Articles – Page 8 – ESP Online

Spa Intelligence

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

In this month’s article I would like to look again at the subject of Business Intelligence. The term Business Intelligence is now no longer a new buzz word but rather a fairly commonly used term in the business world, including small and medium businesses.

To recap, the term Business Intelligence means gathering data, converting it into meaningful information, interpreting this information and taking positive action in response to the interpretation.

Using Business Intelligence to support your decision making process stands opposed to making decisions based on gut feeling. Rather you give up what you think you know about your business and take a neutral stand point in order to let the facts speak for themselves. This is often very hard for spa (and other business) owners to do as they are often so intricately involved in the day to day running of their businesses they that they find it hard to accept that they can still learn something new about their businesses.

Your spa in the clouds?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

If you have not heard the term Cloud Computing by now then you have either been on a very long vacation to a deserted island or you probably still use a typewriter instead of a computer. Either way you have managed to dodge one of the latest buzzwords in I.T spheres with great talent.

Cloud computing is basically computing on the Internet. However, although you generally experience cloud computing via a web browser, we are not just talking about browsing web pages on the internet for information purposes but rather performing software application functions that have traditionally been executed with software and data that is installed/located on your computers own hard drive. The latter is known as desktop computing.

Choosing the right Management Software

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

When choosing a software management system for your salon or spa you need to realise that your industry is very different from other industries.

Other industries will have their own specific requirements from the software management systems. For example, a restaurant system needs to be centred on managing tables and be a robust and fast enough to endure multiple waitrons under high pressure abusing it day after day.

A supermarket on the other hand will rely on speed and simplicity as being the main requirement (as well as stability) so that customers can pay for high quantities (trolley loads) of items as quickly as possible. Therefore, a high tech barcode scanner and built in credit card processing are some of the requirements needed by supermarkets.

Is Ignorance Bliss?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

Our response as humans to warnings is often hard to explain. We hear in the news all the time of massive disasters that could have been avoided if warnings had been listened to. The Titanic apparently received numerous warnings of icebergs but these warnings were not taken seriously and as we all know the ship sank on its maiden voyage.

The September 11 attacks in New York are another example where we heard reports of how intelligence warnings of imminent terrorist attacks were ignored.

Why is it that we so often respond inappropriately to warnings? I think that it has something to do with whether we really believe that what we are being warned about will come true or not. If we really believe that it will come true then we will listen to the warning but the more uncertain we are the less likely we are to listen.

Client Loyalty Schemes

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

In 2008 I wrote an article on a general look at client loyalty. In this month’s article I would like to take a closer look at client loyalty schemes as they are something that every business wants to implement but very few do successfully.

The reason for loyalty schemes is obvious; you want clients to keep coming back.

For businesses in general the simple principle of buy ten (or whatever the magic number is) and get one free is fairly common practise and in many instances takes the form of a loyalty card that you either stamp, sign or put little stickers onto.

It therefore appears that most businesses don’t have any problem with giving something away for free as a reward for repeat business.

What are your takings?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

A question that I find coming up quite often from salon and spa owners and one which there seems to be much confusion over is what their business takings are at the end of the day or month. A common viewpoint is that the money you bank is the income that you have earned. However, this is not necessarily true. In fact sometimes just the opposite is true.

Computerisation Question and Answer

24 February 2014/in Articles, Professional Beauty /by Karl Markwald

1. Should I use Generic Retail, Accounting or Salon/Spa Specific Software?

When it comes to the wellness industry which includes beauty salons, nail salons, day spas, hotel spas (amongst other types of spas) and even will cross over in to the hair industry and medical aesthetics there are core businesses requirements and processes that are common to all. These include things like detailed Client Record keeping, Appointment Scheduling, the Sale of Retail and Services, Gift Vouchers, Loyalty Schemes, Commission Calculations, Stock Control for both Retail and Professional Stock and Communication with clients via Email and SMS (amongst other things).

Choosing the right Management Software

24 February 2014/in Articles, Professional Beauty /by Karl Markwald

As I write this article I am working on the assumption that I do not have to convince you that using a software management system is more beneficial than using a manual system. Anyone intent on driving their business forward successfully into the future will realise the need for information systems in order to achieve this.

Seamless integration

24 February 2014/in Articles, Professional Beauty /by Karl Markwald

In my opinion seamless integration of business management processes is critical in improving salon and spa competitiveness. What this equates to in salon and spa management software terms is having one system that can handle as many of your business processes as possible.

Seamless integration will save time because you get rid of duplicating entries into multiple systems and also eradicate manual intervention between systems. It will also improve results because the data is all in one place and can be accessed and harnessed with more power and control.

Seamless integration will also reduce mistakes because the data will be “handled” less by humans in its journey through your system.

ESP and Sorbet

24 February 2014/in Articles, Professional Beauty /by Karl Markwald

Sorbet Success

Throughout South Africa many salons have had dreams of launching either a breakthrough loyalty scheme or a successful franchise operation. However, there have been very few that have made a significant impact in either of these areas let alone both.

With 40 stores throughout major centres in South Africa and over 60000 loyalty members (and counting) in just 7 years, it can hardly be disputed that Sorbet is the market leader in both franchising and loyalty (amongst other things) in South Africa’s beauty industry.

Sorbet has managed to gain recognition not only amongst the public (even many of those who do not even frequent beauty salons) but also amongst their peers as many a salon group aspires to follow in their footsteps. Even non-salon publications like Entrepreneur and Success magazines have recognised Sorbet’s success with feature articles focussing on the growth of the Sorbet brand.