cases , despite their effectiveness . “ The irony is that there ’ s still such a fabulous opportunity to be on social media and on Shoppable — there are all sorts of different tools coming out all the time ,” she adds . Crawford suspects that this scaling back has more to do with staffing and resources than any sort of decline in the value of digital marketing itself .“ We ’ re seeing the spas back and busy , which is amazing , and I think that we ’ re seeing some of the digital marketing take a backseat , maybe because there are fewer inhouse members of staff looking after that side of things ,” she says .
THE WELLNESS BOOM The recent high level of demand for spa services has also been accompanied by an attendant rise in consumer interest surrounding the ingredients
that make spa products and treatments effective . Though Crawford notes that the CBD market in the U . K . and Europe is much smaller than in the U . S . ( largely due to regulatory issues ), it is exactly the kind of ingredient — tied to better wellness outcomes , applicable in a number of ways , naturally derived — that consumers are interested in learning more about after coping with the stresses of the pandemic and potentially seeing their mental and physical health decline .“ I think the pandemic lit a fire under that interest [ in CBD ],” Crawford says ,“ People are looking at their symptoms , whether it ’ s struggling to sleep , increased anxiety — these things that , unfortunately , the pandemic has increased .”
Even time-honored ingredients such as lavender , chamomile and
Vitamin C are seeing renewed interest from individuals increasingly focused on their personal wellness . Spa brands highlighting these types of ingredients in their products and services have seen a notable increase in website traffic , according to Crawford .“ That ’ s been a really interesting avenue of opportunity for us … making sure that spa partners are aware of some of the very targeted , ingredient-level benefits and are able to communicate that clearly during reopenings or product launches as well ,” she says .
Educating your audience about the ways in which product ingredients can affect their health and wellness is just one example of meeting your audience where they are at this stage of the pandemic . Crawford shares that some of Partner & Bloom ’ s clients in the spa and wellness space have seen an enthusiastic response to messaging centered on improving guests ’ well-being in other ways .“ They have chosen , on balance , to change how they ’ re profiling themselves during the pandemic ,” she says .“ I think they realize that their audiences are looking for a sympathetic conversation , a demonstration that they ’ re in tune with the mental health aspect of the pandemic , using their platforms to advocate for very practical things that one can do to help boost their energy , help their sleep patterns and routines [ and so on ].”
The increased emphasis on selfcare that seems to have taken clear hold during the pandemic is likely fueling interest in the outcomes Crawford describes , and spas should consider highlighting the specific results guests might expect to see from the treatments and product on offer , especially if those results are tied to improved mental or physical well-being in some way .“ Definitely make sure there are offerings …
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021 n PULSE 29