Blog entries

Liposonix Non-Surgical Fat Removal

Alex Kaplan — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:00:31 +0100

The dream of eliminating fat without surgery has long been an elusive one. Various technologies, including radiofrequency, IR laser, and low-level laser all promised to melt inches from waistlines without anything piercing the skin. Until now, none of these lived up to promises and none has become widespread.

High-frequency focused ultrasound, however, has been on the horizon for the last few years. This technology focuses an ultrasound beam to a point at a dist...

What's in a name?

Russell Quinan — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:33:59 +0100

Do you really know who your customers are?

That customer database that you’ve been developing over the years can be an amazing asset. But, if you’re like most smaller businesses, you probably have a customer name, an email address and maybe if you’...

What Is On Your Plate for December?

Karen Vogelmann — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:52:04 +0100

For me, the onset of winter (I live in Michigan, and we have snow on the ground.) prompts me to "go inside". I mean to "go inside" for a closer look at what the past year brought and what I'd like to bring in to the next year.

For some businesses, this past year has been full of increases in income and clientele. Yes, despite what "they" keep telling you, some businesses are thriving! In fact, several of my clients are so busy that they are having to update systems and work processes in orde...

So What's Really Going On Out There? Is "Schizoid" The Name Of The Game?

Monte Zwang — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:41:37 +0100

So how are we supposed to interpret what is going on? In the past month, I've spoken with someone wanting to build a 44 acre wellness center, a multi-unit spa-lon operator who has sold one of her two operations and is now operating one profitably. I've also spoken with a new and growing hospital owned wellness center and two very successful multi-operation spas; one with ambitious growth plans, the other with a "hold for now" business plan.

Then at a recent conference, I heard that Botox and...

Innovation Magic – The Secret Revealed

Jim Hartigan — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:52:19 +0100

In my discussions with business leaders across multiple industries the need for "Innovation" seems be in vogue these days. I don't know if it is a sign of the recovering economy and the results of cutbacks in R&D during the downturn, or if innovation is just the newest buzzword or fad following the likes of "synergy," "band-width," "transformational," and my personal favorite "out of the box."

What a blessing it is to have inspiration and purpose!

Inspiration is something that comes from the external. We are inspired by an idea, a motivational lecture, a need in the marketplace, or from any number of external circumstances.

On the other hand purpose comes from within and is internal responsibility that we have taken charge of. Our purpose in life or in this moment may be to feed the kids,...

Lessons Learned from the Soccer Field. 10 Ways to Develop an Invincible Hotel Sales Team

Amanda Dennis — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:17:33 +0100

Growing up in Alabama, football was a religion and we showed our devotion at the altar of the SEC (the Southeastern Conference, not the Securities & Exchange Commission). You might worship in the church on Sunday, but Fridays and Saturdays were reserved for services conducted on the gridiron. Football, however, took on new meaning for me more than a decade ago when my niece suited up at age 4 and played her first game of "bunch ball." In this new "football," there are cleats but no pads; sho...

Creating Customer Communities - Don't bother with FaceBook and Twitter until this part of your ...

Brian Cunningham — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0100

CONTINUED FROM
Part 1 of 3Part 1 of 3 - Creating Communities of Customers

Seven Elements of Primal Code

Can you name this company?The creation story is the beginning of your brand saga. It's how (and probably why) you got started. Google was started in a dorm room. EBay was started in a spare bedroom. Hawaiian Tropic star...

Demand Management Should Mean Planning and Action at Every Type and Size Hotel (Part 2 of 2)

John Hogan — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:30:10 +0100

A Plan for All Seasons 11.11.11

Maximizing Revenues does not automatically mean changing prices, but means reacting to the market, to your competitors to some degree and to the uniqueness of your clientele.

Food for Thought?

To often Spa Managers view their published rates as absolute. You may (not always) be well served by studying Hotel revenue management tools.

Communicating with One Voice

Jim Hartigan — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:53:11 +0100

Remember the kindergarten game called "telephone" where everyone sits in a circle and a secret is whispered from person to person? The secret might be something along the lines of "I really like Frank's shirt today." But by the time the secret reaches the last person and is spoken aloud, it has transformed into "I think Frank has really let...

Just when did "No Answer" Become an answer?

Brian Cunningham — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:03:37 +0100

Has anyone else noticed that business etiquette no loner requires a formal conclusion to a verbal or written conversation? It wasn't that long ago that the courtesy of a return phone call just proper business etiquette. Unfortunately not in today’s business world. Smart phones, t...

Brand Building with Spa Masks Each Season!

Bonnie Canavino — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:23:44 +0100

The second most popular part of a facial is the mask (we all know the massage is the first). So have you ever thought of just marketing a mask each month or by monthly or seasonally as the perfect solution to skin's continual beauty?................and building services and retail ???

Well, it works....if you missed launching a Pumpkin (Orange) Mask for Halloween...get it on board for the Harvest Season, yes it starts NOW. Before I suggest a great mask resource, lets map ou...

Social Media Engagement Perspective

Richard Walsh — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:37:06 +0100

If you own or manage a hotel or resort and you have not accepted the importance of social media marketing as an integral part of your marketing strategy, it's time you do. Social media marketing is not tomorrow, it is now and it affects all aspects of your business. Not to get ahead of myself, but your time is money and it is important.

Whether you try to manage social media in-house or it is outsourced, effective social marketing will require time, resources and professional sk...

Honor Your Customers

Bryan Williams — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:00:31 +0100

The more I think about it, the more I realize that serving is about honoring. Hoteliers and spa professionals honor their guests…healthcare professionals honor their patients…educators honor their students and so on. To fully understand what this article is about, let us first define “honor”. A quick review of any dictionary will find that it means to show high respect or to hold in high esteem. No matter what industry you are in, each of your customers deserves to feel honored, regardless of wh...

An Anonymous Tip to Opportunities at your Spa

Jim Hartigan — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:03:16 +0100

The annual employee survey for your hotel closed last week and you restlessly anticipate the results for your Spa team. You think you have a good sense for your team members’ opinions, but you’re still a bit nervous. All of a sudden you hear that familiar “You’ve got mail” ding as the anxiously awaited report lands in your inbox. As you scan the results, which are overwhelmingly positive, you notice you scored quite low in one area: encourages teamwork. What do you do now? Mandate monthly retrea...

Do your clients go Envy or not?

Bonnie Canavino — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Day Spas and Spa Clinics thought they were challenged with the Discount Coupon Media Market Sites and Blogs, but the bargain priced massage chains now including facials make day spas feel the push of the envelope. Fear includes lowering the quality reputation and lowering the income of the professional or putting the day spa out of business. The economic downturn has helped theses venues and hurt the professional Day Spas that are not fulfilling their markets needs. Sounds familiar, we've see...

Designing your Retail Power

Sam Margulies — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:16:34 +0100

In our industry, we understand for many years that our business is all about creating a multi sensorial experience for the clients. And everything has been done in this direction to create environments where customers can forget all about their daily stress and problems. There is only one area where we haven't yet understood that it is also about a multi sensorial experience: The Retail sales!! Why is it so difficult for a vast majority of spas to generate sizable retail sales? The answer is sim...