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Moments Salon & Day Spa Pampers Clients with Plastic Gift Cards
REATING AND IMPLEMENTING A FREQUENT CLIENT PROGRAM for a hair salon to reward regular customers may seem like an overwhelming administrative and accounting challenge for such a small business. But in reality establishing and administering a gift card and/or frequent customer program can be fairly simple. Most salon owners would never dream that they could have the time and resources to implement a plastic card-printing program for customers on their own. But creating high quality, plastic gift certificates or a frequent client program can be easy to administer, cost-efficient, and flexible. Dennis Gullo, Mt. Laurel, New Jersey salon and day spa owner, experienced these benefits when he purchased an Eltron P420 printer, allowing him to create his own plastic gift cards for any occasion, as well as implement a preferred clients program in his salon and his Moments Day Spa. Gullo has owned and operated salons in the Mt. Laurel, New Jersey area for more than twenty-five years. Starting with one salon, he has grown his business to include three salons run under the umbrella company Hair One, Inc. From the family-oriented walk-in salon, Gullo’s; to the upscale full service appointment salon and day spa, Moments; to the modern man’s barbershop, American Male, Gullo’s businesses offer something for everyone. Gullo’s Moments Salon and Day Spa, which was a high volume issuer of gift certificates, was the impetus for Gullo to purchase an Eltron printer to make plastic gift cards to replace the paper certificates.
Until Gullo purchased an Eltron plastic card printer, Moments used paper gift certificates, which were time-consuming to fill out, difficult to administer, and complicated to track. After researching various options, Gullo learned that a plastic card system, which uses bar coding technology to enter data, smoothed accounting practices and administration. The colorful credit card-sized plastic gift cards feature designs tying to holiday or promotional themes and the Moments logo on the front, while the back displays the bar code, which when scanned, accesses the customer’s gift certificate balance on the system software. Unlike paper certificates, the plastic cards can be used again and again. If on a first visit, a customer does not use the total amount of the gift, the balance will be retained on the system and will appear the next time the card is scanned. The customer keeps the card, making it more likely that he or she will return for follow up visits. Customers can also recharge the card for a certain dollar amount. For example, if a customer wanted to prepay for ten manicures, she could come to the salon with her card and not have to write a check or worry about bringing cash. Additionally, Gullo explains, the plastic gift cards aid in client retention, “If a client has a gift card from our salon in her purse, she is not going to stop at the mall and drop her cash at the first walk-in place she sees.” Gullo’s clients also prefer the convenient plastic gift cards to the paper ones which can be easily damaged or destroyed. In fact, if a customer loses a plastic gift card, the salon can track the balance by the customer’s last name and even make them a new card. “This program created a significant amount of customer good will,” said Gullo. Gullo first became aware of gift cards when he saw a demonstration of the card-making feature in his salon software Mikal. Immediately, he knew a plastic card program was something he wanted to pursue for his salon, but instead of outsourcing the card making, as the software vender suggested, Gullo saw the flexibility of making the cards in-house. “The idea of making our own cards was very appealing because there were so many different things we could do: different cards for different holidays, cards for special promotions or designs to coincide with our advertising campaigns, different dollar amounts--that was the idea. If you’re interested in any type of variety for your cards, then you need your own printer.” Gullo decided to take the plunge and purchased an Eltron 420 card printer. Capable of producing full-color, edge-to-edge printed cards, the P420 provides ultra-sharp print resolution for bar codes, photos, graphics and text. The unit prints a dual-sided card in just 35 seconds. It’s also easy to use. The printer features a low maintenance design that includes self-cleaning card handling, a user-friendly LCD control panel and viewing window that permits the operator to visually monitor the printing process.
A huge success in his salon, the gift cards are so popular that since Gullo first purchased the printer in the fall of 2000, Moments has distributed more than 3,000 gift cards. In fact, with the plastic cards, the salon has seen a significant boost in gift purchases. “People will give a card when they wouldn’t give a paper certificate,” said Gullo. “I thoroughly believe that the cards were a huge boost to our gift certificate business last holiday season. Our customers love them.” The first big holiday season they had so much fun with the printer that they created more than 20 different card designs. “We had two different styles of Christmas gift cards, as well as cards for Hanukkah and Kwanza. We also made Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day designs.” The staff prints cards in $25, $50, $100 and $150 amounts, the $100 cards being the most popular gift. In addition, they also designed gift cards to go with specific spa packages such as the “Angel Package,” which includes a choice of massage or facial and a choice of manicure or pedicure, as well as lunch, hair conditioning and styling. This special promotional card does not show a printed dollar amount, making it a discreet gift for those who want to downplay the cost. Another reason the card program has been so successful is that Gullo and his staff found the Eltron printer easy-to-use. “Initially, I was surprised at the ease of use and the quality of the multi-color cards. The cards are sharp, colorful and it’s easy to incorporate images,” said Gullo. Working with the Hair One’s advertising agency, the administrative offices make suggestions about the card designs. The ad agency then incorporates these designs, such as holiday motifs or current sales and promotional items, in the card layout. The agency then sends the completed template back to the administrative offices where staff can print them on an as needed basis. The administrative offices usually print 40 to 50 cards of a particular design at once, and they are given to the front desk staff for use.
A resounding success, the gift card program has led Gullo to plan more uses for his Eltron printer. The salon plans to implement a frequent buyer’s program for preferred customers. The participating clients will receive a customized card printed with his/her name and account number. Clients who come to the salon and spa on a regular basis will earn points for each visit, which will be redeemable for dollars off additional spa services. “The airlines have been doing it for years,” said Gullo. “Why not implement a program in the salon?” With plans for his new preferred customer program in place for Moments Salon and Day Spa, along with his popular and successful gift card system, thanks in part to the Eltron P420 printer, Gullo’s businesses are poised for even more success in the future. |
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Issuing
Loyalty and Personalized Gift Cards Is Fast, Simple and Profitable
for Salon Owner