You know that along your journey in life you meet some people that are just destined to pop into your fork of the road. Well, Elz is one of those people. I met her at a spa conference and immediately fell into an answer and question period that lasted for 4 hours. We discussed quality, spa services, retail, nail departments, payroll structures—if there was a hot spa topic, we touched on it. I was amazed at her knowledge, her passion, and her total honesty.
Well, my ears started to perk up when she started talking about the Mobil Ranking of Spas. You see this is the “gold” standard of spas and not very many spas get this award-especially if you are a free standing day spa. But Elz was going for it…she went through all of the details of being a Mobil Ranked spa. Then, Elz asked, what sound do use in your massage to begin and end the massage? I must have looked very dumb or very blank, because she said again…you know, what sound do you use? Elz said, We use a bong. A Bong? You bong for Mobil? Yes, we bong for Mobil.
I went back to my spa and met with the department managers and reviewed the conference information and some of the Mobil standards. You know it is great to put the guest robe over the table and the slippers by the table, but when I mentioned the sound therapy before and after the massage, there were some rather blank stares…snickers…laughter. Ha, ha..the last laugh is on you. We now have been researching the type of sound therapy that we wish to have in the treatment room, crystal bells, Tibetan singing bowls, chimes, wood chimes, conch shells, the sound and noise list is endless, the possibilities infinite. One thing I do know, is that you better get bonging soon, because you never know when Mobil will show up. BONG!
September 30, 2007
Okay, you are in the beauty business. That is great, but at some point you must realize that to reach your prospective guests you are going to need to use the Internet. Unless your target market is over 75, you will need a web site—and yes, you need to e-mail your clients with monthly information.
Staying in touch with your clients is the most important part of your business, because if you do not stay in touch, they will forget you. Yes, you will be dropped like a hot potato, and they will rush down the street to see the next best spa in town. Why?? people talk, people listen, people chatter….they just do it in a different way today. They e-mail, they twitter, they facebook and they link–it is the way we are choosing to stay in touch.
You don’t have to be ultra sophisticated, but you have to stay in touch. Does your spa software allow you to e-mail? If so, please set up a template and use it monthly.
If you need assistance with spa software, check out Millenium Software from the greatest group of computer geeks in the world. You can e-mail clients one at a time, or for confirmations or you can send out an e-mail just to maybe “new facial clients that came in within the last month–the possibilities are endless. Stay in touch- an e-mail will do.
September 22, 2007
