Spa Clientéle Marketing Tips

Do you really need to advertise to bring in new business?

You may have seen this issue on the blog before but I think question "Do you really need to advertise to bring in new business?" really deserves a second look.

It would be easier if it was a simple "yes" or "no," but as in life, things are not always so black and white.  However, I will say that there are many examples of successful spas, solo estheticians, salons and massage therapists out there that have never run a print ad and are happily booked up. 

What's their secret?  Well for one, success isn't a secret...but it there is no one magic answer either.   But success does require some planning -- we've all heard this before.  A business plan.  A personnel plan.  A marketing plan. And so on.

Very often the marketing plan does not get finished ... or even started ... prior to opening the doors on that first day.  This is not uncommon, but it could also be a costly mistake.  Without a marketing plan, spending and activities are reactive and are not as effective as when operating from a well thought out plan.

I know it can be overwhelming to know where to start...and sometimes this prevents us from starting at all.  But trust me when I say that having a month-by-month marketing plan will save you money and bring in more clients than not having one. 

To get past that stage of not knowing where to start, my friend and partner in this site, Heather Gallegos, created a four-hour course on creating your annual marketing plan called Smart Spa Marketing.  Spread over three to four weeks, this self-paced course will take you step-by-step in the creating a marketing plan for the next twelve months.  And then you can simply make small updates for the next year, and the next.

As most of you know, I recently purchased Heather's business along with the course. As I am going along in blending her business and products with mine, I'd really love to get some feedback on how I can make Smart Spa Marketing even better. That's where I need your help...

I've decided to offer the Smart Spa Marketing course for just $79, but only to the next 15 people that respond to this special offer. That's almost 40% off the regular price of $129. So what's the catch for giving such a huge discount? Not a thing. All I ask is that upon completion of the course you complete a quick evaluation of the course, tell me what you like least and most about it, and provide suggestions on what would make this class more valuable to you and others. The discount is simply my thank you for your time and help.

What's more, by implementing even just one of the helpful tools in the course, I am positive you will make back your entire purchase price and much more. If you don't I'll refund your entire purchase price.

To learn more about Smart Spa Marketing, just click here. When you are ready to make your purchase, type in the coupon code SMARTSPA to get your discount. 

Don't put off making this incredibly affordable investment in yourself and your spa or practice. This is a one time offer and one that will not be repeated.  Get started with Smart Spa Marketing today and make 2010 the best year ever for your business!

Thanks in advance for your help, support, and feedback . Stay SMART!

Felicia

Related Articles:

Five reasons why you need a marketing plan for your salon or spa

Slot machine marketing

Must-do marketing for solos

June 28: Grab a Facebook URL for your spa or massage business

Within 15 minutes on June 12, 500,000 Facebook users created user names which now allow them to have an easy to remember web address. An example is the Facebook Fan Page for Day Spa magazine: www.facebook.com/dayspa.  This options was (and still is) a first-come-first-serve registration for a web page address that could lead to your personal or business web page.   If you have a Fan Page already set up on Facebook for your spa business, you are already ahead of the game.  However, if you have less than 1000 fans, you may have been frustrated by the rules that prevented you from claiming a vanity URL for your Fan Page.

Well here's some good news! June 28 you can get one no matter how many fans. Mark your calendars.

Not sure what I'm talking about?  That's okay, here's the what you need to know:

Facebook Fan Pages--sometimes referred to as Product Pages, Company Pages or Business Pages--are the only way to promote your business on that site. Creating and promoting Fan Pages can put you miles ahead of your competitors who don't know about these powerful tools.

Because Facebook doesn't limit the number of Fans you can attract, but limits you to 5,000 Friends, you'd be crazy not to create a Fan Page for your business.  

It is also important to note that Google indexes these pages, so they can show up in the organic search results on the left side of the screen when somebody searches Google for keywords like "day spa" and your local city or zip code. So be sure to include relevant keywords when you create the name of your Fan Page.  This may mean the title of your Fan Page is a bit longer than you might think is natural, but having a long title helps folks see your page and is not going to prevent anyone from scheduling an appointment.  If your business name is Chrysalis Salon and Spa in Oswego, IL your fan page user name could be "chrysalis" or "chrysalissalonandspa" and the name you enter when you first create the page could be "Chysalis Salon and Day Spa serving Oswego and Montgomery."

Some quick links for you to get started now:

• Create a username for your personal page (which may be your business on Facebook right now): www.facebook.com/username. 
• Create a Fan Page
• FAQ about Facebook Fan Pages

So get a head start today on creating your fan page so you will be ready on June 28th to grap your own Facebook URL!

And by the way...facebook.com/spa and facebook.com/massage are suprisingly not reserved yet!

Starting fresh with smart marketing

Regularly answering your email questions! Just click banner above, or to the right to submit your questions!

Hi Heather,

I am a solo esthetician that moved into a new city and started with no clients.

Now, I have 10 clients.  Not nearly enough to keep me busy.  As we are approaching the holiday season, is it prudent to offer gift cards?  (I am an esthetician in a beauty supply store with three hair stations.  I am not in a fancy day spa.)

Also, I have a very strong retail sales ability but the traffic in my place is slow.  Should I even buy some small gift sets for my clients to buy?

The owner has no problem with me selling anything as long as he and I are not selling the same items.

What is your input?

Thank you,

Christy

Thanks for your questions Christy.  My quick answer to your first question of offering gift cards or certificates is: yes, absolutely!  Gift certificates allow your clients -- or the clients who get their hair done at the store -- to purchase your services as a gift to another. It is an easy incentive to offer a bonus with the purchase of a gift certificate.  Some ideas include a second $10 off certificate with the purchase of a $100 or a free product to be given with the certificate.   [If you already have gift certificates, then no -- adding plastic gift cards are not needed in my opinion.  Keep it simple with paper certificates for you.]  Be sure to post a small flyer at each of the hair stations and the check out area about the gift certificates. 

In terms of gift items in a low traffic location, I would advise you to not purchase anything that does not directly relate to your services.  Any retail inventory should be something you can demonstrate, educate and talk about in your session. This includes retail sizes -- or sample sizes that you sell -- of the skincare products you actively use with your clients.  Leave holiday gift items -- and the risk that comes with the possibility that they will not move -- to your beauty store owner.

And now for some unsolicited advice...your ability to market your business as a stand alone business will be very important to increase your number of clients.  Things like having your own website and reaching out to businesses beyond the beauty store are needed to add to what ever the beauty store owner is (or isn't) doing to market and advertise.  I have linked a few related articles below that can provide some more information that I hope help you get your business off the ground.  

Best of luck!

Related Articles:

• Must-Do Marketing for Solos
• Do you really need to advertise to bring in new business?
• Postcard marketing made easy
• Trade for mutual marketing

Selecting the right artwork to support your brand

Simple Power Flower, Feng Shui silk panel by Ellen Brook

The brand of your spa is communicated in many ways via a logo, brochure, website, answering machine or pre-treatment protocol.  Don't overlook the powerful emotion and memory that artwork can inspire in your guests by being another subtle and beautiful communicator of your unique brand.  Today's guest blogger, Ellen Brook is an artist writes about how to use and select art to create that sense of retreat for your clients.

Is your spa truly a sanctuary from the outside world?  You are undoubtedly doing your best to make your spa beautiful and welcoming. To truly evoke what your clients most need - a refuge from their busy lives – your challenge is to transform an ordinary space into an extraordinary transcendent experience.

This, of course, includes designing a space with attention to everything that embraces the five senses in gentle and calming ways. It also means choosing elements that delight your clients’ physical senses… then transports them beyond. Original artwork is one of the rare treasures of the world with this capacity. While offering balance to a room, color for a wall, or a general treat for the eye, it’s like a vessel brimming with the potential to instantly conjure up warm memories, make us break into song, recall a dream or evoke something magical – a moment apart from our ordinary lives.

So art in the spa adds a beautiful visual element, but more importantly, it can help create the experience you most want to deliver. Does your spa’s artwork have this emotional power? Can it capture a client’s fancy and connect her with life on the inside? Ultimately, does this ambiance set apart your spa from the others?

If the answer is yes, then you have a powerful differentiator.

"Now what?" you’re wondering.

First, tap in to feelings. Start by asking yourself…or your employees….or better yet, your clients…‘how does this artwork make you feel?’ Good? positive? calm? Or down? cold? indifferent? Trust your gut. What else comes to mind? Does it have any of the following characteristics - haunting, magical, soft, peaceful, joyful, ethereal? For a retreat, these elements are more important than just ‘liking’ a piece.

Direct Mail Postcards Made Easy

Direct mail postcards have always been a tried-and-true way to increase awareness and bring in new clients to any business.  However, the effectiveness of those postcards will vary based on many things such as: what words you use; how many you send out; the list you send them to; how frequently you send the postcards; the visual design; and the promotional offer you include.  For most spa and salon owners, the prospect of creating a custom postcard can be intimidating and stressful.

While it isn't an impossible task, creating your own postcard campaign can be complicated.  I've compiled the basic steps for doing it yourself:

If I was going to start up a day spa...

For several years, I dreamt of opening my day spa.  I would spend hours planning the service menu, the decor, the marketing theme, the perfect location.  I spent zero hours thinking of managing staff, bookkeeping, dealing with plumbing issues.   

BUT if I was going to start up a spa, I would do these things to create the best marketing strategy and plan:

• I would visit every competitor -- day spas, medical spas, salons with spas, solo practitioner, and hotel spa -- in a 15 mile radius of my target location.  I'd get their brochures, inquire about "what are you known for" with the front desk, schedule an appointment and go home and cancel my appointment.  This would give me a wonderful view of my competition on the inside, how they view "what makes them special" what type of service they give to prospective new clients and whether they ever call me again to try to get me to come in again.    While the service treatments are highly important, they do not help attracting new clients in a startup -- is mainly it the external view of your business that attracts new clients.
• I would use professional help. While creating a website or designing your logo yourself can be done...the time it takes you figure out the applications, fiddle with things, change your mind again, etc. is really best spent doing more strategic things that only you can do.  So I would definitely get a graphic artist, web designer, interior designer, a general contractor, a lawyer, an accountant, a spa consultant and a publicist to advise me on the best way to achieve my goals.  Granted, my dream is about a fairly large spa ... in reality we all have to make tradeoffs with startup costs and which trusted advisor is the most critical to your success.  And you can make shortcuts with college interns or new businesses getting started, but the key is that you don't get stuck doing everything yourself.  If you look at the most successful spas -- they do have a team of trusted advisor's in place.
• I would write my marketing plan for the year even before I opened.   Using my competitive research I would make sure my business stood apart -- in colors, words, concept and services.   I want to have a unique angle.  Not unique to the world, just unique to my local competition.   Then I would determine what marketing and publicity activities I'd do every month to communicate that uniqueness over and over again.
• I would have a website and service menu that sell for me. I don't want to have to be there in person to be the reason someone schedules an appointment.  Automation is my friend.  Automated email capture, online scheduling, online gift certificates and product sales, automated website tracking and reports..all good things.
• I would train my staff in customer service and referral building as much, or maybe more than, my technical training.  Marketing is not just ads and post cards, it is also a part of the daily protocols, service levels, tone, attitude and emotional feel of the spa.  Those are all things controlled by the staff; they are the things that clients remember about their experience and how they felt.  Those are the things that keep clients coming back.
• I would partner with a nearby business or charity for joint publicity.  I would rather make a splash in the press than pay for passive advertising.   Publicity has the added value of creating credibility and the intangible "buzz."
• I would give away information.  Whether in free informational classes, teleseminars or online tips or e-mail newsletters, giving something of value at no cost deepens your relationship with existing and prospective clients.

I did say it was a dream.  Even if I did 80% of this list I'd still be ahead of the pack in terms of having a fighting chance to reserve a spot in my clients mind.

So, do you think I'm just dreaming?  Would it be possible to do all this in your experience?

Trade for mutual marketing

I know it is a common practice to "trade" services with another business to help you run yours.  As a service business doing hair, skincare or massage -- your services are in demand by anyone.  And small businesses providing printing, painting, graphic artist, catering, plumbing...anything that you need for your business...may offer a possible trade. You do have to be careful to track the value of what you trade for taxation purposes, and make sure everything is even-steven.  You may want to consider trade as a way to mutually market two or more businesses.

Perks and Promotions.  A very inexpensive way to mutually promote is to offer a donated gift from another business when your client books a specific service.  For example, a free entree at a nearby and new restaurant when your clients book a pedicure.  Or a free hour of personal training or chiropractic adjustment when they book a massage.  This works especially well with new businesses in your neighborhood.  Try approaching one with an offer to market them to your clients if they donate a service to interested clients.

Customer Appreciation/Charitable Events. If it is a business that you know well, consider throwing a joint client appreciation event/open house.  Your clients will have the opportunity to tour their business, perhaps sample services or products...and visa versa.  Put a charitable spin on it and collect cash donations or have a raffle of donated goods for a local charity.  These types of events, when well publicized and planned out, can create a nice community buzz about your businesses. The objectives of these events are 1) to make contact and develop relationships with prospective new clients; and 2) have a reason to talk to the media; and 3) do some good for a community organization.  The more health or beauty focused your partnering business and charity are, the tighter the marketing message can be about your event.

Informational Classes.  There are several organizations and speakers that are interested in speaking at no cost.   Your product sales reps (hair care, skincare, makeup) might be willing to do a class that relates to their product -- keeping it informative of course.  For example: learn different hair styles for the same hair cut; get an overview of product ingredients and which ones are 'best' for anti-aging/acne/etc.; or see a demonstration of new eye shadow techniques or makeup application for teens.  You are trading access to your clients for the sales rep opportunity to exclusively market their products.

Other speakers could be volunteers from health-focused charities such as American Cancer Society (how to prevent skin cancer) or Cardiac Foundation (stress as a leading cause of women's heart attacks).   Some day spas work with independent sales reps of "party" marketers (clothing, bras, jewelry) to host a party in the spa.

The key to successful mutual marketing is finding the right business to partner up with.  They should be in the health or beauty industry and should not compete with you in any way.  Your clients should logically be interested being a client in both businesses.  In addition to sharing the marketing costs, you could be exponentially increase your business.