Insights With Trent Munday

Are Spas Essential or Non-Essential? Are Spas a Luxury or a Budget purchase? I think if you asked most non-Spa people they would say Spas are a Non-Essential Luxury item. Is that how we actually want to be perceived as an industry? Many felt Spas got the short end of the stick when it came to re-opening after the COVID-19 lockdowns. But if we really are a Non-Essential Luxury Industry, what choice did the governments have? If the Spa Industry wants to change the way it is perceived, to change its identity, we need to look at what we do and say. What is the image portrayed in the Spa Media? What Spas are winning all the Spa Industry Awards? The answer - Non-Essential Luxury . Agree or Disagree? #spaindustry #spas #brandimage

School - Work - Retirement. That's basically the linear progression of our lives. And we hope that we manage to save enough over the course of life to be able to enjoy our retirement when we get the end of that line. But life is not linear. So neither should your Personal Financial Planning be either. Right now many are worried that they won't have enough money to retire when they had planned.  But what if we had actually planned for a dip in our earning and saving capacity? What if we had factored in the invariable dips we experience in our careers and our lives? What if we had mechanisms in place to defer car loans, home loans, etc for a few years in the middle of the term? If we had planned for these dips, this crisis wouldn't seem quite so...well...critical. So, if you still have time, re-think your Personal Financial Plan and plan for the dips! #personalfinancialplanning #sabbatical #careerplanning

Customer Journeys have changed with the 'New Normal'.   That means new opportunities to insert your brand into those various touch points.   Here's 6 Tips for you to consider...   1. Keep your website and social media pages up to date with the latest information about exactly what your customers can and can not do when they come to your store/business.   2. Become your customer's trusted source on all things COVID-19.   3. Sell high quality face masks with your brand on them. Like these ones https://bit.ly/2XKGLiT   4. Offer your customers a 20% discount if they come into your store/business wearing one of your branded face masks.   5. Sell branded hand sanitiser &/or a 'COVID-19 Cleaning Kit'.   6. Create customised, branded QR codes if your customers need to scan these as part of the contact tracing protocols in your area.   Do you have any more ideas? Let me know!   #brandingtip #newnormal #facemasks

When it comes to creating amazing customer experiences, it's essential to understand your customer's journey.   The same is true when building a strong brand.   You need to be aware of each and every touch point between your brand and your customer. Every point between when your customer first learns about your brand, until well after they're gone. All of that is the Customer Journey.   And you need to be aware that in this crazy, COVID-19, New Normal world we're living in, that Customer Journey is very different today.   New SOPs, temperature scans, sanitsers, etc.   Have you considered all these new elements of the Customer Journey and how you can make them positive brand experiences?   #brandexperiences #touchpoints #customerjourney  

It does seem like there is always a hot social or political issue dominating the mainstream media and the social media streams.   The question is, as a brand, what are you going to do about it?   Are you going to publicly state your position or will you just keep quiet?   The risk in making a public statement is that you may alienate a segment of your market.   But according a Neilsen survey, 73% of millennials want to work for a company that is socially responsible.   And 81% of millennials expect their brand to publicly state and commit to those social causes.   So, if you have a millennial customer base, maybe it's time for you take a stance?   #movements #corporatesocialresponsibility #millennials    

Many airlines are offering 'Buy Now, Fly Later' deals in a bid to get some cash in their bank now.   Hotels are similarly offering 'Pay Now, Stay Later' promotions.   But the Thailand Tourism Authority have taken it a step further by getting their hotels to offer Hotel Bonds.   The purchaser buys a $100 Hotel Coupon (or Bond). They must hold it for a minimum of 60 days. Then, once it has matured, it is valued at $150.   It's a clever extension of the concept.   Maybe you could offer something similar with your business?   #marketingideas #buynowpaylater #hotels

Dr. Anthony Fauci says we probably won't have to wait 12-18 months or even more for a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus.   The reason for that is we are already applying an At Risk strategy to the vaccine development.   What that means is we've already identified a number of possible vaccines and actually started manufacturing them...even though the testing is not yet complete.   Once the testing is complete and the best vaccine is identified, we will already have a stockpile ready to go.   As for all the other vaccines being manufactured that prove not to be suitable, they will of no use anymore. The money invested in them will effectively be wasted. That's the risk.   But in this case, the financial risk of manufacturing vaccines that have not yet been proven to work, is less than the risk of not getting a head start on vaccine production.   #covid19vaccine #atrisk #strategy

Hydrafacial is a leading manufacturer of advanced aesthetic technologies and solutions.   As a result of the current crisis they have been forced to lay off some of their people.   But rather than just let them go, Hydrafacial has launched The Talent Directory in an effort to help them find future employment opportunities.   Great Initiative! Well done!   So, if you're looking to hire new staff, why not take a look here first - https://bit.ly/33cq4jJ   Thanks to Leah Argento for letting me know about this!   #seekingnewopportunities #jobopportunities #hiringthebest

Content Marketing is a hot topic.   Lots of brands think they're doing Content Marketing, when in fact they're just doing Content.   The true Sweet Spot of Content Marketing is the gap between what the Brand wants to say...and what the Customer wants to hear.   Anything else, is just noise.   Here's the link to Michael Brenner's great article on Content Marketing - https://bit.ly/3giX51y   #contentmarketing #contentstrategy #contentmarketing101

Many businesses are feeling the urge to discount their product or service in a bid to try to get customers coming back.   But as we all know, discounting can be a slippery slope.   Adopting an Anchor Pricing Strategy might be a good way to avoid the discounting dilemma.   By adding a more expensive item to your offering, you give your customers a reference point. And compared to that new, expensive reference point, the other items you're selling will become cheaper - relatively speaking.   Here's a link to the THANK YOU FOR NOT DISCOUNTING book by James Tuckerman - https://bit.ly/2El5WkX   #pricingstrategies #discounting #anchoring

A Reaction is an immediate, instinctive action.   A Response is more considered and thoughtful.   In times of uncertainty, like we're all living through right now, you might feel compelled to React quickly.   But maybe the better course of action would be to take a breath, take a moment to consider the circumstances and potential outcomes, then Respond.   You might end up making the same decision either way, but this way you should have more chance of making the right decision.   #response #reaction #decisionmaking  

Billboards near the empty are empty.    It's a sign of the times. But it might also represent some opportunities for your business.   Where are those advertisers now spending their ad dollars? Maybe it could be with you?   If you've got a database of customers, then you can help these advertisers get their message out there.   #advertising #businessopportunity #businessstrategy

Life seems to have us programmed to make decisions.   In or Out. Up or Down. Right or Wrong. Good or Bad.   Just make a decision.   But in times of uncertainty, like right now, the parameters are constantly changing. We don't always know what the rules are.   How can you possibly make a good decision in that landscape?   At times like this, sometimes no decision is the best decision.   #decisionmaking #parameters #changingworld  

Bartering is the idea of swapping one good or service for another.   Before money was invented, that was simply the way business was done.   So right now, with so many businesses running low on cash, it's time to Bring Back Barter!   It just makes sense.   Maybe you'll need to consider a three way (or more) chain of swaps to ensure everybody wins.    What we need is a safe and secure Barter Platform.   Does anybody know of one?   #barter #businessstrategy #businessmodels

Most would agree that Global Warming is real...and it's a real problem.   But so far we haven't found the global, collective will to seriously tackle it.   This current Coronavirus Crisis might just provide both the cover and the incentive for governments all around the world to finally address it.   We're subsidising many industries right now. So why not double down on subsidising those eco-friendly and a sustainable industries that will actually help us in the longer term?   Our communities are more aware of the fragility of the world we live in.    And above all, at least from the political perspective, we're probably willing to give a government a Pass on missing other key economic metrics right now, due to this global crisis.   Added together, it seems to me like the landscape may just be right for change.   #globalwarming #environmentalstewardship #savetheplanet

I just made $1,000.   How? I created a profile on FINDAWAY Voices, uploaded a few audio samples & got an offer from and author to narrate his book and turn it into an audiobook.   You could do it too.    Yes, you need to learn a few technical audio skills...but that's what Google and YouTube is for.   Seriously, that's how I learned.   So, if you could do with a little supplemental income right now, go checkout FINDAWAY Voices, watch a few YouTube videos to learn the technical stuff and get cracking.   What do you have to lose?   Here's a link to FINDAWAY Voices - https://bit.ly/32YAFij   #narrator #voicetalent #sidehustle

Dwight D Eisenhower was President of the United States.   He was also a US Army General who was the Allied Forces Supreme Commander during WWII.   And...he came up with what we now refer to as the Eisenhower Matrix.   In short, it provides a framework for prioritising decsions based on a matrix of Urgent and Important.   It's simple. And it's useful.   Here's some more information - https://bit.ly/3eSi9u5   #decisionmaking #prioritizing #eisenhower

How often have you heard someone say, 'I can't do that. I'm just not creative.'   But it's not true. We're all creative.   "Creativity is the act of using alternative thought to accomplish a desired outcome.    Art is simply one possible manifestation of creativity."   So says well respected Chief Creative Officer, Steve Babcock.   Any time you re-arrange your sock drawer you're exercising creativity.   You may not have what it takes to design a logo or a website or paint he Sistine Chapel. That requires Art.   But you definitely posses creativity.   And right now, in these trying times, we need creativity more than ever before.   So...no excuses. Get creative!   #creativity #creativityskills #problemsolving

Most people, when offering you advice, do so from their own perspective, experience and bias.   That means their advice may well be right for them, but there's no guarantee it's right for you.   The best advice comes from those people who ask questions about your context before they offer up their advice.   Here's a great article on this topic written by Bill Murphy Jr. over on Inc.com - https://bit.ly/32BJE8U   #careeradvice #lifeadvice #advice

Whether you're posting your own blogs, articles and videos or simply sharing someone else's, you're still effectively publishing content. And no matter how big or small, you have an audience that is consuming that content. But what responsibilities and obligations do you have to your audience in terms of the accuracy and integrity of that content? It's a seemingly simple question to answer. You either do or you don't. But I think it's not always that black and white. Shouldn't you be free to state your opinion? I say, Yes! As long as you're not stating that opinion as a fact (unless it is), I think that's ok. Will some of your audience assume that if you said it, it must be a fact?  Maybe?  But I'm not sure that's all on you. The audience has a responsibility to seek their own truth. #contentcreator #fakenews #truth