes, the Client Experience Award 2017. For those of you who don’t know, the award was launched in 2015 and we rolled it out every year since then, so this is the third year of the award. Anybody who is getting it for the third year in a row, congratulations. But also, massive congratulations to anybody who’s receiving it for the first time. We’ll talk again about how if you don’t receive it this year, how you’re gonna be able to get it next year. Basically, the Client Experience Award, and I’m gonna read this because it’s a good sentence, is a tangible display of the consistent dedication required to provide your clients with a five-star experience. So it’s really just something for you to show people how good your customer service is and how your clients have actually appreciated that and have given you reviews to show that appreciation.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Basically, we’re not, in Phorest, we’re not rating your salon, your clients are actually rating you.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Exactly. It’s probably the most reliable form of a review. It’s coming directly from your client, nobody else has decided these awards. It’s your clients and it’s based on their experiences that they’ve had in your salon.
Killian Vigna: These are the reviews that you send out, email and SMS reviews, isn’t it? There’s a link kind of already included. You send that out to your clients and they’ll leave their review there, then.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Exactly, exactly. The reviews have to come through Phorest.
Killian Vigna: I’m actually surprised because before I started here, I used to always see these in the window and I never really knew Phorest Salon Software or what they were, but the whole… “Our clients love us!” and the five stars… It wasn’t until I started here, which was just kind of the end of 2016, when I started recognizing, “Oh, wait. We actually own them.”
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: Salon owners, they’re so proud of them. What, it started 2015? Every time you walk by the salon-
Alex Quinn: Absolutely.
Killian Vigna: This will be the third? Third? Fourth?
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: I can’t count.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: This is the third, and I have to say, this is going to sound ridiculous, but everywhere I go now, be it like in London, or even just down the country here, I nearly crash the car, like going slowly through villages to see who might have the award.
Killian Vigna: I can’t stop looking in windows now.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: But, it’s great. They look nice, they’re brightly coloured, etc., etc. They just are something nice for you to have. I find even for myself, if you go to, be it a restaurant, a hotel, if they have any form of like, an award, it does kind of give you that impression that they are-
Alex Quinn: It brings up the value.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Absolutely.
Alex Quinn: Especially if they’re based on reviews, rather than just-
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Yeah.
Alex Quinn: A load of awards that are based on, you know, voting systems and things like that. This one’s actually-
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: It’s authentic.
Alex Quinn: Really valuable. Yeah.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Absolutely.
Alex Quinn: It basically says that your clients have amazing experiences in your salon. There isn’t really any better testimonial than this.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: No.
Killian Vigna: The way I look at it is, you know the way that you’re looking at restaurants and hotels, they’re all judged by AA, so they get the star rating. This is essentially on that level. ‘Cause now, if my mom’s going to a salon, I’ll be like, “Nah Mom, they don’t have the award. Go somewhere else.”
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: You’re actually kind of recommending people, without realizing.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Exactly. It is the most reliable form of review. Because basically, it means that your clients have had to rate you four out of five or higher over the past 12 months.
Killian Vigna: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: It’s not just like you’ve got three or four good reviews. It has to be consistent.
Killian Vigna: That runs between May to May, is it?
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Generally, May to May. Yeah.
Killian Vigna: They were shipped out on Friday, so you’ll all be receiving them this morning, then, yeah?
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Yeah.
Alex Quinn: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: Pretty much.
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Absolutely. We’ll be sending out an email as well for anyone who has received the award, so you’ll be able to download the digital version of the award for you to share on social media and things like that.
Killian Vigna: Yeah, so if you’re a Phorest Salon Software client, just keep an eye out this week for that email. You can get the award and print it off.
Alex Quinn: Just to mention, if you’re a little more remote, you might get it on Tuesday, so don’t panic. If you haven’t gotten it by, let’s just say, Wednesday, you can get in touch, but-
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Give us a call and you can ask for Aoife. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Killian Vigna: Hold off the panic until Wednesday, yeah?
Alex Quinn: Yeah, I’d say. We’ll have to see how reliable the postal service is, but-
Aoife Kelly-Cooney: Yeah.
Alex Quinn: But just give it a few days. You should start to see them from Monday on, anyway.
Killian Vigna: Cool. So that was our first announcement. Now we have a really big one. This one is brand new, isn’t it?
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Oh, yes. I think it’s going to be really powerful. We just announced it last week and we’ve already gotten loads of responses. 30days2grow.
Killian Vigna: People signed up straight away, off just a blog.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: Not just a blog. (laughter)
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Thank you.
Killian Vigna: Good work, Zoe. Keep going.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Alex, do you want to chat a bit- a bit about the concept and how it’s going to roll out and-
Alex Quinn: Absolutely. 30 Days 2 Grow is a really exciting new initiative that we’re working on. It’s basically a thirty-day challenge that is going to be running from the first of July, where we’re trying to get salon owners and salon teams involved to basically galvanize the industry a little bit and work together towards one common goal, which is basically raising people’s average bill. Getting a little bit more money into your salon.
The reason for that is we’ve noticed that a lot of overheads are going up. Minimum wage is going up. It has been, everything has been getting more expensive for years and years and years, except for prices in the salons. It’s just an initiative to get people to think about how they can add more value to either raise prices or just make more money in other ways. Get a bit more money into the salon.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah, it’s unfortunate because we live in a deep discounting culture when you think about it,-
Alex Quinn: Absolutely.
Killian Vigna: Yeah.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: When you look at it with a close eye.
Alex Quinn: Absolutely. The thing is, it’s so funny that in other industries, look at coffee shops. They’ve raised the price of coffee by so many-
Killian Vigna: For a bit of water and a couple of beans.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: I’ve been tempted to say 400%.
Alex Quinn: I’m paying through the roof for coffee. But, yet, when you go to salons, it’s always very… It’s a hard thing to do. It’s scary for salons to do anything, not just raise their prices, but try to maximize that average bill. Just because if you do it, you don’t know if the salon down the road will do it. Then you’re the more expensive salon. It is a scary thought, but this challenge is designed to basically get you kind of working in tiny small little ways, things that you can do on a daily basis that are just going to add and add and add to your average bill.
The way it’s going to work is, if you want to sign up for this, you’re going to get a challenge sent to you every day with tips and tricks on how to actually execute the challenge. They’re only going to be small things that you can really easily implement into your normal working day. It’s not any mass amount of money or time required to participate in this.
Killian Vigna: It’s only a couple of minutes a day, isn’t it?
Alex Quinn: Oh, yeah. It’s only-
Killian Vigna: You get a progress chart with this, right?
Alex Quinn: Exactly, yeah. It’s going to be like really, really small things. But-
Killian Vigna: Big impact.
Alex Quinn: They might be, they might just be small things when you look at them in an isolated way, but-
Zoe Belisle-Springer: But all together…
Alex Quinn: They’re going to mount. Towards the end of the month, you’re going to be able to look back and say, “Oh my God, I’ve done all of these things.” You, or your team. Definitely worth participating.
Killian Vigna: Yeah, like it helps you identify areas that you wouldn’t have thought of in your salon, or even you’re acting on them here and there, but it gets you to start focusing now on these smaller things. It’s not just all these big challenges or changes. Just a couple of smaller things, as well. Just to get you re-focused, because, like you were saying, we have clients that are constantly, they’re talking about market places. Big discounts. That’s all well and good for getting new clients, but that client is not going to come back to you if you’ve given them 60% off yesterday and it’s 6 weeks down the line you’re paying full price.
Alex Quinn: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: The amount of training, the skills they have, the money, and they invest in their own salon owners, so there’s a big kind of upskilling, and the training, and it’s constantly there, so why should you keep discounting your services?
Alex Quinn: Exactly.
Killian Vigna: You’re not a pound store or anything like that.
Alex Quinn: Yeah, this is going to be a big movement. There’s lots of people signed up already.
Killian Vigna: You don’t have to be a client, either, do you?
Alex Quinn: No, no, no, no. This is open to absolutely everybody. It’s kind of a fun way to basically elevate the industry. Everybody together, working on making the industry a better place. Basically showing that this industry is serious and if we want to, we can raise our prices just because, you know, that’s what happens. We’re just going to be… Obviously, it’s not just about raising your prices, but-
Killian Vigna: Standing together, basically, yeah.
Alex Quinn: -adding value as well. Exactly, but if you wanted to raise your prices, we’re also going to be talking about how to do that. We’re going to have some cool info going out that month about that. If you want to find out how to raise your prices without upsetting your clients or putting yourself out of business, definitely sign up and participate, because it’s going to be worth it.
Killian Vigna: Yeah. It will be fun for you to get involved, but we don’t just want you to get involved just for a bit of fun for thirty days. We actually want you to start challenging other salon owners because we want to get the whole industry on board this. It will only work if everyone gets together to do this challenge.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Of course, the challenge only lasts thirty days, but realistically, our best hope would be for you to keep these habits and keep working…
Alex Quinn: Keep doing it.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah, keep implementing them within your daily routine across the whole year.
Alex Quinn: The other thing is we’ve also started a Facebook group for you guys, so if you wanted to share your experiences there, or you know, any insight that you’ve gained, definitely do that. It’s going to be a great community and a place where you can network with other people that you may not normally speak to, so definitely check that out. Yeah.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah, basically to recap, you do not need to be a Phorest client to participate in this challenge.
Killian Vigna: We want everyone.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah. Everyone. It’s a massive movement that we’re trying to create here. The registration is free.
Alex Quinn: Basically, all you need to do is go to the website, 30days2grow.com. That’s 3-0 days number 2 grow .com. Nice and easy for you. Just sign up for your emails. I think you can sign up for SMS, as well.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah, if you want to receive SMS-
Alex Quinn: You can sign up for that, as well. Then you’ll get details on the Facebook group. You can join in there, as well. Definitely, sign up. Towards the end of it, if you wanted to share your experience and how you got on with the challenges, definitely do that, because we’ll be sending out cool prizes to people who have shared their experiences. Really, really worth it. Yeah.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Keep us posted.
Alex Quinn: Yeah. Keep us posted and make sure you get involved.
Killian Vigna: Yeah, I just have to say, because people are probably thinking, “Well, thirty days to grow in July.” Yeah, there are thirty-one days, but the whole idea of this is; start on the first and have a little celebration with your team, then, in the salon or go out for a couple drinks. But, have a celebration on the thirty-first day, because it will be a big achievement.
Alex Quinn: We’re going to be having an online celebration-
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Celebration.
Alex Quinn: On the thirty first, as well. Highlighting some stories of people that got on really well with the challenge. Yeah, get involved.
Killian Vigna: Register on 30days2grow.com. Register there. Even just to get all the information. Find out the different groups to join and stuff like that. Definitely, it’s going to be great.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yes. Very promising.
Alex Quinn: We’ll put a link to the website into the show notes.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yes. Of course. Yeah. You can definitely access through there. I think that’s it, in terms of announcements.
Killian Vigna: So Zoe, it’s blog time?
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yes. Because of these announcements, obviously, I’ve just chosen the one that’s kind of stood out in the last two weeks. Three tips that will make your salon employees’ bios stand out. It’s a common thing. People don’t necessarily know how to write bios. It’s not just in the salon industry. I also write for arts and culture magazines, and even artists, they don’t really know, most of them don’t really know how to create an interesting biography. When it comes to writing your bio, there’s a few things that you can do to make it really interesting and make it appealing for your clients.
Killian Vigna: Well, think about it. How much time are your clients spending with your staff? You’re going to want to know who that staff member is, because you’re eventually going to build up a relationship.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: I’m sitting in a chair for an hour, an hour and a half, I’m bound to start talking to you. If I’m going to come back to you every six weeks, maybe every two months or so, I’m going to start building up that relationship. Eventually, I’m going to have that one stylist or therapist that I’m going to want to keep going back to because I have something in common, but I can also trust that they’re fully qualified to do what I want.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Oh, yeah. Exactly. I think that you had in one of our past blogs, one of the most appreciated features in the app is the bio section.
Killian Vigna: Oh, yes. The Salon Branded App for Phorest clients. Staff profiles.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: I mean, it does say a lot. If I just recap the little three tips here, the first one would be to highlight your staff’s professional qualifications. You know the first step to a good bio is highlighting what that person’s skills is. It can include any kind of education, how many years in the profession, any certifications, past work experiences. Anything that’s relevant to you and to your salon and-
Killian Vigna: That’s your chance to show off, essentially.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: Here’s how good I am.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah, exactly, yeah. Next, keep it short, but you also need to make it personal. It doesn’t need to be extremely formal. It doesn’t need to be, you know, that rigid text that you’re going to send out. You want to create… you want to initiate that first contact. It needs to be kind of friendly, but also, at the same time remain professional. You want to keep it short, because of people’s attention spans, you know, online is just very short.
Killian Vigna: Have a bit of fun with it, yeah. I mean, be the professional you are, but also share a little bit of kind of who you are.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah, exactly. We recommend between 100 and 200 words. No more.
Killian Vigna: That’s just under a paragraph, is it?
Zoe Belisle-Springer: It’s about a paragraph.
Killian Vigna: About a paragraph, yeah.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah. It’s nothing too long. Then, the third tip, indicate what services your staff can be booked for. That’s really important because it just makes it easier. If you mention what services your staff can be booked for, your new customers can understand who they should book with for the treatment they’re looking for. It just reduces any kind of disappointment.
Killian Vigna: Yeah, that’s essentially it in a nut shell.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: Keep it short, keep it sweet, keep it professional, show off your skills, your qualifications, but also share a bit of personality.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Oh, yeah. One last thing. When you’ve written your paragraph, think about it and ask yourself, you know your client can go to any qualified stylist or therapist within your salon or outside of your salon, why should they come to that particular staff?
Killian Vigna: Yup.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: If you read your paragraph after asking yourself that question and you know, you feel like, “Yeah, I would go to that staff,” then you know you’re on the right track.
Killian Vigna: That’s a good bio.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah.
Killian Vigna: Yeah. It’s also always a good idea, too, to write it out and look at it on a phone screen. Make sure it’s not too text heavy, because, like we said, the staff profiles on your Salon Branded App, it’s one of the most used features. If it can fit on that small little screen, you’re doing well.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Exactly.
Killian Vigna: Cool. That’s essentially a wrap on our two announcements and our blog. The blog was the three different ways to talk about your profile. The 30days2grow. 30days2grow.com. Get on board, register for that. If you want to be, if you’re a Phorest Salon Software client and you want to be considered for the Client Experience Award for 2018, I recommend you switch on those SMS reviews now. Why the SMS ones? Because you’ve three times more mobile numbers from your clients than you would your email address. Think about it. You’re always going to take your client’s mobile number first. Flick those on and make sure you capture every review going, and show off how good you are.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: That’s essentially it, as Killian was saying, but before we wrap up this show completely, we have a webinar today going on. Chris Brennan, our content manager, is giving out the Facebook Master Class. It’s a monthly webinar that we host and it helps you out with understanding how the insides on Facebook work. How to run ads. How to boost posts and things like that. It’s very, very informative and people actually engage loads with it. It’s a really interesting webinar to jump onto. That’s from 3pm to 4pm, UK/Ireland Time, and 10am to 11am US/Eastern Time. If you go to the events section on Facebook, you’ll see the Facebook event there and just click on that. Get the tickets. Tickets are free. It’s just a link to sign you up and save your spot.
Killian Vigna: Sweet. That’s essentially a wrap, Zoe.
Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yes. Have a great week. Jump on board. We’re eager to see those registrations for 30Days2Grow roll in, and we’ll catch you next Monday.
Killian Vigna: All the best.
Thanks for reading!
#LetsGrow
