The nail salon industry is a vibrant market that has seen steady year-over-year growth, up until 2020 when the COVID-19 hit.
Despite this hurdle though, nail salons are bouncing back, particularly as the world opens back up.
Certain segments within the industry are predicted to grow. Industry data shows that the artificial nail market is expected to have a 4.5% growth rate from 2019 to 2024. Meanwhile, liquid polish remains the largest segment as experts are forecasting a compounded annual growth rate of 10.5% from 2016 to 2024.
Things are looking up, which is why if you own or run a nail salon — or are planning to do so — you need to invest in your business and find ways to capitalise on the industry’s growth.
One of the best investments you can make is in technology, more specifically, nail salon software.
This article will offer an in-depth look at nail salon management software and nail salon appointment software. You’ll get an overview of the benefits of using a good system, what you should look for in the software, and how to find the best one that fits your needs.
Let’s dive in!
Broadly speaking, nail salon software pertains to solutions that nail salons use to run their establishments. Think of the many functions of your business — i.e., appointment booking, calendar management, client management, etc. Any digital tool that helps you facilitate those components will fall under the definition of nail salon software.
In some cases, you can use separate tools for each function. For instance, you could have a specific app for booking, a different platform for your CRM, and another one to handle your salon marketing.
Other times, you can choose a single nail salon platform for all your business needs. There are plenty of nail salon software solutions in the market that offer a range of features to cover most or all of your requirements.
The right option depends on your needs. Keep reading to figure out the best solution for your nail establishment.
Investing in nail salon software pays off in dividends, both over the short and long-term. Consider the following.
Short-term, adopting business software for a nail salon can give you instant time savings. These solutions can automate various business processes, including appointment scheduling, client recording keeping, and communications, among other things.
When all of these things are taken care of, you’ll free up time to do other things in your nail salon.
Automation doesn’t just speed up your procedures, it can also ensure that your processes are carried out error-free. Nail salon software can minimise human error, so you can get things done right, every time.
The client-facing aspects of nail salon software can make your clients’ lives much easier. Instead of having to call to book appointments, people can simply use your booking website. Most solutions also come with notifications and reminder capabilities, so clients can get their booking info automatically.
Most nail salon management solutions also come with built-in reporting capabilities that can track everything from the number of bookings and sales to peak hours and employee performance.
All the info helps keep your business in check and enables you to make more informed decisions.
When utilised properly, nail salon software can lead to higher levels of productivity, more bookings, and happier clients — which ultimately translates into a healthier bottom line.
Now that we’ve covered the basics and benefits of nail salon software, let’s examine the factors you should consider when selecting one.
The requirements of nail salons may vary depending on their size, team, as well as sales and booking volume. However, there are some general considerations that apply to everyone, no matter what type of nail salon you have.
It doesn’t matter how new or small you are. If you’re operating a nail salon in today’s modern age, having an online booking system is a must. Bookings still happen in person and over the phone, but you can’t rely on these channels alone to drive bookings.
A survey by Booksy found that nearly half (44%) of clients prefer to schedule appointments online, so you’re losing a lot of booking opportunities by not having a scheduling website.
Having a digital platform for appointments also allows you to take bookings 24/7. Our research at Booksy indicates that having to book during business hours is a pain point for nearly 28.6% of clients. This means that you’re doing people a disservice by not letting them schedule appointments online.
As far as what to look for in a booking website, see to it that the software lets you do the following:
It allows you to customise the site. Customisation is key. When shopping around for nail salon booking software, make sure that it lets you tailor your scheduling website. You should be able to display your logo, header image as well as tell your brand story through the ‘about us’ section— similar to your website— so clients are immediately greeted with your brand.
You should be able to customise and showcase your nail salon menu. Nail salon menus can vary. Maybe you offer mani-pedi packages. Perhaps you’re selling seasonal nail treatments. In some instances, you could even sell add-on services.
Whatever the case, your booking website must be flexible and allow you to showcase all your nail salon menu offerings, along with their pricing.
Clients should be able to ‘get to know’ and choose a nail technician. Your booking website should give clients the option to get to know the nail technician through staff profiles and book with a specific nail tech they prefer based on their experience. Needless to say, this feature must be linked to each team member’s calendar so their availability is accurately displayed on the site.
Your booking website must allow you to display and implement salon business policies. If you’re enforcing certain salon policies — like no-show and cancellation policies — your booking portal should help you implement them. In addition to allowing you to display those policies, there needs to be functionality that helps you enforce them.
For example, if you charge a fee for last-minute cancellations, your booking website should have the ability to take payments or credit card info.
Your booking website should allow you to market your business
A recent survey by Booksy found that most consumers look for service shots to get a sense of your craft. This means they are actively searching you on Google, on Instagram and Facebook. That’s why it is key that your booking website is not just optimised for search but allows your clients to connect with your social accounts easily.
A great example of a nail salon booking site that has most of the above features is La Petite Nail Shop. When you land on the business’s scheduling portal, you immediately see La Petite’s logo and header image.
The page has clear categories and links so it’s simple to browse the nail salon’s menu. Plus, there’s a tab enabling you to choose the staff member for your appointment. It also has an announcement section at the top reminding people of La Petite’s COVID, no-show, and cancellation policies.
Before the appointment is finalised, La Petite asks for the client’s credit card info, which will be charged in the event of a no-show or cancellation.
In addition to a scheduling website, it helps to have other booking channels — including Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Clients are increasingly discovering service providers (like nail salons) on these platforms, so it makes sense to give them an easy way to book.
Fortunately, there are nail salon appointment software solutions that allow you to do this. There are several platforms that enable service providers to add booking buttons on Instagram, Facebook, and even Google Search and Maps, so clients can have a seamless booking experience no matter where they are.
Getting people through your doors is just the beginning. If you want to keep them coming back, you need the ability to manage your client base.
When you’re shopping around for nail salon management software, look into its client management capabilities. Does it let you store client names and contact info? Can you add notes to their profile so you can record their preferences — such as their favourite shade of nail polish?
These things can help you track clients better and provide superb experiences that increase retention.
Ideally, your nail salon software also helps you increase bookings and sales. Features like discounts and promotions are great to have, as they can boost conversions.
And if you collect your clients’ email addresses (which you totally should), having communication tools — such as email templates and scheduling — come in handy.
Social proof, in the form of ratings and reviews, can drive more business than traditional ads, so invest in tools that help you improve and amplify your reputation.
When shopping around for a nail salon solution, set your sights on software that has reviews and reputation management capabilities. It should make it easy for you to collect reviews through automatic survey prompts when clients are done with a service. Your nail salon software should also make it simple to display positive ratings and reviews, ideally allowing you to do it right on your booking portal or on your social media profiles.
Good business decisions are backed by data. Having accurate information about your nail salon will shed light on steps and actions you can take to improve your business.
For example, being able to view your bookings and revenues by service tells you which offerings are generating sales. Meanwhile, viewing booking data according to staff can shed light on your top-performing team members and those who need help.
The bottom line: your nail salon metrics insights are extremely valuable. It pays to have a tool that has reporting and analytics capabilities.
If you’re using different tools to run your business, it helps to choose nail salon management software that integrates with the other apps that you’re using. This ensures that information is passed on from one app to another so you don’t have to deal with double-entry and discrepancies.
One of the most important integrations to consider is payments. If your nail salon booking software can “talk” to your payment provider, you’ll be able to do things like capture credit card details or charge pre-appointment deposits.
So far we’ve focused on nail salon management software features. While these things are essential, you should also consider non-software offerings, such as customer support.
No one wants to run into technical issues, but they do come up from time to time. And when they do, you want a nail salon software vendor who can be there to solve your issues.
That’s why you should also look into the customer support offerings of software companies. Are they available 24/7 or at least in your time zone? Do they offer phone support, chat, a knowledge base, or all of the above?
If you’re not keen on the techie bits, you may need more support than others, so you should choose a vendor that has strong customer support offerings.
It’s essential that you pick the best scheduling software for your nail business—the one that works for you, rather than spend and regret later.
Last but not least is pricing. The cost of your nail salon software should fit your budget while giving you the capabilities required in your business.
How much should you spend on the software? That depends on your business size and needs, but here are some benchmarks:
If you’re comparing nail salon software, we suggest that you glance through this extensive research done by us.
Now that we’ve covered what features and offerings to look for in your nail salon software, it’s time to talk about how you can find the best one of your biz.
Here are a number of recommendations.
Perhaps the best way to figure out the right solution is to ask nail salon owners just like you about what software they’re using. Ping your network. Pay their businesses a visit and look at the inner workings of the app.
You can also do this online if you’re part of nail salon professionals groups. Search LinkedIn and Facebook for any communities dedicated to nail salon owners or managers then post a discussion asking for recommendations.
As mentioned earlier, apps work best when they can talk to each other. If you’re evaluating different platforms for your nail salon, consider asking your current software vendors (or at least looking at their website).
Most solution providers actively promote the apps that they can connect with, so have a look at their integrations and choose software from there.
Much like how most of your clients won’t choose a service provider without reading up on reviews, you, as a business owner, shouldn’t just sign up for a tech vendor without looking at their online ratings and reviews.
Spend some time browsing through software review websites. Most of them contain expert commentary and user reviews that offer a look at what other businesses are experiencing. Some of the top sites to check out are:
The last — but arguably the most important — step in choosing nail salon software is taking it for a spin. Depending on the software vendor, you may be able to do this by viewing a product demo, taking a trial, or both.
It’s best to be prepared for your demo or trial. Before getting into it, list out any questions, features or details that are important to you, then make sure they’re addressed. For instance, if you want to see Instagram booking in action and you’re taking a free trial, you can link your nail salon’s account and see how it works.
If you’re participating in a product demo, take your list of questions and get them answered during the call.
If you’ve made it this far, then you now have a solid understanding of what software to use in your nail salon — or at least, where to start looking. You can zero in on the best solution by determining your needs and budget and testing the various nail salon software in the market.
Speaking of which, if you’re in the hunt for nail salon management software for your business, Booksy has you covered.
Our platform gives you everything you need to facilitate bookings, manage your business, and keep clients coming back. Take a free trial today!
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