Creative HEAD UK March 2018

32
THE SECRET OF…
SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS
IT’S UNDENIABLE – social media
is a vital tool for salons to interact
with clients. Here, Charlotte Newton,
senior manager of EMEA marketing
for MINDBODY, gives 5 top tips for
social success…
In today’s on-demand world,
customers expect instant results.
If they are using social media to
look for a salon, it’s so much more
powerful if they can fi nd, book
and pay for your services in that
moment. Make sure that your
appointment system is linked to your
Facebook page and you have an
easy link through to your Instagram.
Mobile is everything and it’s likely
many customers will be viewing
posts on the go. Give them the
best experience with content that’s
optimised for all platforms.
Keep your accounts up-to-date
with regular updates and news.
If someone sees your profi le hasn’t
been updated for a while, they are
much less likely to engage with you.
First impressions count, so if the
fi rst time someone meets you is on
social media, make sure that the
experience matches the one they’ll
get in the salon.
Respond to your customers
messages and feedback. Whether
good or bad, If a customer posts
something on one of your accounts,
acknowledge them and try to resolve
any issues.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
For more salon-savvy secrets by MINDBODY,
visit uk.mindbodyonline.com
THE BUSINESS EDIT
ARE YOU READY
FOR GDPR?
THE GENERAL DATA PROTECTION
REGULATION (GDPR) comes into
force on 25 May and brings with it new
data protection, security and consent
responsibilities that all businesses will need
to comply with. If they don’t, they’ll risk
large fines and penalties.
This could have a huge impact on salons:
it affects how you maintain and manage
client and team records, contact details,
children’s names, allergy test results and
medical information.
And that’s not all; it will also mean that
if businesses want to carry on sending out
marketing or promotional information,
appointment reminders or offers to clients,
they will need to be able to show clients have
given their specific consent to receive this.
Get it wrong, and businesses can be fined
anything from 2 per cent to 4 per cent of
their annual turnover.
Yet when the NHF carried out a survey
of nearly 200 members to find out how
well-prepared the industry is for this major
change, the results were not promising.
Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) admitted
either to not knowing anything or not
knowing “much” about GDPR and its
implications. More than half (57 per cent)
said they had “no idea what we need to do”
(see page 34 for more).
“If you do any of the following, GDPR will
apply to your salon and you need to review
your processes and policies to ensure that
you are performing them in line with the
JULIE HENSMAN HENSMANS
regulations,” warns Laura Knight, director
at brand communications consultancy, KWS.
•Email or text clients
•Store information about clients – either on
a computer or on paper
•Monitor your salon with CCTV
•Store CVs – of both employees and
prospective candidates
•Hold next of kin contact details for staff
or customers
•Have an online booking facility
•Collect contact details for clients access to
your salon WIFI
•Hold information on clients aged under 16
And that’s just a selection. But Laura
continues that the first step is to review
what data you hold – on customers, staff and
suppliers – why you have it, what you do
with it and where it is stored.
“GDPR requires you to have proof of
clear, specific and freely-given consent
from individuals, so it’s likely you will need
to refresh your consent in order to send
marketing emails/texts to clients,” she says.
“You also need a record of their consent.”
Ensure your privacy policy is clear on why
you hold data, what you do with it, where it
is stored, for how long, and how someone
can request for their data to be removed.
This is also something the whole team
needs to be involved with, so make sure
you tell staff about GDPR, ensure they
understand the new requirements and build
in a process to regularly review and
update customer data.
“When we heard about GDPR late last year, we spoke to a
GDPR specialist to demystify it. This helped us recognise
where and how we needed to change and tackled the important
communication with our clients about holding their records. Our privacy
policy explains why we hold their data and what it will be used for:
colour records, text appointment reminders and for those agreeing to
receive promotional material, a monthly newsletter and birthday and
Christmas cards. It took us three months, but every existing client has given us permission
to store their data, and those who asked us to remove them, we did it immediately, and we
take their details every time they book. The few inactive clients who haven’t confirmed will be
removed by the deadline. Transparency is key and we display our policy on the reception desk
and on our website. Next stop is running through the same process with our team!”
CREATIVE HEAD