Spa Clientéle Marketing Tips

How to make the most of adding a new service on your menu

I love change.  Sometimes too much, really. But I just love the excitement of doing something NEW and different.  Yet, too much change -- or not fully receiving the benefit of that new and different thing can mean lost efficiency, even lost profits. 

The same is true for making changes to your service menu.  That fun new treatment you saw at the show, or were introduced to by a skincare sales rep is exciting!  Our natural creativity and curiosity blossoms when we learn something new.  Our brains are exercised and it is usually just plain fun!    But if you make too many menu changes, it is hard for your staff to keep up and hard for your clients to choose.  And sometimes we get so busy doing something new, we neglect to full marketing or sell that other service introduced last month.

Here's a list of tasks to do for every new service you add so that you can reap the most rewards (and profits!).

New Tele-Class: Spa Marketing Strategy & 2008 Plan

If you are like me, you may find that as the holidays approach it is very easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of reacting and just postpone planning out next year – or even next month!  And somehow on January 2nd most of us seem to wake up and realize that “it’s over” and then scramble to manage the post-holiday season hangover.  While it great to sell those gift certificates in December, it isn’t all that fun to have most of your business be pre-paid one-time visitors for January and February.

Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen this new year.   Let’s put your marketing on autopilot next year and plan it all out --- the budget, the promotions, the activities and the target results – so you have roadmap for the year before the year even starts!

Join me in a new tele-class, four one-hour group sessions starting on Monday, November 26th. At just $197, this class will be the best marketing investment you've made in a very long while as it doesn't just have a one time time communication.  This class will pay off for years to come as your well-planned and designed marketing strategy builds up your business.

To learn more and register for the class, visit http://blog.spaclientele.com/smartspa.html

I look forward to helping you plan your 2008 to be your most successful year.

Premature holiday cheer for you!

Every year it seems the holiday season starts earlier and earlier.  As I get older age gracefully, I find I like this fact more and more.  I like singing holiday songs at bedtime with my girls.  I love eggnog (why is it not available in the summer??).  I am looking forward to catching up with family over Thanksgiving and just enjoying doing nothing for few days.  I'm also ramping up for our annual holiday family letter.

In the past for our letter, I have purchased specialty paper and envelopes.  Printed out color copies with family photos. Labeled. Stamped.   This usally takes a lot of time for our 80+ addresses of family and friends.  Last year I procrastinated so much that I never did sent it out!  But this year that isn't going to happen. 

I'm going to use SendOutCards this year. I just write it and click send.  No more trips to Kinko's or the post office for postage.  No slave labor needed with my husband and daughters folding and stuffing envelopes.  I can't help but think that businesses like yours are feeling the same pain come time to send out cards to clients - holidays or otherwise!

FULL DISCLOSURE: This company is an MLM.  I wish it wasn't.  Yet despite my personal dislike for the whole MLM culture, I am an enthusiastic supporter of the service.  I wouldn't recommend a service or product that I don't personally believe could help make your life easier. 

For personal or business use, you can try out this service for free.  Send yourself a card, or a long overdue thank you to someone in your life.  Go to www.sendoutcards.com/spaclientele or click on my goofy Santa picture below. 

Some card ideas for this holiday, that could be send out as quickly as one day after you sign up:

• Post-thanksgiving regret?  Come in for a detoxifying massage or facial.  Bring a friend and both receive aromatherpy upgrade.
• Don't forget to take care of yourself during the stressful holiday season.  Receive a free foot or neck massage with full priced facial.
• Help your loved ones.  Tell them what you REALLY want this holiday:  a gift of relaxation/health/wellness with a gift certificate from your business.

There is a nice feature to add gifts as well in the card like gift cards, chocolates and more. 

If you have any questions, pleaese let me know at heather at spaclientele dot com.

Have a wonderful start to your holiday season!   

Specialty Spas: Is the market really there?

This is more of a question than it is advice, but it seems that I have been seeing more and more specialty spas pop up everywhere:

• Massage Spas (Massage only, usually with a membership)
• Little Girl Spas (just for tweens)
• Detox Spas (Facials, colonics, herbal supplements and support)
• Mommy Spas (Pre- and Post-Natal expertise)
• Dental Spas (Aromatherapy & root canals)
• Holistic Spas (Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Massage)
• Pet Spas (for pampering those purse puppies)

While clearly massage spas have a main-stream market, I really don't know enough about the markets for the other ones to know if there is really enough spa-goers to go around?   

And with everyone using "spa" in their name, is this good for the more traditional day spas and salons that are full-service?  Or does this dilute the "true" meaning?  Perhaps there isn't just one "true" meaning and trying to regulate one is pointless?

For me, I see the word "spa" going mainstream to represent any service with high levels of relaxation and personalized care.  And with so many businesses making changes that introduce more peace and serenity in our lives, it has to be good. Right?

However, I also have concerns about the number of choices the spa-going client now has.  They will be searching online for different specialties and if you are not marketing your own services as much as that nearby specialty spa, clients might opt for the "specialist."  If you haven't thought out your search keyword strategy (or perhaps don't have one yet) it is important to make sure that when clients find your competition that they find you, too.  [I have tips and links in my free e-course that helps you get started with that.]

Since I live in the fairly urban Silicon Valley, I wonder if what I  am seeing is not widespread.  Tell me, are you seeing the same thing in your neighborhood?

Things learned along the way to "now"

I had a wonderful interview with Francesca last night, learning about how she built up her solo esthetics practice so that she has a whopping 6-10 month lead time for facial appointments!  We talked about many things and I realized that a key truth to any business success is trial and error.  Sometimes we think we are on the right path, but once there it just didn't feel right.  So we have to adjust and sometimes take a different path.

Forgive my introspection for this week, but I wanted to share a few lessons I've learned on the way to "now."   I have to admit, this may not be earth-shattering -- but they were tough lessons for me to learn.

• Do one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is fun to brag about, but it really just makes me crazy.  And if you are with someone important in your life they usually figure it out when you aren't given them your undivided attention.
• Have a one day a month dedicated to organizing and planning. Locking yourself in to file, purge, reviewing reports and planning the next month gives critical direction for your actions.
• Outsource or delegate everything you can or don't enjoy doing. For control-minded folks, this can be a personal challenge because it just seems easier to do it yourself. But if you remove yourself from a task, this then forces you to create a process, policy or procedure to ensure that it IS done to your standards.  If you want less time in the treatment room or behind the chair....or perhaps MORE time with clients instead of cooking the books...decide on what you don't need to be doing and find or hire someone to do it for you.  You never know, they might love doing the things that you don't!
• It is a journey, not a destination. Don't lose sight of what is most important to you as you toil running your business.  Schedule more time off than you may be taking -- even if it is a few hours in the afternoon -- to do what you love most outside of work. 
• Have an attitude of gratitude. I used to do this regularly, and for some reason just stopped a daily habit of listing all the people and things I am grateful for in my life.  Starting this up again has helped improve my focus in all areas of my life.

>>What are your lessons learned along the way?

You can hear a portion of my interview with Francesca in the upcoming teleseminar "Smart Spas Don't Advertise: 3 Secrets to Book Yourself Solid in 2008 Without Paying for Print Ads" on August 14th.  While I think you'll learn something new on the call, feel free to register even if you can't attend the two times it will be offered, so you can receive the followup materials to the class.

Smart Spas Don't Advertise?

Learn the 3 Secrets to Book Yourself Solid in 2008 Without Paying for Print Ads

• Do you have a wonderful spa or salon but are not seeing enough clients come in your door?
• Have you tried print advertisements or mailing postcards, but just did not see enough new clients to make it worth your time or money?
• Are you looking forward to the busy month of December, but aren't sure how you'll stay busy enough in 2008?

If so, I'm hosting a free telephone seminar Wednesday, November 14th you won't want to miss.

I want to make 2008 your best year ever for your aesthetic or wellness business!

You have your choice of two time slots for my free 45-minute telephone seminar this coming Wednesday, November 14th, either 3:00 pm Eastern (12:00 pm Pacific) OR 7:00 pm Eastern (4:00 pm Pacific). I really hope you can make it because you’ll discover things you've never heard before including:

• The most important New Year's Resolution to make if you want to be a (more) successful spa or salon owner.  It's a surprisingly simple habit shared by all the profitable spa professionals I've known.
• Learn what a massage therapist and former day spa owner did to be able to make her spa the most popular spa within 30 miles!
• Why the traditional approach to marketing spas and salons is fatally flawed.
• The one simple strategy that's helped one spa sell more than $20,000 in gift certificates in one night and how you can use it too.
• How to quickly go from feeling overwhelmed and confused to total clarity about your marketing.
• Learn from a solo aesthetician who is so busy that her only customer complaint is that she is booked out at least six weeks in advance.
• The "hidden" skill that spa and salon professionals develop that has nothing to do with the quality of their technique and which often separates them from all the rest.
• How you can double or triple your business revenues without paying for no-response advertisements in your local radio, newspaper or magazines.

This is a FREE Telephone Seminar.  There’s no cost to participate in this 45-minute telephone seminar except your normal long distance charges (same as if you were calling Aunt Edna in Minnesota) because it’s sponsored by my company, Spa Clientele Solutions.  You'll also get a free subscription to my email newsletter packed with publicity and profitable spa and salon marketing tips. You may unsubscribe anytime and of course I’ll always respect your email privacy and never give your email address to any unauthorized third party.

If this is your first time calling into a teleseminar, it is easy. Just call a number (that you'll receive when you register) from any phone.  You don't need to be at your computer, either, as we will be doing everything over the phone.

                                                                   

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If you are reading in email, click HERE to go online and register.

Be sure to put your preferred time on your calendar as space on the calls will be limited! I hope to talk you more on the 14th!