OPERATION INITIATIVES

Ops notes are usually scheduled for December, but we thought it would be good to provide a recap of the conference now instead of waiting a few more weeks. Below is a recap of the Survey and some thoughts on the Ring Light many had requested.

We had 45 franchise groups in attendance, nearly 70% of the entire system. Thank you to all who made it this year….it was an awesome turnout! About half of the franchisees provided significant feedback that will be very useful for the next event.

Survey Summary includes:

• 75% thought the training environment was good or better than good. We did have some visual challenges because the layout made it difficult for some to see the screen.
• 92% of the attendees thought the content was helpful or better than helpful. Several people commented that the event was too short, not allowing for discussions on several other topics of interest. Topics many attendees wanted to discuss or expand on were social media, marketing, system data, retention, industry update, competitor overview, salon suite solutions, and site selection.
• Lunch was well received. However, many were not prepared for appetizers being only provided on Sunday, and coffee was late in arriving on Monday. There were also some transportation challenges for Sunday’s event and training. Several commented that having the event all in one place was best.
• The Dallas location for training was good for most, but many expressed interest in moving the event around every year. A small number wanted to return to San Antonio.
• Overall, presentations were well received; it was clear that many wanted expansion on topics related to marketing and social media.
• The Owner’s Panel was a big hit with over 90% of the respondents.
• Over 80% of the attendees would return next year.
• 53% of the attendees would bring their Concierge for expanded training and 29% would consider it. Most everyone wanted to see a curriculum for Concierges posted prior to attending.
• Recommended topics for breakout sessions included: dealing with competition, social media, marketing, best practices, site selection, industry trends, and the SBJC App.
• Several commented about not having Salon Suite Solutions provide an update during the conference. We had purposely omitted including brand partners on the day of conference other than CDS because of the shortened schedule. Salon Suite Solutions remains a viable partner and if you have not had the opportunity to see the updated features of the Booking App, I would encourage you do so. Booking App growth continues to increase slowly, and Erik Hanson has promised to add marketing support in 2019 to address lack of adoption. Adoption is still lower than the pay versions on the market, and new features such as lead generation are making their way into the App. The Property Management System, however, is still not fully prepared to handle our needs and for that reason we have elected not to move forward with that portion of the program. We have completed testing a Rent Payment System and more information about it will be coming out in early 2019.

Overall general comments from the majority were very positive. The feedback has provided some action items for improvement in 2019.

On a separate note:

One of the items you asked us to look into was the potential group purchase of a Ring Light that included a logo. We were able to find a source for a Ring Light, but having the logo added does not appear to be possible, and even if we could find a vendor, it would be cost prohibitive. In the place of a logo, we are considering a couple of options:

1. A box or bag bearing our logo that holds the ring light.
2. A brochure or flyer with not only a logo, but also the best practices from SBJC for Ring Light use.

We are waiting on a couple of Ring Lights for testing prior to sending out pricing….stay tuned.

MARKETING UPDATES

New Branding Agency On Board

Zion & Zion is beginning in earnest with brand research over the next 45 days. They will be personally contacting each member of the Marketing Council as well as completing field visits with suite owners and concierges. The goal is to have that work completed by early January. Steve and I are scheduled for a visit to their offices in mid-January to evaluate your feedback and listen to Z&Z’s evaluation of the research. Before we leave that meeting, we will provide Z&Z direction and vision for 2019. In case you didn’t know, the following franchisees are part of the 2019 Council: Tom Salaba, Diana Kokku, Judy Dorsett, Nicole Bartholow, Jim McGuiness, David Greenberg, Brent Koughan, April Simek, Luis Moreno, Daniel Neveu, Cyndi Scher, and Bob Lang.

With the addition of Z&Z, we will deactivate our account with ReportGarden and rely on Z&Z for reporting analytics. Their recommendation is that we move from monthly reporting to quarterly reporting beginning in 2019.