Promoting Your Spa and Getting Customers

Here aare some ways to promote your spa without costing you much money. A good marketing plan should be a combination of several efforts.

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Pro Bono work is particularly effective when you want to promote your spa in a new area or when your business needs a refreshingly new burst.  Offer your spa services to homeless shelters, welfare organizations, hospice centers, and community schools.  Pro Bono work does not necessarily have to be related to the spa industry but anything that can help to increase the visibility in your community. 

Charitable work always reflects well on your business.  It shows that you venture beyond yourself.  Community involvement shows to the people that you take a genuine interest in their wellbeing outside your business parameters.  It provides your spa with more exposure, which will increase client loyalty and sales.  Here are some examples of Pro Bono work:

Ø  Donating complimentary skin treatments/make-up sessions for actresses participating in a community film festival.

Ø  Sponsoring a fundraiser organized by a local nonprofit.

Ø  Displaying a local photographer’s artwork in your salon premises for a limited time frame.

Ø  Offering free hair cutting sessions at the local nursing home for elderly residents. 

Philanthropic Activities

Giving is not just good for the soul, but is also good for business. Often, when donating services for a charity event, a logo or even an ad must be included in the program or on the organization’s Web site.  This yields a sense of acceptance for your spa from the community.  Any community embraces businesses that care and support their causes.

Gift Certificates

Give gift certificates to your customers as holiday gifts.  Typically gift certificates are non-refundable.  However they should be transferable to another person.  Gift certificates can be purchased pre-formatted and blank, from office supply stores.

Gift with Purchase (GWP)

    This is a brilliant marketing strategy; after all everybody loves to get a present.  It is a great incentive both for the business and the client.  The client will extend their budget to hit the target amount needed in order to obtain the GWP, and the GWP provides a product to sample and then to fall in love with.  The GWP should be associated with a special event or be available only for a specific duration.  It should not extend during a long period of time, or the excitement will be lost.  A “while supplies last” type of promotion usually works very well.

Gratis

Gratis is the practice of receiving a retail product at no charge.  There are copious ways of using gratis.  Create thank you gifts out of the free samples that you get.  Hand them out to each customer in a particular week.  Be sure that you have a “sales pitch” to go along with the product.  Announce the free samples in your newsletter.  For example:  “All customers getting treatments at Serene Spa during the week of October 5^th- October 12^th will receive a free lotion of aloe vera.”  This will be an incentive for customers to purposely schedule their appointments during that specific week.  You can try out a strategy like this during a slow season, and not during a peak holiday week like Christmas.

This pasge was last updated on August 20th, 2009