Live Spa Staff Training

Employee Handbook, Does Your Spa Have One?

In the high-touch spa, we tend to shy away from official-sounding terms like policy guidebooks, employee manual, and employee handbook.  But having these useful tools in place can enable spa management to focus on more important issues, like growing the business.

Sure, when you started your spa business, you only had a handful of employees. They worked alongside you to get the spa up and running.  They all know “how it works” in your business, and you feel that you don’t need an employee manual, with a lot of rules and regulations.

Those are for big companies, right?

You don’t want your business to be perceived as “corporate.”

Your Spa Business is Growing

Spa Employee HandbookBut the thing is, if you’re one of the hard-working lucky folks whose business is thriving, you’re probably doing a lot of things right, which means that the business will continue to grow.  Leading to more clients, longer opening hours, and more staff to take care of the demand.  And the next thing you know, your small group of compatriots has blossomed into a medium-sized group of people who are not necessarily on the same wavelength as you when it comes to how things get done.

Do you find yourself regularly answering questions such as these?

  • When do I get to take a vacation?
  • Why does so-and-so have more clients today than I do?
  • Can my sister come in on Saturday for a pedicure? Does she get a discount?
  • Who is going to review my performance and help me to improve my earnings?

If so, then your business is ready for a little more structure.  These and numerous other issues can be easily resolved by writing down how you want them handled.

Remove Yourself from the Role of the “Answer Person”

As an owner/manager you are probably already stretched very thin. Imagine what you could do with an extra 45 minutes per day in which you were not answering the same old questions over and over!  In one of my client meetings with a spa owner, I observed how, during our meeting, the staff interrupted her to ask her how to handle an issue with professional inventory, how to respond to a phone call from a bridal party, and which of two possible locations a particular technician should use to perform a regularly scheduled service.  While all of these issues seemed important to the people asking the questions, they could have been handled easily if there had been written policies in existence, without interrupting the owner multiple times.

As this situation illustrates, the purpose of the handbook is not to go corporate, but to provide a strong foundation which enables your staff to fully understand what is expected of them in the situations they are likely to face during the course of a day, and to remove yourself from the role of the “answer person.”  Plus, the added benefit of having written policies is that it removes any suggestion of favoritism that can occur otherwise.

Let’s Call It a Policy Guidebook

One way to make an employee handbook feel more user-friendly is not to call it a handbook; a policy guidebook sounds a little nicer.  Whatever you call it, Staff Guidebooks are a legal document and should include numerous federal and state policies on how employees are treated and their rights.  Helpful guidelines on employee handbooks can be found at the SBA website, the Society for Human Resource Management website (SHRM.org), and numerous private sites such as this one from the HR Group.

Basic legal requirements are all included in the employee handbooks that you can purchase off the shelf; however, those handbooks never include any policies or guidelines that are needed in a spa environment, such as the bullets above.  Your best bet is to purchase a basic manual, and then add your own policies to it.  Human resources law is quite complex, and you would certainly want to have your final draft reviewed by a local attorney before distribution.  It is very helpful to design your handbook in a way that it can be regularly updated, which it will need no matter how careful you are.  As the business grows, needs change.  Have your staff members sign an acknowledgment page, stating that they understand they are responsible for keeping up to date on your particular guidelines, and then you can turn your focus to more important things, like sales & marketing.

If you don’t have the time to put together an employee handbook, let us help. Contact us for a consultation.

 

Spa Staff Engagement

Why Staff Engagement Is Key To Spa Success

Ever look around the spa and feel like your staff is just going through the motions? They’re showing up at work, they’re servicing clients, but there is not a lot of energy or enthusiasm?

Staff engagement is a key component of your spa success, but how do you get it?

And how do you know when you have it?

Happy employees are not the same as engaged employees. Staff members can be personally happy, but still not engaged in their work.

The Changing Faces of Spa StaffA recent State of the American Workplace report found that while 32% of employees are committed to doing a good job, 50% of employees are just putting in time, and 17% are actively disengaged; they are disrupting their coworkers and driving away clients through poor communications and bad service. Imagine how much more productive, and profitable, your spa could be if you could make some inroads in engaging that other 70%!

But it’s easier said than done.

Why aren’t your spa employees engaged in their work?

There are multiple reasons, and it can be a combination of more than one of these:

  • You may not be selecting the applicants who are the best fit for your business and culture.
  • Your compensation plan may not reward high-performers or provide a career advancement path, causing people to stagnate.
  • There is not a clear vision and leadership driving the business forward.
  • The spa is not well-marketed and is not attracting a diverse clientele to keep your “artists” motivated.
  • There are too many cliques operating in your business, and those on the outside tend to disconnect.

We Are Not Human Resource Professionals

Part of the challenge facing spa management is that we are not human resource professionals. Our creative orientation sometimes causes us to believe that if we hire someone who is technically good at massage or esthetics, the rest will take care of itself. But all too often, that’s not what happens. Engagement in our work doesn’t just happen. It requires the creation of behind-the-scenes processes and structure to select the right people, and ongoing training, compensation and career development to keep them mentally tuned in. Certainly, spa staff members are interested in their earnings potential, but they’re also interested in opportunities to train and grow as professionals; in fact, their artistic backgrounds often mean that these factors can outweigh financial compensation. That explains the importance of creating annual budgets that allow the business to provide regular high-quality training for all staff members.

Human Resource consultant Josh Bersin of Deloitte explores tactics business leaders can follow in this post titled “Five Elements of a Simply Irresistible™ Organization;” while these are targeted to large employers, the basics he espouses are exactly the same for spas and small businesses. Put a little energy into considering the environment and culture you are providing, and it will come back to you in multiples.

In many cases, as spa leaders, we just need a refresh.

We need to step outside of our spa and refresh our skills and our minds. If you need a refresh, consider registering for the Wynne Business online Spa Director’s Management Intensive. Our online course is available on-demand to fit into your schedule. Learn more about this valuable resource here.

 

 

Spa Email Marketing Best Practices

Ten Spa Email Marketing Best Practices

With all of the buzz around social media, email marketing may not get as much attention as it used to from spa marketers. But spa email marketing still has many compelling things going for it. Here are a few persuasive statistics on email usage:

  • 44% of consumers made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email they received.
  • 91% of consumers use email at least once a day.
  • For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $44.25.
  • When asked which medium they prefer to receive updates from, 90% of consumers prefer an email newsletter.

The challenge is that your customers’ inboxes are already overflowing with marketing emails from all kinds of businesses. This requires that you be strategic about cutting through the clutter. Here are 10 spa email marketing best practices to follow when developing your email strategy and content.

Spa Email Marketing

  1. Ask permission. Don’t randomly add new clients to your email marketing list—ask them to opt-in. Otherwise, you run the risk of clients marketing your messages as spam. If you receive too many complaints, your internet service provider (ISP) may start blocking all of your messages.
  2. Make it compelling. Asking clients to “sign up for emails” isn’t a very good hook. But inviting them to “sign up for exclusive news and offers” is a lot more enticing. Let prospects know how often you’ll be emailing them (monthly is usually good) and what kinds of content you’ll be sending.
  3. Make signups easy. If you want clients to join your list, you need to make it easy. You can have a signup form right on the homepage of your website, include a signup tab on your Facebook page, and even post a paper sign-up list at your front desk. You may even give someone extra loyalty points for signing up on the spot.
  4. Be mobile friendly. Mobile usage continues to grow at an astounding rate; some studies say that almost half of all emails are now opened on mobile devices. Your email template must be responsive—that is, designed in a way that it’s easy to read on both desktops and mobile devices.
  5. Invest in subject lines. The email you carefully craft will go to waste if it never gets opened. The key to getting your readers’ attention is a great subject line. Experts recommend subject lines under 50 characters, with limited use of capital letters and symbols. One new trend is towards very brief subject lines, 10 characters or less, that really stand out. It’s a smart idea to test a couple of versions for each mailing to see which performs best.
  6. Provide value. Make sure your emails are informative and useful to the reader. For example, your monthly newsletter could include recipes, beauty advice, and industry news they won’t want to miss, in addition to special offers for services and products.
  7. Segment your list. You’re already collecting information about your clients’ preferences. Using that information to segment your list will allow you to target your messages to a specific group of readers. For example, you send a special offer on facials to clients who have previously had facials with your business, or extend a discount on a specific product line to clients who have purchased that brand in the past. The more relevant and specific your content is, the higher your results will be.
  8. Test your send times. In general, emails tend to have higher open and clickthrough rates on the weekends or later in the afternoon. As with subject lines, try testing your email send times to see which day of the week and time of day yields the best results for your clients.
  9. Use a consistent voice. Readers expect a consistent experience with your brand, and that applies to your emails, too. Having one person in charge of communications and a strong brand voice will cut down on ambiguity and help reinforce your spa’s “personality” with clients.
  10. Make opting-out easy. Not only is it the law, it’s also a good business practice to make it easy for clients to stop receiving your emails. Its okay to ask them why, but don’t make them feel guilty. Spend that energy on making your communications so interesting and compelling that no one wants to opt out!

The Bottom Line

Don’t sound the death knell for email marketing yet! It’s still a highly effective way to communicate with customers and drive repeat visits to your spa. Make sure to use email marketing judiciously and follow the guidelines above, and you’ll start to see success with your campaigns.

Email marketing is a valuable component of your spa marketing plan. If you want to create a powerful marketing plan to grow your spa business, talk to us. Schedule a free 30-minute needs assessment here.

 

 

This post appeared first on the Booker Blog.

Client Retention_ How to Keep your Spa Clients Coming Back for More

Client Retention: How to Keep your Spa Clients Coming Back for More.

Not having client retention tactics in place is like having a boat with a hole in it that you refuse to patch. What is your spa’s client retention rate?

Spa Client Retention

You’ve got great spa services! Don’t forget to create a strategy to keep your spa clients coming back.

You’ve gone through a lot of trouble to create a wonderful spa environment. Your spa is beautifully decorated, your staff is well-trained, and your marketing plan is bringing in new clients. It costs a lot to keep that cycle going.

Did you ever think about how you could offset those costs if you could improve the retention rate of your existing clients?

Think about how the mobile phone companies have all of those great offers for NEW clients. Yet you have paid them a huge chunk of change every month for the last five years, and what do you get for that?

Pretty much nothing.

Your spa’s clients may be feeling the same way: unappreciated. Especially in a spa environment, where building a rapport with guests is key to success, there must be a plan in place to keep guests returning to your spa, instead of sending them to the numerous competitors that you may have. Here are a few proven tactics.

Implement a guest welcome strategy for your spa.

The first thing to do is have a plan to welcome new guests into your “family,” and make them feel special. Your spa software should allow you to flag appointments of new guests in a particular way, but unless your staff is aware and taking action, nothing will happen. Train everyone, not just customer service staff, to take special care of new guests; show them around the facility, go out of your way to say hello, smile, ask if they need anything. Use their name as often as possible and appropriately.

When the new guest checks-out, your retention-building efforts should swing into action. Studies have shown that the likelihood that a guest will continue to do business with you increases exponentially on and after their third visit to the facility. A yoga studio that I frequent has this down to a science; at the conclusion of the first class a new student completes, they are presented with an envelope with their name on it, containing information on the studio, the class schedule, and a voucher that allows them to take unlimited classes for the ensuing week for a set price of $25 (regular drop-in rate is $17). For cost-conscious consumers, like the friend that I brought with me last week, that is a compelling deal.

My friend went back the next day and will go again within the week, and therefore she is much more likely to continue to frequent the studio. The key is striking while the iron is hot. For spas, a similar offer would be to give new guests a voucher for a promotionally-priced service on their next visit, and perhaps an even larger promotion on a service or retail item for the third visit – and those next two visits should be within a six-week period.

A client who visits the spa three times in a year doesn’t help the business as much as someone who comes three times in two months, so make sure you put an end-date on promotions.

Add new clients to your spa communication channels.

After that first visit, when the client has been welcomed into the spa family, be sure to add their email address to your database, after getting their permission. Let them know that you only send a monthly newsletter with special promotions for existing clients only and that you never share your list, and you should not have trouble getting them to participate.

Loyalty or rewards programs are another excellent way to encourage clients to consolidate their purchasing with your spa business. Let them earn points for each purchase, whether services or products; 10 or 100 points to the dollar spent is typical. Look at what a “good” client spends in a year, and set a threshold for the redemption of those points, say after they’ve amassed 7000 points, which would likely be after about six visits. You can also use the points as leverage to encourage specific behaviors; double points on Tuesdays, or for appointments before 11 am, for example.

Social media provides the perfect way to continue a dialogue with your guests, well after their service has been rendered; frequent posts or polls on Facebook, compelling imagery or recipes on Pinterest, and fun photos of happenings at the spa on Instagram keep guests engaged at the level that they choose; just be sure not to inundate them.

Schedule your client’s next spa appointment before they leave this one.

When the guest checks out the first day, with their Welcome Bundle, that is the time to ask them if you can book their next treatment before they leave your spa. Pre-booking is an activity that can also carry reward points to encourage participation, and it develops that beneficial habit in your guest.

You’ve heard the statistics; it costs 7 to 8 times more to snare a new client than it does to keep an existing one. Imagine if every client you serviced in a week made a return appointment; you would be able to put a lot less money and energy into prospecting for new clients. This is doubly beneficial since “regular” clients know how it works at your spa. They do not need a lot of hand-holding or client care, and so, not only do they bring in more revenue but they cost you less, as well.

If you put some of these efforts into place throughout your spa, you will certainly see a client retention rate that is steadily increasing, along with your bottom line.

For more ideas, read Guest Checkout That Maximizes Retail and Retention.

Spa Services Pricing

Spa Services Pricing Strategies: Are you leaving money on the table?

When it comes to spa operations, one thing that I think is often taken for granted is the service menu. Often with spa services pricing treatments are priced and listed, and then no one looks at it for a couple of years. But how would you feel if a restaurant you frequented NEVER had anything new or different to offer? A little menu re-engineering is in order on a regular basis, so that neither your customers nor your staff gets too bored with what you are offering.

The recessionary environment has somewhat faded, but it was an important wakeup call for many spas. The treatments and products that we offer are not essentials, and consumers are still very careful with their discretionary dollars. Retail sales average increases of about 3% each year, consistent with what they’ve averaged for the last 10 years. In other words, not a lot. And yet, we still have to make sure that we do raise spa prices occasionally, just to avoid lulling our customers into thinking they’ll never change. And the fact is, the treatment menu should be a major sales tool.

spa services pricing strategies

Spa Services Pricing – Strategic Change is Good

First, consider the “what” that comprises your menu. It can be helpful to run a sales report for the previous year, and consider eliminating any treatments that you sold less than, say, 25-30 of. That’s only one every other week, obviously not a big seller. Clearing out a menu item makes room for another that may have better turnover, or margin, or both.

If you haven’t raised prices in a couple of years, it is likely time to examine the current environment and weigh your opportunities. Begin by creating a spreadsheet listing your competitors and their prices on basic services, and add yours to it.  You want to be able to see at a glance where your price for a basic facial or 60-minute Swedish Massage lies in comparison to others in your area. Look more closely at spas or salons in your competitive set, but don’t neglect massage studios and facial clinics – they’re competing for your customer too.  Make sure that your prices are consistent with your position in the marketplace, whether you are you a high-end facility, value-priced, or somewhere in the middle.

Once your ideal ranges are created, you can consider raising prices on a few specific treatments. For now, if you are adding services to the menu, since they are new you can set them at the high end of the range you want to create.  Avoid raising prices on all of your treatments at one time, this can have a greater negative impact on clients who typically enjoy 2 or 3 different services.  Try raising some nail prices in the spring, and perhaps bring up a few facials or massages in the fall. And by the way, there is no law that your prices need to end in “0” or “5”! Try pricing some treatments in a more random way; $68, $76, $83. This probably looks more realistic to a client than having symmetrical pricing.

Remember, if your clients never say your prices are too high, they’re not quite high enough.  Don’t price yourself out of your market, but make sure you charge what you are worth.

Delving Deeper into Menu Logistics

It’s helpful to enter the entire contents of your existing menu into an excel spreadsheet, which makes it easy to view and manipulate your data.  Plus, you can use the spreadsheet to create treatment rate or commission tables for your compensation plan at another time.  Group services together by department; looking at your menu in this more abstract way makes it easier to determine retail prices for services.  Once you’ve created the spreadsheet, re-order the services, and make sure to start with the highest-priced item, and let the others fall into place in order of price, ending with the least expensive.  Spa menus always seem to start with the lowest priced service in a category, and most clients don’t read any further.  Show me a sales report in which 80% of the facials performed are the entry-level facial, and I don’t need to see the menu to know it is presented in this way.  Starting with the higher priced items will likely encourage clients to read more about their options; they may settle on a service priced somewhere in the middle, but not as low as the entry-level price.

Support for Upselling

Next, and perhaps most importantly, consider your technician compensation plan.  If your plan emphasizes performance metrics such as average ticket, does your menu provide the structure to make upselling of services easy?  I recently encountered a service menu with no facials priced between $85 and $135 – that’s too big a jump for 90% of your clients, who will all stick with the less expensive option.  If your price structure on facials is $85, $93, $98, $103, and $112, and you add in a menu of micro treatments priced from $8 to $22, you’ll be able to find the sweet spot for any customer and give multiple upselling options to your staff.  When the service providers have a menu that supports upselling, they are more likely to practice with every client, and they will be transformed from order-takers to sales creators.

For more help with spa retail strategies, watch our short video about the positive side effects or spa retailing.

 

 

This post appeared first at spastandard.com.

Importance of branding your spa

The Importance of Branding Your Spa

Do you have a readily available “elevator speech” when asked to describe your spa business?

Are those few sentences capturing the essence of your brand?

In a crowded market, the importance of branding your spa is paramount in maintaining your market share. If you have not invested time or effort in carefully crafting your spa’s brand message, it’s not too late to start.

Importance of spa branding

What sets your spa business apart from your competition?

It’s the intangibles such as your reputation, your client care, and the way your spa connects with clients. These are components of your spa brand that are the cornerstones of any marketing efforts but are too often after-thoughts in the development of a spa business.

Sure, your treatment menu offers facials, massages and body treatments, but so do many others. Sell retail products? Check. Use high-quality skin and body products? Check. With so much competition available for discretionary dollars to be spent in the spa, and with so many spas bombarding clients with marketing messages, it has never been more important for your spa brand to have a clear identity that stands out from the crowd.

The goal of branding your spa is to attract the right clients.

Your goal with strong branding is not to attract all clients – it’s to attract the right clients, who relate to your brand and the way you do business. This deeper connection does more to keep clients coming to you than fancy décor or staff training programs can, because it connects them to your meaningful purpose. But in order to know what you “stand for,” that has to be clearly articulated at many different touch points.

For example, let’s imagine that your original intent was to create a spa business based on holistic health. You would carefully select a name for the spa that communicated your concept; maybe something like Spa 360, emblematic of a continuous circle. You would have a logo designed that would likely incorporate some sort of circular graphic, to reinforce the concept visually. You would want to make sure that your emails and your receipts have your logo printed on them. You would likely choose a plant-based product manufacturer that offered options that were organic, as opposed to something packed with chemicals and artificial preservatives.

You would develop a compensation plan for your staff that had components such as a contribution to health care coverage, and paid time off, to ensure their health and wellbeing. Your website will probably have a tab for “community,” where you can share a calendar of upcoming events that are important to your clients. These are decisions that support the meaning behind your spa brand; in and of themselves, they are not significant, but they add up to a sum greater than the total of the parts. The feel of the brand that you create resonates with your target client, and that is why they continue to do business with you.

Spa branding should be a constant component of your operations.

Once you have breathed life into your spa brand, that identity must continue to be nurtured and evolved, and should be a constant component of your operations and marketing plans. Take a look around your spa; is your brand personality clear? The colors and ambiance should, at least subtly, reference the brand identity. Internal signage, retail wrap packaging, staff uniforms, and printed collateral such as menus and other marketing materials, all should share the look and feel of the spa brand you are striving to create.

The same holds true for your external and internal client communications; invest some time and energy creating e-blast and newsletter templates that reflect the brand personality. Although the look and feel of these materials is the more immediately obvious reference, a strong brand connection has to go deeper. Back to our example of the holistic spa, used above; your monthly e-newsletter would include educational and informational bits, such as introductions of new staff members, an article highlighting a community event that your staff participated in, and perhaps a recipe for a healthy, easy make-at-home soup, as well as product and service sales promotions.

As you grow, you may branch off into different directions.

It’s important to be aware that brands change and evolve over time; even if you did have a major premise and set of core values at the center of your spa personality, as the business grows, it is common to branch off into new or different directions, which may not be as firmly linked to that central identity. At least once per year, you and your management team should be holding an off-site retreat and candidly evaluating your market position and the effectiveness of your communications. Have you strayed from your original message, or is it time to make adjustments to the brand identity? Sometimes a simple logo refresh by a graphic designer can do the trick, but at other times, you may need to make choices that better articulate your company values.

Remember, there are approximately 26,000 spas in North America alone; what will encourage a client to choose yours over all of the others, at least on a repeat basis, goes beyond the price of your standard facial. Having a clear brand identity and developing it over time will help your business to stay true to your original intent and to stand out from your competition.

This article was published first at blog.booker.com.

spa client reception

Trend Sorting – What is relevant for spas?

Hello to everyone, we hope your year is off to a good start!

The years are changing so quickly now that it’s becoming more difficult to remember what year it is, and the same goes for consumer habits.

Each new year brings a bevy of trend reports, which I always enjoy reading for their expert insights on particular sectors. Some of my favorites from this year include Retail trends from Shopify, Global Consumer trends from Euromonitor, and Skift’s Travel trends. The Global Wellness Institute always gives us detailed and relevant information on trends affecting the spa and wellness world in their global Wellness trends report. And this year, I found a really interesting piece on mindfulness trends in design:retail magazine, with examples that combine experiences and retailing. All of these are excellent reading on their own, and there are many ideas and concepts to glean and adapt to your own spa and wellness business needs. But after you read them all, you will probably see that there are really just a few macro trends that we need to adapt to.

Here are the big three that stood out to me.

The Culture of Me:

spa client receptionProbably a result of both the growing population and the explosion of technology attracting our time and attention, people just really want to stand out as an individual. Consumers don’t just want experiences, they want experiences that are tailored to THEM. You’ve no doubt seen the proliferation of DIY shops, where you can make artwork, or ceramics, or learn to cook. You can find myriad sources online where you can personally design clothes, sneakers, artwork, you name it, and have it delivered.

This concept certainly fits into what we deliver in spas – we just need to be hyper-focused on the personal aspect of personalized service. Greeting clients and establishing a real connection, using their name throughout their visit, and inviting them to return are no-brainers. But beyond that, how about simpler menus with swappable elements such as masking or hydrating steps? Perhaps a self-help mask or serum bar in the lounge or locker room? Customization options at retail, as pioneered by Bioelements many years ago, but possible in many iterations today. A beneficial side effect is that these options are not available online…

Community, in several versions:

  • Spa Communities TrendOne; consumers today, especially millennials, like to share their experiences with others. Going into a room for a treatment, alone with the technician, which boomers have always enjoyed, is presenting new challenges for spas. Quiet, dark, library-like spa spaces are not an appealing destination for many consumers today. This is a sea change that has to be handled from the design of facility and menu through marketing and operations. But it clear that socializing and enjoying experiences with others needs to be woven into our spa fabric.
  • Two; the sharing marketplace. The explosion of ride-sharing, co-living, co-working and material goods exchanging marketplaces is unprecedented. It has its roots in economic pressures, but once you get in the habit, it can feel wasteful to buy a new book when there are perfectly good “slightly used” options. Fortunately, spa experiences can’t be recycled! But what happens to slightly used or returned retail products, is there a women’s shelter that could use them? What about a “buy one, give one” promotion, a la Tom’s shoes? Just thinking out loud.

The Discount Mindset:

This is another concept that really took root during the recession, and has not gone away. Consumers have always been attracted to deals, and this holds true even in high-end and luxury markets. At Wynne Business, we have never been a fan of discounting spa services, but you do have to recognize the realities of your marketplace and adapt accordingly. If you are going to have to promote certain treatments in order to sell them, you will need to price them accordingly and preserve your margin.

Gift card promotions trend

Promotions that feature value-adds are always a good approach; a full-priced facial with a free mask or serum, or an 80-minute massage for the price of a 50-minute, still preserve your basic pricing but allow the consumer to feel they are getting a deal. How about a “bring a friend” promotion, that can also address the community aspect? It would appear that the search for a “deal” is here to stay, so your spa business has to participate while preserving profitability.

I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts! Please visit our Facebook page and share your feedback.

 

 

Valentine's Day Spa Sales Tips

How To Impress Clients With Valentine’s Day Special Treatments

Hopefully, you’re having a busy January with service and gift card sales for Valentine’s Day.  In our recent post with Valentine’s Day Sales Tips, we shared what you can be doing to grow Valentine’s Day sales.  You just need to remind the entire staff to put their best foot forward; be punctual, fully uniformed, and ready to assist with clients or inquiries at any time.

 

Valentine's Day Spa Sales Tips

What extra special treatments do you have planned for your spa clients?

It is likely that you will see some new clients for services over the weekend, especially if you’ve put in place holiday promotions, or you may have regular clients who bring a spouse or partner to enjoy a couple’s-oriented treatment.  Valentine’s Day is a good reason for clients to be thinking about their appearance, so beautifying treatments and services will be in order before a night out on the town.  Your staff should be aware of this potential and adjust their approach accordingly; for instance, if a woman comes in for a facial and makeup application before she heads out for the evening, she would likely appreciate not having her hairstyle ruined during the services.  If time allows, free ten-minute eye makeup touch-ups can introduce new clients to your makeup bar.  Some spas will even keep some long-stemmed roses at the desk, and present them to female guests at checkout.  Have your staff think about ways they can impress both new and returning clients with your high standards of customer care.

 

Depending on your location, you may attract some walk-in traffic for Valentine’s Day with attractive retail displays visible from the outside.  An array of price-points on your Valentine gift sets may bring in some new clients, and if they’re impressed with your selection, displays and knowledgeable sales staff they’ll be intrigued enough to return.  Needless to say, clean shelves and ample displays are a must through the weekend.

 

Gift card clients offer a double opportunity; both the purchaser and the recipient of the gift card are potential repeat guests.  If possible at the time of the sale, collect the pertinent information on the intended gift card recipients so that you can market to them later.  In order to get more mileage out of this dual purchase, some spas will offer the purchaser a voucher to use for a return visit of their own; $20 off a service valued at $60 or more, or a free upgrade on a weekday treatment.  Perhaps a red rose for the purchaser too?

 

No matter the reason the doors open over the next few days before Valentine’s Day, each person who enters should be greeted immediately and with genuine warmth and friendliness.  Of course, your well-trained staff is always aware of opportunities to make lasting connections with the guest, but it might not hurt to remind everyone to “show the love” especially in a month that can be on the slow side.

 

 

Spa Leadership Planning

Spa Leadership: Managing Spa Staff Vacation Time

Spa Leadership PlanningSpring is upon us and summer is around the corner. Which means that your staff will probably be looking to take some vacation time.  While everyone deserves a vacation , it can be hard to look at empty treatment rooms.  Planning ahead can help you to manage the vacation season so that the spa still operates smoothly and clients can be serviced.

 

First of all, does your spa even offer vacation or PTO (paid time off) benefit?  Back in the “old days,” beauty therapists never received any paid vacation, but with the modernization of compensation plans, we are seeing much more of this.  In fact, PTO is the second-most desired benefit to spa staff, after health insurance, and it is not all that difficult or expensive to offer.

 

Let’s say you have an esthetician who books $1500 in revenue per week, and she is earning about 1/3 of that or $500 per week.  You can offer her two weeks of paid vacation every year, and the cost to you will be about one percent of her revenue production.  In other words, not expensive as far as benefits go.  If your staff receives a more aggressive pay plan, you can still likely offer one week paid vacation for a little less than one percent of their personal revenue production.  If you are in the dark ages of high commission rates – you probably can’t do anything, and that’s a different conversation.

 

We know that working in a spa, while enjoyable, is still hard work.  Your beauty therapists are giving, giving, giving to their clients all day, it’s a very “on stage” kind of work.  They really do need some downtime; whether they take it all at once or in a couple of long weekends, it is something they should be encouraged to do.  Everyone needs to recharge their batteries.

 

However, when you don’t have a therapist column available to book, that causes a decrease in revenue for your spa, unless you are lucky enough to have a substitute therapist arrangement.  So the spa has to focus on ensuring there are available therapists, and that cash flow is not negatively impacted by paying for vacation time with money you did not receive.

 

Here are a few guidelines that may help you to be better prepared for vacation time:

  • Be clear when you are interviewing & hiring, and in your employee manual, in defining what your vacation or PTO benefit is, and what are the guidelines for using it, such as:
  • How much advance notice is required?
  • How long do they have to be employed to receive the benefit?
  • Does the benefit renew on a calendar year or date of hire?
  • Can the time off be pro-rated; i.e. can a 5-day per week staff member take 2 days off half-way through the year?

 

It is generally advised that PTO not be rolled over into the next year, and not be exchanged for money.  Especially in a wellness-based industry, we WANT the staff to take the vacation.

 

There should be some restrictions so that the business is not negatively impacted; for instance, your entire esthetics staff cannot take vacation at the same time.  Depending on the size and arrangement of your staff, you should set expectations that no more than one or two people can be out at the same time.

 

Do consider developing a group of reliable substitute staff; this is a good option especially for massage.  When you interview a potential candidate that you like but do not have a position for, you can offer them work on an occasional, substitute basis, like filling in for vacation or taking a shift for a current staff member who has a conflict.  It’s a great way to get to know someone before making an employment commitment, plus it provides a revenue option for the missing technician.

 

Do you need help creating a solid plan for staff vacations? Contact us for a free consultation.

 

 

 

Spa Organizational Issues

What’s Your Biggest Spa Organizational Issue?

What’s your biggest organizational issue?

At first glance, your response might be, “Simple, I need to clean off my desk.”

But we’re talking bigger, deeper, wider organization.

Spa Organizational IssuesWe’re talking processes, procedures, protocols, etc., all of those words that “organized” people use.  If you’re someone whose ears slam shut when you hear those terms, we’re probably talking to you!

Because really, you want your business to run smoothly, right?  You want your staff to know the “rules,” and not have to stop to ask you questions all day.  You want your clients treated with the utmost in care and respect at all times.  You want to have a good reputation in your marketplace, so you can continue to attract new staff, as well as customers.  And those things don’t happen by accident.  They happen for businesses who have systems and structure, businesses that are, in a word, organized.

I know it’s challenging to feel organized in the spa environment.  Some of the common spa work environment factors that challenge organizations are:

Operating Hours

In an office that’s open from 9-5, M-F, it’s easier to set aside some time for “busy work” such as end-of-the-year cleanouts and reorganization of supplies.  You can stay an hour later one night, or come in an hour early one morning.  We can do that in the spa also, but it’s a lot more difficult, especially as spas are often open six and even seven days a week, and the days are long.  Some spas are open as many as 70 hours per week, and when the spa is open, there are hopefully clients there, making it difficult to tackle behind the scenes tasks.

Software

These days, most every spa has it.  But many still don’t use it to its full advantage or are not even aware of many of the built-in capabilities of their systems.  There may be existing solutions to some of your pressing problems, like tracking staff vacation requests, or professional inventory supplies, and certainly client files and marketing efforts.  Yes, there is no time to take tutorials and learn, but really, are you getting your money’s worth from your system?

Isolated Environments

In the spa, strangely, when the business is at its most busy, no employees can be seen.  Customer service, yes, but everyone else is tucked away in their treatment area working on-on-one with a client.  This doesn’t make it easy to work together; you can’t lean into your fellow employee’s cubicle and share information, or work collaboratively.  So this slows things down.

Physical Space

Since revenue-producing space is at a premium in the spa environment, there is not typically a lot of back-of-house space available.  Some front desks don’t even have the luxury of a back counter for storage of retail supplies or pending sales, and many spa owners share their office space with the laundry.  While this makes it very difficult to get organized, it also makes it even more imperative that we do so; with lack of resources, everything should have an assigned place.

 

Here is some useful advice from professional organizer and author Debbie Lillard, owner of Space to Spare.  Lillard advises on her website that “You may never have a perfectly neat office, but you can be functionally organized by following my method of C.P.R.”

Categorize

Whether you are talking about your desk, a closet or the whole office, start to put things in categories.  If one pile is too big, break it into sub-categories.

Purge

Toss whatever is outdated, no longer useful information, duplicate material or broken electronics.  Keep the basics: a work table, filing drawers, a cabinet or closet for supplies, bookshelves, and maybe one whiteboard or bulletin board.

Re-arrange

When you are left with what you use, start to arrange the workspace into functional areas: equipment & supplies, filing, Action items (to do, to read, to call, to send), and put things where you naturally use them. Use bins or containers that you already have or purchase ones that are the right size for what you need.

Lillard website and books share a wealth of advice, and you can follow her on Twitter at @DebbieLillard.

So don’t be shy, wade in and get started.  The new year is 10 days old already!