Barber Shop Technology.
Modernising the barber shop
It’s the 21st century. We have electric cars, smart watches, ‘hoverboards’, and phones in our pocket that can shoot video, call Fiji, and do pretty much everything else you could ever imagine. 62 | BARBERNV MAGAZINE
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et still we find barber shops that are doing things the same old way they’ve been done for a hundred years. If that sounds like you then we’re here to tell you why you should be embracing technology in 2016. Now there’s nothing wrong with being a traditionalist. People like the comfort of knowing they can pop in to their local barber, wait in the queue, have a chat and some banter, and get a good haircut. But that doesn’t quite cut it these days. People are busier than ever, but on the upside they’re more connected with each other than ever. You can take advantage of that by using a variety of new software, some completely free, that will bring you closer to your current clients and bring you in contact with clients you didn’t even know were out there.
SOCIAL MEDIA With over a billion people on Facebook right now the chances are you’ve already got it. But are you maximising its potential for your business?
Opening up a page for your shop is simple, easy, beneficial, and can even be fun. By encouraging your existing customers to ‘like’ your page you’ll quickly build up a following online and by posting interesting content – recent cool haircuts, special offers, events in the local community – you’ll find your page being shared to people who previously didn’t know about you. This instantly increases your brand awareness and gives you the opportunity to reach out. You can’t phone up all your regulars to let them know you have a space available on Friday but it takes less than a minute to post it on Facebook and alert everyone who follows you. Their friends then see them booking an appointment with you online and suddenly they’re interested. The snowball effect is underway. The same goes for Twitter and Instagram but Facebook is the behemoth of the social media world so that should be your first step. Social media is completely free (unless you choose to take out more targeted adverts) so can you really afford not to give it a go? u