With the holiday season upon us, we are constantly on the look-out for the perfect gift for that special someone in our life.  As consumers we tend to equate things that are expensive with quality.  Think along the lines of Dolce and Gabbana, Land Rover, or Rolex.  A stroll down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills will quickly show you the opulence that exists when it comes to purchasing high end, retail products.  Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be behind the wheel of a Land Rover, but unfortunately my personal finances usually snap me back into reality.  I might have

Lights, Camera, Action!  These are the 3 words synonymous with the film and screen industry. All the movies from the big blockbusters like StarWars to the small independent films use this same phrase at one point or another.  However, unlike the movie Field of Dreams when Kevin Costner says “if you build it they will come,” movies require a ton of marketing and pre-release promotion in order for them to be successful.

No if, ands, or buts about it your business is suffering if you are using multiple systems to manage its day-to-day operations.  The time it requires to jump between different software to find information or run a report is time wasted.  Think of it as those elements of your business that fall through the cracks never to be seen or heard from again.  The fact is that we are human and humans make mistakes especially when we are left to fend for ourselves out in the wild business jungle.

Within the meetings and conference industry your customer retention percentage is a great barometer when it comes to measuring the strength of your business.  A high customer retention rate means the customers are satisfied with your venue and choose to come back again and again.  A low customer retention rate is usually a red flag indicating that customers are unhappy and are choosing to go elsewhere.

When you start looking into investing in any new product or service the question of whether or not you will see a return on investment or ROI will come up in conversation usually with the finance person or your boss.  It can be a difficult question to answer if you are not prepared.  Before we get into any formulas to figure out the ROI it might be good to define the term.