DATA CLEANING
We’ve all done it, scheduled one of our regular guests family members, or friends without their own identity. It’s easier than asking for the first and last names, along with a method to contact them. While it might save us time at the moment, it hurts us in the long run. Two issues occur when we rush through booking new customers. We aren’t including them in our New Guest count and we are messing up our original guest history. I ask my front desk team to enter the new referral with their first name, last name update info, or who they are “Susie’s sister. Then once the new guest is in the salon, we can update their info. This shortcut allows us to add a new person to our database, including the proper referral.
My biggest pet peeve is incomplete entries!!!
I know there is a fine line between collecting data and asking too many questions. You can have your receptionist trained to fill in the blanks on each visit. Example. The initial entry should include the full name, preferred contact method, and referral. On their next visit, we can ask for their birthdate (without the year) If they didn’t choose email as their preferred contact, hopefully, you are able to request it on their third visit with an offer to join your marketing list for weekly updates.
Too often guests will be added to the system multiple times. Suzanne, Susan, Suzi & Susy. My salon also utilizes a double merge list. Once we confirm multiple entries are the same person, we jot them on the log. During downtime, we merge the data into one.
Make sure your entire team understands the importance of complete data. Your stylist can fill in blanks without the guest realizing they’re being asked a question. “What’s your sign? No way, when’s your birthday?” I have eavesdropped on the answer more than a few times.
Regardless of how you do it, make clean and complete data entries a focus in your salon to help you generate accurate reports to grow your business.