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.

Why Boutique Spas?

Big is not better. Spa ‘s turn to boutique concepts with an emphasis on service.

It is 7:30 am EST and the phone is ringing, again. This time it’s a resort in the southeast with a 10 million dollar spa project that they have just determined to put “on hold.” As I take my first sip of coffee, I slip in front of my lap top to begin taking notes. Although, I have heard this story dozens of times this month, each client is unique, each property is special, and each vision is different. The voice on the other end begins to share his trepidation. Occupancy is down, capture rates in spas are struggling, and the capital investment is insane. Check, check, check. He wants to eventually build the large scale spa, but not yet, and is concerned where his guests will go in the interim. Does he contract massage therapists? Does he send them to the day spa down the street? Alas, what will bridge the gap and provide him the ability to control quality, strengthen his brand, and capture more revenue? This is the perfect client for a Boutique Spa Concept.
The most magical part of the spa is the indigenous essence that it provides the spa goer. The raw connection to a place and the creative ways in which it is woven throughout each aspect of a spa are what make the experience so special and unique. In a Boutique Spa concept, you take the most magical elements of the spa and shrink them down to fit inside of a currently available space (ideally this space is a couple of underutilized hotel rooms that can be easily taken out of inventory – you know, the rooms with the roof view). The space is designed to include architectural elements that enhance the spa concept, (do not just throw a massage table in a room and call it a spa – this is a recipe for severe disaster and brand degradation), an area for relaxation and a space where retail products can be sold. But that is just the physical space.
The Boutique Spa undergoes the same planning process that a large scale spa goes through. First, the spa concept and design is determined. It is imperative that when converting a hotel room or rooms into a Boutique Spa, the spa design be completely different, although complimentary to the theme of the hotel or property development. The last thing you want is for guests to feel like they are walking down from their hotel room into another hotel room to get a spa service. Yuck! So, the design is critical, and it is imperative that the designer know how to maximize this space for effective operations. Lighting and design are the true keys to executing the space of the Boutique Spa concept. Once the spa concept and design is determined, the pre opening procedures begin. These include developing the treatment menu and protocols, recruiting, hiring, and training the spa staff, educating the other departments of the property about the new Boutique Spa, and developing all standard operating procedures. Pre opening is when the Boutique Spa is able to teach to the staff what differentiates them. The Boutique Spa does not have a two story water feature or a gem stone steam room to wow the patrons; it has the spa staff. And, the spa staff must truly feel vested in facilitating the spa’s reputation, providing consistent service, and acting as an ambassador of the property. The spa staff must be salespeople of the spa and the resort/property development/hotel that it is sharing space with.
Once the spa opens it can easily be leveraged. Boom, spa packages. Boom, spa services. Boom, spa retail products as gift amenities for groups. Boom, increased revenue and a marketing asset!
So, why was everyone rushing to build the mecca of spa? Prestige? Press? How passé. And at what cost? Mega spas place little emphasis on the human connection as they are reliant on the physical splendor of the space to keep the spa patron intrigued. The real solution to providing the spa services that every guest expects is to focus the spa on service rather than grandeur.
Did I mention the cost? The cost savings are significant! And if the Boutique Spa is executed correctly, it can not only serve as a revenue center but also a memory maker that bring your guests coming back.
So, in the interim, build Boutique!