BizDoodles – Know Your Customer Needs – The AdvanceMe Business Blog

Posted on December 10, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

The AdvanceMe Business Blog – BizDoodles – Know Your Customer Needs – “Can you do something special with the hair on my chinny-chin-chin?”

Email Marketing Campaigns – The AdvanceMe Business Blog

Posted on December 5, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

Email Marketing Campaigns: What, When, and How

Email marketing campaigns have been adopted by many businesses to connect, retain, and gain customers. However, the result depends on how your campaigns are executed. There are various techniques and hindrances to consider when planning and implementing your business’ email marketing strategies. Choosing what to send, when and how can be crucial to the success of your email marketing. You want to make sure that emails are going out within the best times frames for your customers to view and open, as well as having catchy content to lead them to opening and clicking through your emails.

Email Marketing Basics

There are some guidelines that you may or may not be familiar with when using emails to market your business to your customers.

Decide what type of content you want to send to your customers to promote your business
Decide how often you want to send emails
Have a sign-up sheet (in your premises) or form (on your website) so customers can choose or opt-in to receive your emails and preferably let them choose frequency and format (HTML or Text)
Setup a way for customers to opt-out of receiving your emails
If you are buying a prospect list, make sure you follow the rules regarding its use (e.g., many times it requires an opt-out email to go out first and it is a one-time use list)
Choose a provider to send your emails. Most are inexpensive and handle opt-outs for you.
Use proper subject line format to prevent your email from being flagged as spam
Send emails with good content, offers and incentives
Survey your Customers periodically to see if your emails are purposeful for them and when they opt-out, ask why

What to send?

When starting to compose an email for your business, you want to know your audience and the types of content that they’d be interested in. Always keep the main focus on your business however, throw in a few extras to keep them engaged. Stay away from political, racial, religious, and hot topic issues that may cause a divide in your customers. You want to try and not offend and/or turn off your recipients from reading your email in its entirety as well as click through.

Coupons or promotional codes are a great way to capture your customer’s attention. This information can also be added into your subject line to increase the chances of your email is being opened.

Mention any new items or limited time only offers that you’ll have coming up at your business. For limited time only offers, make sure you send the email within a reasonable enough time for your recipients to get informed and take advantage of your offer(s).

When to send?

To fully understand this concept in email marketing your will have to have information about your target audiences’ habits. If most of your customers work from the hours of 9am to 5pm you will need to adjust your email marketing schedule around their work schedules to ensure that you don’t get lost in their daily emails. In addition, you can also do research on email opens and click-throughs to gain knowledge on past studies of the success rates of emails being opened in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

After you’ve done your research, chose a time in the day where your recipients will have time to read thoroughly and click through to the offers you provide. This may take some research on your own – trial and error- however, you will be able to have a better idea of how your recipients react with your email marketing.

How to send?

Various companies provide email marketing systems for businesses. Many allow businesses to have 30-60 day trails to test their products. Take advantage of these trials so that you do not waste money while figuring out how to get the most return on your email marketing campaigns. If you are moving from provider to provider make sure you are careful to bring over your opt-in/out statuses. Here are some things to look for when choosing an email marketing product for your business:

Easy to use
Cost effective
Provides reporting
Customer support
Positive reviews from previous and current users
Color schemes and design templates variety
Integration with social media and current company website

Email marketing can be a very useful and profitable tool for your business if done correctly. Once you get the hang of how to operate your email marketing campaign, constantly think of things to offer your customers to keep them engaged however do not overload them as they will get annoyed with constant emails. Utilize every piece of feedback and data from your email marketing product to apply to the next campaign. This information will allow you to stay competitive and grow your business with email marketing.

BrandSimple – The Business Book Review

Posted on November 30, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

Business Book Review – for the Busy Business Owner

BrandSimple: How the Best Brands Keep it Simple and Succeed By Allen P. Adamson, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, 256 pp. (including index), $14.95 (Paperback) *

Capsule review:

Rating:

Pluses: Full of useful advice about powerful and effective branding from a pioneer in product branding. The text is bolstered by numerous case studies of successful (and not so successful) branding, as well as useful exercises for brand developers and managers.
Minuses: May be a little too basic for some readers, and some may find the plethora of case studies a bit tedious. Some of the information is dated.

Details: If you have been exposed to any marketing advice at all within the past fifteen years or so – whether through books or other information products, seminars, or classes – it’s quite possible that you have been saturated with information and advice about branding. We live in a time when even individuals are encouraged to “brand” themselves, and branding seems to be a perennially hot topic. Even so, believes BrandSimple author Allen P. Adamson, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. In the process of developing branding into a science as well as an art, those in the industry have often made the whole undertaking too complicated, when what is most urgently needed to develop a powerful brand is simplicity.

The modern concept of product brands has been around at least since the nineteenth century, though it picked up speed in the early 1900s and really began to come of age in the 1940s, when marketers became more aware of how brand loyalty could be created and sustained. Only within the past couple of decades, however, has “branding” become an industry in and of itself, spawning vast numbers of branding experts (and would-be experts) and branding companies – and, of course, branding books. Therein lies the problem, according to Adamson. He acknowledges that a few exceptional branding firms exist, and presumably includes Landor Associates – the company of which he is Managing Director – among these. However, he believes that almost as many companies have diverted the branding business far from its originally intended purpose.

He cites, for example, his amazement when frustrated clients hand him the 300-plus page reports that have been produced for them by other branding organizations. He describes these documents as “process-laden tomes” that “look more like academic papers on advanced economics than solutions to simple customer needs.” They’re packed, he notes, with buzzwords and obscure concepts that are probably only understandable to a highly trained branding expert.

The branding books that abound are not much better, Adamson says. His own office bookcase is overflowing with branding books that he believes utterly fail to take the mystery out of the process, instead only making it more confusing. He wrote BrandSimple so there would finally be a book as clear and simple as the brands about which it is written.

“A brand,” writes Adamson, “should not be complex, confusing, or mysterious in any way.” It should be simple, because people use brands as shortcuts to make purchase decisions. The smart marketer makes sure his or her brand is based upon an uncomplicated, clearly defined idea, aligned with a clearly defined business strategy. For instance, the discount retailer Target’s business strategy is to make money selling an array of consumer goods at a discounted price, from clothing to housewares to packaged foods. Its brand strategy is to demonstrate that less expensive goods can still be cool and stylish. Having a clearly defined brand and business strategy makes it easier for the entire organization to instantly and effectively signal to consumers what makes their brand different – and why this difference is worth caring about.

Adamson cautions that “simple” and “simplistic” are far from being the same thing He notes that it takes rigorous thinking, focus, and discipline to reach the powerful but simple idea that drives the brand. It also requires vision and the ability to think in a creative, less than obvious manner.

A pioneer in the field of brand development, Adamson counts among his many major clients firms such as GE, IBM, Procter & Gamble, and PepsiCo. He began his career in the late 1970s at the famous ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, when the agency’s retired co-founder, David Ogilvy, would occasionally pop in to the office and chat with the young account executives such as Adamson. From Ogilvy & Mather, Adamson was recruited to the “client side” as a brand manager at Lever Brothers. After a few years with Lever he decided his skills and interests lay in the conceptual and creative aspects of the business, so he returned to advertising, and honed his skills at the ad agency Benton & Bowles for many years before joining Landor and really hitting his stride.

In a sense BrandSimple reads like a journal of Adamson’s career, for it is as much about his own resume as it is a book of branding advice. In this regard the book is somewhat reminiscent of David Ogilvy’s Mad Men-era classic, Confessions of an Advertising Man. Though it is heavily stamped with the author’s own brand, as it were BrandSimple is also packed with real branding advice and tips, as well as with illustrative examples of branding successes and blunders. As a bonus, many of the chapters have potentially useful exercises for brand developers and their team members. Regarding the latter, perhaps one of the most important aspects of branding is getting one’s entire organization on board with the branding effort, and Adamson devotes an entire chapter to that topic. All in all, he provides a good mix of theory and case study in these pages.

That said, some readers might find this book a little too basic. Branding doesn’t have to be complicated and the author argues that it shouldn’t be; nevertheless, his treatment of the subject seems a little superficial in places. Some people might grow tired of constantly reading case studies.

Then there is the classic curse of the printed book: dated material. The world is constantly changing, and certain events that have transpired in the few years since BrandSimple was published tend to neutralize some of the author’s points. For instance, Adamson devotes several pages to praising BP (formerly known as British Petroleum), describing the branding makeover the company underwent as it expanded its vision “Beyond Petroleum,” and ultimately became simply “BP.” He showcases the external and internal branding signals that told the world BP was a force to be reckoned with in the sustainable/green movement. But all of that was written before the Deepwater Horizon spill in April of 2010. Still, the history of BP’s branding efforts is interesting, even if it is now tinged with irony.

All things considered, is BrandSimple a worthwhile read for the typical small business owner, particularly one who isn’t involved in creating or sustaining his or her own product line? Probably so. As is the case with many business books, even if BrandSimple doesn’t have direct applicability, the alert reader is bound to pick up some branding tips that can help make his or her business stand out. Whether the business sells primarily products, services, or a combination of both. Even the casual reader who is simply interested in the history of brands will find something of interest here (the “Really Short” chapter on the history of brands is fascinating in and of itself). Limitations aside, BrandSimple is a useful addition to the literature of branding, written by an author who knows the territory.

* BrandSimple is currently available in hardcover and paperback. Amazon link for paperback print version reviewed here: www.amazon.com/BrandSimple-Best-Brands-Simple-Succeed/dp/1403984905

For more information about the book and the concept of BrandSimple, see http://www.brandsimple.com.

Based on this review, would you read this book?

The author of this review was provided the book by Capital Access Network, Inc. The views expressed represent those of the author and do not reflect those of Capital Access Network, Inc. nor its subsidiaries. Any opinions and/or advice expressed by the author do not imply endorsement by Capital Access Network, Inc. nor its subsidiaries.

How is your business’ networking behavior? – AdvanceMe Business Blog

Posted on November 29, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

According to a New Manta Survey 90% of small businesses are networking online

In September of this year, Manta (online business community) released statistical data showing where small businesses have moved into online networking versus the traditional methods. A survey was conducted on 614 small business owners across the US who were Manta.com members. The findings of this survey were used to determine what percentage of business owners setup online profiles to network and expand their customer base. The results showed that 90 percent of small business owners utilize online mechanisms to network and promote their businesses.

There are many channels available via the Internet that you as a small business owner can take advantage of to expand your business’ presence. Due to the surge in online usage over the past decade, business owners have an understanding that they will need to innovate and be visible within the same online arenas as their existing and potential customers, for example Social Media (Facebook and Twitter). In addition, small business owners have taken advantage of using online directories, purchasing online ad space, and using SEO friendly content to increase the chances of patrons finding their business.

The survey, conducted by Manta, also showed the downside of online usage for small business owners. Since there are so many online channels for businesses to use, many owners find it difficult to operate and keep up with certain websites and the how consumers communicate and find businesses online. According to this survey, 58 percent of small business owners couldn’t find the value in promoting their business on Facebook. The 58 percent also included the owners who didn’t have a Facebook business page setup at all. In these cases, small business owners only look towards using online business communities and/or online directories to be listed in the hope that customers will find them.

However, business websites seem to have a positive outcome for small business owners. Almost 25 percent of business owners surveyed said that their websites produce sales for them. The result of this percentage shows that websites can be highly effective for busy business owners to build a web presence.

To learn more about this survey and its results, view the press release here: http://www.manta.com/media/marketing_3D_091212

What you are doing to establish and/or increase your online networking?

Imagine: How Creativity Works – The Business Book Club

Posted on November 28, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

Business Book Review – for the Busy Business Owner

Imagine: How Creativity Works, by Jonah Lehrer, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: New York, $26.00

Rating:

“My book intersperses real world examples with the latest conclusions of science. I think we need both perspectives in order to fully comprehend a complex phenomenon like creativity.” Jonah Lehrer

While not exactly a beach read, I’d love to be stuck in an airport with Imagine, How Creativity Works. It’s a book that rewards both focus and contemplation.

In his introduction, author Jonah Lehrer defines the myth of creativity as an impenetrable biological gift. Indeed, who hasn’t said, or heard, by too many people, “I’m just not creative.” “We cling to a series of false myths about what creativity is and where it comes from,” writes Lehrer. “The myths don’t just mislead—they also interfere with the imagination.”

Debunking common myths and misperceptions about the imagination and how insight, epiphany and creativity works is only part of the goal of this fascinating book. Nestled between stories of historic and modern innovations (e.g., how the Swiffer was conceived and the story of the Post-It are some fairly heady descriptions of the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex and the activation in brain areas when scientists measure brain waves of electricity.

Lehrer leavens the “hard stuff” with very palatable explanations of what’s actually going on seconds before an idea is born. Turns out that’s when subjects grow frustrated and threat to quit experiments, the negative feelings are actually an essential part of the process because they signal that it’s time to try a new search strategy. The brain, needing to shift its activity from one side to the other, is forced to try something new. From this struggle, we get an unexpected set of associations from which is born the new idea or insight. The insight is preceded by a burst of brain activity in the “anterior superior temporal gyrus” registered by the EEG and viewable by test administrators. The “Aha!” is a visible burst of gamma waves.

Happily, for this reader, this exploration of the brain is flanked by the story of Bob Dylan’s need to quit singing rock and roll, quit everything in fact and become, without any knowledge that he would, the poet/lyricist that changed modern music.

What happened to Dylan, who was smart enough to get out of the way, was a pent up need for insight forced by the boredom of his earlier routines of touring. By quitting and then by allowing himself to follow his imagination as it produced words and associations outside the constraints of traditional pop and rock ‘n’ roll. The idea was to trust the sounds and images pouring forth. When discussing the experience of writing “Like a Rolling Stone,” Dylan would say it was first “completely free song…the one that opened it up for me.”

Okay, so Jonah Lehrer’s strategy is to catch our attention with a great story, follow it with the slightly medicinal taste of science sweetened by simple and direct writing. This is what you’re in for. We’ve been caught by the Swiffer story, arguably the most innovative cleaning product in a generation, to the romantic vision of the 1960s troubadour and back, for an explanation of how alpha waves work, wrapped in the story of 3M and the man who invented masking tape, Scotch tape and Post its.

I’ll admit that I’d hoped Imagine would come with its share of easy quizzes, worksheets and guides for how to be more creative and how to teach staffers to go and do likewise. I didn’t get this and neither will you. But I’d still recommend you read and discuss the book, and maybe play with some of the puzzles and experiments described by Lehrer. For example, he proposes that the key elements to successful “conceptual blending” (i.e., a new mix of old ideas), which is how 3M’s Dick Drew conceived masking tape, etc., is a willingness to consider information and ideas that don’t seem worth considering. In other words, the best way to discover a new cocktail is to think like a chemist rather than a bartender.

Having enlightened the reader on the activity hidden in the human brain, Lehrer takes a look at how creativity works at work, i.e., collaborative effort and the relationships between collaborators. Here, we get a behind-the-scenes look at how Pixar Animation Studios manages to do what no other movie studio has done: release eleven feature films, everyone a commercial success and most critical successes as well. The company‘s first animators were a pair of computer scientists (Ed Catmull and Alvey Ray Smith) who specialized in digital imagery and developed the Pixar Image Computer, a product too far ahead of its time to interest anyone but Steve Jobs. Due (or even thanks) to the expense of their computer, Catmull and Smith began creating15-second television commercials that paid the bills. Since they were literally inventing the process as they made their films, every decision had technical consequences. As a result, the creative and tech teams were in constant and continual negotiation.

It was the fact that led to its culture of creative collaboration though not before Pixar rejected a particularly Hollywood tradition of creating separate production companies for individual projects. “The modern Hollywood approach was to put together a team for one project and then disband the team when production was finished,” Lehrer reports in an interview with Catmull. “We thought that was dumb.” Pixar’s philosophy is that a good movie is created by a good team. Another element adding to the studio’s collaborative culture is space. When Steve Jobs designed it, he put the most important function at the heart of the single building: the interaction of employees, for people to always communicate with each other.

Beyond collaborative teams are cities, the ultimate environment for creativity, collaborative or otherwise. Why? Because the proximity of others inspires all. In particular, villages and neighborhoods within cities provide opportunity for the interactions and the seemingly random associations that, as Lehrer has made clear throughout Imagine, provide the impetus for imaginative work.

Amazon link for paperback version: http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Creativity-Works-Jonah-Lehrer/dp/1847677878

For more information on this author and his work, see http://www.jonahlehrer.com/

Based on this review, would you read this book?

Spa Decorum – The AdvanceMe Business Blog

Posted on November 27, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

Creating the Best Atmosphere For Your Clients

Establishing the level of decorum you want to maintain in your spa can be tricky. The hard truth is that you can’t please everyone, and you’d likely drive yourself to distraction trying. The best compromise is to establish an environment that will be acceptable to the majority of your customers, and to ensure that your everyday operations support that environment.

Perhaps the first thing you need to do is to identify in your mind an image of your customer. That image will be affected by numerous factors that you’ll need to weigh against your own personal preferences. While every new business owner dreams of having only customers who would also be their friends – that is an unrealistic expectation. Better to keep an open mind as to your clientele’s personalities, and do your best to treat them all as if they are friends, regardless.

You should consider whether the location of your spa should have influence upon the spa’s milieu. A spa that is located in a sleepy suburb is likely to have a different atmosphere than does one that is located in a bustling city center. The differences between residents of these areas can only be described as cultural, each with its own pacing and priorities. A customer trying to escape their urban setting is likely to be seeking a place of quiet solitude. While others may tend to be more accepting of having others around them, since their daily lives tend to include less contact with people.

Aside from population density, there are cultural considerations. A spa that is located in an area whose population is heavily weighted toward a specific background must respect the cultural preferences of that demographic. For example, if a significant portion of the local population shares a country or region of origin, the spa owner might decide to establish an environment that at least hints of a familiarity with that culture. Promotional displays that speak to a nostalgia common to residents are a great idea, as they provide not only a familiar atmosphere, but serve as common reference points that customers can use to initiate conversations among themselves and with staff.

You might even discover that customers from an entirely different demographic are drawn to your spa specifically because it is different from other spas in their normal environs. Who does not want to go to a spa that is “like” Bali. If you cannot travel there, spend a few hours imagining and feeling like you are already there.

Decide what environment you want to create, make it the spa mantra and then make sure that what you do is aligned with that mantra. Whatever you decide, know that a welcoming, convenient, relaxing, clean and safe environment that caters to your clientele is important to help them have a positive experience at your spa and keep them coming back.

The Spa Menu – The AdvanceMe Business Blog

Posted on November 8, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

The Spa Menu: How Effective Are Your Services?

Whether you’ve run a spa for any length of time and are looking to upgrade the services you offer, or are just beginning the process of opening a new spa, your menu of services must be developed based upon a number of factors if the spa is to be successful. Ignore or overlook any of these factors, and there is a good chance you will be disappointed with your efforts. And while it is impossible to list each and every item you need to consider, we’ll provide at least a good starting point from which you can begin to visualize and plan for the kind of spa you want to run.

Know your market: First and foremost, you have to determine what the customers in your area are looking for in their spa experience. Some customers seek a total experience, an oasis where they can escape from the routines of their daily lives and immerse themselves in an atmosphere of sensual pampering. Others might be looking for a quick cosmetic makeover, while some might desire a regimen of physical improvement, ranging from holistic treatments to strenuous physical conditioning to everything in between.

Customer expectations can change from time to time, to say the very least. While many customers might expect a fully immersive and luxuriously pampering spa experience, there are also likely to be a significant percentage who wants to be pushed in their efforts to improve their physical condition. If other spas in the area are focused solely upon the sensual, you might want to consider implementing some physical training services, just to distinguish your spa from the competition. Just keep in mind that if you try to please everybody, you’ll likely end up missing the mark with most. On the other hand, if your spa’s focus is too narrow, you run the risk of severely limiting its attractiveness to most prospective customers unless the specific scope of services you offer are not available at other area spasⁱ.

Define your mission: The flip side of knowing your market is having a clear idea of what you want your spa to represent to your customers. You might dream of one day having the most fully-featured and luxurious facility in your area, or just a small operation that provides specific services to a select group of clientele. Whatever you hope your operation to ultimately look like, by making sure that each incremental step you take is focused upon and moves you closer to realizing your goal, you will be better able to avoid getting confused and making missteps that could prove costly or even disastrous.

Know your limitations: While your ultimate goal might be to own and run a full-service Shangri-La that caters to a large and selective customer list’s every whim, you need to make sure that you work steadily toward that goal without taking on more than you can handle. You don’t want to over extend your business and offer services that are not cost effective. Know your current budget and cash flow before jumping into the latest technology or treatments for your customers. In addition, you will need to be aware of your staff’s skill set. It is best to offer treatments that can be executed by your staff successfully to ensure that your customers are getting their money’s worth.

Once you’ve got a pretty good idea as to what it is going to cost to run your business, you’ll need to decide what services you want to offer. Typical spa services include such items as:

Massage (and you will need to decide what type[s] you wish to offer)
Facials
Body wraps
Hair styling, coloring, extensions
Waxing
Nail treatments
Tanning beds, spray-on tanning
“Metaphysical” treatments, such as energy work

Be selective about the services you offer. Don’t tack on waxing as a service if you do not have someone skilled to do it, an area that is optimal for it or are not aware of the rules and regulations you need to comply with to offer it as a service.

Next, develop a schedule of appropriate (and competitive) pricing for those services. Check with other spas in your area to see what they charge. With all these elements in place, you should be able to come up with a reasonably accurate projection as to the potential profitability of your spa within your specific market. You will be well on your way to success if you have built a menu of services that satisfies your prospective customers’ demands.

If you do all of the above, you’ll be well on the way to establishing a great reputation for yourself and your business. And that spells success in anyone’s book.

ⁱRef. Porta, Mandy. “How to Define Your Target Market”,(2010). Inc.com; http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/06/defining-your-target-market.html

Get Repeat Customers – The AdvanceMe Business Blog

Posted on November 2, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

The Importance of Keeping Up Your Spa’s Appearance

How do you get customers to come to your spa in the first place and how do you get them to keep coming back, and (hopefully) to get people they know to come, too. Of course, to do a credible job on the subject would take a few books, at the very least, and we doubt you’re particularly inclined to read that much… at least, not in an online article. For that reason, we’ll just toss out a few general ideas, planting seeds, as it were, and let your creativity and business acumen flesh out a program that works for you.

Naturally, the first consideration – before even opening your spa – is to choose a location that will be attractive to your chosen clientele. That might mean a stand-alone facility that exudes beauty, sophistication, and escape, or alternatively, a small storefront in a strip mall that projects an ability to serve your clients quickly and inexpensively. That’s not to say that one is inherently superior to the other or not mutually exclusive, since each will appeal to some customers more than others.

No matter what type of facility you run, you should strive to make the facility itself project the kind of image (as a business) that your customers want to project as individuals. Here are some points to remember.

1. Put on a good front. The first impression begins with the storefront. Choose your décor wisely, and keep it fresh. We’ve all seen spas that have suppliers’ promotional posters proudly displayed, and many of those promotional items are quite beautiful. By the same token, we’ve also seen those same posters that, having been exposed to sunlight for an extended period, have faded into a bluish-tinted mockery of their previous selves, and are torn or curled to boot. That just looks wrong, and it gives the impression that you don’t pay as much attention to detail as you should. So make sure all of your printed promotional materials – posters, brochures, flyers – are in tip-top shape.

If you have plants in your storefront, make certain they look “all dressed up and ready for the ball.” If they’re real and start looking wilted, replace them. If they’re artificial, keep them dusted and as real-looking as possible. Just as a customer wouldn’t think of showing up for an important engagement with their lipstick smeared, foundation cracking, and clothes wrinkled, you don’t want your spa to look the worse for wear, either. So by all means, use the promotional materials you get and add fresh touches to your storefront.

2. Make your reception area inviting. The second most important “first impression” your business makes is in the front room. The furnishings should be tasteful, but not necessarily expensive. Above all, the waiting room – just like the rest of the facility – must be spotless. You might not think it too important if a customer spills a few drops of wine or coffee on the sofa, for example, but you’ll want to remove the stains as quickly as possible, because as we all know, one small stain, left to its own devices, will multiply rapidly, and before you know it, your furniture will start to make “shabby chic” look tasteful by comparison. (Hint: Wait until your customer is being taken care of before beginning an aggressive clean-up of the mess he or she has made. Make a customer feel guilty for any reason, and you’re not likely to see that person again.)

3. Cleanliness … The other areas of your facility – everything from the treatment areas, to the restrooms, to the kitchen if you have one – need to shine just as much as the storefront if you want to keep your customers coming back. Obviously you want to comply with all local health regulations, but you should do more than just comply; it should be very apparent to your clients that they are being pampered in a clean, healthy environment. This involves more than just displaying your licenses, certifications, and compliance notifications in visible areas. Beyond hygiene issues, your facility makes a statement about your attitude toward appearances, and since your customers are there to make themselves look as good as possible, you want to project a sense that you share their appreciation for (and commitment to) beauty. Keeping the hair swept up in the salon area is just the beginning. Keep an eye on the little things, too, such as making certain that shampoo and conditioner bottles don’t have any residue on them, that your equipment doesn’t bear evidence of even having been used. Perhaps most importantly, make certain that all mirrors are crystal clear, and free of spots or imperfections. Your customers will be looking in those mirrors a lot, and you don’t want them to notice anything except how beautiful you have made them look.

4. Make sure your staff is as spiffy as your spa. One other area that altogether too many spa owners either overlook, or simply choose not to address, is the appearance of employees in general, and stylists in particular. There’s nothing wrong with employees exhibiting their stylistic flair in the form of avant-garde hairstyles and fashion, but most people will flinch if the stylist giving them a perm has bubblegum pink hair. Here, you need to make a judgment call, something between stifling their creativity and allowing a free-for-all. If you’re unsure, just listen to your customers. You can be assured that they will let you know what they think. Just don’t wait for them to express their opinions by disappearing! And be sure to let your employees know beforehand what you consider to be appropriate.

There are few hard and fast rules when it comes to making your spa attractive to customers, but by tempering your own creativity with a good dose of common sense and a finger on your customers’ pulse, you aren’t likely to go too far wrong.

Retail Sales Within Service Providers – The AdvanceMe Business Blog

Posted on October 30, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

Whether your spa is an upscale, full-service retreat designed with an affluent clientele in mind or a small strip-center nail salon, an effective retail sales program can spell the difference between a struggling business or a dynamic, thriving operation. With the right products, properly displayed and promoted, retail sales can make up to 25% of your total gross income every month, according to SpaTrade (though some sources estimate an even higher percentage). Considering the amount of money you pay every month for your facility, utilities, staff payroll, and other recurring expenses, that extra income can be a real lifesaver, or at the very least, a significant boost to your profits. However, if you hope to realize that boost, there are several factors you’ll need to address properly.

Product selection: The products you offer must be a good reflection of the services your spa provides. A full-service spa might offer everything from hair, skin, and nail care products to essential oils and herbal supplements, while selling such a broad range of products in a smaller, nails-only spa would likely be perceived by customers as little more than opportunism on the part of the spa owner. Focus upon why your customers come to your spa, and offer them quality products that are consistent with their expectations. In addition, keep in mind that if you don’t have faith in quality or performance of the products you sell, you really shouldn’t be selling them.
Product displays: Many suppliers offer free or low-cost displays that highlight their products and are consistent with the products’ branding. When possible, take advantage of such well-designed displays. You can also develop your own displays that are consistent with the overall décor of your spa, yet show the products to their best advantage. No matter what kind of display you ultimately use, it should be prominently located, preferably close to the check-out station so as to encourage impulse purchases.
Staff promotion: Even before a new staff person is hired, he or she needs to be aware of whatever product sales target you have established, as well as the sales techniques you expect your staff to employ. Staff members need to be knowledgeable about the products themselves, as well. When a customer states a need that one or more of your products can fulfill, staff members must be able to enthusiastically recommend the appropriate product. Some spas offer individual employees a commission on the products they sell, and some offer little perks to the entire team when monthly sales are particularly good, but the most effective incentive to your employees is their belief in the products themselves. Make sure that your staff is well-informed about the products and the real benefits they can offer customers.

Customers don’t react well to high pressure, and most of them can spot an upsell a mile away. Make sure your staff uses an enthusiastic – but not overly-enthusiastic – approach in their promotional efforts. By properly training and educating your employees, you can make them valuable members of your overall marketing strategy, which can be a big help to your bottom line.

The New Rules of Green Marketing – The Business Book Club

Posted on October 26, 2012 by AdvanceMe Team

Business Book Review – for the Busy Business Owner

The New Rules of Green Marketing By Jacquelyn A. Ottman Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2011, 256 pp. (including resource list, endnotes, and index), $21.95 (Paperback) *

Capsule review:

Rating:

Pluses: Comprehensive and credible, with an abundance of useful tips and real-world case studies of many types of businesses. While some may still take issue with Ottman’s larger messages about sustainability, those people are increasingly in the minority, and this book presents solid guidelines for the majority who are interested in green product design and marketing.

Minuses: A little dry; it reads more like a textbook than a popular business book. The author overlooks some points, particularly regarding green consumer demographics, and as policies and practices are changing on an increasingly frequent basis, some information may be outdated soon. However, there is a resource list at the back so readers can keep up with information online.

Details: “Green” is a word that has taken on a vibrant – and often controversial – life of its own within the past couple of decades. For many, green implies a wealth of virtues that include environmental consciousness, concern for one’s fellow citizens, and regard for future generations. It’s all about sustainability, which has become another buzzword for advocates and activists, and certainly for marketers. Green is cool, green is trendy, green shows the world that you care. And most important of all, green has become mainstream, to the point that any business not jumping on the “green” bandwagon in some conspicuous manner risks losing market share to more environmentally aware rivals. Granted, some vocal factions maintain their stance that environmental issues are no big deal, and they argue that we shouldn’t hamper our lifestyles and, more importantly, the income streams of certain big industries, by overhauling our habits. Notwithstanding these skeptics, there seems to be a consensus now among scientists, as well as among a growing number of consumers and the business owners who cater to those consumers, that the Earth and its inhabitants will benefit if industries and individuals reduce their carbon footprints.

“Fine,” you may say, “but as a business owner/manager, how do I do that?” How indeed, particularly if, like many small businesses, you’re on a tight budget, and you are pretty sure that “going green” could entail a significant capital outlay? And how can you tell which practices, processes, or products are genuinely green, and which ones only seem that way? These issues are addressed in Jacqueline Ottman’s The New Rules of Green Marketing, but Ottman is also concerned with an equally important question: How can you work your company’s green ways into your branding in the most effective – and ethical – way? Making a commitment to sustainability raises many questions for the business owner, and Ottman provides a wealth of answers.

Ottman is a green marketing pioneer who, it might be said, has been into recycling since she was a child (her siblings called her “Junkie Jacquie” when she dragged home treasures from the neighbors’ trash). Today her company, J. Ottman Consulting, Inc. helps businesses develop and market the next generation of sustainable products, serving a client list that includes more than sixty of the Fortune 500, as well as the USDA’s BioPreferred and other U.S. government labeling programs. Ottman is also a keynoter at conferences and corporate forums all over the world, and is involved in numerous other organizations and activities devoted to sustainability. She has written three previous books on green marketing, which have been translated into several languages, and she is the author of hundreds of articles on the topic. In other words, she is well qualified to write about greenness and sustainability.

One of Ottman’s core messages in The New Rules of Green Marketing is that green is indeed mainstream and can no longer be considered just a passing fad. Green thinking is entrenched in numerous aspects of our culture, reflected in everything from mass media to shopping habits to legislation. While this may seem self-evident to some, others don’t quite “get” it yet, but Ottman makes the case strongly without being preachy. In the very first chapter she jumps right in with a discussion of the many ways in which today’s consumers, industries, institutions, and (looking at things on a broader scale) governments demonstrate environmental awareness and at least a theoretical desire for sustainability. Of particular importance to businesses marketing to consumers are Ottman’s explanations of the many ways in which green consumers can be segmented, such as by degree of greenness or by generation.

Ottman also excels in providing a holistic view of greenness, urging product designers and manufacturers to look at the entire lifecycle of a product in order to determine its true environmental impact. Among the points to consider are water and energy used in manufacture and transportation, the length of time the product is expected to last, the resources consumed during the product’s active lifetime, and end-of-life disposal or recycling. No product or path is completely green, and there may be trade-offs, but they should be trade-offs a company can live with and that will fit in with its mission and values. And, stresses Ottman, quality and value are especially important; today’s consumers will no longer tolerate the flimsy “green” products of past decades.

Apart from the core message that green is mainstream, Ottman takes care to demonstrate that brands must position themselves as being green, particularly if there are no certification labels to bolster the branding. Proper positioning is the key to attracting green consumers. Yet Ottman also cautions against the notorious practice of “greenwashing” – misrepresenting something as green when in fact it is not. Sometimes greenwashing is unintentional, but sometimes it is deliberate and disingenuous. Companies practicing greenwashing will be found out sooner rather than later, Ottman cautions. She devotes an entire chapter to this important topic.

Ottman is all about showing companies how to deliver value, and sets the example with The New Rules of Green Marketing, which delivers value in spades. The informative text, bolstered by the latest research, is enhanced throughout with “New Rules” checklists, charts, and bullet points. There are also interesting case studies of companies and products to illustrate Ottman’s points. In many ways, The New Rules is really more of a textbook than a casual business book.

For that reason, the text is a little dry in places, which may be a turn-off to impatient readers or those who are used to absorbing information in “sight-bites.” The New Rules is certainly no breezy pop-business book, and it isn’t intended to be. Yet even the busiest entrepreneur, business owner, or manager will find something of use in these pages if he or she is interested in building a more sustainable company or product line.

That said, Ottman seems to have overlooked a few points. For instance, when discussing green consumer demographics, she defines baby boomers (who, in the US, constitute those born from 1946-64) as being the first green-conscious generation. While it may be true that boomers were the first to become vocal environmental advocates and activists on a wide scale, we shouldn’t give short shrift to those who were born before or during World War II. These folks not only tend to have a lot of disposable income (though of course this isn’t always the case), but they have a long-term perspective and know the value of frugality and avoiding waste. Many are very definitely green in their own way. In addition, Ottman doesn’t take into account rural versus urban or suburban residency. These are distinct demographics, and green marketing should be targeted accordingly.

Additionally, green policies and practices change frequently, so some of the information in the book will obviously become dated. However, there is a comprehensive resource list at the end of the book, so readers can keep up with data online. And no doubt Ottman will continue to revise and expand upon the print book as appropriate.

Some people will undoubtedly still take issue with Ottman’s larger messages about the need for sustainability. Increasingly, though, they are in a minority, and for those who are ready and willing to go green, or at least greener, this book is a terrific resource. Green products and businesses have been around since the time of the first Earth Day in the early 1970s. In the decades since then, and particularly in more recent years, there have been quite a few books written about green marketing and green business practices in general. The New Rules of Green Marketing is a credible and comprehensive resource.

* The New Rules of Green Marketing is currently available in paperback and Kindle formats.

Amazon link for paperback print version reviewed here: http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Rules-Green-Marketing/dp/1605098663

For more information on the author’s work, as well as a wealth of tips on green-ness and sustainability, see www.greenmarketing.com.

Based on this review, would you read this book?

The author of this review was provided the book by Capital Access Network, Inc. The views expressed represent those of the author and do not reflect those of Capital Access Network, Inc. nor its subsidiaries. Any opinions and/or advice expressed by the author do not imply endorsement by Capital Access Network, Inc. nor its subsidiaries.