As the co-owner of Gould Barbers, Darren Gould is no stranger to managing and growing a business. The national barbershop chain has made key changes in recent times, and switching to Fresha has helped them meet the demands of success.
Gould Barbers has expanded rapidly in the last few years, and it’s been no coincidence. With a solid work ethic and high attention to quality, they have grown into ‘the largest family-focused barbershop chain in the UK,’ in Darren’s words.
“We’re expanding every year. We’re open for long hours, and we create an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome; where customers know they get good quality service.”
Darren is ambitious and business savvy; he developed a partnership with Tesco that has helped Gould Barbers expand. “So far we’ve got 35 locations in total, and 34 of these are inside a Tesco.”
Determined to see those numbers increase even further, Darren knew having the right software in place was crucial: “We felt we needed to switch to an appointment system to keep growing. We trialled loads of them, and Fresha ticked every box for us.”
Unlimited locations and clients with Fresha
Going from walk-ins to bookings was a key step for Gould’s expanding barbershop chain. “Before we had the Fresha booking system, you could come into one of our shops on a Saturday and there would be 40, 50 people waiting.
With around ‘10,000 customers a week’ across their multiple locations, Darren needed a platform that could handle high numbers without any problems. Using Fresha’s booking software, barbers can add an unlimited number of locations to their business – as well unlimited bookings, team members, clients, notifications and much more.
Having booking software has made their barbershops much more efficient, and in turn made it much easier to run and grow the business. “It’s good for barbers too – with Fresha they can manage their day. It’s just completely transformed our business.”
Information to inspire success
A big part of Darren’s strategy in managing his barbershop chain is using the data provided by Fresha’s analytics and reporting, giving him crucial information for running his business. With Fresha he can easily see Gould Barbers’ daily sales, appointments, invoices and vouchers, as well as occupancy and client retention.
“The reporting is so important, the data it gives us is amazing. We get a weekly report on all the reviews we get for our barbers – and all the staff put their calendars in Fresha so we can see the occupancy rate. This allows me to see whether one of our shops is already fully booked.”
Retaining customers with Fresha marketplace
Darren also puts the Fresha marketplace to good use, ensuring he can grow and retain his customer base.
“I think we’d been using Fresha for a few weeks and through the website we’d gotten over 200 new customers. I would say 80% of our customers book online. We can analyse how each barber is retaining their customers more efficiently than we could before.”
Visibility and client engagement are crucial in a growing business. And with Fresha’s marketing features, they’re easy to achieve. Fresha offers the ability to send text messages, emails, and notifications to clients straight after an appointment, prompting them to leave a review and spread the word.”
“People go on to Fresha and they’ll see a barber has got 50 reviews, so they’re more inclined to book with them. The barber has to do the job, but the simplicity of using Fresha certainly helps us retain customers.”
Boost your business with Fresha
Managing your barbershop is easy with Fresha’s booking software – and getting started is easy, too. Even with over 35 locations, training Darren’s team members to use Fresha was quick and simple.
“Fresha was so supportive, I couldn’t recommend it more. Our managers and senior barbers needed training, so Fresha put on training days in Central London so all of our senior barbers could learn how to use it – we didn’t get that with any other appointment system.”
Manage your barbershop to success like Gould Barbers by joining Fresha for free at https://www.fresha.com/for-business
Discover Gould Barbers at https://www.gouldbarbers.co.uk/
This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Fresha.