Top Ten Ways to Increase Client Retention

Top Ten Ways to Increase Client Retention

Building a long term clientele is essential to your business. Having a high client retention rate ensures that your business will continue to flourish as long term clients are more likely to refer others to your spa. Here are the top ten things you can do today to increase your client retention and reap the benefits of a highly engaged, dedicated clientele.

1. Stop Advertising

Immediately, stop advertising! Advertising without a plan or without a goal in mind is like throwing mud at a wall and seeing what sticks. Not effective and defitnitely not pretty. What you need to do immediately is start to market to your current clientele. They are there for a reason, do you know what it is? Before you go out and search for a brand new client, get your current clientele using more of your services and buying more of your product. It takes much fewer resources of time, energy, effort, and money to engage the people that have already selected you and learn everything you can about what they want and need. Spend your advertising dollars in ways that better serve your current clientele.

2. Build Trust

This excellent rule, be Impeccable with your word from “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz reminds us to do what we say we will do. The fastest way to lose a client is to give them reasons to not trust you. If they have a question, find out the answer. If you tell them you will call them back in 20 minutes, call them back in 15. In every situation, ask yourself if your action is building or breaking trust with your clientele. Teach this to everyone that comes in contact with the clients. Always look for ways to follow through on your promise.

3. 2C’s

Compliments and cards. Although this may sound trite, compliment your guests. Be sincere and find ways to point out the things that you admire, respect, think are beautiful, and nice. Every time you see a client, you should be looking for something that you can compliment them on. This makes them happy to see you, excited about your business, and eager to return. Write cards. If each of your employees took twenty minutes a week and wrote a few greeting cards to your clients thanking them for their business and sharing their appreciation for them, your clients would be a very happy bunch. It takes very little time and it has a very big impact.

4. Ask for feedback

Give your clients the tools and resources that they need to give you honest feedback. Provide a comment box, place phone calls to your clients, and send out surveys. You need to know how to improve. Reward and publically praise clients who take the time to give you feedback. Send out a newsletter thanking them, put up a sign that highlights the change you have made because of their input. Give away a product basket to clients whose ideas create change in your organization. Encourage employees to ask for feedback and honest assessment from clients.

5. Get personal

Find out the milestone events in your clients lives. Know how many kids they have and their names. Know their anniversaries, their birthday, their pets name and what their hobbies are. Show them that you care. Develop personal relationships with you clients that communicate sincere appreciation for their lives. Celebrate their life with them. Ask them questions and seek to understand who they are as a person. Find out what they love and make sure they get it! If your client loves lavender oil for her massage, put it in the notes. Don’t make her ask for it every single time!

6. Incentivize

Since you have stopped advertising, you will need to establish a plan for getting new clients in the door. Start by incentivizing your long term clients for bringing in their friends, family, and co workers. Show them publically your thanks and gratitude. Make them feel like a VIP through gift baskets and services the longer they stay with you and the more people that they refer to you! This is your best advertising campaign. You want to attract more of the same, and your current clients are friends with and work with the exact target person that you want in your business!

7. For life approach

Become a resource for life for your clients. Say things like, “I don’t want to just be your day spa, if you ever have any questions about achieving optimal health, even if we cannot provide a certain service here, ask me and I will help you.” Let your clients know that you have their best interest at heart and develop a relationship that proves this by referring them to what they are looking for.

8. Share Information

Create an environment that is honest and straightforward. If they are interested in learning more about a certain product, connect them to the information that they need. If your clients consider you to be a valuable source of information, tools, and resources, they will most likely spend more time in your business and spend more money on your services.

9. Consistency

Building an environment that is consistent is imperative to building trust. Make sure that your employee training program addresses the importance of a consistent experience. Making sure that you have your retail shelves stocked, that there is always toilet paper in the bathroom, and that they always get their post treatment beverage are all simple elements that contribute to a consistent experience.

10. Continual Improvement

To really develop a long term relationship, you must also develop yourself. Your commitment to continually learning and deepening your own knowledge will enhance your relationship with your clients. Not only will you have new information to share with them, but you will sharpen your skills of service and demonstrate that they are special to you.

Imagine that everyone has a necklace hanging over their heart that says, “I want to feel important.” Ask yourself, are we doing everything that we can to ensure that this client stays with us for life? Make a commitment to strengthen the loyalty that you have for your client and in turn, that your client has for you.

Choosing a Spa in Asheville

Spa Theology, Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, Suraj Spa Salon, Hands on Health, Results Spa, Poseidon Spa and more! How do you figure out which one is right for you? Asheville, NC is home to dozens of spas. Each one holds a very special place in the healing arts community. Selecting a spa can be a challeging, if not confusing endeveour. I am a spa owner, so I understand the subtle differences from one spa to another and the type of experience you can expect to have. In order to make the most out of your spa experience you need to find a spa that will meet and exceed your expectations.

Why are you going to the spa?

Relaxation and Pampering?
If you want to completely let go and be pampered, you would be more interested in a spa that has beautiful ambiance and amenities like Grove Park of Spa Theology. The attention to details and the beautiful architectural design make these places a sanctuary of the senses. Going to Spa Theology or Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa is like taking a mini vacation in itself.

Pain management, relaxation, sore muscles?
If you want a more therapeutic experience, look for places that are set up more like a medical clinic. Hands on Health offers excellent massage services in a comfortable setting. Chiropractors also offer massage services. Communicate to your therapist the goals that you have of the session.

Celebration?
Suraj Spa Salon has an escape lounge where bridal parties, girlfriends, couples, and groups can relax and mingle before and after treatments. The bright environment and customizable spa menu are perfect for celebrating fun events. For an inexpensive option, you can take a group of friends to Privai Academy where students perform facials and massages in an open spa setting. http://www.PrivaiAcademy.com

Spa Day and Shopping?
The Grand Bohemian Hotel is right in the heart of Biltmore Village and is a boutique hotel. The Hotel is home to the Red Stag Grill, a contemporary restaurant famous for fresh fish, meats, and dynamite deserts. On the third floor of the Hotel is the Poseidon Spa, home to some of the most unique body treatments available in Asheville. A perfect spa and shopping day would include valet parking at the Grand Bohemian, eating lunch, shopping Biltmore Village and then ending with one of the Poseidon spa packages.


With all of the spa options in Asheville, you are sure to find one that meets your needs. Happy Spaaahing!

5 Reasons you want Bridal Parties

The Wedding industry is big, and growing. Smart spas are paying attention and learning how they can create experiences for brides that help them primp and pamper themselves for their
big day. In this blog I will explore why your company even wants to enter this industry and next month will follow up with the 5 Service Steps for Wedding Parties. I have a fresh new perspective on this subject, because I was recently a bride. In fact, that's me on the left. So, from first hand experience from both a bride and a spa owner, here are the 5 reasons you want Bridal Parties at your spa.

1. Exposure. By hosting bridal parties, you are exposing your spa to other vendors in the community that you can network with. Caterers, photographers, florists. They all have friends and families who live in your area. TIP: Treat the brides ancillary vendors to spa goody bags. Insert several menu's into the bag and include a first visit discount for them to share with friends.

2. Free Marketing. While your bride is getting ready, she is taking pictures in your salon. these show up on Facebook and Myspace among others, so make sure you have signage in your spa. Photographers will use the bride's pictures to market themselves. Inevitably, a future bride will say, "I love her hair! Where did she get it done?" You will get new clients because of your beautiful work.

3. Brides spend money. Believe me, during this very special time in a bride's life, she wants to spend money. She wants things perfect and is willing to pay whatever it takes. I was more interested in making things "right" then worrying about an extra $10, $20, or $30. Brides want education and they want to look pretty. Tell them what treatments they need to enhance their appearance...and they will get them.

4. Retail. Offer day of spa baskets for the bridal party from the bride. Include a lipstick for free with the purchase of their lip liner. Find ways to enhance the pre wedding ritual with retail. This can increase your average ticket cost and imprint the memory of your spa on your guests.

5. Power Booking. Bridal parties schedule services weeks in advance. Knowing the spa schedule this far out allows you to manipulate your schedule so that you can increase your other bookings. Most bridal parties need 2-4 hours in the spa, so ensure that you are maximizing your resources for the most revenue from your bookings.

You want to be a place that offers bridal services. You can create a life long memory and offer the perfect start to a very magical day.

make sure to visit next month when I share 5 Service Steps for Wedding Parties.

Inspiring Results - better management

Our company seeks to provide "operative excellence, optimal spa experiences." In order to achieve this lofty goal, we have to hire only the best, train smart, and manage properly. Very few people can achieve the level of excellence and expectation that we place on our employees. But, in a competitive landscape, we know that ultimately, the professionalism of our employees and their expertise is what achieves our mission.

In our employee newsletter this month, we posed the statement, "You are exactly where you want to be right now in this moment. Take a look at your life, check to see if you are happy right here and right now. Are you living the life you envisioned? Your current life is the result of the actions that you have taken and decisions that you have made." It is important that our company is honest with our employees. If someone is not happy - they need to find happiness, and it may not be with the company. But, by creating a company culture where there is authentic compassion and desire for each individual to move toward their highest potential, we are keeping the dialog open and allowing the shining stars of the future to step into the light.

As a successful entrepreneurial company, we are living proof that any hard time (read: recession) can be time for opportunity. And as our company continues to grow and develop, it is being 100% in the present while planning prudently for the future. But this planning is something that we include our teams in. Each property comes up with their own strategic marketing plan, a plan that anyone can contribute to and the manager is responsible for presenting the final. Giving people a voice and including the entire team in the planning for success builds a stronger foundation and one that is built to last.

On a more micro level - we each need to be committed to our own personal growth. What can you do this moment that can set you up better for the future? Who is your mentor? Have you taken them for coffee lately? How are you inspiring results from yourself?

We ask our managers to "inspire results" of their teams. What is your company doing right now that can help your employees gain more purpose and fulfillment in their current positions. How can you use this moment to inspire results?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What motivates the results in my company?

2. How am I connecting to the employees?

3. Who do I turn to for guidance and support?

4. How is my company/department planning for the future now?

5. What types of support can I give to help others grow?

It is the companies that spend this time training, planning, and strategizing that will come out ahead. Are you one of those companies?

Low Cost, High Impact Marketing!

Spas are spending way too much money on marketing their spas and seeing way too few results. Every month, you submit your ad, close your eyes, and pray that someone, anyone will notice your ad and come walking through the door. In education, they call type of communication the "throw and stick" method. If you really want to market your spa and find a way to get people in the door, stop wasting your money on newspaper ads, magazine ads, radio ads, tv, and park benches. Blindly communicating to a group of people your information and hoping that something sticks to someone. Stop this madness immediately! To really communicate your brand, and bring more people in the door, you have to first understand who you are before you can understand who you are trying to reach. Here are the five steps to ensuring that you create a powerful marketing campaign:

1. Find out who you are. Look at your spa through a new set of eyes. Make a list of adjectives that describe your spa. What are the goals of the spa? Why is the spa in existence? What values does the spa have?

2. Create a color board. Cut out inspirational pictures that embrace the essence of your spa. Arrange them in a visually appealing way and hang this color board up in a place where your associates can see it. All decisions for marketing need to be congruent with the emotions that this color board evoke.

3. Describe your end consumer. Who is she/he? What are they looking for? What do they want and need? How do they make their purchasing decision? Understanding who you are targeting helps you stay so much closer to the target!

4. Analyze your current clientele. Are your current clients the ones that you are trying to get in the door? If they aren't, then what is it about your spa brand and identity that is not attracting them? If you aren't getting new people through the door, there is a disconnect from who you think you are and who your consumers think you are. In other words, they are disappointed with some expectation that they have about your spa. Find that disconnect and fix it!

5. More of the same. Once you have establish who you are and who you are trying to attract, create die hard loyalty programs for the clients that you already have. Spend your money on rewarding and incentivize your current clients to bring you their friends, family, and colleagues. Find out where your current clients exercise, eat, shop, and contribute to charity and then team up with their favorite businesses and charities to create cross promotional campaigns.

So, stop wasting your money on the radio, and start spending your money on what works. Creating an environment that rewards loyal clients for coming back and bringing their friends.

New Article!

A new article in new Life Journal about how to use antioxidants to slow the aging process!
http://www.newlifejournal.com/cms/content/view/915/55/

Summer Spa Season 2009

Summer is a time of fresh flowers, hot weather, and exposed skin. Spas who have survived the past six months are stronger than ever, having increased market share, fine tuning their operations, and learning everything that they can about their clients' needs and desires. With a turn to the more frugal and an emphasis on simple values, many on trend spas will begin providing seasonal specials that incorporate the use of fresh herbs, vegetables, and botanicals, all grown locally and harvested for the spa. This back to nature offering not only provides a unique service offering for the clients, but it also is a cost saving measure for the spa looking to save on product expense. Look for mint pedicures, cucumber facials, and mixed green facials.

A back to nature approach to spa service offerings will excite the clients and connect them emotionally to the spa. So, start your garden today! Good luck and happy summer!

Top 10 Spa Trends 2009

After much deliberation and multiple meetings with industry leaders, speakers, educators, operators, and technicians, we have firmly established the top 10 spa trends for 2009!


Drum roll please...

1. Bang for the Buck - People are not not spending money, they will just be more selective of where they spend it. So, this year the key word in spa is VALUE.
   


2. Eco and conscious - Green is a movement and spas are in the prime position to demonstrate, teach, and provide a green refuge. Look for spas to offer locally harvested ingredients in their treatments. Spas turn green in their cleaning supplies and finally start utilizing all of the gadgets in their booking system to minimize paper!


3. Spa - Vacations - Your local day spa or resort spa could be the location of your next get away. With budget conscious travelers, staying in town and spending a day at your favorite local place will be all the rage this year.


4. Teaching Spa - Look for spas to offer education and training into wellness and health. Watch for spas to partner with educational institutes to cater to a wider pool of health conscious people looking for tips and knowledge in health and wellness.


5. Art of Touch - The emphasis is on connection this year. People are craving connection and quality time to relax. People will choose basic spa treatments that are tried and true so that their experience in the room can be familiar and relaxing.


6. Multiple Treatments - On the go people need more two in one treatments. Look for treatments to cater to face and body at the same time. Time strapped people need multi tasking treatments.


7. Amp up the service skills - This goes for front desk to service provider. Anticipating the needs and wants of the spa guest will create WOW moments that will pull guests back for more. Spas prepare by amping up their customer service training.


8. Feel Good Marketing - Financially savvy spas will start getting involved in the community through sponsorships and volunteering. This low cost and highly effective strategy will reconnect spas to their community and market them at the same time!


9. Green Packaging - Spas will look for ways to minimize waste. Product lines who offer refill programs and no outer packaging are attractive to spas. Spas may introduce reusable spa bags for retail that offer a discount to customers bringing them back in to fill them up with retail.


10. Spa Culture - People are creatures of habit. Groups and special events want to create ritual. Spas will make it easier for them by offering easy and affordable packages that that create memories and turn into annual or monthly events. The Spa Culture will provide a great gathering excuse and some well deserved pampering and relaxation!