A spa can be a lucrative business. But to successfully run one, you need to make sure that your target audience knows about the business’s existence. With a lot of spas opening on any given day, you have to make sure that you know how you can make your business stand out among the crowd.
If you’re looking for ways to attract and retain customers for your spa business, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll outline five strategies that you can use to lure clients in and turn them into loyal customers:
- Make Their First Time Experience Memorable and Offer First-time Deals
First impressions will have a lasting impression. It’s extremely important that your customers feel welcomed and comfortable during their first and succeeding experience in your spa. This will affect their decision of whether they want to come back in the future or not.
When welcoming customers, whether it’s first-timers or repeat customers, make sure that your staff offers a warm welcome. Invest in training your team to ensure that they perform the procedures well, and the customers will always feel the warmth and friendliness from the moment they step foot on your spa until they go. Simple gestures such as offering a glass of water or coffee while waiting for the room to be ready can go a long way.
To make their experience even more worthwhile, go on the extra mile and give out first-time deals and offers. A discount coupon can be an effective strategy to get the clients to come back for the second time. Most people don’t like wasting money, and with a coupon, they will feel like they’ll be missing a good deal if it goes to waste.
- Make Appointment Booking Convenient
With the advent of technology and the internet, most customers will always choose convenience over anything. If customers have to leave and go to another website or jump through hoops to get their appointment booked, they could lose interest and find another spa that offers seamless booking.
While you can still give them an option to book through phone or email, investing in automatic booking software can be a great way to attract customers. Booking management software like MassageBook, MindBody, Calendrly, and Bookr are good places to start. These tools help spas better manage their appointments and avoid expensive mistakes, like double-booking therapists and technicians.
Plus, with an efficient booking system in place, you can cut costs on labor. Instead of hiring someone to take down appointments manually, the system will do it automatically. They can also show customers the available slots so they can choose their preferred time and date for an appointment.
- Use Social Media to Advertise Your Spa
According to Statista.com, over 3.6 billion people worldwide use social media in 2020, and 233 million of the users are from the United States alone. If this tells us anything, it’s that social media is one of the easiest ways to reach your audience.
Get an in-depth analysis of where your target audience might be hanging out. For instance, the younger generations, Gen Z and millennials, are more likely to be on YouTube than any other social media platform. If you’re targeting an audience within this generation, setting up ads on YouTube or creating videos showcasing your services and posting them on the platform might make sense.
However, this doesn’t mean that you should neglect other social media platforms, too. Take advantage of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by posting pictures and featuring client reviews. Don’t forget to highlight the efforts you’re making to make each client feel highly satisfied with your services.
Moreover, social media offers the best way to engage with both your current and potential clients. With the chat feature, you can answer their queries, address a concern, or assist them in booking an appointment. These simple measures you take will be essential in improving customer satisfaction.
- Keep Your Existing Customers Happy
While it’s important to attract new customers to your business, you shouldn’t overlook the importance of your existing customers, as well. According to Harvard Business Review, “acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one”. The reason? Since your existing customers already know about you, you won’t have to spend much on keeping them happy. And if they’re happy, they’re more likely going to tell their friends about you. It’s a win-win.
Loyalty programs are one way to keep your customers from using your services. A point-based loyalty program, for instance, lets your customers earn points for every appointment they make. Once they reach a certain point, they can opt to convert their points for discounts or a free session.
Referral programs could also work. It’s one of the best ways to encourage your clients to tell their friends and family about your spa. Incentivize your current customers when they invite others to your business. For example, you can offer a $10 discount if the customers bring a friend along in their visit.
Your current customers are a great resource to use when it comes to marketing your brand. You can utilize a referral program to get them to bring more customers without you having to spend so much on marketing.
- Offer Excellent Customer Service
Perhaps the cheapest way you can attract and retain spa clients is to offer the best customer service there is. If your customers are happy with your services, they’re more likely to return as repeat customers.
As much as possible, approach customer concerns in a helpful and friendly manner. Work on resolving conflicts and other issues immediately to prevent them from getting more complicated. As mentioned, invest in customer service training for your employees so they’ll know how to handle any types of situations, especially those involving the customers.
Final Thoughts
Starting and operating a spa business, or any business for that matter, means that you have to do everything necessary to make your name known to your target audience. As a service-based company, acquiring and retaining customers is vital to the survival of your business.
The strategies mentioned above are just some of the tactics that you can use. While some of these may require you to shell out a significant amount from your capital. If you need a boost, you can apply for different business financing options like business term loans . Nevertheless, it’s an effective way to market your brand to the public.
These strategies, when used appropriately, could lead to an increase in your customers, improved sales, better visibility, and eventually, the success of your spa business.
