SpaBoom New Features

Today, we make the integration of two great spa software companies a reality! SpaBoom now sends your Instant Gift Certificate sales transactions directly into your Harms Millennium software, using a special GC-SDK created by Harms!

How does this work? Assuming all of the requirements are met, and you perform the setup steps, SpaBoom will send all the Instant GC information to your Millennium system.

One big caveat is CC information, as opposed to GC information. Due to onerous CC rules by the credit card companies, SpaBoom does NOT send CC information into Millennium. This means you cannot use Millennium to process the CC's obtained from your SpaBoom sales. SpaBoom has a number of CC processing options available. Please contact SpaBoom for assistance or questions regarding CC options.

Today, we enter beta testing, with the intent to release this to all our customers within two or three weeks.

Please be sure to tell us if you're a Harms Millennium customer, and would like SpaBoom to automatically send your Instant Gift Certificate sales into Millennium!

Posted in Millennium by Harms, SpaBoom New Features, Spa Business Management, General, Spa Gift Certificates • 8 Comments »

The first email marketing campaign is for all those guys that have waited until the last minute for Valentine's Day. You've got the perfect solution, and this is the perfect way to remind them that you're here for them.

The Valentine's Day email is scheduled for Monday, February 12th. Marketing emails tend to do better when sent during the week. Emails over the weekend are often lost in the deluge for folks that don't check their email until Monday morning.

You can, of course, change anything you like about your email campaign: the subject, narrative, when it's sent, photo, etc. It's all in Setup, Email Marketing.

If there is an email campaign that you don't want to send to your clients, just delete it.

Events

Email Marketing will automatically include services that you're promoting in current Events. So, go customize that Valentine's Day event, and tell your clients about the services you have that make perfect romantic gifts!

Colors

For Dynamic Websites, Email Marketing automatically picks up on the colors from your website. That's not possible for linked sites, so we use natural tones for defaults colors.

You can change the colors for your emails by going into Setup, Email Marketing, Settings.

Test it!

To see what an email will look like, click on it in Email Marketing, and then click on the Send Test Email task. A sample of the email will be sent to your main email address.

Don't want automatic email campaigns?

If you're already doing email marketing, or just don't want to send marketing emails to your clients, then go to Setup, Email Marketing, Settings and turn off "Accept default Email Marketing campaigns". You'll also want to delete any email campaigns that already exist.

To learn more, check out SpaBoom Help.

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Marketing • 4 Comments »

We'd bounced this idea around before, and another great post from Brandy at karmassage on BodyworkOnline spurred us into action:

Great idea — we've just added a new feature to instantly create a point-of-purchase (POP) display for Instant Gift Certificates. We call it Instant POP!

Here's what you do:

1. Go to the Setup tab in SpaBoom and click on Instant POP in the list of options on the left.
2. Click on "Print or view" to bring up a PDF of your POP display.
3. Make any changes to the text, font, colors, etc. that you desire and hit the Update button, then "Print or View" again.
4. When it's the way you like it, print it!

You've just created a point-of-purchase display in record time, perfect for posting at the front desk or running off color duplicates to use as a retail bag stuffer.

Although we're not going to replace Photoshop, I'm sure there are lots of cool things we can do with this — what kind of point-of-purchase displays do you want?

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Marketing, Spa Gift Certificates • 7 Comments »

You may have noticed a few new GC designs available on your Instant Gift Certificate page!

We have pushed out several new designs for All Occasions, Holidays and Valentine's. There's just one catch: In a previous blog posting, entitled More choices means less sales, we have an interesting conundrum. Do we push out the new GCs and potentially run into the problem of offering too many choices, or do we run the risk of hiding a few designs our customers might like? To solve our conundrum, we looked at the popularity of all our designs, and hid the least popular ones.

So, please review the designs. Under Setup, GC Designs, you can easily hide or unhide those designs you want to offer or remove from the list, as you feel appropriate (don't forget to check the "Show hidden designs?" checkbox at the top of the page). Of course, you don't have to do anything and you'll have great looking GC designs available on your website.

We're working on more, and should have them available shortly. As always, suggestions are much appreciated so keep 'em coming! Tell us what you think!

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Gift Certificates • Comment »

Our update over the weekend includes some great new features for Instant Gift Certificates.

The most obvious, of course, is being able to purchase an Instant Gift Certificate for multiple services. That can come in handy when you want to purchase a manicure and pedicure together, for example (and a package doesn't exist for it). There are also a series of new settings in Setup, Basics to customize Instant Gift Certificates:

• Create custom legalese on GCs with "GC Fine Print". Anything really important you want on your GCs, you've now got the perfect place for it. The rather dry default is "Appointments are subject to our cancellation policy," but you can make it anything you want.
• GC ID prefix will put whatever you desire in front of the GC ID printed on the GC (and include it in the barcode, if the GC ID is what you've selected for "Barcode on GCs"). This is great when you're tracking your Instant Gift Certificates in a spa management system like Millennium.
• We've moved the GC ID into the lower right-hand corner below the barcode, so it's easier to find and easier to ask someone on the phone what it is.
• For dollar amount GCs, you can now set the minimum and maximum that you'll sell.
• "Require recipient's first and last name" adds Recipient First Name and Last Name to Instant GCs, in addition to "To". You should only turn this on if it's a problem for you in finding GCs by recipient, since it requires a little more work out of your purchasers.
• "Provide mail delivery option" may be the strangest new feature, as it contradicts the "Instant" part of "Instant Gift Certificates". But, if you want to provide your clients with a mail option, you've now got a super-easy way to do it. You can also enter a "Mail surcharge" and customize the description of the mail option.

Since we're heading into the holiday surge, we won't be adding any more new features for Instant Gift Certificates until January. But that won't stop us from working on new stuff in the meantime. Tell us what enhancements you'd like to see!

Posted in SpaBoom New Features • 5 Comments »

…is a toast for a server and system upgrade gone silky smooth! We popped new servers in last night (really, early this morning), and SpaBoom is now running on spankin' new Apple Quad Xeon Xserves (only serious geeks will really care or appreciate that technical detail). We were running a great system before, but we're now poised for a ton of future growth.

We've got some great new features to share, and we'll be talking about them shortly (after catching up on sleep), but I'll point out an obvious one right now: your clients can now purchase Instant Gift Certificates for multiple services.

Posted in SpaBoom New Features • 1 Comment »

We're pleased to announce we've integrated SpaBoom Instant Gift Certificates with Millennium by Harms, and the result is seamless gift certificate management for Harms users. Your gift certificate data flows smoothly into Millennium, allowing you access to all that you need to operate with the best information possible at your fingertips. The integration is in place, so stand by for additional details — we'll be providing them shortly!

“Our products complement one another nicely,” said John Harms, Founder, Harms Software. “SpaBoom's powerful Instant Gift Certificates coupled with our strong front desk management efficiency extend our clients' abilities to take full advantage of sales opportunities — in house or online. Clients expend absolutely no more effort, yet receive the benefit of enhanced revenues by capturing the online gift certificate sales they've been missing before now.”

Millennium's Software Developer Kit (SDK) makes it possible for innovative technologies like SpaBoom's to bring additional, valuable spa management functionality through the Millennium interface. Smooth operations and increased revenues mean significant time savings and more peace of mind for very busy spa and salon owners and managers.

About Harms

Since 1987, Harms Software Inc. has been leading the way with management software for the beauty industry. With its full line of Millennium™ software products, Harms understands the needs of the beauty industry today and the direction it will take tomorrow. Recognizing that not every business is the same, Harms offers software packages ranging from the Small Business Edition up to the Platinum Edition, Millennium Central Office, Millennium AccountSync™, and the new Millennium mini, just to name a few. Each software package has a customized level of functionality designed to meet specific business needs. And now, you can increase sales with instant, online gift certificates that integrate directly with the Millennium Point of Sale system.

To learn more, please visit www.harms-software.com or call 888-813-2141.

Posted in Millennium by Harms, SpaBoom New Features • 2 Comments »

Spa Emergency is designed for the procrastinators in all of us — specifically men, of course.

What if they need a little extra nudge?

The Spa Wish List is the perfect way for women to let their friends, partners, husbands or families know what they really want for any special occasion — or just because. A woman can log on to Spa Emergency and list her ideal spa and treatment, and Spa Emergency will send a discreet hint to anyone she desires.

Tell us what you think of the Spa Wish List! If you want it, we'll make a version for Dynamic Websites.

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Marketing • 5 Comments »

Instant gratification is a wonderful thing. But what if you're wandering around in the world, and suddenly realize you've forgotten your college roommate's birthday? You whip out your fancy new smartphone, buy an Instant Gift Certificate from a spa, and email it to them.

It's not quite that easy today, since Instant GCs aren't really designed to fit on the small screens of smartphones. Is this something we should be looking at?

Posted in SpaBoom New Features • 5 Comments »

How do you know if Google is indexing your site or if it's running into any problems? Use Google Webmaster Tools! It's a great, no-cost service that makes sure Google knows about all the pages on your site, and reports back any problems.

You start by creating a Sitemap XML file, which lists all of the pages on your site in a very specific format. In return, Google tells you about any technical problems it has in indexing your site. You'd be surprised at the number of problems this uncovers — for example, Google might be looking for a page that no longer exists because another website is still linking to it.

Then, when your site changes, you can "ping" Google to automatically resubmit your sitemap.

Google also gives you some cool stats about search queries. Good web stats will show you the queries that visitors click on to get to your site. But Google knows something else: the search queries for which your site appears, even if they didn't click on it, and your position in those search results. Valuable stuff!

You can see why we use Google Webmaster Tools for all of our spa websites:

• We monitor it to resolve any problems Google has indexing your site.
• SpaBoom automatically pings Google whenever you change your Dynamic Website (including when a new Event comes up, like your holiday special).
• We analyze Google's stats for search engine optimization.

Posted in Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO), SpaBoom New Features • Comment »

We've just added a great new element to Spa Emergency to showcase your spa: your services menu. First, prospective clients want to know what sets your spa apart — exactly the purpose of your listing description. Then, many people are going to evaluate your spa by diving into your services menu, because it really illustrates the focus and feel of your spa. If you're still just selling dollar-only GCs, this is a great incentive to put in your services menu (not to mention that over half of SpaBoomers' Instant Gift Certificate sales are for services).

Go to Spa Emergency, see what it looks like, and tell us what you think!

Have you updated your Spa Emergency listing description yet? It's easy to do: just login to SpaBoom and we'll take you right there.

Posted in SpaBoom New Features • 5 Comments »

We've just launched Spa Emergency, the national spa directory with membership exclusive to spas offering our instant, online gift certificates. There's no setup fee, no service fee, and you pay only 15% of your gift certificate sales. And, you get paid immediately — there's no waiting for redemption.

It's the perfect last-minute gift giving solution, where consumers can buy instant spa gift certificates at SpaEmergency.com directly from spas, salons and massage therapists across the country.

Why have we created another online spa directory? People love instant gift certificates, and we want to promote your spa's great capability to solve gift giving problems to a national audience.

Who can join? Only spas, salons and massage therapists offering Instant Gift Certificates. All SpaBoomers are automatically listed, just to give you time to check it out. The listing is free, and all gift certificates sold for the introductory period are free too. Let us know ASAP that you want to stay listed, so you don't miss out on the upcoming holiday sales surge!

How much will it cost? Listing on Spa Emergency is free. You pay only a flat 15% of gift certificates sold through Spa Emergency (no other SpaBoom fees apply). And you get all of your money at the time of sale — no waiting for a check after the gift certificate has been redeemed. We drive buyers to the Spa Emergency website, you make sales.

Does this affect my website's Instant Gift Certificates? Nope, you keep selling them on your website at the 5% or less rate. Spa Emergency is simply another way for you to maximize your online presence, reach a national audience, and sell more gift certificates.

Why should I be a Spa Emergency spa? National exposure! We're marketing our hearts out to generate traffic to Spa Emergency so that you'll sell more gift certificates.

What do I do? Tell us you want to stay on Spa Emergency! Login to SpaBoom now, and with a couple of clicks your listing will be secured.

Check it out at www.SpaEmergency.com and tell us what you think — we love feedback!

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Marketing, Spa Gift Certificates • 8 Comments »

It's good to be well-rounded, and now your website can be, too, with our new Rounded website theme. Here's an example:

Rounded Theme

Just to be well-rounded ourselves, we've also created a square version:

Squared Theme

To create our spa websites, we start with one of our core themes, and then apply colors, photos and content that create the unique online identity for your spa.

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Website Design • 1 Comment »

Website stats are full of somewhat arcane terms, and here's another one: landing page, which is the starting point when a visitor comes to your website, and is often used to describe pages on your website used for a specific purpose. Thanks to your suggestions, we've created a Landing Pages report for easy analysis of the starting page for your website visitors.

Most of the time, of course, the landing page is your home page. But what's interesting is when it's somewhere else.

• Search engine optimization (SEO): Getting serious about SEO means writing articles for your website that will be found by search engines and linked to by other websites. Looking at landing pages will tell you when this strategy is working.
• Track advertising: You can create new pages on your website for specific promotions. Create a "tv" page when you run ads on the local cable station for the holidays, and point viewers to "www.yourspa.com/tv" for a special offer.
• Online ads: Make your online ads more effective by creating landing pages tied specifically to the ad. AdWords for "Dallas facial" will be more effective if, instead of just going to your home page, links to a page on your site specifically about your great facials.

Posted in Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO), SpaBoom New Features • Comment »

I don't know how much quality time you've spent looking at the web stats for your website. Probably not very much, and I don't blame you.

There is often a lot of amazing stuff in there, much of it arcane and useless. So, we've decided to boil down the stats for your website to what really matters — the stuff that shows you the effectiveness of your website. The stuff upon which you can make business decisions.

 
So, what is that? How many visitors to your website, where they came from and how many of them purchase an Instant Gift Certificate or request an appointment. With that in mind, we've created two reports:

• Referrers: shows where visitors to your website are coming from. Either "(none)", because they typed your website address in directly, or the website they came from, say Google.
• Keywords: For visitors from search engines, what keywords did they use to find you?

You won't find any mention of hits on your website reports. What is a hit anyway? Instead, you'll see the number of visitors, how many pages of your website they looked at on average, and how many GCs they bought. And then, the really important number: conversion percentage, which is the percentage of your visitors that purchased.

This gets right to the heart of measuring the two ways you can increase your online sales: increase your number of visitors, and increase your conversion percentage. This is exactly what we're here to help you with.

If you have a Dynamic Website, these reports show you the full picture of your website. For linked sites, the stats represent your SpaBoom linked pages. So, not your home page, but visitors that make it to your Instant GCs page.

Now the not-as-great-news: because we're using a new technique to collect this information, it's only available starting from when we implemented it, July 2nd.

Posted in Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO), SpaBoom New Features, Spa Website Design • 1 Comment »

When you rename a page on your website (or redesign your website, potentially changing a lot of page filenames), there may be plenty of search engines and other websites still looking for you under the old filename.

For example, Albuquerque's Mark Pardo recently upgraded their spa website. Previously, their locations where at:

http://markpardo.com/locations.htm

But now on their SpaBoom Dynamic Website, it's at:

http://www.markpardo.com/contact

Google still has the old page indexed. But you'll notice, if you click on the old link, it actually takes you to the new link (instead of getting an ugly "Page not found"). And the same thing will happen for any other websites that link to that page — you'll go directly to the new page. And Mark Pardo still gets credit for the inbound link.

Doing page redirects like this is important for your search engine placement, and it needs to be done anytime you rename or delete a page. It's super easy for SpaBoom Dynamic Websites: go to Setup, Website and then click on Redirects. Add a new redirect, entering the old filename and then selecting the current page to which to redirect.

If you're managing your own website, learn how to do redirects or make sure that your webmaster does it. An important technical note: use what's called a 301 redirect, which means the page has moved permanently, and not a 302 redirect.

When Google crawls your website again, it will see the redirect and index the new page. And, in the meantime, everyone will still be able to find you!

Posted in Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO), SpaBoom New Features • 1 Comment »

A recent posting on BodyworkOnline by The Barefoot Dragonfly:

It's a great, but not-so-obvious feature that you can use SpaBoom to track all of the GCs that you sell, no matter how you sell them. It's a free bonus for our clients that makes it super easy to see what your outstanding balance is for all of your GCs and to look them up when they're reedemed.

Posted in SpaBoom New Features • Comment »

It's not unusual to go to a spa's website and find out-of-date promotions, say, still talking about Valentine's Day in April.

What a waste!

You've gone to the effort to get visitors to your website. Now you need to tell them about the special things your spa is doing, that applies to them right now. For the next month, your website visitors need to hear about the great services you have that are prefect for mom, and solve their Mother's Day gift-giving problems. This is going to do one simple and wonderful thing: increase your sales.

Events in SpaBoom are your solution to this dilemma. Events are useful for any time-sensitive specials, news or announcements. By promoting your Mother's Day specials with Events, they will automatically appear starting when you want, and automatically disappear, say the day after Mother's Day.

So that you always have an event promoting major gift-giving occasions, we automatically publish a starter event for you, which you can just use, modify or replace — and we've just done exactly that for Mother's Day.

Login to SpaBoom and go to Setup, Events to see the Mother's Day event. If you'd like to highlight specific services for Mother's Day, it's an easy thing to do. Choose featured services and click Create Snippet, and you'll have the perfect promotion for Mother's Day!

So, where do your events show up? If you have a Dynamic Website, your events will automatically appear on your website. If you are linking to Instant Gift Certificates, you can also create a link for Specials. It's done the same way as the link for Instant GCs, and we're glad to help you put it in place. You can click on Help in Setup, Website for more information.

Posted in SpaBoom New Features, Spa Marketing • Comment »