E-Mail Marketing in the Spa or Salon- Yes it is 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.

No Burgers and a Stone Massage in Spa Paradise

Recently I was flipping through a major spa magazine and came across the Burger/Stone Massage theme from a hotel that was advertising their restaurant and spa. 

Okay, what was the advertising agency really thinking? And, what was the client thinking?  Was anyone thinking?  Let’s see, first I’ll have the stone massage and then the hamburger.   Or, I’ll have the stone massage and then the juicy burger.  Let’s see, does the hotel have the drive-in experience for the spa?  I’ll have cheeseburger with extra mustard, hold the pickle, and yes, a deep aromatherapy massage with the burger. 

Please, no burgers in spa paradise.  And get rid of the stones on the back.

Who’s Your Brand? or My Night At Barnes and Noble

Who’s your brand?  What does she or he look like?  What do they wear?  How do they dress?  This was my dilemma when I spent a night pouring through the shelves with Rita at Barnes & Noble.  It was Rita’s idea to head to B & N to research the new brand.  When you create a spa, you have to have a visual was Rita’s advice.

Book after book, what was I looking for?  To me, the brand was smiles, happy, black and white pictures, glamour, dancing, long eye lashes, big lipstick, elegant, whimsical, fun, and larger than life.  The new spa experience would be elegant, yet whimsical.  So I poured through books and took many photos.  Below, this was the brand from the books at Barnes and Noble.

The visuals above provided a road-map for our photo shoot for the spa brand.  The pictures gave us words, feelings, and guidance.  I guess that is why they say a picture is worth a 1,000 words.

Brand the Rump of the Cow-It’s the Spa Experience

Just like the rump of the cow gets branded…so does your spa.  When a farmer brands their cows, it is their way of telling the other farmers…hey you this is my cow.  When a client or guest walks through your door, what does your brand say?  Is it stamped where it should be?  Bags, brochures, signage, uniforms,…the list goes on all need to have YOUR brand, YOUR professional logo.

Plus, what does your brand infer about the spa experience…is it beachy, casual, snooty, elegant, whimsical, fun, serious, therapeutic, nautical, chakra, mountains, lakes, chocolate–the list could go on for your spa exerience.  You see, making your spa experience special is your way of branding your cow.  What you say or even don’t say about your story is repeated to others as their spa experience at your spa.  So, use all your senses to come up with your brand, your logo, and your spa experience.

Sear your spa experience on numerous rumps–it’s the spa way.

Spa Niche Market- Stick to it like White on Rice

When you are planning your spa, you have to segment the market and choose your niche.  What is a niche?  Wikipedia describes a niche as Niche Market-a focused, targeted portion (subset) of a market sector.  Okay, do I really need one?

Yes, you need to know your spa target market–who will come to the spa, and your niche in the market.  For example, Who are you?

• men only
• teens
• young adults
• senior citizens
• club spa
• destination
• Ayurveda
• resort spa
• wellness spa
• yoga spa
• day spa
• skin spa

The list is endless, because the market segmentation is endless.  The key is to make sure that you have enough clients in your niche to keep your spa busy and profitable.  A teen spa in a predominantly senior citizen Florida city may not fare well, even though you have read how popular they are.  The example teen spa would not have enough clients to keep the spa profitable.

On the other side of choosing your niche, remember, you cannot be all things to all people.   As the spa industry continues to grow and morph, we will start to see niche markets that will become market trends. 

Once you find a niche in the market, make it yours and don’t deviate or waffle–your clients will become confused.  One spa in the area started out with a definite hip, Miami feel, attracting clients from 3 counties.  It was an auspicious start, but the clients it attracted could not afford to go to the spa.  So they changed the marketing and changed the marketing and changed the marketing.  Now, I’m not sure who they really are?

When you don’t know you are, how do you think your clients will know who you are?  Find your niche, and stick to it….they say like white on rice.

Branding Thoughts-Is it the Chicken or the Egg?

When you go to create a spa brand, where do you start?  With the bricks and mortar or the initial concept?  What will your chicken do or say? Where will the egg be laid?  Will the egg be gold or silver? Will the chicken be organic or green?  When you start to brand a spa, you must start at the very beginning…don’t lay a brick, don’t pay the architect.  What is your brand, how does it feel?  Does it smell?  Does it touch my senses?  What will I feel as a guest in your spa?  If you are having trouble with the chicken or the egg—get assistance!  The branding of your spa is one of the most important aspects of the business.  It is your intrinsic way of saying who you are, what you stand for and how you do business. 

Will your guests be swept away on a magic carpet, or do you have an oriental flare?  Play 20 questions and your brand will start to hatch, little by little, with guest feedback and an instinct of what your guests want in a spa.