We are living in crazy times, our grandchildren will be learning about the coronavirus epidemic in school, but right now it feels like a scary science fiction movie come to life!
As a salon owner, it’s incredibly scary. Salons have been forced to close and nobody knows exactly when we can all re-open.’
There are a few things you can do to make it and come out the end busier than ever.
- Apply for a grant
- The government has a grant available to help businesses through this pandemic. There are £3000, £10000, and £25000 grants available. Most salons are eligible for the £10k grant with some salons seeing grants awarded after just 7 days. If you haven’t redeemed this already, be sure to get in touch with your local council to see if you are eligible. Find your local council at https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council
- Be virtually open
- If your customers don’t hear from you during these times, they won’t know if you have closed your business or will stay open. It’s important to keep communication open. Use social media to share hair and beauty tips and keep in touch with your customers through the email marketing program built into Salon Iris. You’re used to creating magic for your customers, now is the time to educate and inspire, until you are back in full swing.
- Offer priority bookings
- Right now, it’s a famine for salons, but when this is over, it will be a feast! People are hairier than ever, nails have fallen off, roots are showing - they are literally going to be banging down your door to get an appointment. One solution is to offer priority bookings. For example, offer your customers appointments starting July 1st. If the pandemic ends before then, you will get in touch with them to move up their appointment. If we are still in lockdown in July, you can contact them to push back their appointment to August. Offering them an appointment now will give them the peace of mind that they will be able to get in, when everybody else is also trying to book. Plus, you are offering that sense of VIP treatment.
We at Salon Iris are dedicated to staying open and available to you for any queries you have. We can help you set up remote access, online bookings or familiarise you with some of the marketing features you may have available to you. Please get in touch with any questions you have.
It’s unprecedented territory for all of us, and we are here to help you through it.
Be sure to keep updated on our latest developments by visiting our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages. You can always use our live chat service on our website as well
