Spa Business Management

In this age of nearly out of control spam (you have noticed how large your junk mail folder is in Yahoo or Hotmail, right?), taking steps to make sure that your own marketing practices are friendly and sustainable is a necessary part of online life.

The best way to stay in touch with your customers and prospects is to send them targeted messages letting them know what you're up to and what new benefits you can offer to them. However, sending those messages to recipients who really want to get them is the key to your success.

How do you make sure that your email list is full of great customers and leads? Simple — you ask them.

Here at SpaBoom we've made it easy for you to import your client list into your account so that email marketing is a snap. To keep your life simple, we did not — until recently — send confirmation emails to those imported contacts, but in reality they might not have known they would receive marketing emails from you. Spending your time on the smaller group of contacts who are truly interested will grow your spa's business wisely, creating your best customers both now and in the future.

Being great 'Net citizens means doing occasional spring cleaning on mailing lists, and that's what we are doing on Wednesday. We will send an opt-in email on your behalf to your imported clients, giving them a chance to voluntarily be included on all the best you have to offer.

Just to be clear, SpaBoom's free email newsletter feature is:

• A service to help you send announcement of promotions, events and special occasions to your client list.
• Not used for SpaBoom to market to your clients. SpaBoom never markets to your clients.
• Available to each client that SpaBoom can verify has "opted-in" to receive your mailings.
• Secure, in that SpaBoom always protects your customer data, even when a particular customer hasn't opted-in to receive your email newsletters.

Have a great rest of the week, and here's to finding — and keeping — valued clients!

Posted in Creating Customers, SpaBoom New Features, Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management • 26 Comments »

No, I'm not going to tell you how exactly you should handle your client calls, but perhaps start a conversation about your experiences and your philosophy regarding talking with your clients on the phone.

Your practices: Whatever you're doing, does it work for you? Do your clients compliment you on your phone handling?

OUR practices: What are we at SpaBoom doing right? What we can improve upon to make things absolutely fabulous for you?

One of the changes we made when switching to a newer phone system was to eliminate the mandatory auto-attendant step. Previously, when ya'll called us, you had to listen to our voice prompt and press 1 for support or 2 for sales, and then you'd get someone to answer the line. I really thought that was too much to wait for, so we went to the Land's End model — 1 or 2 rings at most, and then a PERSON answers, no auto-attendant hurdle to clear. If we're busy, then yes, you'll get a prompt to either hold or leave a voicemail, but overall the responsiveness is much, much faster and I'm happy about it. Let me know your thoughts on our current system - it helps me and it helps all of you!

Before I open up the floor, take a quick read of this wonderful article by Seth Godin, wherein he states,

Excellent insight, and something to think about as we start the next week afresh, ready to head into the heavy Mother's Day booking season.

Posted in The Company, Spa Business Management, General • 5 Comments »

As the CEO of SpaFinder, it has always been my dream to build a booking system that would help spas increase their business. After much research and effort, we developed SpaBooker. I really think that it is the most innovative software product on the market for the spa and beauty industry!

Here are few reasons why:

• SpaBooker is an end-to-end spa and salon management system complete with online booking and integrated point-of-sale functionality.
• It is the only spa and salon management software that brings NEW customers to your business from the millions of users that search SpaFinder.com.
• There are no setup costs, no training costs, and no support fees!
• SpaBooker is completely web based, so you can access it from any location at any time.
• In addition to the SpaFinder.com website, SpaBooker will be marketed through online travel agencies and other Internet websites where consumers are searching for spa and salon companies to book – which results in maximizing your incoming bookings.
• In addition to free implementation, training and support – you also get a dedicated account manager who will ensure that the migration from your existing system is both seamless and painless.

SpaBooker is so much more than a booking system, and it is exciting for me to watch spas use the system and instantly see their business increase. The spas that are already using SpaBooker love it. One SpaBooker client recently said to me, “I would have to be brain dead not to use this program”.

So take a few minutes for a live demo of SpaBooker, and I promise you won't be disappointed! Check out our website at www.spa-booker.com.

Posted in SpaBooker, Spa Business Management, General • 8 Comments »

Last year, I wrote an article entitled, "So, you think I'm stupid?" which addressed some of the practices of other businesses that assume their customers are stupid.

I just had an experience with Blockbuster Video yesterday that still has me steaming. Even though they credited my account completely, the damage is already done. I will no longer go to Blockbuster. I think it's a story worth retelling, so we as business owners don't forget how important it is to treat our customers with respect … and to not assume our customers are stupid.

The background: I rented four movies two weekends ago. Two were "standard 5 evening rentals," and two were "3 evening rentals," or so I thought. I returned the "3 evening rentals" on the second day, because "3 evening rentals" aren't "3 day" rentals (I'll get to that in a minute) and I returned the "standard 5 evening rentals" a day late - my fault. A week later, I received a postcard in the mail from Blockbuster claiming I owe them nearly $10 for one of the movies, which they claimed was a "3 evening rental," not a "5 day rental." (By the way, the movie in question was Dan in Real Life - it's a fun movie, worth watching).

I walked into that Blockbuster store yesterday, and walked to where "Dan in Real Life" was located. The DVD cover didn't contain the standard blue on yellow print indicating a "3 evening rental," and the actual DVD you rent (enclosed within the white DVD case) didn't contain the standard blue on yellow print "3 evening rental" notice either. However, another movie nearby did have the blue on yellow "3 evening rental" notice on both the DVD cover and DVD case.

I took both movies, "Dan in Real Life" as well as the second movie to the front counter, and talked with the manager. There were two problems with the postcard claiming I owed nearly $10: That it claimed "Dan in Real Life" was a "3 evening rental" when it clearly did not contain the customary blue on yellow notice to that effect, and the implication on the postcard was that I never returned the movie (which, of course, I know I did).

The manager, as politely as she could, explained they periodically run out of the blue on yellow "3 evening rental" notices, and therefore didn't have such a notice for "Dan in Real Life," despite the fact that they have such a notice on other DVD's. She politely asked if I received a receipt, implying that — obviously — this would be on the receipt and I'm stupid for not keeping a $12 receipt around my house for the 5 or so days I'd have the movies.

The manager was also able to look up the actual movie in question, and found that it was rented to someone else, therefore I must have returned it, they just made a mistake in scanning it when I originally returned it. Unfortunately for me, because they don't have a record of when it was returned, I was obliged to to pay the fee up and to when it was rented again.

[awkward pause]

I morphed into a 6 foot, 210 pound, pissed-off attorney. I really, really hate to throw my weight around or state that I'm an attorney. I avoid it like the plague, except when I get into incidents like this. So, with my head hanging down in shame, I admit now that I turned into a frothing-at-the-mouth nightmare lawyer everyone hates to have in their store. In my defense, it lasted only a minute. The manager backed down, and "graciously" offered to credit my account entirely, even though I was willing to pay what I legitimately owed: A late fee for one night, for two "5 evening rentals."

The problem is, the manager's tone and language (i.e. "I'll let this go this one time, hopefully it won't happen again") misses the point that we were both wrong. They mislabeled their product. They didn't scan in the DVD's properly, when I returned them. To then imply they are 100% in the right, and they are doing me a favor by crediting my account completely misses the point and frankly made me even angrier.

I think my experience at Blockbuster is educational on a number of fronts, from a business owner perspective:

• When we make a mistake as a business owner, we need to suck it up, admit the mistake (even if the customer is also to blame) and make the situation whole;
• If there's an obvious flaw or mistake in a business process, we should never require the customer to pay for it;
• The words that come out of our mouths, when resolving a conflict or problem, are pivotal - we need to choose our words very carefully; and
• Blockbuster's "3 evening rental" is a scam, pure and simple. It's designed to confuse customers so they return the videos they rent a day late. The lesson is: Customers may make a mistake once, but learn quickly from their mistakes - never, ever cheat them with fancy language or cheap curtains that fail to fully hide the facade that lies within.

Posted in Spa Business Management, General • 5 Comments »

Tip #4

Use Email marketing: What would you spend to create an additional $278,000 in sales volume? Would you spend nothing? Many of you did (in part).

The SpaBoom email marketing program is free to SpaBoom clients and we can directly attribute over a quarter million dollars in (2007) sales to our email marketing campaigns, which are 100% free. While most of you benefited in some way, the lion's share of that volume went to 10% of SpaBoom clients. Let me briefly explain how and why:

First of all, unless you turn the email marketing feature off, every time one of your clients buys an Instant Gift Certificate (IGC), they get a chance to opt-in to your email marketing list. If they buy the IGC from Spa Emergency, they can opt in to the national list as well. Thus, we are patiently collecting email address on your behalf. While that may be helpful, we take it a few steps further for you. We also draft outbound email marketing messages (as well as newsletters) on your behalf that are periodically sent to your list, from you. (It is important to note that this feature can be turned off at any time.) Consequently, if you do nothing, we are automatically collecting email addresses and sending your clients timely messages from you reminding them about the wonders of last minute spa gift certificates from your website as a holiday (Valentine's Day or the like) approaches.

So why do the top tier get so much of the benefit? Let's start with the list we are sending to. If you sell 120 online gifts a year to 80 people (I am assuming some repeat business) and 90% of them opt in, that leaves you with 71 folks on your email list at the end of the first year. I'll bet most of you have a bigger email list than that, and if you don't, you should! The easiest, simplest thing you can do to make email marketing more effective is to to grow your list. We have a (free) tool to import your existing email list into the SpaBoom application. If you have 300 email addresses, we can import them and make any campaign you create much more effective simply by delivering it to more people.

The next step the super-SpaBoomers often take is to customize their campaigns. All they (or you) have to do is log into SpaBoom and modify or create any email message or newsletter you like. While our emails are professionally written, your customers will generally respond even better to a message more from you, about your specific services or offers. For a great primer on how to set up an email campaign in SpaBoom, see Andrea Feucht's post on Email Guidelines (or call her at 800.940.0458). There are tons of other email tips out there and I encourage you to read and experiment, but here are some basics:

• Let them Opt-In. Everyone on your list has (hopefully) opted in to messages from you.
• Don't email too often or over sell. Once a month is probably the right number of outbounds.
• Be consistent. Try to send on the same day an time each month (like the second Tuesday at 2:00).
• Give them a reason to open the email, generally in the subject line. Never ever use exclamation points or all capital letters. That makes you look like a mortgage merchant. You win if they open your message, even if there are no direct sales. They will remember you when they have a last minute gift need.
• Put the good stuff "above the fold" in the top half or quarter of the content.
• Newsletters are for for news. Emails are for events and specials. Try to keep them distinct.

One last thought. We provide some reports that show what email marketing campaigns produce on your behalf (click the "Reports" tab then scroll down to "Email marketing" on the bottom right of the page). This report generally provides good data, but a bug in our system prevented it from showing any sales or results for late December through Valentine's Day. It's fixed now and should be accurate going forward.

Posted in Creating Customers, Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management, General • 1 Comment »

A TeleSeminar is worth 1000 blog posts.

If you are enjoying our top ten e-commerce tips series, Chris Brazey of SpaBoard is hosting a free TeleSeminar on Thursday, March 6th at 10:00am PT, 1:00pm ET. I will be his "guest" and will be covering 10 Tips to Improve Your Online Marketing. I will discuss all the tips we are presenting in the blog series as well as taking general questions on the subject.

Chris can accommodate the first 100 people who sign up for the seminar.

There is one catch to be aware of; when you sign up, you are also signing up for Chris's weekly profit tip newsletter. Chris assured me that he has an easy unsubscribe program if you later decide that you do not want his tips.

Sign up at DaySpaOwner.com before it fills up.

Posted in Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management, General, Spa Website Design • Comment »

I have to admit, I've really resisted using the 'r' word when it comes to the state of our economy, but personal quirks aside, there may be something to what the markets are 'saying'. Whether or not you're willing to acquiesce to the idea of an economic downturn, consumer perception is the lynchpin–if people perceive a tight economy, they'll behave accordingly.

So, what do you do when times get a little tighter? Personally, we all tend to either think twice about or simply avoid 'indulgent' purchases in favor of meeting the day-to-day financial responsibilities. Professionally, we all assess and adjust wherever we can. Making the most of resources is a very straightforward way to ensure we're getting the most from our business dollars.

Having a way to reach the online audience while using a resource in which you've already invested, ie your website, makes absolute sense. So does making it easier to do business with you. Consumers will still buy gifts for friends and loved one regardless of the economy; it's a social necessity. If you make it super easy to purchase a gift from your spa, you save them a trip out to shop (which saves gas money, to be quite honest) while offering up a gift that will make the recipient feel absolutely pampered and relaxed AND you're further ingraining your business in their reality as the right choice, regardless.

Remember that with SpaBoom, you have the ability to not only sell Instant Gift Certificates from your website, but also to conduct email campaigns and create time-sensitive specials (in Events)–and these come built-in at no extra charge!

So, get busy already! Make the most of your SpaBoom tools and watch your business respond in a most favorable way!

Posted in Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management • 2 Comments »

Tip #4

Pick the luscious, low hanging fruit: Your clients already know and (hopefully) love you. However, they are not always thinking gift when they come to you for treatments. Tastefully remind them that you have a nice website with good information and instant gifts when they do visit, and they are likely to think of you the following week when they realize that their sister's birthday is today. You can do this for free by putting your website address and key features on every piece of your advertising, sales collateral and marketing material your clients see or hear.

One of the simplest and most popular features we offer to help is our "Instant POP" function. It is under the Setup tab when you log into SpaBoom. Instant POP (short for "point of purchase") are templates for 8.5 x 11 signs you can print for your business. We generally have several pre-built for holidays, birthdays and anniversaries but you can easily modify what we write or create your own from scratch. They automatically show your logo and web address. Our top sellers have at least seven pieces of POP in their stores.

Oh, and don't forget your voice mail message. The callers after closing on February 14^th are often looking for one thing. Tell them about your online gift program (in the first sentence, before they hang up). You will be that last minute buyer's Valentine too.

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management • Comment »

First impressions are important, certainly - I would never argue against trying to put forward a good face to your clients who are 'seeing' you for the first time.

However, it is the LAST impression that can count more than you might imagine - more than the whole experience, the friendly introductions, the pleasant services. You could say it is even trickier to get right than the first impression, because your new customers are ready to have a good experience when they first meet you. After their appointment, they are feeling more in touch with what your business is about, and their expectations are higher for continuing great service.

When your client walks up to the cashier to pay and there is awkwardness about the tip, or the front desk is cluttered with business cards for totally unrelated establishments, or even something as simple as the receptionist jumping right back into their spreadsheet (or Solitaire!) the moment the transaction is completed - before the client turns around to walk out the door - they will be left with a less-than-ideal Last Impression.

Read Seth Godin's comments on this situation and the importance of keeping the final minutes as pleasant as the first: The Last Interaction.

Posted in Creating Customers, Spa Business Management • Comment »

I have yet to see a useful one or two-leg stool. The minimum number seems to be three, as maintaining the proper balance and center-of-gravity becomes a pretty arduous and stressful task otherwise.

I believe hiring employees is very similar in this regard. Each and every employee needs to meet at least three high-level requirements, otherwise maintaining the proper balance and center-of-gravity (from a management perspective) becomes a pretty arduous and stressful task. Those three high-level requirements are:

• Hard skills - The skills needed to do the basic job (i.e. cut hair, perform a massage, fix the computer, balance the books, etc).
• Soft skills - The natural ability to say "hello, please, thank you and goodbye," along with the ability to communicate (i.e customer service skills).
• Culture fit - Sharing the same work ethic and desire for growth.

Most of us get caught up with the hard skills. Heaven knows I have made my own fair-share of mistakes in this regard… "So and so is GREAT at doing what we need." We so appreciate the fact that someone we're about to hire is outstanding in the skills we're hiring for, we completely loose sight of the two other important attributes of what makes an employee great within our organizations: soft skills and culture fit.

It's hard to imagine a job or career, where soft skills aren't important. It's easy to see why, for positions that have any form of interaction with customers or clients. You want your customer-facing employees to be friendly, courteous and basically represent your organization in the best possible light with your key revenue source: The customers. By making sure that even your bookkeeper has strong soft-skills, you are helping to promote, propagate and maintain a positive and healthy work environment.

Soft skills also includes communications skills, often overlooked by employee and employer alike. If an employee cannot articulate him or herself well, he or she will often experience difficulties representing others, representing your business, or problem solving. If they cannot write, they will delay or neglect filling the proper paperwork, time sheets, follow-up cards, etc.

If you are having trouble with customer retention, it's very likely you have employees with weak soft skills. Customers, being human beings, like to be liked, and like to associate with others who are friendly, helpful and courteous. If your employees are unfriendly, seem preoccupied or generally lack a friendly demeanor and sincerity, your customers will know it and tell you by not coming back.

Culture fit is an interesting one. Consider two owners: The first owner is an A-type personality, who is working hard to build a business to sell in 5 years for retirement purposes. The second owner cares less about profits, and more about promoting wellness and health. Do you think it's possible for the same employee to be successful in both environments? If, as an owner or manager, you're constantly working overtime to get the job done, are you going to appreciate a nine-to-fiver, or are you wanting someone that is willing–without request–to burn the midnight oil with you?

I've learned over the years, that an individual balanced in hard skills, soft skills and culture fit, is going to be far superior, happier and longer-lasting, than the individual who has outstanding hard skills, but lacks in the other areas. A hire in hard skills only, will ultimately lead to frustration and quick turnover–in customers, as well as for that employee.

Posted in Spa Business Management, General • 1 Comment »

Valentine's Day offers Salons and Spas a chance to express their creativity through unique promotions, but it also gives the business the opportunity to make a lasting impression on customers. Customers who come to your Salon or Spa to celebrate Valentine's Day will return again and again if the service is unparalleled. Try these 3 steps to increase your salon or spa's traffic and keep them coming back for more:

1) A survey by QUESTUS research showed respondents will spend more on Valentine's Day gifts because of the Internet: 40 percent of survey respondents said they will shop exclusively online, and 40 percent also said if not for the Internet, they would not buy Valentine's Day gifts at all! So, if your not selling your services and or products on-line you're missing out on BIG SALES!! SpaBoom's Instant gift Certificates can solve that problem!

2) Make sure you have services and products geared towards all of your target market. If you think that Valentine's Day is just for lovers, maybe you should think again. Go into any card shop today, and you will see Valentine cards for everyone including priests, ministers, and mailmen. Every pet shop has dog bones and catnip wrapped in red hearts and bows. Yes, this expansion of the age-old Valentine's Day idea is a huge marketing ploy to entice the consumer to purchase more. This may not be a bad idea; now everyone is given the opportunity to enjoy the occasion if they choose to do so.

3) Implement online marketing plans to ensure success. Online marketing ranks top in methods to reach consumers. With up to 10 days to two weeks for the first mention of your Valentine's offerings, then a second [mention] about three to five days later. You want to make sure people have time to respond.

It all boils down to your marketing strategy and then your service, which will bring them back year after year.

With almost 10 years experience in new business start-ups and transformations, Ana Loiselle-Donahue is a specialist in finding new sources of revenue and growth for companies of all sizes. She founded theSECRET in 2004 to help businesses flourish through creative —and powerful —new solutions; including brand development, strategic financial planning and employee training. Mrs. Loiselle-Donahue can be reached at 866/288-7353 or at www.thesecretconsultant.com. Check out her blog!

Posted in the SECRET, Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management, General • Comment »

Salons and Spas can make sales soar this Valentine's Day just with some simple planning. The moment a customer enters your Salon/Spa or Web site you should smother them with love. Immediately reinforce that they've come to the right place to find the perfect Valentine's Day gift. Here are some affordable marketing strategies Salons and Spas can use on and offline to hook Valentine's Day shoppers.

Use The Language of Love
There are a variety of audiences shopping during Valentine's Day. Talk how your customers talk. For example, if your products and services appeal to teens, then you may want to consider using the word "like" instead of "love."

Under $20
It's imperative you offer mini services or products for less than $20. This is the cut-off for impulse shoppers. Anything more than this and your customer may have to think about it. February 14 will be here before you know and there's not enough time for customers to ponder, make your customer's decision easy and price it right the first time. What's more, most shoppers are not afraid to spend $20, especially online.

Customized Note Cards
Offer all customers the ability to include a personal note with their gift. Whether you're doing business online or in-person, always make available attractive note cards customers can personalize. Take it a step further and stock at least 10 prewritten love [and like] messages for customers who lack the ability to express themselves. They'll appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Gift Wrapping
Receiving a wrapped gift makes the recipient feel more cherished. She'll think warm thoughts such as, "Oh - he took the extra time to wrap it. That's why I love him." Ultimately, she'll love the gift and this will increase your chances of your customer returning to your store or Web site to purchase her birthday, anniversary, "I'm Sorry" and holiday presents!

Create a Mood
It's Valentine's Day. Remember to build-in a mood of romance throughout your customers' shopping experience. Try hanging red streamers over your product case, displaying complimentary chocolates at the counter alongside your Valentine's Day special offer POP, or a simple Web site page boarder with connected hearts. For lucky business owners with roadside signs, try using red light bulbs and wrapping the sign with an enormous heart or cupid. Passersby will get the hint that you have some great Valentine's Day gifts inside.

Provide Variety
It's important to position at least one of your existing products and services as a great Valentine's Day present. For example, rather than just advertise your salon/spa as a place to take your lover for Valentine's Day, instead, sell a premium-priced packaged.

There are very few businesses that could not capitalize on Valentine's Day to jazz up their marketing. It's fun and profitable! Give it a try.

With almost 10 years experience in new business start-ups and transformations, Ana Loiselle-Donahue is a specialist in finding new sources of revenue and growth for companies of all sizes. She founded theSECRET in 2004 to help businesses flourish through creative —and powerful —new solutions; including brand development, strategic financial planning and employee training. Mrs. Loiselle-Donahue can be reached at 866/288-7353 or at www.thesecretconsultant.com. Check out herblog!

Posted in the SECRET, Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management • 1 Comment »

It was a very good holiday season, for those spas and salons selling Instant Gift Certificates on their websites using SpaBoom!

For the month of December, 2007, SpaBoom helped its clients sell a whopping $5.4 million in Instant Gift Certificates. This represents a 2.6 multiple over 2006. For those day spas who were with SpaBoom during the 2006 holidays, they experienced their online gift certificate sales increase by 27% on average, versus the same time period in 2006.

The above graph represents a day-by-day view of instant gift certificate sales across all SpaBoom clients. The 2006 line has been day-shifted back, by one day, so the weekend dips line up. The graph provides a number of very interesting observations:

• 21% of December's sales occurred on and between the 23rd and 25th, dates too late to be served by Express Mail.
• The biggest day occurred on Monday the 24th, with 12% of December's sales. Compare that to 2006, where the biggest day was Friday the 22nd, with 11% of the monthly total.
• While the sales during the weekend before Christmas dipped, the weekend volume was still outstanding, in comparison to the rest of the month.

We at SpaBoom want to thank all our clients for a successful 2007, and we all wish you the very best in 2008 and a Happy New Year!

Posted in Spa Business Management, General, Spa Gift Certificates • 6 Comments »

The Dodo Bird almost exclusively, epitomizes extinction as undoubtedly, unquestionably and irretrievably dead. The Dodo extinction occurred during recorded human history, and is undeniably attributed to human activity.

Are we bearing witness to something equally without doubt, unquestionable and irretrievable, as our politicians blindly and ignorantly rampage a very important and crucial form of revenue for small and medium sized businesses within their respective jurisdictions? Are service-based gift certificates "dead as the Dodo??!?"

As I mentioned last month, many states have changed their laws pertaining to gift certificate expiration dates (See Changes in GC laws for some states …). More will follow. This article, understandably, is causing consternation among some SpaBoom clients in the affected states. One area that seems to be on everyone's mind, is the difference between dollar-based and service-based gift certificates.

Every client I've talked to is of the belief that service-based gift certificates are no longer a viable option when they are not allowed to expire the gift certificates they sell. The problem is, service-based gift certificates are important to your business, because (1) many gift certificate purchasers do not wish to have the amount displayed on their gift, and (2) gift certificate purchasers, on average, will spend more buying a service-based gift certificate than a dollar-based certificate.

The biggest concern I've heard, regarding selling service-based gift certificates without an expiration date, is the fear of having to offer a service five or more years from now, when the price may substantially change. In other words, having to provide a $200 massage when presented with a gift certificate that was purchase 10 years ago for $75.

I'm here to tell you that this isn't a problem. The key is in your terms of sale, when selling your gift certificates. Here's the magic language to use:

If that's too open-ended for you, consider placing a time-frame on it or the circumstances for which might trigger the conversion. Here's a suggested clause that includes both:

This language works with all the GC laws I'm aware of, because the laws are trying to protect the value of the gift certificate. Value being money, and as long as you protect that value by converting the gift certificate to a dollar-based certificate, you'll be able to protect yourself while keeping compliant with your state's laws.

Posted in Spa Business Management, General • 5 Comments »

SpaBoom will be in booth #215 at the upcoming TSA Symposium at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, Orlando, Florida. The Expo is open on Sunday, Jan. 13th and Monday, Jan. 14th, so please come by and say "Hi!" if you're planning to attend the event!

Learn more about TSA Symposium #12. TSA has put together a dynamic seminar featuring nationally recognized speakers, business educators and industry icons to expound on this year's theme: "It's About Time."

Posted in Spa Business Management, General • Comment »

This topic got sparked a couple of weeks ago when I was driving in the car with my husband Larry, and his two girls, to take them for haircuts. I told Larry that we couldn’t go to the “usual” place because the person who answered the phone told me they were “booked up for the day.” Larry’s response to this was, “Good for them!”

Many of you may be thinking the same thing, BUT I am hear to tell you that such thinking slows the growth of your business; no if, ands, or buts about it!

As we drove to a new place to cut the girls’ hair, I launched into a 15 minute diatribe with Larry about how this view of productivity and client retention was skewed. It went something like this …

Retaining clients is paramount in growing your business, and productivity is certainly one of the most important measurements of team effectiveness for spas and salons. Studies prove that when productivity is higher than 80%, retention begins to suffer. As productivity initially increases, so does retention. But, when productivity rises above 80%, retention stalls and reverses direction. The result is short-term sales without long-term growth and profits.

Let’s look at the problem from the client’s perspective: Client access becomes restricted when technicians are “booked” at or near capacity because clients have a harder time getting a convenient time slot. So they go elsewhere, as in the case with Larry and his girls.

Is there an easy solution to this? Measurement of this phenomenon can be difficult, but here is some quick tips to ensure you are not turning clients away and stunting your company’s growth:

• Requests only - If you have technicians who receive a high percentage of requests, don’t book him/her with clients that do not request them. Fill the book of less productive technicians with these clients.
• Schedule the slow times first - If a client’s schedule is flexible, book the slow or hard-to-book times first, knowing the peak times will always fill.
• Gridlocked technicians - When a technician begins to get gridlocked or “booked up,” systems should be in place to orient these clients with other equally trained team members or it may be time to hire someone new to the team.

Remember: it’s expensive to get a client to walk through your door the first time; don’t screw it up by being “booked up” and forcing that client to go to one of your competitors. The choice is yours.

With almost 10 years experience in new business start-ups and transformations, Ana Loiselle-Donahue is a specialist in finding new sources of revenue and growth for companies of all sizes. She founded theSECRET in 2004 to help businesses flourish through creative —and powerful —new solutions; including brand development, strategic financial planning and employee training. Mrs. Loiselle-Donahue can be reached at 866/288-7353 or at www.thesecretconsultant.com. Check out her blog!

Posted in the SECRET, Spa Business Management • 11 Comments »

Next to getting the client to walk through the door for the first appointment, the most important step is getting the client to come back.

I am simply amazed at how many salon and spa owners “miss the boat” on this easily applied marketing tool - The New Client Tour.

It may seem obvious, but you can’t imagine how many times I'm not given a tour or offered a brochure, when I visit a salon or spa for the first time. Oh, and if I am lucky enough to be given a tour, it's often hastily conducted, confusing or incomplete. I often feel like I'm imposing on the one giving the tour. Ever have this happen to you??!?

Because cultivating new clients involves a long lead time and expense; when you get them in the door use every opportunity to make them a client for life and to utilize more than one of your services!! Giving a well thought out and scripted tour is an integral part in increasing client retention and cross-selling your services.

Why is a tour important?

The first appointment with the client is very important, and a tour is the single greatest way to welcome a new client to your business - to make them feel like a true guest, and that there is nothing greater for your business, than to serve this new client. This gives you an excellent opportunity to exceed the client's expectations.

Simply put: a tour is an outstanding educational tool, sales tool, and dramatically increases customer satisfaction and retention. It provides a wonderful opportunity to provide a soft-sales pitch for your business and its services. It gives the customer an opportunity to see the different parts of your business and how you stand apart from the competition. It also, gives them an understanding of the various services performed, why they might want certain treatments and a chance to ask questions they might not otherwise ask.

How to make a tour successful?

Don't think you have time or can't otherwise do it? Make it a part of your culture and business model. Don’t lose out on this opportunity for increased sales with excuses or obstacles. You must plan for it. Ask your new client to show up 15 minutes early. If you don't do a call-back to confirm the appointment, start doing so, and remind the new client to show up 15 minutes early.

An effective tour must be carefully scripted. Everyone on staff must know how to give one and what their role is in the tour. The greeter (often the receptionist or adviser) should be thought of as the sales and customer service force of your organization. During a tour, they become the tour-guide. Make this the most important thing they do, when they do it; and they can’t rush through it because they need to cover the front-desk or phone. When other staff sees a tour in progress, they must be especially friendly and helpful.

Don't conduct the tour in the hallway. Make sure to actually take the new guest into each and every room (as much as practical). Keeping a new client n the hallway is awkward, and fosters the perception of rushing. Standing in the hallway doesn't help him or her truly appreciate what each room (and the corresponding services) has to offer.

Don’t forget to give them a brochure.

When your clients are ready to leave your salon or spa, always give them a brochure. I convinced one of my clients to hand out laminated cards. The results have been wonderful. My client tells theirs, “We have had this card laminated because we want you to always have it. Even if you run this card through the washing machine, you will still have our number. We want you to know that if you have any questions about your service or products, or anything that you would like to do in the future, you can give us a call. From now on, we are your expert therapist, so if you have any questions, ever, about your skin/hair you can call us.”

Remember: It's expensive to get a new client into your door, so don't take that new client for granted. Reinforcing that you care about your clients, their questions, and their success, keeps them coming back and sending their friends and family.

With almost 10 years experience in new business start-ups and transformations, Ana Loiselle-Donahue is a specialist in finding new sources of revenue and growth for companies of all sizes. She founded theSECRET in 2004 to help businesses flourish through creative —and powerful —new solutions; including brand development, strategic financial planning and employee training. Mrs. Loiselle-Donahue can be reached at 866/288-7353 or at www.thesecretconsultant.com.

Posted in the SECRET, Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management, General • 3 Comments »

Thank you to all those who had contributed comments — online or offline — regarding my previous blog post entitled A picture is worth 1,000 words. In that post, I asked for feedback on what sort of statistics would be useful to you and your business.

David has taken this feedback, and we have a prototype that's pictured at right. What do you think? (You can click on the image to see a closeup!)

In the Information Technology world, we call this a "dashboard." And the dashboard is comprised of many "widgets," a widget basically being a graphic chart that you can configure individually. The dashboard is meant to give you a quick, bird's eye view of the performance of your business and in particular, your Instant Gift Certificate sales.

Our intent is to deliver a default dashboard, you can modify as you think most appropriate, either by changing what each widget displays or by changing what widgets show up and where. For example, the line-graph in the upper-left of the prototype dashboard (above) is meant to represent monthly sales volume for the past 12 months, with last-year's sales data superimposed so you can see how you're doing this year versus last year. You may decide you only want to see the past 6 months, or you may not be interested in this year's sales in comparison to last year's sales.

Our intent is to also give you some baseline information that helps you assess how you're doing, relative to your peers. We're hoping this can provide some feedback to you and your business, so you know where you stand. We're learning here, so your comments and feedback are going to be very helpful. Take a look at the graph below (it's a blow-up of the upper-right widget in the dashboard above):

"Others Like You" means organizations that are in your state, of the same org type (i.e. other "salons" if you've told us you're a salon), and are within 5 employees (plus or minus) of you. Is that fair? Would this be valuable to you, to see how your sales and average GC price compares to others like you?

If you have a dynamic website with us, we also know where your traffic comes from. In answering a question from our previous post, we can create a pie-chart widget on traffic locations. Take a look:

What other widgets do you think would be helpful or interesting to your business? Are we on the right track?

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Business Management, General • 2 Comments »

Did you know the money from your Instant Gift Certificate sales can go direct to your bank account — without additional cost from SpaBoom??!? This is a free service from us. (Note: If you use PayPal, there is an extra step involved before your money gets to your bank account).

If you consistently sell more than $1,000 a month in Instant Gift Certificate sales, you might want to consider integrating your SpaBoom account with an online merchant account. This is especially helpful during the holidays, when your online sales of Instant Gift Certificates goes through the roof!

There are a number of advantages to doing this, such as:

• Save time. You don't have to manually process each credit card with every sale.
• More secure. Since each credit card is immediately submitted to your merchant account upon each sale, the provisioning of an Instant Gift Certificate doesn't occur unless there is a successful credit card transaction. This means no one can print or email an Instant Gift Certificate, unless their credit card has been successfully processed. Also, the credit card companies will allow us to ask for the card code, when the credit card transaction is immediately forwarded to the merchant account. See the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for more information.
• Save money. The rate merchant account providers often talk about - and compete with - is the "qualified rate" (learn more about rates). The problem is, most merchant account providers won't give you a qualified rate when you cannot swipe the credit card, and some will default to a non-qualified rate (the worst available). You need to check with your merchant account provider for the specific details, but some will give you mid-qualified rates for Internet-based transactions when the card code is included.

The only downside to an online merchant account, is that no one will let you use your existing retail-based merchant account. You must obtain a new merchant account that is strictly for online sales. I recommend talking to your existing merchant account provider, and checking into the costs of an online merchant account. Then, compare what you're told with the options I present further below. Before I do, consider that you need to look at several factors when considering different merchant account providers:

• Your bank and your merchant account are two separate pieces. Most banks offer merchant account services, but you're by no means restricted to doing merchant account business with your bank.
• Compare ALL THE RATES: qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified, for each merchant account provider. Get all the costs, including monthly, misc recurring costs and other fees - you may be surprised at how all of this adds up. Check out my merchant account analysis spreadsheet, discussed below.
• Look at the determining factors that decide which rate you're charged. If you're looking for just an online merchant account, make exactly sure what rate you'll be charged (i.e. some merchant account providers automatically assume all online credit card transactions are non-qualified).
• When considering an online merchant account, know that you need a payment gateway. It's the equivalent of your terminal in your store. SpaBoom is compatible with Authorize.net, and merchant account providers usually will provide you the gateway for an additional cost. Note that you can obtain the payment gateway yourself (more on this below).
• Use this opportunity to keep your existing retail merchant account provider honest. You may not be getting as great as a deal as you think you are, because the bulk of your transactions are being treated as mid-qualified. Or, your "introductory rates" have long since expired. I have personal experience in getting a lower rate, simply by threatening to leave. Don't sign long-term commitments, and seriously train yourself to switch merchant account providers as necessary to keep your rates as low as possible. You can save yourself thousands.
• Finally, if you're serious about this, I've prepared a spreadsheet to help you with your analysis. It gives you a view of several scenarios, based on your level of transaction volume. Assuming you know that, you can see an estimated monthly costs for each merchant account provider you're considering.

Assuming you are ready to take the plunge and obtain an online merchant account to interface with SpaBoom, you have only two major steps. First, obtain an online merchant account (with or/and a payment gateway) and second, let SpaBoom know about it. There are two merchant account options with SpaBoom: Authorize.net compatible or PayPal Web Payments Pro. Both of those links take you to detailed help information, with instructions on how to sign up (if you're interested) and connect them to SpaBoom. The Authorize.net option allows you to plug SpaBoom into just about anyone.

If you are considering a merchant account provider (other than the PayPal Web Payments Pro option), please make sure they are Authorize.net compatible. Most banks and merchant account providers should be, but not all are. I've heard of one unscrupulous merchant account provider actually telling one of our customers, "Yes, we're Authorize.net compatible" just to get them to sign the contract. But, when it came down to it, the sales person meant "we're just like Authorize.net" and wouldn't actually provide an Authorize.net account. Make sure you double-check this with bargain-basement merchant account providers.

The Merchant Account Analysis Spreadsheet

If you have a bit of MS Excel skill, you might be interested in my merchant account analysis spreadsheet. Download it here. This is not supported by myself or SpaBoom, and is only meant to give you a little help in figuring out the best merchant account deal. I've done my best to remove any errors and make it simple to understand.

It requires you to do a bit of homework, then fill in the blanks regarding costs and your best guess as to the performance of your business (i.e. number of and average transaction amount each month). The cells you need to fill in are light red in color. You can create some scenarios. Then, based on those scenarios, you'll have a potential cost each month of your merchant account. The results may surprise you. Often, the lowest "advertised discount rate" is not going to be your cheapest option, depending on what percentage of your transactions actually are qualified, versus mid-qualified or non-qualified. Also, PayPal tends to provide a very competitive option, if you're processing less than $10,000 in transactions each month.

I do apologize for the complexity of the spreadsheet. It's just a model, and not meant to accurately predict your merchant account expenses each month.

I'm definitely not an expert in this area, so welcome comments and suggestions that help fellow SpaBoomers select, choose and utilize merchant accounts!

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Business Management, General • 11 Comments »

I'm so frustrated. I can't believe all the spa and salon owners I come across, who simply fail to appreciate, understand or execute on what I believe are absolute "no brainers," to making more money and becoming more successful.

Let me tell you a bit about my background. I'm one of the few that "made it" in this industry. I started my own spa and salon from scratch, making it a Salon Today "Top 200 Salon" two years in a row, and eventually sold it for a tidy profit three years ago. That salon and spa still exists, and is doing well. It is Anna Luis Salon and Day Spa in Michigan. Since then, I've been a consultant working on startup and turnaround spas and salons all across the nation. I work hard to help these owners realize their dreams: Opening and maintaining a healthy and growing business.

My clients, like the clients of other consultants in this industry, have a leg up on their competition: They made the difficult decision of hiring a consultant. They realize that engaging an expert provides valuable input, a second pair of eyes, and raises difficult questions that ultimately have one goal in mind: Success.

There are scores of spa and salon owners who are having trouble staying out of the red, bringing in business, keeping their employees, maintaining outstanding service levels, etc, yet steadfastly refuse to hire a consultant. Worse, they refuse to implement what I believe are absolute no brainers. Over the rest of this year, I'm going to post a number of no-brainers. These no brainers are easy, inexpensive and absolutely critical to your success.

No Brainer #1: Get a Professional Logo.

How do you feel, when you try to do business with someone with a crappy logo? Did you have low expectations about that company? Did it leave you feeling a bit anxious about their product or service?

Every business needs a professional logo to help the customer feel comfortable and identify the promise of the goods or services they are about to receive. Professional means that it doesn't look like a photograph, business card or plain text. It must exemplify and promote your brand (i.e. The promise you want to make to everyone about what they will experience when they do business with you). It must be easy to recognize and read at any size (large or small).

For an experiment, go to Spa Emergency and type in your zip code or metro area. Quickly scan the logos. What catches your eye? What looks the most professional? Now search for "Michigan," and scan that list. Notice the logo for Grande Med Spa (one of my clients)? How does that logo look in comparison to the competition?

The Grande Med Spa logo highlights several important issues:

• It's professional and stands out amongst the rest.
• We know they are targeting men and women.
• We know it's a medical spa.
• We feel comfortable that it's a quality establishment (i.e. It forms a high expectation of the potential experience).

By the way for you SpaBoomers: The Grande Med Spa logo also takes advantage of SpaBoom's "transparent" logo capability, which allows the logo to "float" above the background image. This makes for really beautiful gift certificates. Check out SpaBoom's help for logos, for more information.

I really recommend spending the money to hire a spa consultant (who understands branding concepts) to come up with a logo for you (Of course, I'm biased on this ). If you're the "hands-on" type and REALLY have some creative, artistic skills; then I'd suggest checking out Logo Maker. You build it yourself and spend approximately $40. Word of caution: Make sure you get at least five of your friends to review and give you a thumbs up before etching your new logo in glass!

Some additional tips to consider when coming up with a logo include:

• Build it to last - It should never have to be redesigned.
• Don't make a photograph your logo - Make sure it looks good in black-and-white (i.e. newspaper advertisement), and can be reduced in size to look great on a business card.
• Make sure it can be adapted to work on other products, marketing and sales collateral.
• It must work with your overall marketing strategy.
• Use a combination of your company name and emblem.

It's been said before, but this is one proverb that bears repeating: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. If you don't have a logo, or you have a crappy logo, make this your top priority. It's a no brainer.

With almost 10 years experience in new business start-ups and transformations, Ana Loiselle-Donahue is a specialist in finding new sources of revenue and growth for companies of all sizes. She founded theSECRET in 2004 to help businesses flourish through creative —and powerful —new solutions; including brand development, strategic financial planning and employee training. Mrs. Loiselle-Donahue can be reached at 866/288-7353 or at www.thesecretconsultant.com.

Posted in the SECRET, Spa Marketing, Spa Business Management, General • 7 Comments »