I had a person in my office the other day looking to improve their website and their search engine visibility. He said, “I had this idea, see, where we would put all the keywords we wanted to use over and over again in white text on a white background. Then, the search engines would rank us near the top but it wouldn’t clutter up our page.” I explained that this was a great idea, ...

A USER-FRIENDLY SERVICE VAN WILL SAVE YOU TIME, MONEY AND PREVENT UNSATISFIED CUSTOMERS. BY ROBERT STUART WE’VE TALKED ABOUT the tools of our trade, now let’s examine the contents of our service vehicle. As a professional spa tech your van is your office, workshop and parts room in addition to your transportation. What’s in your service vehicle can save you time and a call back. ...

A NEW LOCATION OFFERED A BLANK CANVAS TO TRANSFORM INTO THE IDEAL STORE. THE STORY OF DAN HYATT’S decision to start a hot tub retail store is one that we’ve heard before. He had a horrible experience purchasing a hot tub and decided that someone should do it better – him. That unsatisfactory incident created a retailer who is passionate about what he sells and the customer service ...

A NEW WEBINAR SERIES GIVES SPA PROFESSIONALS RELEVANT TRAINING AT THE RIGHT PRICE. BY PATRICK SISSON VALUE HAS RARELY BEEN as important to consumers as it is now, and spa industry professionals are well aware of the difficult task in changing people’s perspectives on what is or isn’t a luxury purchase. But sometimes, retailers, renovators and builders also need to rethink the cost versus ...

WHILE PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENTS ARE A SOLID INDICATOR OF A COMPANY’S VITALITY, THEY AREN’T THE ONLY BAROMETER OF SUCCESS. BY MARY M. MURPHEY DEEP POCKETS COME IN HANDY when keeping any business afloat, but when it comes to the spa retail industry in the current economy, shallow pockets that need to be replenished are more commonplace. So what should retailers do today to protect their ...

By Alison Stanton COLORFUL SPASCENES CAN BE A GREAT ADD-ON PRODUCT FOR CONSUMERS TURNED OFF BY A DULL COVER. About three years ago, Kevin Chase put the finishing touches on his indoor hot tub and sauna room, and decided to celebrate by enjoying a relaxing soak in the tub. After getting everything ready and lowering himself into the soothing warm water, Chase looked around his newly-finished ...

WANT A PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEE? HIRE THE RIGHT ONE. BUT DON’T STOP THERE, TRACK RESULTS TO ENSURE PROPER MANAGEMENT. BY SARAH PROTZMAN WITH THE ECONOMY IN HOT WATER, it’s more important than ever for hot tub retailers to manage their money and their people effectively, says Mike O’Brien, vice president of The Omnia Group, whose personality profile has helped scads of sales companies ...

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER AND FALL, COLLEY’S HAS PRODUCTS TO GET THEM THROUGH THE SEASONAL UPS AND DOWNS. HOT TUBS, PATIO FURNITURE, in-ground pools, above-ground pools, saunas, ATVs and snowmobiles – now that is an interesting mix. But the weather of the New York and Pennsylvania locations of Colley’s Pools & Spas has made this mix work, taking away the seasonality that can accompany ...

DEVELOPING A GOOD PRODUCT MIX CAN BE DIFFICULT. HOW MANY BRANDS SHOULD YOU HAVE? WHAT PRICE POINTS SHOULD YOU HIT? CAN OFFERING TOO MANY TUBS BE CONFUSING TO CONSUMERS? THESE RETAILERS HAVE TRIED IT ALL AND SHARE WHAT WORKS BEST FOR THEM. INTERVIEWED BY CLAY DILLOW “I think you need to embrace and love one brand. When you sell more than one, it’s hard to do that. I know in the past, when ...

YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO REMODEL YOUR STORE, BUT A CAN OF PAINT AND THE RIGHT COLORS CAN MAKE A BIG IMPACT. BY LINDA CAHAN YOU ARE ALL FAMILIAR with vanilla box stores; you may even have one yourself. A vanilla box store is a store with sheetrock walls painted white – or maybe vanilla white – a suspended ceiling, fluorescent lights and fuzz on the floor. Exciting? No. Attractive? Not so ...

WHEN CASH FLOW IS SLOW YOU CAN STILL GET THE SERVICES YOU NEED IN YOUR SPA STORE, POSSIBLY BY BARTERING. BY CRISTINA RIZEN MORE BUSINESSES ARE INVESTIGATING bartering as a way to preserve cash while still moving product. Barter can connect your company with vital goods and services: printing, professional services, construction, equipment, and just about anything else you can think of. If someone sells ...

CREATING AN EFFECTIVE SPECIAL REPORT CAN HELP YOU SELL TO A TARGET NICHE WITH SPECIFIC NEEDS. BY DAVID FREY SELLING HIGH-TICKET ITEMS like spas require that your customer be educated about the spa before they buy and when you focus your efforts on educating the customer, it is called “education-based marketing.” Education-based marketing is critical to selling spas. In the spa business, ...

WITH 30 YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY, BIOLAB’S CHARLIE SCHOBEL REFLECTS ON HIS CAREER, THE INDUSTRY’S FUTURE AND WHAT AVIATION HAS TAUGHT HIM ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT. BY ABRAHAM MAHSHIE WHEN CHARLIE SCHOBEL isn’t advancing relationships with the children and grandchildren of BioLab customers he first met more than 30 years ago, the vice president and general manager of the chemical manufacturer ...

NO TIME OR MONEY TO TRAIN YOUR TEAM? MAKE THE MOST OF ‘TEACHABLE MOMENTS’ WITH SIX QUICK TIPS ON USING EVERYDAY SITUATIONS TO TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES. BY JOANNA BRANDI AS A CUSTOMER CARE TRAINER WHO WORKS WITH COMPANIES of all shapes and sizes, I’m well aware of the extreme caution most organizations are taking regarding purchases – especially when it comes to training their employees ...

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME OR PRECIOUS MARKETING BUDGET ON ADS THAT AREN’T EFFECTIVE. YOU DON’T NEED TO HAVE A FANCY DEGREE TO DEVELOP A GOOD ADVERTISEMENT, JUST FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES TO SUCCESS. BY DAVID FREY NOBODY CAN GUARANTEE A WINNING PRINT AD. THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW IF IT WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IS TO TEST IT. BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL ELEMENTS THAT YOU CAN INCORPORATE INTO YOUR AD TO GIVE ...

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR MANUFACTURER THAT’S STRONG ENOUGH YOU COULD WEAR IT IN INK. WRITTEN BY ELIZABETH RYAN IT’S NOT EASY OUT THERE FOR THE UNCOMMITTED DEALER. MANUFACTURER REPS SEEM TO BEAT A PATH TO YOUR DOOR, FLASHING ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES, WHILE MAKING CLAIMS THAT THEY ARE THE BEST BRAND OUT THERE • YOU GET INVOLVED WITH ONE FOR A WHILE, ONLY TO LEARN THAT YOU WANT ...

THE FEDERAL FUNDS RATE IS AT AN HISTORIC LOW, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR CONSUMERS TAKING OUT LOANS FOR HOT TUBS? BY AMY WILKINSON IT’S A HEADLINE you’ve probably seen splashed across the pages of The Wall Street Journal several times over the past year: “The Federal Reserve Reduces Interest Rates.” Indeed, the Federal Funds Rate is now at an historic low of 0.00-0.25 percent. While ...

GET YOUR HOT TUB STORE’S NAME OUT THERE BY UTILIZING CHEAP (USUALLY FREE!) SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES. BY DAVID CARLETON LIKE MOST THINGS IN LIFE, you will get better returns from your social marketing activities with a bit of a plan. However, spend too much time planning and you don’t do enough “doing.” Here are eight easy ways to get started with social media marketing, 1. ...