Creating Customers | SpaBoom

Surprise Treats Net Big Loyalty

February 19, 2014

Making people look and feel terrific is an art form that you have perfected. Our hats go off to everyone who chooses to spend their energies making the world feel better and simply shine with gorgeousness!

Engendering loyalty in your clients takes effort, as you well know. It means you not only meet, but exceed their expectations every time they come in for a service. It means your staff is professional and adept at what they do, that your facilities are inviting and nurturing, and that the services themselves meet the promise that you’ve made in your marketing and promotion.

Client loyalty is an interesting phenomenon, and one that requires continual attention to ensure. Sometimes going one step further is just the ticket for taking a client relationship from solid to ‘wow’ worthy.

Case in point, adding something special to your services. You don’t advertise these special somethings, in fact they don’t appear in writing anywhere- they just happen, and enrich the experience for your clients in the process.

My personal story along these lines is pretty simple, but honestly, I wouldn’t even consider leaving the relationship that my stylist and I enjoyed for many years as a result of their inclusion of an a.mazing neck massage, with aromatic oil, before every style. Cut, color, highlight, didn’t matter, they included it and for some reason I never thought about it until I was in the chair, often right after a hectic day at the office, and I felt myself relax into the soothing massage before I enjoyed a great style experience.

Every time I went in I felt the same way – that the five minutes they spent relaxing me transformed me from stressed out and anxious to relaxed, mellowed and ready for some pampering in the form of a great hair treatment.

How much did that cost my stylist? Very little. How much did that additional effort on that part gain them? Tons. I told everyone I knew about how amazing that simple treat felt, and in return my stylist enjoyed not only my deep loyalty but a considerable number of new clients as well.

What can you do to surprise your clients? What little thing can you provide that will reinforce the wonderfulness of what you do and permanently place you in the ‘irreplaceable’ category in your clients’ minds?

A little creativity and consistent follow through are all it takes to enjoy the benefits of happy, happy customers.

So, what’s your plan?

Spa Trends for 2014

January 13, 2014

With 2013 wrapped up, We thought it would be fun to take a look at what trends are poised to drive spa in 2014. Here are some of the prominent themes we expect to see emerge and continue through out 2014.

Inclusive Wellness and Preventive Health
Many people now view regular spa treatments as a way of promoting overall health and wellness rather than simple pampering. With a growing focus on maintaining health as part of an overall wellness lifestyle, it will be key for spas to shift their offerings to address this theme. Creating services that enable your clients to address and manage their overall health, and offering solutions for incorporating regular spa treatments into a wellness routine, will only become more important this year. As people continue to focus on preventive care and inclusive wellness, offering new treatments and services that meet these needs will keep you competitive and successful going forward.

Spa for Men
An emerging trend for the past several years, spa treatments for men will continue to grow in 2014. More men are devoting time and money to skin & hair care, as well as overall wellness treatments such as massage. Catering to your male clients and their needs by creating treatments and packages especially for them will benefit your business and broaden your audience base.
Wondering how to market to men, it’s easy. You already have a built in referral service in your regular female clientele, who can pass along the benefits of spa, as well as your offerings, to the men in their lives.

Value-Added Packages and Add-Ons
In today’s economy, your clients are looking for ways to maintain their healthy lifestyle while also maximizing their budget. Creating smaller add on services will work to build awareness about different services and offer affordable upgrades for your clients. Small value add-ons, such as adding hot stones to a massage or offering a 15 minute reflexology add-on to a pedicure, will change the experience your client has, and offer an upsell opportunity for your spa.

Wellness Travel and Staycations
The trend towards wellness travel and spa vacations will be more important than ever this year. But an important subtrend emerging from this will be the idea of the wellness staycation. In this economic climate, not everyone can afford to go on a spa vacation. By creating treatments and packages that offer your clients a mini wellness vacation at home you can offer many of the benefits of a wellness vacation from the comfort of their own hometown spa. Packages featuring international techniques or botanicals will continue to drive the popularity of this trend.

So there you have it, our list of new and continuing trends in the spa market as 2014 begins to shape up. This is the perfect time of year to evaluate what worked and didn’t work for your business over the past year and create a plan for a successful 2014. Incorporating some of these ideas into your service menu is one way to ensure continued growth and success in the coming year.

Support the Resolute!

January 9, 2014

Resolution season is upon us, and with it comes the burden of upholding any lofty goals we’ve set. The burden, though, is really an opportunity to examine personal behaviors and improve and evolve where we’ve chosen to focus. As your clients work to meet their New Year’s goals, you are in a wonderful place to support those efforts and encourage fortitude in the face of the daily challenges to come!

Some fun facts:

Those of us who limit the number of resolutions we make tend to be more successful, overall. And the American Psychiatric Association recommends using language like ‘goals’ or ‘intentions’ in lieu of ‘resolutions’, since those terms denote processes vs absolutes.
Having a strategy to work toward your new goals is key. Also, a deep inquiry into whether a life change is realistic at this point can help prevent failures. Face it, there are times when we have the wherewithal to stick to a new goal, and there are times when we are already overburdened by life and simply don’t have the resources to expend on a new endeavor. There’s no shame in being aware of our own capacity.
Willpower, as it turns out, takes energy, real energy, meaning glucose. If we sustain a goal for a long period of time, we’re using real resources. Ironically, if weight loss is a goal, and we’re limiting our caloric/food intake, we’re also limiting our body’s ability to produce adequate amounts of fuel for the fight we’ve undertaken. It’s important to factor in things like this to ensure we’re not only supporting our efforts, but not depleting our bodies in the process.
Knowing setbacks are normal, not showstoppers, is important.
Accountability to friends, family or a support group related to your goal encourages us to stick with a plan. Transparency of this type encourages us to remain focused and be honest at all times, which in itself is liberating and empowering.

Those of you who provide services that make people feel better, live healthier lives, and look fabulous can really help your clients along their improvement paths! Who won’t feel more resolute with glowing skin, a body humming from a therapeutic massage, or a chic new ‘do to help them along their path?

Why not set up some services whose names reflect your support and appreciation of your clients’ New Year’s needs? You need not implement new services, simply adapt existing offerings that fit the bill to help energize and strengthen the resolve of those who have chosen to make changes as a way to begin the year.

Sensitivity and timeliness are good qualities. Have a little fun and let your clientele know you ‘get’ what they’re all about.

Happy New Year! Now What’s Your Plan?

January 6, 2014

A new year brings an opportunity to renew and strengthen your business. With that opportunity comes the need to plan and focus your energy on business activities that will bear fruit in terms of generating business as well as nurturing those most precious treasures you’ve already worked so hard to gain – your existing clientele.

Visibility is key

Your clientele need gentle reminders that you are around and eager to make them look and feel fabulous, at their convenience. Why not establish a simple email marketing strategy and schedule right now that will help you stay on track? Emails need not be cumbersome epic novels. A paragraph or two, perhaps from a blog article you’ve already written, is all you need to send. Be sure to mention the ease with which they can book services with you, and include a link to your Booking page. Always include a mention of and link to your Instant Gift Certificates page as well. Many milions of dollars are spent every year by email recipients just clicking on those links when they’re reminded of a gift need or are encouraged to book a service!

How often should you send emails? One every couple of weeks will inform and educate your recipients without annoying them. You want people to open your missives, not automatically delete them. That line is a fine one, and we tend to err to the conservative. After all, if your readers want to hear more from you, they can pop into your blog, too!

Visibility across all media is now your goal. That means your Social Media needs to be a place of give and take. Images that connect directly to your message du jour will really help catch the eye and reinforce your message. Are you offering up a great new non-drying color technique in your salon? Cool! Be sure to include an image of a client having their hair colored/conditioned to support a headline of Come in for a Deep Nourishing Color Treatment! for example. You get my point..don’t just include random images that look anonymous and aren’t really tied to your message. The social media audience just responds well to concise copy and clearly tied images.

Wherever you are, be there on a regular basis. And always be sure your website is showcasing any new services or products. That will be a default location for your audience to learn more about what you’re up to at any given point.

Consistency is key, too.

Starting out with a bang and ending with a fizzle isn’t an optimal marketing strategy. At a time when information flows at the speed of light, if you only send out one email campaign every quarter or write one blog article every couple of months, or are less than regular with your Facebook or Twitter posts, you’ll be doing your business a disservice.

Again, length of message isn’t really what’s important, it’s the regular reception of that message by your audience that ensures you’re presenting an organized and professional marketing effort. Your clients and prospects will appreciate your efforts with visits and word of mouth referrals.

Keeping your brand clear and maintaining that clarity everywhere your message is distributed? Also key.

Yes, there are lots of keys to marketing, but they’re all related. If you write consistent blog articles about your areas of expertise, generate emails, then create social media posts based upon those blog posts, you’re meeting the key criteria with a minimum of effort. Maybe we should have called this post Your Blog Posts – Keys to Your Entire Marketing Strategy?

Clarity, though, that’s important in a whole different way. If you are clear about what your business represents, what you’re doing, what you bring to the spa or salon or massage experience, etc., then that will flow through into every bit of content you produce. Knowing what you want to be known for is huge, and keeping that front and center on your website, (with imagery as well as content, of course), in your blog posts, in your emails, and out in the social media realm will ensure you’re drawing the clientele that fits your sweet spot and will set the stage for building long-term relationships that net consistent business over time.

Simple tricks like posting your mission statement, or a similar reminder of just who you are and what you’re trying to be to your audience, right above wherever you go to write content are helpful. Who doesn’t get carried away by the Muse of Random Tangents from time to time? Stay on track, and always depict the true essence of your business as you write.

Maintaining clarity isn’t easy in a time when many businesses are trying new things to garner business. Know your true self and stick with that. Doing otherwise can alienate your audience and confuse in general, which usually makes people just go somewhere else. Nobody likes to try to figure you out. Your job is to be so clear, so consistent, and so visible that the natural decision for them to make when seeking spa or salon services is your business.

Laying a simple but comprehensive marketing foundation sooner rather than later will put you ahead of the game, and the work you do now will serve you well for the entire year to come!

Cultivating Customer Loyalty

November 6, 2013

Loyal clients are the most important part of your business. On average, repeat clientele spend 33% more per visit than a new client and are also easier (and cheaper) to market to, allowing you to grow your business faster and with less marketing dollars. But how do you cultivate that loyalty and build a relationship with your clients that will keep them coming back time and time again? Let’s talk about some of the more important ways to build a positive relationship with your client.

Deliver Great Customer Service Experiences
Every bit of contact you have with a client is an opportunity to create good experiences and build a positive relationship. From the moment they visit your website, pick up the phone, or walk through the door of your spa or salon, you have the opportunity to provide the best possible experience for them. Making sure things are easy to find on your website and that all contact is friendly, helpful and professional can go a long way. A client who always leaves any interaction with your spa or salon happy and satisfied is one who will not only return, but who will tell friends about your business as well.

Communicate Regularly
Communication is always key when building a relationship. Find out where and how often your clients want to hear from you. And then communicate with them regularly in the form that works best for them. Email marketing or posting to social media is a powerful way to keep your business in the front of your client’s mind and a good way to build rapport. Making sure that not all of your communications are sales based is a good way to demonstrate that the relationship you have with your clients (& not just their money) is important to you. Sharing valuable information on a blog or in an email newsletter can help establish you as an expert in your field and turn your business into a trusted resource for your clients. Regular communication can mean the difference between your client thinking about your business the next time they need a service – or going someplace else. Good communication not only helps build a great relationship, but also a healthy business as well.

Listen to Your Clients
If you have satisfied a client once, you can more than likely do so again. But you need to know what they liked and what you could do better. So ask your clients for feedback and then act on it. Really listening to what they have to say and then involving them in improving your processes can not only help you improve your business, but also help it grow over time. So ask them, in both informal and formal ways, and then show an interest in meeting their needs.

Treat Your Loyal Clients Like You Would a Best Friend
Treating your most loyal return clients like best friends can help create an even stronger relationship and really cultivate the loyalty you are hoping for. So do the same things for them that you would do for your best friend. Keep them in the loop on what is going on with your business, either through email, social media posts, or your blog. Share insider information with them through special preview deals and announcements. Involve them in sneak peeks for new products or services before they are available to your entire client base. Ask for their feedback on how you are doing and what they think you could be doing better. Show them that you truly care about them and not only will they keep coming back, they’ll refer their friends and family to you as well.

Cultivating a positive relationship with your clients, both new and existing, is the most powerful way to build a successful business. Every interaction a client has with your business is an opportunity to create an authentic relationship with them which will keep them returning over and over.

Catering to the Male Client

November 1, 2013

Men are enjoying spa more than ever before, which means opportunity for growth if you’re considering reaching out to that group. Per ISPA’s annual spa survey, men’s visits have risen from 33% of visits in 2011 to 47% of visits in 2012 – a significant increase considering the number had hovered in the low 30’s for several years running.

So what’s different about marketing to men? Not as much as you might think, as it turns out.

Scentsibility

Aromatherapy is the practice of using natural oils to enhance psychological and physical well-being. There is nothing more fabulous than enjoying a treatment incorporating delicious scents that soothes and calms. Men prefer citrus, sandalwood, green tea and cleaner scents over subtler floral fragrances when it comes to their essential oils.

Surroundings

Spas who’ve created male-centric waiting and treatment areas have chosen rustic over elegant, with rough sawn wood paneling and stone floors to surround their male clients. And reading materials in waiting areas are also tailored for the male audience, which has been well received.

Services

Scrubs and deeper massage, as well as facials, back and feet treatments seem to resonate well with the male group, and clever names for services are key – this audience likes to feel they’re special, just with a rugged twist. The lead foot softening service on your menu could go from Pamper My Precious Peds (for women) to Modern Gent’s Pad Tamer… for example.

But names aren’t everything. Providing the male audience with relaxing and rejuvenating services means you recognize and respect their needs, and cater to a burgeoning market.

Marketing

As you expand your reach into the male market, be sure to use your female data base as a way to reach them. Your existing clientele is a perfect place to start when it comes to telling the world that you’re offering up male-focused treatments. Sometimes the best way to discover you love something is to receive a gift for just that something! Women love to give the men in their lives gifts that soothe and relax; once you’ve shown those gift recipients the joy of a service designed with men in mind you’ll be in a perfect place to bring them back for more.

Are You Postured to Capitalize on a Healthier Spa Industry?

August 20, 2013

As we emerge from one of the most dismal economic climates in decades, opportunities abound. Opportunities to reinforce and nurture the relationships you’ve worked so hard to create through the years. Opportunities to reach out for new clientele. Opportunities to assess your marketing and fine tune it to reach your prospects and clients where they’re spending their time – online, and using mobile technology.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, in their SPA 2013 U.S. Spa Industry Study (conducted for ISPA), reflects the following:

“Signs of positive growth for the industry emerged as total revenue, spa visits, revenue per visit, total number of employees and the total number of spa locations all experienced an increase over the previous year.”

“The upward momentum of the spa industry has positively impacted the overall United States economy. In addition to generating $14 billion in revenue in 2012, the industry employs more than 343,000 individuals in the United States/ The total number of spa visits increased to 160 million and the average guest spent $87 per visit.”

This is fantastic news. Now what are you doing to take full advantage of a trend that we’ve all been cautiously optimistic would acutally develop?

If you have questions, we have answers. 800.940.0458. We’re here to help!

Keeping it Real Extends to All Areas of Your Online Marketing

June 21, 2013

When it comes to creating marketing content, and choosing a tone that will flow through all of your venues, simple, and real, is what people want to read and hear.

Remember when we talked about how you’re your own publisher now? This is part of that.

The age of agency-slick, glam and meaningless copy is over. It’s time to embrace your spa’s personality and let it shine everywhere you have something to say. Everywhere. Remember that overly formal, jargon-heavy, clinical, or just plain stuffy writing puts people off. Words that come from your passion, from your heart, from the very core of your mission in business, will resonate because those words are genuine.

Some simple thoughts to think as you create compelling copy:

Ask yourself, ‘Who am I writing to?’ You know your clientele, it’s ok to speak to them in an appropriate and compelling way that respects their specialness and resonates for them.

Try this. Every time you’re writing a blog article, email or social media post ask yourself if you would read what you’re writing. Would you find it interesting? Would you continue past the first paragraph, in the case of a blog article, or would you abandon it early on because it felt too something..to make you press on and find out what happens at the end?

Read out loud what you’re intending to publish. Doing so will allow you to smooth and refine your copy so that it flows naturally and feels real. Stuffy copy reads like a bad legal document, and won’t flow at all. It’s not supposed to. But yours should. Even if you’re writing a subject line, four or five sentences, and a quick closing sentence, take the time to really ‘hear’ it from the perspective of your audience. If it flows, there’s a greater chance they’ll get all the way through what you need to say.

Remember that emails or blog articles don’t need to be 15,000 word treatises on the state of the universe. They need to be concise, interesting, relevant, and yes, written in a real voice.

‘Real’ means genuine, straightforward and solid. Your audience deserves, and will appreciate, that style of communication from you, a business whose very core revolves around stripping away life’s buildup of stress and toxins and anxiety as part of your services. It just kind of makes sense, right?

Shiny New Website: Essential Elements, A Therapeutic Massage Studio

June 10, 2013

Look who’s sporting a beautiful new website!

And we’re not the only ones who love it!

Congratulations Essential Elements on sprucing up your online presence with a fresh new website! We think occasional refreshes are a very good idea, in fact, the general rule? Once every three years for a whole new look and feel!

Is it time to freshen up your website? Give us a call, we’re happy to help!

Is Business Mudsliding or Building Big Memories

May 28, 2013

Memorial Weekend is always the kick off of the summer season. We know that this typically means a shift in the flow of how many treatments you are booking and also a shift in how often you see your regular clients.

Every year, our spa and salon owners ask about ways that they can change the pattern of the summer slow down, so we came up with 3 things that can help stop the dwindling and benefit your long term strategy for growth.

Here are three savvy spa business tips to utilize during the slower summer months:

Create deeper relationships. Summer is about relaxing, changing the everyday rhythm of rushing and must dos. This is a perfect opportunity to engage with your clients. Blog articles that give them health tips and summer information for family, fun and relaxation are one of the easiest ways to create a deeper bond. Give your clients ways to maximize their experience and trigger the psychological connection between your business and their great memories.
Develop loyalty. Summer is a time for celebration so utilize the next few months to develop a closer relationship through appreciation and gratitude with your clients. Celebrate your clients. These are few ideas to encourage loyalty by celebrating the relationship you have with your clients. This is the perfect time to orchestrate any number of campaigns — “A celebrate Summer Solstice with us”, “We’re thankful that you are a part of our extended family” or perhaps in July award everyone in your loyalty program 100 points to celebrate the first day of summer. Developing loyalty out of gratitude and appreciation for one another is one of the most authentic ways to build your business.
Define your summer promotions. Everyone gets an email about the hot weather, but do they know 3 ways to cool off the body with massage, or specific aromatherapy treatments that keep you cool and hydrate the skin? We take the knowledge that we have for granted a lot of time, but most people are excited to learn something new that benefits them. Be the source of knowledge and information for things that matter and watch the relationship with your clients change.

Utilizing the summer months to build relationships, encourage loyalty and actively participate in your clients summertime relaxation – three ways to make the flow different.

Working systematically toward a deeper relationship means that you are providing summer incentive promotions to drive awareness; using birthday promotions to encourage gift solutions from your business and most importantly setting the stage for the active engagement with your business as summer turns to fall and familiar routines become the norm again.