Ten reasons why client data collection is important

Christmas is almost upon us and December is the perfect time for salons and spas to ensure they are collecting client data which can then be utilised in the New Year,  says Sally Glover, of software specialists SALONGENIUS. Here are the top ten reasons why data collection is so important:

1. Effective marketing - make a record of everything from your client’s favourite drink and birthday to the products they normally buy after their visit, the more information you have means the more targeted you can be.

2. Client Segmentation - the more you know about your customers the better the segmentation options and marketing opportunities. You can identify groups of customers or individually based on factors such as age, gender, loyalty card holders, spend, packages they have previously booked and number of visits etc.

3. Effective campaigns i.e. Recommend a Friend, Client Loyalty Scheme and gift vouchers targeted at existing customer data to retain them and attract new ones.

4. Getting rid of stock that isn't selling - one way of getting rid of stock that isn’t selling is utilising the marketing functions of your software. This can be anything from a flash sale of stock to your whole client database where they would need to purchase a set amount of products over a specific time period, through to a very specific and targeted marketing campaign to your database.

5. To make the right decisions - data collecting means that you can recognise trends and the buyer behaviour of your clients to improve your salon services and serve them to the best of your ability.

6. Allows you to monitor activity, set targets, compare your previous performance and improve on certain factors to increase profitability.

7. Setting targets - data collection enables you to set your staff targets they need to hit helping to increase productivity and motivate them, in turn leading to more business success and profit.

8. Customer care - your clients are your most important asset which is why it's important to enter the details for each and every client who visit. The storing of accurate complete client records is extremely important in any business and particularly in businesses within the service sector.

9. Business reporting - data collection is paramount to stay on top of all aspects of your business.

10. Training - the results from data collecting enables training to be targeted at the different areas of your business that might be suffering.