Blog Posts: Moontide Consulting

Blog Posts: Moontide Consulting

Linda Harding-Bond
August 26, 2015

Why Your Massage Therapists Don’t Want to Sell

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For many therapists in the spa industry, retail selling has negative connotations. Some massage therapists consider their vocation to have roots based in spirituality. They don’t think that commerce should enter into the process. “Render under to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s….”  Others have expressed discomfort with the idea that as health care providers making a product recommendation may be crossing their line of authority.  Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
August 18, 2015

Why Millennials Will Force Spas to Step Their Game Up

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Women and men between the ages of 25 to 34 are pretty glamorous people. They like to look and smell good. And they love to shop for the products which can help them get that way.

Consumer research firm Scarborough offers some interesting insight into the Millennials when it comes to making purchases. Among them:

  • 65% of millennials like to compare prices across different sites before purchasing
  • 34% say going online is one of their favorite things to do in their free time
  • 51% agree that being able to customize an item makes them more likely to purchase

Spa therapists need to understand that many millennials who get spa treatments come mentally prepared to buy. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
August 11, 2015

New Retail Spa Training Class Brings Sexy Back

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Remember when retail spa training was sexy?

Neither do I.

It’s scary, expensive and time consuming- – not sexy.

What if it were friendly, affordable and convenient?

That’s sexy! That’s why today I’m thrilled to launch “Increasing Your Retail Selling: An Online Training Class for Spa Managers“. Yes spa managers I’ve heard your call. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
August 6, 2015

Why Your CEO Needs to be Tweetin’

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As a spa trainer and consultant I do a lot of information gathering. Two of my sources are LinkedIn’s Pulse magazine and articles on Twitter. Twitter’s information is in real time, fast moving and can be customized to appeal to specific demographics. It makes me wonder why more C-Suite executives from the hospitality industry aren’t using Twitter to reach a broader audience.

According to Leslie Gaines-Ross of Weber Shandwick, a recent analysis in Harvard Business Review, found that 80% of the chief executive officers of the world’s largest 50 companies are engaged online and on social media.

None of those companies include hotel groups. Indeed when trying to find CEO’s from that sector who tweet, I was able to locate only three; Greg Marcus of Marcus Hotels, Mark Hoplamazian of Hyatt Hotels and of course Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Hotels.

Want to read more? Click here>>>http://huff.to/1IlBUU9

Linda Harding-Bond
July 28, 2015

Five Hidden Gems on Pulse, to Sharpen Spa Performance

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 Spa and beauty industry people.  You know who you are. You’re always consumed with handling staff or customers or both. Rarely do you  have time to peruse the articles on LinkedIn’s Pulse for news that might  impact how you conduct business. But as an information junkie, I do.  So here in a roundup are excerpts from five articles that I’ve read in the past week which gave me pause.  They might do the same for you. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
July 22, 2015

Do Your Spa Employees Need Refreshing?

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By 2018 the spa industry is projected to grow by 40%. A new regime of employees with fresh skills and talents, but not necessarily experience will enter the workforce. Meanwhile many existing employees struggle with the initial skills they learned from school or knowledge gleaned from product training.

Is refresher training for employees overrated? Hakeem Adebiyi of V-Creative says there is a school of thought out there that doesn’t see the value of teaching employees concepts they have already been introduced to. There is a lot of value in the refresher course though. For starters, here are two benefits of the refresher course. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
July 17, 2015

Grandmom Knows Best: Five Tips for Delivering a Perfect Spa Experience

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People are hungry for love, affection and attention. Any good spa manager and therapist knows this. As a therapist, I would measure my effectiveness, not by tips but by the amount of daily hugs I received from my clients. If none were forthcoming it worried me; what could I have done better?

I think that going to a spa should be like a visit to your grandparent’s home. Here are five things that my Grandmom did which made me feel special. Apply them with your own clients and watch your wait list grow. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
July 14, 2015

You Can’t Put Lipstick On Declining Spa Sales

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Almost half of spa owners see no increase in their sales in the foreseeable future. Yes, according to the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) “60 percent of spa and salon owners are positive on growth, expecting to have higher retail sales in the next six months.” As for the other 40 percent — flat to declining.

What’s shocking to me is that 0.5% growth is now being called success. “Overall indicators and feedback from beauty professionals across the country continue to be positive and we remain optimistic that the beauty industry will continue this growth into 2015” says Steve Sleeper, Executive Director of the PBA.

Is retail sales a force of nature that can’t be controlled by man (or woman)?
Read More

Linda Harding-Bond
July 5, 2015

The Zen of Spa Retail Training

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The first time that I had to give a public speech  I began to cry hysterically. I also wet my pants.

I was four years old and in kindergarten.

Since that time I’ve had many jobs where public speaking came with the territory. It’s never been fun but I’ve gotten considerably better at it. When I worked for Verizon as a training manager, I attended a two day workshop on public speaking. I had an instructor who was able to create a safe emotional space for the attendees. He built such an atmosphere of support that it was almost painless to stand in front of the other 11 trainees and give a five minute presentation. People performed brilliantly during those two days. I wish I could remember his name, he was wonderful. Read More