GROWING BUSINESS
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FASTFACT
According to the February
2011 Snapshot Survey, spas
are finding ways to cut down
on cost. The survey indicated
that day spas cut down
expenses on marketing/
public relations (18 percent)
and on fresh flowers (13
percent). For resort/hotel
spas, the most significant
cuts were on fresh flowers
(24 percent) and travel (20
percent).
pating in community groups and volunteer activities.
“You have to talk their language, not
yours, to engage these folks,” says Cherry.
“This may be uncomfortable for a lot of
people in the spa industry. Try to initiate
relationships with those individuals who
wouldn’t think of putting their foot in
your door. This is where you can discuss
how spas enhance productivity, reduce
overhead, lower costs, and improve
employee recruitment and retention. At
the end of the meeting, they will likely
schedule a visit to see what you’re all
about.”
If you are tempted to increase customer traffic through deep discounts,
think again. Online coupon companies
like Groupon and LivingSocial have made
discounting a daily occurrence which,
without the right strategy, may erode the
bottom line. “You’re not likely to retain
someone who comes based on an offer
whose price point is half the normal
cost,” says Borgman. “If you discount, get
the price point on the offer closer to your
average sale. You have to qualify customers or the churn will be destructive to
both existing customers’ experiences and
employee satisfaction.”
Coaching Your Team
Being innovative also requires having a
creative educational plan in place for staff
that is current with today’s market challenges. Employees must be able to
understand who the best potential customers are and engage them in strong,
customer-centric interactions that complement your marketing efforts.
To build a strong, long-lasting brand,
owners must be dedicated to communication and training. Employees must fully
understand the brand and how to represent it, both inside and outside the spa.
“Team members need to be taught not
only to execute the service, but master
the soft skills that make them a gracious
and comfortable service provider,” says
Phillips. “They represent your brand every
minute they are face-to-face with a guest,
yet most spas only rely on vendor-based
education.”
The new path to efficient education is
a blend of on-site education, top quality
product knowledge, and new online training. Larger staffs have a greater need for
quality online training materials. “This is
the theme of every larger resort I have
talked with in the past four months,”
Phillips says. “Owners and directors must
control the education message and deliver
it consistently to enhance the brand.
Business only gets better when your team
improves.”
Training, however, should not replace
communication—team members must be
told exactly what is expected of them and
how it will be measured. “We use very
objective metrics for measuring overall
performance, including retail ratio, retention ratio, and average ticket,” says
Borgman. “We weight each of these
metrics with points, and to advance to a
higher treatment rate, they need to score
10 or higher. However, if a person is
strong in one area (say, retai