NOW, MORE THAN EVER, YOU NEED TO TAKE THE FEAR FACTOR OUT OF EMBRACING NEW TECHNOLOGY

NOW, MORE THAN EVER, YOU NEED TO TAKE THE FEAR FACTOR OUT OF EMBRACING NEW TECHNOLOGY

The salon world is in flux and after a period of hibernation due to Covid-19, businesses planning their re-opening and looking at ways to boost revenues and efficiencies moving forth. Anthony Civitano, Vice President of SalonHQ explains how and why technology will play an even larger role in the future of the industry:

We have all experienced first-hand what happens when salons and stylists close. Now, more than ever, technology can help maintain some business flow, even if closures happen, and can provide significant opportunities for growth and revenue. However, to be successful, we need to address the fear of adopting technology and realize the positive impact it provides NOW.

Did you know the fear of new technology actually has a name: technophobia. Call it irrational, but we’re seeing more of it as technology continues to evolve, and we’d like to eliminate the fear factor. One misconception we’ve encountered when working with distributors across the country is that older workers will never embrace new technology, but that’s just not true. 
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The truth is, we’re all afraid of change. But, like it or not, change is coming, and you’d better get onboard if you want to stay competitive, especially as you prepare to re-open. Simply put, new technologies like SalonHQ empower business owners to achieve their goals, provide better products or services and operate more efficiently. 

Five years ago, none of us could have imagined Apple Pay or Google Pay. Now we simply tap our phones to make purchases at any number of businesses. We’ve gone from writing checks to paying bills online to using Zelle to send money directly between almost any U.S. bank account with just an email address or a mobile phone number. Change is good when it makes life better for all of us.

So, in the interest of alleviating your fear of change, we’d like to dispel the rumors and convince you that embracing new technology may be the most important business decision you make all year. 

  • Apps Will Not Replace You This is a fairly common misconception when it comes to new technology like SalonHQ. The fact is, our app will actually save you time and reduce a lot of errors when writing orders. How? For one thing, the order goes right into the system instead of being passed along from one individual to another. By giving this tool to your salon customers, you’re actually saving them time and making them more productive. Instead of forcing yourself into the salon when they’re busy doing clients, you’re empowering them to place orders on their own time. They’ll thank you for it later and reward you with their loyalty. What’s more, your salon visits will be more productive as well. Instead of spending all your time writing orders, you can use that time to inform your customers about new products as well as trends they could capitalize on to make more money. There’s bound to be a learning curve for both parties, but in the long run it will be a positive thing for everyone. 
  • Start Thinking Like a Millennial We’re talking anyone born between 1981 and 1996, which means your customers who are between the ages of 24 and 39. Millennials love apps, which means they’ll love SalonHQ. If they’ve got your app on their phone, who do you think they’re likely to be ordering products from? Plus, if they’re not using the app you gave them and a competitor comes in and offers them their app, they just might jump ship and start ordering products from your competitor. Let’s face it, the demographics are changing, and that means your customer base is changing. The bottom line: You need to change along with them.
  • Omni-Channel vs. Multi-Channel Marketing This new generation is demanding omni-channel marketing, a cross-content strategy that businesses are using to improve their user experience and drive better relationships with their audience across points of contact. Omni-channel marketing lets you personalize every touch point to provide seamless customer experiences on every channel from a single platform, which is exactly what we do at SalonHQ

Our mobile-based app and web solution brings distributors, salons and customers onto a single platform to dramatically improve connectivity. Here’s the difference between multi-channel and omni-channel marketing: Both involve selling across multiple physical and digital channels, but the key difference is how the customer experience is joined up across those channels. With traditional multi-channel retailers who may have a website and a physical store, the brand is at the center of the strategy. In omni-channel marketing, the customer is at the center of the strategy with each channel adapting to the customer’s behavior. Omni-channel marketing provides customers with a fully integrated experience by uniting user experiences from brick-and-mortar stores to mobile browsing. Trust us, this is the direction we’re heading in, and you don’t want to be left behind.