On Monday, Phorest UK successfully held their live stream event, Uplift! After some technical issues on their first attempt on January 25th, The Uplift! event came back bigger and stronger for its rescheduled date of Monday February 8th. Along with motivational and uplifting presentations from guest speakers such as Chancellor of the British Fellowship of Hair and mindfulness leader, Ashley Hodges, and Royal Marine Jason Fox with an inspiring speech about resilience, Phorest professionals shared many inspiring stories as well as tips and tricks to persevere through the pandemic.
The day started with an introduction by Ronan Perceval, CEO of Phorest, introducing the speakers, presentations, and prizes. The prizes that were offered this year included an Apple Watch, an iPad, and a one-year subscription to Headspace App for mindfulness.
Chief Technology Officer at Phorest John Doran, and Head of Product, Evelyn Balfe, then presented on How 2020 Changed Our World. John and Evelyn shared stories from several salon owners and hairdressers throughout UK and Ireland, and how they coped and adapted through Covid with the help of some of the features Phorest Booking and Management Apps have to offer. They also included videos from Phorest users from all over the world, talking about their concerns throughout Covid, and some of the ways Phorest had been able to help.
“Phorest was the first of our suppliers who contacted us and told us, that we didn’t have to stress about the invoicing. They would spread our payments, and take the pressure off us. Phorest were definitely leading the way.” – Gerri Dangerfield Keane, UK.
The next presentation was offered by Head of Product Marketing and Retention Rob Hewitt, and Aisling Scolard, Product Manager. Rob and Aisling’s presentation focusing on marketing, what that means for salons in 2021, and some helpful tips and advice on how to make marketing work for you this year. According to Rob, “Marketing starts with clear, strategic goals, if you want proper results.” In this session, Rob and Aisling discussed all the challenges of the last year, the impact on consumer habits, and what are some ways we can adapt to consumer demands. One change that is certain is the shift to digital. Rob and Aisling offered several solutions to make sure that salons are able to effectively reach their clients online, through Phorest features like: Email Marketing Editor, SMS Marketing Editor, and Client Reconnect.
Next, the Feature Reveal was presented by Richard Cullen, Senior Product Designer, and Verna Wall product researcher, with the topic: Resilience, Motivation, and the Team Effort. Through the data system that Phorest has access to, they were able to compile a list of trends and patterns that successful salons all have in common. There are many misconceptions about what drives success, such as being located on the high street, being expensive, and having a massive team. But Phorest analytics found that these are not always indicative of success. Instead, what they found every successful salon to have was an educated and focused team. The rest of their presentation shared tips on how to motivate staff, how to help them be self-reliant, and to monitor personal and shop goals through the My Performance tool in the Phorest Go app. This tools monitors staff performance, and increases awareness, and helps to avoid awkward one-to-one meetings. This is a free tool and will be available from next week on.
The next presentation was given by guest speaker Ashleigh Hodges, who began her presentation with a group meditation to promote mindfulness. Ashleigh Hodges offered some advice on wellbeing, and how to juggle busy lives. Ashleigh’s presentation encouraged listeners to allow themselves and their staff time to look inward, take care of themselves, and recharge, before they to spring into action to help everyone else, as they are used to doing. During Covid, Ashleigh explained, “we have all had time to think about what is important to us, and clients have had time to realise how important we are to them.” Ashleigh’s advice to listeners is: learn to say no, set boundaries, and treat your wellbeing as just as important as your clients.
The next session was presented by Niamh Greaney, Head of Adoption & Client Education, who educated attendees on how to evaluate and improve your own online health, to ensure businesses are reaching their clients to the best of their abilities. Phorest have created an online calculator to assess your online health, in terms of online marketing, social media, online reputation, and your salon website. This tool is available on Phorest’s platform and online. Niamh encourages owners to check their score, create a strategy, and revisit the calculator, until they are happy with their online health.
Finally, the last presenter of the day, Jason Fox spoke to the audience about resilience and mental health, and his experience in Afghanistan as a Special Forces Officer. Fox shared an inspiring story of how he dealt with a hostage rescue mission in Afghanistan. Fox shared with the attendees his personal ethos of: courage, determination, unselfishness, and cheerfulness in the face of adversity, and it is these four qualities that have helped him get through traumatic experiences, and will help others face day-to-day struggles throughout their lives, such as getting through this pandemic.
Overall, the day with at Phorest’s Uplift shared inspiring stories of perseverance, adaptability, and determination from salon owners, public speakers, as well as Phorest professionals. Phorest also shared many tips and tools that their software platforms offer to help salons throughout the pandemic, and into the tech-based future.
To learn more, go to https://bit.ly/2MQ8ts5
