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"On The Right Track"

Article from Salon Plus Magazine and Spa Plus Magazine, January 2001.

A new innovation in sunbed technology, which will prove a bonus to all users, is SolarTrack...

 SolarTrack

SolarTrack was designed by Simon Goldstone, a software developer for INTEC. His insight into the problems faced by the beauty business (his parents own five salons in Manchester) spurred him on to create it, and it has now been commercially available since February 2000. The software has been snapped by all 60 Tanning Shop salons, the largest chain the UK - and they claim to have increased revenue by 20%.

 Keeping track of tanning time

SolarTrack aims to stop theft of tanning time, knowing that it can be difficult in a busy salon to remember how long a client has been using a sunbed. Tanning too long impacts on user safety as well as financial loss, so Simon took the opportunity to address the problems by designing software that automatically switches machines on and off - only after a sale has been recorded. SolarTrack runs automatic audits on a daily basis, and can send them be e-mail or fax to your chosen destination - a bonus for those such as Simon's family who have five to keep track of.

 Competitive edge

The software also incorporates sophisticated marketing techniques designed to give your salon the edge on competitors. Simon explains, "There is so much competition at the moment. My parent's first salon in Manchester used to be the only one in the area, now there are eight! Marketing is an essential part of the business, and SolarTrack has three functions to take care of it. It helps retain custom with promotions; offering customers a free session on their birthday or 'refer a friend' offers. It helps win back lost custom - by sending a 'where are you?' letter to customers who haven't been in for three months. It also keeps records of users ' ages and postcodes so that we know who and where to target.

"Recently we noticed that although we had a lot of custom from people living in the M8 and M9 postal areas, M7 was suspiciously quiet. We did some research [using SolarTrack] and found that we had a major competitor in that area. This gave us the opportunity to target people in the M7 area with promotions - and we had a 25% increase in customers from that area as a result!".