Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Charlotte salon says, 'There's an app for that'

I occasionally worry that I've become overly-reliant on smart technology. (Usually after I can't remember something important or easy, such as my husband's phone number.)

But then I'll use Taxi Magic, or check the weather, hit up mobile banking, or call up a recipe from Pinterest and all I'm left thinking is how easy that was.

KM and Company Salon knows what I'm talking about.

The South End salon is scheduled to launch its own app today, which will allow customers to request and confirm appointments, see the menu of services, the photo gallery with before and after pictures, buy and send gift cards, get driving directions and more.



Available free for iPhone and Android, the app has been developed by Web Cloud apps.

Salon owner and stylist Karla Kuhlmann anticipates the app making things easier both for the customer, as well as staff.

"I think the greatest benefit to our salon guests will be the ability to contact the salon whenever they want, even when we are closed, basically, 24/7," Kuhlmann said.

"We can also send an 'App Kick' when we have a special offer or a last minute savings."

The idea was seeded after reading a trade industry article about salon-specific apps, Kuhlmann said, and she eventually was put in touch with a developer. It took just over three months to get to this point, she said.

"The more I thought about it, and about conversations I’ve had with our guests about 'meaning to call' the salon to make an appointment or something else, it just made sense," she said.

Kuhlmann said one of her favorite aspects of the app from the business side is the alert feature.

"We can target all or specific guests (and notify them) of something, like their stylist is sick. Or, like recently, the salon closing because of bad weather."

KM & Company has been around nearly a decade, and Kuhlmann said being one of the first in town (if not the first) to have a salon-specific app will take her "service-based business into the digital age."

She expects it won't be long before other local beauty businesses launch their own apps as well.

"The cost wasn’t cheap, but I was expecting it to be much more expensive. I think this might just catch on if the salon is willing to invest in their future."

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