Hairdressing apps to boost your business

Ideal for attracting new clients - particularly the much sought-after stylish and affluent bright young things - launching an app keeps your brand contemporary and also shows your salon is in tune with the times.

Salon Digital is an app-building company, established to deliver cutting-edge technology to salons and the hairdressing industry in a simple, easy-to-use and cost-effective fashion. 

Pietro Guarino, Salon Digital's managing director, explains: "Today, having a website is a marketing must, but a salon-specific app is the future and is the most direct way for you to communicate your message directly to a client. They are not expensive either - they can be built for a lot less than a good website."

While a salon app can be tailored to include just about anything, Pietro explains some of the most popular functions for hairdressers and their clients.

Showcasing a portfolio of your latest fashion collection or even images of your salon interior is a key feature for clients and is quick and easy to navigate.

Apps can make use of GPS to determine a client's location - handy when they're trying to a find a new salon or one nearby. Clients can also email or telephone the salon directly through an app.

Push notifications appear like a text message but offer a quick, easy and cheap way to contact anyone who has downloaded your app. The content of the message could be anything from availability or offers, to messages wishing everyone a Happy Christmas.

Cameras are nothing new to phones, but using a salon app to store styles will allow a client to build a library to recall previous preferences and colour information. Pictures can also be posted directly to Facebook or Twitter, so the client can share their new look and promote the salon at the same time.

Check-ins have become a phenomenon over the past 12 

months thanks to popular geolocation apps like foursquare. You could combine this function with customer loyalty, allowing clients to 'check-in' at the salon every time they visit. After a certain number of visits, a voucher code could be released for a discount or gift, for example