Phorest for Client Connection & Strategic Growth

How DIMATTIA & CO Are Retaining More Clients With a Smarter, Holistic Approach

Kerrie Dimattia, owner of DIMATTIA & CO and Your Space Salons in Grafton, NSW, Australia, discusses how Phorest has become a central hub for strategy and an automated retention engine for her dynamic business.

Click play on the video to hear her story ▶️

“For me, it’s all about–I call it–the heads-up. I know what our day holds purely by looking at Phorest. It is my warning system for want of a better word. I’ve got more information to grow my business. It is almost like having another manager, right? We’ve got a leadership team of four people. Phorest is the fifth person!”

Kerrie Dimattia

Owner & Director, DIMATTIA & CO and Your Space Salons, Grafton, Australia

In a Year With Phorest, DIMATTIA & CO. Has Achieved:

162

5-Star Reviews on Google

36

At-Risk Clients Reconnected & Rebooked

Near Elimination of No-Shows

Knowledge is Power

Like many salon owners, Kerrie began with a pencil-and-paper system—booking appointments by hand, tracking figures manually, and juggling the day-to-day without much digital support. After a long stretch with a basic software platform, she had a feeling there had to be more. She was right. Switching to Phorest’s all-in-one system transformed how her business runs. Tasks that once felt fragmented and time-consuming are now smooth, centralized, and insight-driven. “I think we probably wouldn’t be able to function as a salon without Phorest,” Kerrie says. “I don’t think even we realize how much we rely on it.”

Information is at the core of this transformation. With Phorest, Kerrie now has complete visibility into every angle of the business, from financials and marketing to staff performance and client behavior. The real-time data gives her clarity, confidence, and control. “Phorest runs my life,” she admits. “Tracking numbers, KPIs, knowing my figures at the touch of a button, knowing what we’ve done for the week— all of that has been a game changer.”

Client Retention, on Autopilot

Retaining clients, rightfully, is always top of mind for salon owners. And it’s a multi-layered challenge—keeping them on a regular schedule, maintaining their average spend, and making sure they still feel part of your salon community rather than drifting to a competitor. Yet it remains one of the most important ways a salon grows.

For Kerrie, this is something she now has real support with. Through Phorest, she and her leadership team have access to a range of automated tools that work together to help them stay one step ahead. From online booking infrastructure to reminder texts, appointment flows are smoother, clients can reschedule appointments independently if needed, and no-shows have been “knocked on the head.” Phorest, she says, gives her a holistic approach to looking after clients across the whole client journey. “We can provide a beautiful service in salon,” Kerrie explains, “but part of that service is knowing where they’re at, what they want, what they had last time, and just being able to recall all of that.”

One feature Kerrie leans on heavily is Client Reconnect. For her, it’s a “major win” in navigating retention during Australia’s current economic climate. “Everybody’s speaking about cost of living at the moment, and clients are stretching it out—going longer between appointments,” she says. Client Reconnect tracks booking habits and flags when a client is overdue, allowing the team to send a thoughtful check-in message. “It’s that little gentle tap on the shoulder,” Kerrie says. For her, the space between visits is a key piece in the retention equation. “We’re constantly touching base,” she adds. “If they’re sitting at eight or nine weeks, I want to bring them back to six—even if it means offering a lesser service that stays within their budget.”

Phorest gives her the data to make those kinds of decisions with confidence, showing what each client has had, what they’re spending now, and how their behavior is changing over time.

Real Reviews, Real Results

Online reviews have evolved to play a big role in how new clients discover DIMATTIA & CO and how Kerrie keeps her finger on the pulse of client satisfaction. With Phorest’s Online Reputation Manager, the team doesn’t have to chase feedback manually. After each visit, clients automatically receive a review request, and the highest reviews are prompted to share their thoughts on Google. This technology has amplified the great work the team does every day. Meanwhile, DIMATTIA & CO has built a glowing online presence through Phorest, with the vast majority of their reviews being five stars. “I think probably 98% of ours are five-star reviews, which is amazing,” she says. “But more than that, it gives us such good feedback and lets us know what we are doing right.”

Hearing what clients say about their experience in their own words goes a long way for team morale. That’s why Kerrie also uses this feedback alongside Phorest reporting to keep her team motivated and focused during their performance reviews. “One of the hardest things about sitting down with your team and talking about KPS is that it’s not their favourite part of the month. But Phorest puts it in such a way that it shows their highs and lows and we can celebrate all the great things that happened, look at some things that were a little bit down and talk about how we’re going to conquer those.”

Support That’s “Second to None”

Behind the Phorest screens is a dedicated team Kerrie can rely on, time and time again. After her previous software’s customer support turned out to be “the biggest letdown,” she appreciates that with Phorest, she can always pick up the phone and be greeted with a familiar voice. “They know who I am,” she says. “I don’t even have to say.” The Phorest support team has never failed to get Kerrie the answers to her issues quickly. She adds, “They’re fabulous. Nothing’s too hard for them.”