Streamlining Software Selection
By: Steve Gomez
Posted: January 7, 2009, from the January 2009 issue of Skin Inc. magazine.
People, and often business owners in particular, are always looking for the next best thing—the newest and most top-of-the-line gadgets with all the bells and whistles. But as consumers, people are bombarded on a daily basis with marketing and advertising campaigns telling of the newest and latest cutting-edge products and services. It can easily be enough to make your head spin, can’t it?
When it comes to making purchases, many people squeeze as little time as possible into doing the necessary research in order to make the most educated decisions. Software companies realize this customer spontaneity and market their software as the more convenient, timely and accessible product.
So as a spa owner looking for the best for your business, how do you dodge the hype to get the best software that will handle your needs? Creating a simple game plan beforehand can work wonders in making the process flow much more smoothly.
Identify your needs
As a spa owner, you have many choices to make in order to set your business up for efficiency in operations. Among your concerns, you may need to focus on:
- growth in sales and bottom-line profitability;
- setting up compensation and pricing structures;
- purchasing and tracking inventory;
- customer service systems;
- tracking service sales;
- gift certificate sales and retail sales;
- tracking request rates; and
- rebooking percentages and reviewing overall retention.
There can be much to look into, and purchasing the right type of software for your spa is one of the most important choices you will make, so rushing into it without any idea of what you are looking for can be reckless. Take the time to recognize your priorities, review needs that are being met versus those that are not, and look into ways new software could help you do things more simplistically and efficiently.