Ross & Co Hair Design in Hamilton is a salon that has a stellar reputation for providing a consistently exceptional client experience. Don’t believe us? Check out their five star reviews on Google! We were lucky enough to sit down with the founder, Patricia Ross, to learn more about how she empowers her staff, tips for salon owners to grow their businesses, and her secret to achieving a rebooking rate of over 80%.
Tell us about yourself and your salon
I decided to open Ross & Co Hair Design because I wanted to create a workplace that provided professionalism and clarity to help people grow. Since opening the salon, I have worked with several mentors which enabled me to change how I approached my business and allowed me to provide more for myself and my employees.
I am so grateful for investing time and money in myself and my team because we have created a fantastic culture here where we communicate really well.
What makes Ross & Co Hair Design stand out?
Ross & Co Hair Design is known for giving our clients an incredible experience, and we’re able to achieve this through our service delivery. As a team, we look at every little touch point from when they first enter the salon, right down to when they leave and are presented with a magnificent farewell, to ensure that it’s carried out with confidence and clarity.
Through this, we’ve built a very loyal clientele and have an 80% rebooking rate. We often receive feedback from our clients saying thank you so much for the most incredible experience or for that product recommendation, and they even comment on how well the team works together. All of this is directly tied to our team understanding how every one of us working together props the other one up, and we all benefit from that.
What are your favourite Kitomba features?
Kitomba Salon and Spa Software plays a really important role here at Ross & Co. How we can create such an exceptional client experience comes down to two things; one is how I motivate my team, and the other is because of Kitomba. As I got to know the system and utilise every part of it, the business just got better and better.
Targets
Kitomba’s Targets feature is a fantastic tool that you can use with Kitomba Point of Sale. It’s great because as your team progresses and grows, you can set individual targets to suit each team member. They can access these targets at any time from their phone, so they can check if they’re on track to reach their target, or how much more they need to make to achieve it.
We also go over our KPIs [Key Performance Indicators] regularly because our KPIs are a direct reflection of how we are serving our clients. If your rebooking rate is low, you can guarantee that your team are not discussing any kind of hair journey or future opportunities with their clients. They are disengaged with them, or they don’t have enough training to create the desired result.
It’s about having those discussions with your team and making sure they understand what KPI results mean, and providing them with the tools to achieve those results. Everyone in my team is holding a rebooking rate of above 80% because they truly understand the value of that. They are all able to deliver an exceptional, consistent experience and service delivery to all clients.
Reports
I have so many favourite Kitomba reports, one is obviously the Kitomba Business Summary, but some of my other favourites are the Product Sales report, the Promotions Discounts report, and the Appointment Value report. These three reports help me understand what is going on in my business. It’s quite amazing what the Kitomba reporting can provide for you.
Product Sales report
The Product Sales report is really useful because I can track all of the products that we sell every month. The reason why I do this is because when I’m purchasing more stock I can buy it with confidence because I’m tracking those numbers regularly. I know how many of what products we sell per month which provides me with the knowledge I need to only buy what we need and take advantage of supplier sales that I know will benefit the business.
Promotions and Discounts report
This report is so powerful because at Ross & Co we have in-salon promo codes as well as marketing to bring clients into the salon. When we run a promotion, I train the team to use the correct discount code when they’re invoicing the client. I then get the results straight away so I know what promotions the clients loved and what ones may have not been utilised as much. The Promotions and Discounts report also shows you how many times the discount was used and how many sales you have generated from having the promotion in place.
One of the most powerful marketing promotions I’ve ever done was a $50 voucher for your first colour and cut, because those services are valued really high. It’s a small knock-off of your invoice amount that drives new clients in.
Learn more about the Promotions and Discounts report here.
Appointment Value report
The Appointment Value report in Kitomba is another one of my favourites! I love to run this report at the beginning of the month and see how much we go above what was pre-booked. It’s a great way to feel secure about your future income for yourself and your team. It just shows you the power of rebooking, because obviously if you have a really high rebooking rate, you can guarantee your appointment value for the following month is going to also be really high.
Learn more about how the appointment value can benefit your salon, spa, or clinic here.
Kitomba 1
The best Kitomba feature that helps my team succeed is its cloud-based system (Kitomba 1). Everyone can have their own logins and be responsible for their stuff all while accessing it on the floor. They have access to the client card so they can view and update colour notes on the go and any client information which keeps everything up to date. My team fully utilises Kitomba 1 which drives the team to achieve great results.
What is your top tip for salon owners?
My top tip for other salon owners that are serious about their growth is to really swallow that hard pill. If you are having struggles within your business, just come back to yourself and honestly ask yourself, “Are you giving enough to your team?” What can you do to take the stress away?
I also understand the fear of coming off the floor, I was so scared to come off and actually work on my business. But you just have to start because the more of us that run salons professionally and transparently, the better our industry is going to get.
We have to work harder to serve our team because, without your team, you just don’t have a business.
Want to find out how Kitomba can help your business thrive like Ross and Co Hair Design? Book your free demo to see how we can help your business to achieve success.
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