Meet the Partners: How Ursula uses blast campaigns to secure bookings
Opening Bond in 2019 after perfecting her craft in Berlin, London, and the film industry, Ursula wanted her debut salon to be a celebration of creativity, individuality, and the unique personalities of the people who walk through their doors.
She wanted to create a salon that would instantly make her clients feel at home and knew that having the right online booking system in place would be necessary for the launch of her business.
“I wanted a booking system and my friend, and the owner of Shoreditch Nails, recommended Fresha. I’ve never looked back."
After joining Fresha, Ursula started using it to manage her bookings. “Fresha is so easy,” she says. “It’s completely intuitive, so we started using it straight away and linked it to our website. All bookings made online, by phone or walk-in are booked on Fresha, as well as new clients via Fresha marketplace.”
Ursula utilised the full range of Fresha features including payment processing and marketing features. “We’re a cashless salon, so as Fresha payments has the lowest transaction rates in the industry, 100% of our payments are handled through the in-salon terminal or online. It’s simplified everything.”
Taking a proactive approach to her business, Ursula found Fresha’s marketing tools equally as effective and simple. “The marketing tools are so easy to use and achieve amazing results.” With automated campaigns set up for clients who haven’t returned after 4 weeks, birthday gift cards, and regular promotions via Fresha’s Blast campaigns feature, Ursula has experienced a tangible business boost. “These campaigns are so successful. For example, a pre-Christmas campaign encouraging clients to book resulted in 50 bookings within just a few hours.
“We also send new clients a ‘thank you’ after their first appointment and incentivise them to book their second, which is very effective. We also find the automated invitation for clients to leave a review has been highly beneficial!”
Utilising Fresha to take advantage of cancellations or gaps in their calendar, Ursula says, “SMS reminders, and our no-show and late cancellation policy are so effective. In the last year, we’ve only had three no-shows! Client’s receive two reminders, so we didn’t receive a single complaint, and being automated takes the emotion out of the situation too.”
With Fresha's forms, Ursula has also been able to streamline this process. “Some services need a more in-depth consultation, but Fresha forms enabled us to do as much pre-consultation as possible. It’s also enabled us to check the client’s COVID-19 status.”
With staff able to see their calendar, and the Bond team being part of the Fresha experience, Ursula sees it as vital to the running of Bond. “We use reporting and analytics daily to future scope and plan campaigns around what’s happening. Fresha is like having a business partner and it’s so integral to Bond. I really couldn’t imagine salon life without it.”
