COVID -19: ONLINE PRESENCE IS A NECESSITY

The spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has left many Salon owners uncertain about their future. High streets are closed right across the country wiping out revenue streams for all but a few service-based businesses. But for salons that can, moving at least part of your business online can provide much needed revenue.

If this crisis has taught us anything, it is that having a good online presence is no longer an option, but rather a necessity. Eye-Catching, Up to Date websites enable Salons to continue trading even while their doors are closed. Combined with Social Media, Salon owners have a platform for communicating with Clients, keeping them informed, offering hints and tips and above all, allowing them the means to purchase products and services online.

 

So how does a Website generate Revenue?

There are 4 key ways your Website can generate revenue while your doors are closed:

  1. New potential Clients finding your Salon online
  2. Online Bookings
  3. Selling Gift Vouchers
  4. Selling products online

 

The last 2 are most relevant in this situation and we are helping a number of Salons get a free personalised landing page up and running to enable their Clients support them through buying Gift Vouchers. Reach out to us if this is something you would like us to do for you.

On social media and via email we ran a survey to ask Salon Owners & Managers what they would use this time for.  81% said they would ‘Train up’ or ‘Tool up’, so below we have listed some key things to help you and your salon do just that.

 

 

Tool Up: Get your business online with a salon website

We work with hundreds of Salons, providing them with websites and software for their business. At this stage, almost all Salons see a website as a necessity, however many struggle with finding the time to pull together all the information required to get a website built, and so it’s put on the long finger or can take months to complete.

But while the current situation is far from ideal, this is the perfect time for you to work on your business rather than in your business.

This is the time to get your Salon online by getting that website you always wanted, so that you can sell gift vouchers, have an online store, take online bookings and to essentially trade 24/7, 365 days a year whether you are open or not.

If you are considering it, talk to us and we will give you any advice you need. We are happy to help you get a website built now, or help you spend the time you have now to pull all of the information you need together, so that when you are back in the salon, we can get your site built very quickly and without needing anything from you.

Let’s face it, you are going to be very busy when you reopen. You should spend time preparing how you will deal with this huge onslaught of business when it happens. Having a website up and running will allow new clients to find your salon and to book services online, sustaining your salon into the future.

The Local Enterprise Offices around the country offer an Online Trading Voucher Grant to help cover the cost of moving your salon online. Find out more here:

https://www.localenterprise.ie/Discover-Business-Supports/Trading-Online-Voucher-Scheme-/

For anyone interested in getting a website built for their business, even if you can’t afford to get it started now, please register your interest with us now and we will put you in the queue with no payment needed initially. We have been overwhelmed which salons looking for a new website, so in order for us to add yours to the queue, please email [email protected]

 

Train Up: Shortcuts Salon Software Training

Many salons also said they would use this time to train up on the tools required for their salon. Shortcuts Salon Software is one of the world’s leading software providers for the hair and beauty industry and can be found in more than 14,000 salons and 45 countries worldwide. We are delighted that Digital Salon are the exclusive providers of Shortcuts in Ireland and together we have a huge number of supports for salons to upskill on their software and specific tools to help with COVID – 19

A handy communication kit with email and SMS templates, copy examples and images for you to use, social posts, and tips to help you communicate any updates about COVID-19 to your clients. Find it here:

https://www.shortcuts.net/covid19/communication-kit/

 

You can also find information on all of the below at this link:

https://www.shortcuts.net/covid19/videos

  1. How to send SMS
  2. Manage cancellation lists
  3. Disable Online booking & SMS
  4. Send an email blast to your database
  5. Send a targeted email or sms

Webinars:

We have 2 Shortcuts Webinars on the 8th of April:

1: Shortcuts Marketing

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ucaC54yuRa6SOCQ6AFCilQ

2: Shortcuts Cloud reporting

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MXkIxg6WQqe3v5vmMPJ-Rg

 

Digital Marketing & Social Media Courses

For those of you that would like to spend the time learning about digital marketing or social media, Shaw Academy have some great courses here.

Diploma in Digital Marketing: Free Course:

https://join.shawacademy.com/online-digital-marketing-course

Diploma in Social Media Marketing: Free Course:

https://join.shawacademy.com/online-social-media-marketing-course

 

These are perfect for anyone in the salon who manages your online channels or wants to know how to promote your Salon online.

We also want to remind people that we are here for you. This is a tough time for everyone and we know you are eager to get back to your clients and doing what you love best. We are with you and if there is anything we can do to help, please reach out to us.

Keep safe,

The Digital Salon team.

 

Get Started

We would love to hear from you to discuss your salons digital needs! To get in touch, please contact us below