2019 Spa Marketing Trends: The Do’s and Don’ts

by | DSA Blog, Spa and Wellness

By: Joy Gendusa Before you invest in any spa marketing strategies for 2019, check out these successful strategies — as well as ones to avoid:

DON’T: YELP

Yelp is on the decline (both in traffic and share price) as review-seekers rely more and more on Google and Facebook. I’m not saying don’t have a Yelp page for your spa — you should — but I don’t recommend spending precious marketing dollars on Yelp’s ads when there are more fruitful, less costly spa marketing strategies.

DO: MAKE A GOOD OFFER

Who doesn’t like to feel like they’re getting a good deal??

If you’re worried that discounting your services will leave your spa looking more “clearance rack” than Coco Chanel, stop and consider this…

A special offer for new client bookings accomplishes 3 things:

  • Offers grab attention — which helps your spa stand out
  • It entices them to contact you to grab that special offer
  • And it gives you the chance to impress clients and turn them into repeat clients (and more reliable revenue!)

One of my own spa clients used not one but two special offers on a postcards we mailed for them. They targeted 2,000 past customers and generated 150 responses and $7,500 in revenue — just from ONE postcard mailing.

Their special offers? 10% off any spa service, and/or $25 off any retail item. Simple, right?

Here are a few more special offers we’ve tracked that have worked for my clients:

  • 10- 20% off any spa service
  • 30% off retail
  • FREE neck treatment with purchase
  • FREE Kerastase hair treatment with any service
  • $69 Swedish massage

Once those appointments are booked and clients are coming through the door, casually let them know that you have a referral program — 15% off their next service when they refer in a friend who books an appointment!

Now you have two potentially long-term, repeat clients, both from that initial special offer.

DON’T: FORM-OVER-FUNCTION WEBSITES

Whenever I visit a spa’s website, I want to know 3 things right off the bat:

  1. What your spa offers
  2. When you are open
  3. And how can I make an appointment

A lot of spa and beauty services websites show pretty pictures, but they’re hard to navigate and don’t give me those 3 answers unless I dig. And the longer I spend digging, the more likely I am to click that back button and find another spa!

Here’s the deal: 95% of people will head straight to your website if they want to find out more about you.

But unless your website is set up to…

  1. Give people what they need, and
  2. Invite them to easily book an appointment at your spa (ideally, online!)

…then guess what?

You are losing appointments, clients and revenue.

So ditch the cutesy stuff and make sure your website has more of this:

  • Clear contact information
  • List of services and prices
  • Hours of operation
  • Photos of you, your staff and your facility (this builds trust and trust is vital)
  • A way to book an appointment online (okay, it isn’t required but it’s a big deal-maker for a lot of spa-seekers out there)

DO: SOLICIT REVIEWS (LOTS OF THEM)

I foresee online reviews continuing to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions.

These stats say it all:

  • 97% of consumers read online reviews (3% short of ALL)
  • 85% of people trust reviews just as much as word-of-mouth recommendations

All it takes is a Google search to see how many (good or bad) reviews your spa has. (You have Googled your spa and know where you stand, right?)

A lackluster online reputation can shoo away leads, but generating more positive Google reviews (which makes your spa looks like the #1 option locally) is EASY.

The first step to more reviews is simple:

Ask every happy client who leaves your spa if they’d mind leaving you a review on Google if they enjoyed their experience with you. Your front desk receptionist can email them a link to leave a review  — 70% will review you specifically when they’re asked!

DO: INTEGRATION & AUTOMATION

People are busier than ever today. That includes you!

You want to maximize your spa’s marketing exposure and impact for the least amount of cost (both in terms of time and your pocketbook). Am I right?

The answer to that is integration and automation, aka doing one thing and its impact being felt in more than one place/time.

Here are a few of marketing integrations you can employ for 2019:

  • Email marketing — From the user-specific (e.g., appointment confirmations) to the very timely (e.g. birthday gifts), it can all be programmed in a single afternoon, and likely, your email marketing system can either integrate with or double as a customer relationship management system (“CRM”).
  • Referral program enrollments and redemptions — This can be as simple as adding an easy-to-forward email to your email marketing schedule.
  • Google / Social media ads — These are vital for your 2019 spa marketing, but I don’t recommend you run them independent from each other. Match the design, special offer, and timing together so prospects that see your digital ads know they’re coming from one spa — YOU. Better yet, integrate this last one too:
  • Direct mail—81% of Americans check their mail every single day. You can buy mailing lists that only target your ideal customers (household income as one demographic example), and by running your Google and social media ads at the same time your postcards hit mailboxes, your prospects see your marketing at home, online, and in their social media feeds — simultaneously. My company does this plus automated tracking with a product called Everywhere Small Business.

One of our nail spa clients mailed 16,000 postcards to all the residents living within 2 miles of their brand new downtown FL location and received 210 NEW customers and $7,350 in revenue from their campaign. Another client has been mailing postcards to their customer base since 2009, and one of their recent mailings generated a 571% return on investment! So whatever spa marketing strategies you employ in 2019, remember that the goal is to generate enough revenue so that your marketing actually grows your spa!  

What do you think about my hits and misses? Let me know with an email!

About Joy Gendusa:

Joy Gendusa is an entrepreneur, business owner, author, keynote speaker and philanthropist. With only a phone, a computer and postcards (no funding of any kind!), Joy grew PostcardMania from a small startup into an industry leader that generated $58 million in 2018 and currently employs 246 people in Clearwater, FL. Her company, PostcardMania, has been featured on the Inc. 500 and 5000 lists, and has helped 81,767 small businesses with their marketing. You can request free postcard samples from Joy’s company today!

Setting a New Year’s Resolution? It’s Time to Get SMART

by | DSA Blog, Spa and Wellness

By: DENISE PRICHARD  Are you making a resolution to make 2019 your most successful year ever? It’s common to start the year determined to stick to your resolutions, but easy to get distracted.  Unfortunately, only 8 percent of people turn their resolutions into habits or goals they’ve accomplished. 

There are many reasons that cause people to break their resolutions within a couple of months of creating them – from setting overwhelmingly ambitious goals to getting distracted by the hustle and bustle that comes along with a new year. But there is a strategy that you can implement to help you conquer those goals you set in place for 2019 – all you have to do embrace the SMART method.

SMART is an acronym that that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It was created specifically to increase efficiency in management and can be applied directly to your objectives for your salon or spa. 

Let’s break it down a little further.

Specific: You need to make sure that your have a very clear view of what you’re trying to achieve. Having a clearer goal in place from the beginning can help set you up for success. Instead of just saying “I want to increase revenue,” try saying “I want to increase revenue by 10% by expanding my services menu and creating promotions throughout the year.” 

Measurable: You should define how you’ll measure your accomplishments like the revenue example above. Ideally you should define a metric as well as a timeframe to guide when you’ll check in to assess progress. For example, if you’d like to grow your Facebook following in the new year, you’d measure that progress in the number of people that like your page. 

Attainable: Try to set an objective that is achievable but will also hold you accountable. Setting a goal that is too large or too small can trigger a sudden halt in your momentum. You know by now that having an influential and active Instagram account is the perfect opportunity to tell potential customers what your salon or spa is all about. Growing your Instagram following should be a goal you set for your business every single year to ensure you are reaching your target audience. Instead of just saying “I want to increase my Instagram following,” put a specific number on it. If you have 500 Instagram followers, make it a goal to have 2,000 by the end of the year. But don’t expect to be able to grow it to 2 million. There are some people who experience viral growth like that, but they’re very few. If you set an unrealistic goal, you’re more likely to lose momentum when it seems out of reach. Set yourself up for success with a more attainable goal. 

Relevant: Each year, you probably make it a goal to increase your client base and customer retention. A simple and effective way to achieve this is by offering your clients the ability to book online and make purchases through your website. In fact, 60% of consumers want the option to book online from local businesses and 42% of online bookings happen after business hours. With staggering numbers like that, offering this type of convenience with undoubtedly help you grow your client base in no time – and instant gratification like that will help you stay on track with your goals. 

Time-bound: Be realistic with your timeline when it comes to attaining your goals. Make sure you are giving yourself and your business enough time to focus on the steps it would take to hold yourself accountable with your resolution. This means celebrating smalls wins that help you get closer to your end-goal. Don’t expect your customer base to grow overnight, look at your progress month-over-month and take note of which strategies are bringing more clients in and which ones are not as effective. 

Although we know it’s easy to become an idealist the first few days into the new year, it’s important to remember that your resolutions are ultimately a tool to help you grow your spa or salon into what you want it to be. Making a resolution to expand your brand with purpose and passion will motivate you to stick to your goals all year long.

Interested in learning moreCLICK HERE

About The Author:

With over seven years of experience, Denise Prichard is an experienced content marketing professional with a penchant for writing compelling copy and content within the health, wellness and beauty industries. She graduated with a degree in English from Arizona State University in 2010 and currently runs her own blog, Fueled by Vegetables, a project that stems from her passion of living a healthy, joyful life and encouraging others to do the same. When she isn’t writing or editing, you can find her teaching yoga classes throughout the valley, inventing yummy recipes and hanging out with her rescue pups, Eleanor and Stevie. She currently serves as the Content + Copy Editor at Booker Software.