Best CRM Software for Salons
In a Nutshell
After reviewing top Salon CRMs, it’s clear that these tools are essential for modern salons. They offer online booking, automated reminders, client management, and payment processing, enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction. Salonist, my top choice, is affordable and feature-rich, perfect for almost any salon.
Top 3 Best CRM Software for salons Shortlist
- Salonist – Best overall salon software.
- Bigin by Zoho – Best for larger salons with multiple locations.
- Salonized – Best for salons in the European market.
Why Salons need CRM Software
Whether you operate a Hair Salon, Nail Salon, Tanning Salon, Waxing Salon, Brow or Eyelash Salon, or any other related Beauty Salon, you can improve your business with CRM software. It can help schedule appointments, send reminders, store customer contact details, and much more.
Criteria for Selecting the Best CRM for Salons:
I can’t say what the most important criteria are for choosing the best salon CRM because it depends on your salon’s specific needs. Do you only need a CRM to store contact information? Are you looking for appointment scheduling or a PoS system? These different needs make it hard to recommend one best CRM system.
So, I’ll outline the key features offered by the top salon management software available online.
Online Booking
It’s hard to believe that some salons still don’t use an online booking tool. As a salon, you should make it as easy as possible for (new) customers to book appointments. An online booking tool can help you get more appointments and reduce phone calls for you and your staff, allowing you to focus fully on your customers.
Automated reminders
Marketing automation is a key benefit of modern CRM tools, saving time and offering several advantages. It reduces no-shows by automating appointment reminders, such as sending a text or WhatsApp message about a 10 o’clock appointment the next day. From personal experience, these messages have saved me from missing appointments.
Client Management
As a business, collecting client information is crucial. This data helps you reach your customers and better understand their wants and needs.
For a beauty salon, you might want to store contact details and treatment history. For example, noting the hair color used last time or the date of their last visit. You can then send automated emails reminding clients they haven’t visited in a while and suggesting it’s time for another appointment. CRM software can handle this for you, and I can tell you from personal experience, you are missing out big time if you don’t use it. Because it will bring you lots of new opportunities.
Payment processing
Payment processing might not be a priority for every salon business when searching for the right CRM tool. However, for some businesses, having all transactions centralized can be very beneficial. It allows you to gain insights into how much each client spends, for example. Additionally, you can track your revenues over time and identify opportunities for business growth.
Top 3 CRM systems for Salons
Why I Like it
My top recommendation for salon CRM is definitely Salonist, a solution specifically designed for salons. Salonist bills itself as the #1 salon software to grow your business, and I completely agree. The range of features it offers is impressive, and the most remarkable aspect is its affordability. Their basic plan starts at just $19 per month, while the full package is $45.
Salonist provides excellent value for money, and you will quickly recoup the investment. It includes all the key features previously mentioned: online bookings, automated reminders, client management, and PoS. Additionally, it offers numerous other useful features such as inventory management, customer loyalty programs, staff scheduling, and extensive integrations.
It integrates with bookkeeping software like QuickBooks, payment processors such as PayPal, and platforms like WordPress and Shopify. This is especially useful if your website or webstore operates on WordPress or Shopify.
At the moment Salonist supports 10 different languages: English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Portugese, Arabic, Indonesian, Thai and Hungarian.
Overall, Salonist is an all-in-one solution that is very affordable for any salon.
Pros
- Affordable
- Lots of features
- For different salons
Cons
- Limited customization
Why I like it
Unlike Salonist, Bigin by Zoho is not specifically tailored for beauty salons but is a well-known CRM tool designed for small businesses. I would recommend Bigin by Zoho for larger salons such as SPAs.
Bigin by Zoho starts at $7 per month and primarily focuses on the marketing side for salons. It allows you to store up to 50,000 customers, send mass marketing emails, and offers WhatsApp integration. From personal experience with several businesses, Bigin can significantly enhance a salon’s marketing efforts and customer service. It provides various automations, such as appointment reminders, and can be integrated with Zoho Booking for managing online appointments.
A major advantage of Bigin is its pipeline management feature. Salons can track the entire client journey, from initial contact to appointment completion and follow-up, helping to identify opportunities for upselling services or re-engaging clients who haven’t visited in a while.
Pros
- 15-day free trial
- Affordable pricing for small businesses
- Advanced security
Cons
- Not suitable for larger organizations
- 24/7 customer support only available on paid plans
Why I like it
Another CRM specifically tailored for salons is Salonized CRM. Salonized is quite comparable to Salonist but is more focused on the European market. It offers features such as online scheduling, client management, marketing, and POS. In my opinion, Salonized covers all the most important key features for salons.
Paid plans at Salonized start at €19 a month, which includes only online booking and automated reminders. If you want to use the full package, it will cost you €55 a month. Despite being a bit pricier compared to Salonist, it still offers very good value for money.
One aspect I particularly like about Salonized is their POS system. They offer payment terminals with free 4G connection, allowing you to take card payments at a tariff of 1% per transaction. They provide two different payment terminals: one costs €199, and the other €350.
Salonized offers the software in four different languages: English, German, Dutch, and Croatian.
Pros
- Affordable
- Lots of features
- Integrations
Cons
- Mainly European focused
- Limited customization
Conclusion
In conclusion, CRM software is essential for modern salons, providing tools for online booking, automated reminders, and client management. While selecting the best CRM depends on specific needs, options like Salonist, Bigin by Zoho, and Salonized offer comprehensive features to enhance business efficiency and customer satisfaction. Investing in a robust CRM system can significantly improve operations and drive growth in the competitive beauty industry.