To first attract and then retain clients are the main marketing goals for anyone in the day spa industry. It is important to remember that marketing is an ongoing investment that involves advertising, client support, public relations, media planning, and more. Your brand’s marketing plan should integrate strategies that let you grow your client base over time while still allowing you the flexibility you need to respond to changes in your client needs.
The spa industry is a crowded and highly competitive arena. Not only do you need to attract and retain clients, but you also need to stand out from the competition. A top-notch marketing plan and the subsequent execution of that plan are essential to the success of your brand.
Responsive Website
Internet searches are happening 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help consumers find everything and anything their hearts desire. Your day spa’s website is the digital face of your brand. It helps potential clients find you and can provide information and resources for existing clients. Your website should be fast, mobile friendly, device responsive, and it should offer an interactive experience to visitors.
Depending on your marketing budget, you can either create and maintain your own website or hire an agency to handle those tasks. Hosting platforms like Squarespace offer responsive, modern website templates that can be used not only to highlight spa services and staff experience but also to assist your brand in its marketing efforts. A fully responsive site is critical given that a majority of searches are done on mobile devices. Not to mention that search engines, like Google, rank websites with responsive designs in searches than those without.
Search engine rankings and user experience are also impacted by page load speed so ensure that your content is optimized for quick viewing. An additional component that factors into SEO and user experience is intuitive site navigation.
For more on SEO best practices, see our blog Steps to a Search Engine-Friendly Website.
Email Marketing
A relatively inexpensive means of marketing, email marketing campaigns are easy to implement and allow you to target with personalized messaging specific subgroups of your audience. Your spa can use email to share promotions you have going on, schedule changes, new services you are offering, and more. Regularly timed, yet not overwhelming in number, brand-based emails are an excellent way to maintain regular communication with your client base. You can either capture client email addresses while they are on your website or as they visit your day spa.
Social Media Marketing
Effective social media depends on consistent, brand-centered messaging. Determine which platforms your target audience uses and then meet them there with original, engaging content. Social media is an excellent place to show your brand’s personality. Social platforms are also an amazing channel for advertising because you can target specific audiences based on things like geographical location, keywords, age groups, online behaviors, and so many other demographics.
For more, see our blog: Social Media Engagement Tips from Baby Boomers to Gen Z
Client Reviews
Many consumers seek out online reviews and recommendations before patronizing a day spa location. Multiple studies have found that social proof like reviews and recommendations play an important role in converting potential customers. Post on your website and social media profiles reviews from current clients to help build and maintain a positive reputation of your brand. Reviews can be text-based, text paired with an image of the (hopefully, willing) client, or even better, in a video format.
The review process helps you build a relationship with your clients and allows you to improve the customer experience. That being said, you should also keep tabs on client reviews that are out and about on the Internet on platforms such as Google and Yelp.
It is important to respond to all reviews as consumers judge businesses based on whether or not they acknowledge and/or respond to customer feedback. In fact, consumers expect brands to respond to reviews with 53% of people expecting a response within one week of their posting. Be grateful for positive reviews and thank reviewers for their feedback, time and energy. Show that you value customers’ input by crafting original responses to each review. Invite customers to contact you directly with any concerns in hopes of avoiding being the recipient of a negative review but know those will occur.
Speak directly to customer pain points.
Clients will feel like you understand them when you directly address the issues they are facing. This strategy lets you target specific segments of your audience. Marketing pieces that include lines like “Feeling the need to pamper away some stress?” or “Want to create a new you?” help potential clients feel like they are not the only ones looking for solutions and that your services just might be the answer. This approach can also help your brand build a rapport to better earn clients’ trust and increase your conversion rate.
Offer rewards to encourage various behaviors.
Could your Facebook feed use more regular check-ins? Are you seeking more reviews of your day spa on Google? Ask and you shall receive, especially if you throw in a carrot or two. Offer a small gift bag of travel size products. If you have branded t-shirts, hats, or other things, offer those. In addition to the check-ins and reviews, you’ll also get free advertising as your client proudly sports the item she received for her efforts.
Offer Online Gift Cards
Many people on both the giving and receiving end prefer the option of gift cards over actual items or specific, predetermined services. Many businesses find that buyers return fewer items when they have control over the services being purchased and they often spend beyond the value of the gift card they receive. An option that does not require businesses to create physical cards, such as Squarespace Gift Cards, gives each gift card has a unique code so it may conveniently be emailed to a recipient.
Create marketing campaigns throughout the year, not just your typical busy seasons.
Your marketing efforts are your ultimate communication channel. There are times during the year that day spa services are more typically on people’s minds but that shouldn’t stop your marketing team from targeting occasions throughout the calendar year. Celebrate with a special service package or discount everything from Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day to Friends’ Day.
Use your marketing communications to increase business during your slow seasons to maintain a fluid revenue level throughout the year. Plan quarterly strategies and create a marketing cycle that can be tweaked and reused year after year. Clients who see seek the services and relaxation offered by your day spa will stay with you 12 months a year.
The main key is to understand how your offerings answer the challenges being faced by current and potential clients. Use your marketing to show people that you can help them either feel better in general or feel better about themselves, depending on what they are hoping to accomplish. Communicate how your brand can provide the services they need to accomplish their goals. Show them the best of what you have to offer. Use as many channels as you can – your website, social media, email, direct mail, etc.
The experts at Strategy Driven Marketing are ready to help you with all of these efforts. Contact us today to learn more about the services we offer and how we can create a personalized marketing plan that works with your particular business goals and budget. Let’s get started!
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