Here are 7 Bright Ideas on how you can build your database quickly and easily:

1. Every time your phone rings, your receptionists must obtain the callers information
2. Place a register to win on your website’s home page. Entice the visitor to provide you with their name and email address.
3. Place a subscribe button for your e-news on your home page
4. Any time you attend an event or host an event, collect people’s information; gather as many business cards as possible  put them in your database
5. When the guest visits the spa provide them with an intake form that includes a space for an email address and make sure the guest fills in the information.
6. Negotiate a link on other businesses’ websites who compliment your business and ask them to place a register to win on their website or a link swap.
7. Ask other businesses with a large e-database to send your newsletter to their database and invite people to opt in and register for your newsletter. (This practice can build your database so rapidly, we know it works because we have practiced this and it increased our database tremendously.) Of course, you have to have a meaningful newsletter.  If you don’t have a great newsletter you should subscribe to the Ready-To-Go e-News.

E-mail guidelines:

• Organize your list- use an email service like Constant Contact or I Contact or A Weber.
• When creating your form to collect your data, make sure you include a box asking the guest permission to receive your emails.
• Update your list on regular basis.
• Always include an opt-out or unsubscribe link in your emails.
• Protect your email list

Database communication:

• Monthly e-news
• Special offers
• New products or services
• Parties or special events
• Press release
• Reservation reminders
• Last minute appointment specials

Need help with building your list let us know we have proven effective ways to help you! 

Do you have a list building challenge? let us know what it is, leave your comment!

Are you looking for Success in 2012?
Sure you are… its time to focus on Marketing! 

Marketing is one of the most important keys to your success. Without marketing, you won’t maximize your spa’s capacity or your revenue generation. You need to have an annual marketing plan in order to insure a steady flow of new and repeat guests visiting your spa or salon. Having a marketing plan is what separates a successful business from one that is barely surviving. Here are 7 Easy Steps to help you create your marketing plan:

1. Take some time to focus on your marketing needs.
Do a 2011 assessment. Evaluate what worked and what needs to change. Then, plan your 2012 success.

2. Identify your target market.
Who are your clients? Create a client profile that best describes your clients. Research their demographics (age, income, lifestyle) and psychographics (likes and dislikes).

3. Match the right menu and price to your target market.
Is your menu selling your services or is it just a price list? Does it describe treatments in enticing ways that make clients say “I want that treatment”? Refresh your offerings focusing on wellness and beauty. Check out The Menu Development Dos and Don’ts CD to help you improve your menu.

4. Set a marketing budget.
Many people think that marketing requires large budgets. But that is not the case. There are many economical marketing strategies you can participate in. Practice this rule of thumb: invest 10% of your gross revenue into marketing. Determine your monthly marketing investment and apply it to your economical marketing mix to help increase exposure and traffic.

5. Choose your marketing mix.
Many spa owners think that advertising is the main type of marketing to participate in, but that is not the case. There are many marketing mix options to choose from. In the LEAP Ahead Spa Leader Seminar, we cover over 72 different economical marketing strategies you can participate in and are designed specifically to increase your spa traffic and revenue.

6. Develop your spa marketing material.
Your marketing material needs to match your image and deliver a compelling message to take action. Too often we see spa menus, brochures, ads or email blasts that don’t ask the target market to take action.

7. Plan your spa marketing calendar.
Here is the biggest mistake we encounter. Many people don’t have a marketing calendar for the entire year! Without a calendar you are reacting rather than planning. For example, now you should be planning Valentines’ Day. It should be on your calendar with a list of things that need to be done in advance to insure a profitable Valentine’s month. Yes, month not just day.

Take time this month to assess your marketing needs and plan your entire year. Don’t delay, start now! You saw how fast 2010 went by, so don’t let 2011 pass you by without an annual marketing plan. Take time to plan your success!

Need help with your marketing plan? We have one prepackaged and ready for implementation. See the “Dori Recommends” column for details.

Happy Marketing!

Oh one more thing to help you. We have an audio marketing preview call you can listen to at no charge. It’s on the LEAP Ahead preview page. There are several audios on there you will find helpful. The marketing one is “Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan”, scroll down on the preview page and you will see it. Enjoy. Or if you want to improve your marketing you can join CoachMe Gold and enjoy exponential growth in 2012.

Happy New Year!!

Branding Your Spa via Social Media:
5 Reasons Why Emotional Engagement is Crucial

I invted Stacy to write a blog for InSPAration Management.  Enjoy Dori.

As the backbone of social media, engagement means truly listening, interacting and sharing quality, relevant and timely content with your audience.  So, how does this translate into positive brand awareness and increased revenue?

Social media offers unprecedented ways to build emotional connections with customers by uniting them with other people and their stories.  According to social media visionary Gary Vaynerchuk (author of The Thank You Economy), “People want to have close relationships with their brands.  It still sounds a little weird today, but one day it won’t.  The right time start building those relationships is right now.”

Here are five reasons why emotionally engaging your customers is important to your spa’s success.

1. People respond well to tugs on their heartstrings. Emotional bonds in both personal and professional lives operate much the same way – you get out as much as you put in, and it takes time.  It’s not possible to force them, buy them, or turn them into something they are not ready to be.  Therefore, by authentically and gently touching on people’s emotions, people will get to know, like and ultimately trust you over time.  But your engagement must be heartfelt or it won’t work.  As Gary says, “You cannot underestimate the sharpness of people’s BS radar.”  It’s about taking every single opportunity to show you truly care about your customers, their opinions and how they experience the relationship with your business.  The spa experience, by definition, is an emotional one.  Make the online experience an emotional one, too.

2. It generates consumer gratitude, loyalty and respect.  In our world of immediacy, the first spa to emotionally engage in your marketplace has the most impact in your marketplace.  If you are not the first one it’s not a deal breaker; however, the longer you wait, the higher your cost of entry and workload to catch up with the world around you.  So, take the time now to jump into the social media game, talk to people and invite them to talk back, all the while crystallizing relationships within your community.  By touching them emotionally, it will breed customer gratitude, loyalty and respect.

3. It increases positive word of mouth. Social media represents a huge shift in power back to the consumer.  Now, consumers have instant and more consistent contact with one another than we’ve ever seen before with platforms such as twitter, facebook and yelp.  More contact means increased information sharing, discussing, gossiping and engaging.  In effect, it gives everyone who wants a voice the ability to be heard by hundreds if not thousands of people.  By emotionally engaging with your customers, even if it’s to personally and publicly apologize for a mistake, you have a golden opportunity to turn a disgruntled customer into an advocate of your brand.  Why?  Because you took the time to listen and care about them as an individual.  It’s as simple as that.

4. It will increase your bottom line.  In July 2009, Nielson conducted a survey on what drives consumer trust and the results were clear: 90% percent or consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted general consumer opinions posted online.  When faced with two relatively equal choices, people often choose a spa for no more complicated reason than they associate that experience with someone they know.  And people like to do business with people they like.  Chances are, spas that aren’t able or willing to join the conversation will likely see their balance sheets suffer. 

5. Even Google is doing it.  Check out this brilliant 90-second video “Dear Sophie” that Google created to increase brand awareness for Chrome, their latest web browser.  It’s a great example of emotional engagement. 

Make the choice today to show your true colors.  Implement a culture of caring and communication into your spa business, nurture one-to-one relationships and watch your customers reward your efforts by using their new and massively powerful word of mouth to market your brand for you.  Over time, identify who these people are and reward them.  Imagine for a moment if you did: what do you think they would tweet, facebook or yelp about your spa to hundreds or thousands of other emotionally engaged consumers?

Stacy Conlon - Currently, she is a social media marketing strategist for the spa and wellness industries as well as a Certified Wellness Coach. Stacy is passionate about helping people connect the dots in their work and personal lives, and facilitates the creation and follow-through of a SMART action plan in order to achieve their goals. Combining her unique skill set as a marketer, educator and coach, Stacy also creates customized wellness programs for spas and other wellness-minded corporations. She is a professional blogger, speaker.

Website: www.thezengirl.com
Email: stacy@thezengirl.com
Twitter: @TheZenGirl

Everyone loves taking assessments…let’s face it; we all have taken one at some point or another.  I know I have taken some just for fun with the notion that I might find out something new about myself.  When was the last time your spa offered a quick, fun assessment to new and potential clients?

Spas that offer assessments benefit in many ways.  In this issue I will share with you one:

1. How to use assessments to engage your guests on your web site and to build your client list.

Using assessments is a proven effective method to capture your web site visitors’ attention, engage them and capture their information. 

We just posted a marketing www.InSPArationManagement.com  and many have already taken it.  Have you?  As a result, we were able to help our professionals assess their marketing efforts and at the same time capture new visitor’s information to build our client list. Go ahead…take it now to see what I am talking about.

In your case as a spa/salon you can create an assessment that would help determine one’s stress level, skin type, skin problems/issues, etc.  Who wouldn’t be tempted to take one of these assessments?  This is a great way to engage your guests and keep them coming back to your site.  Consider changing your spa assessments periodically to incldue different topics and to keep your site fresh and engaging.

“Persistence Paralyzes Resistance” is one of my favorite phrases. It’s a phrase that I teach and have lived by for many years.  That is why I am making it this month’s Bright Idea.   If you want to accomplish something, you have to be persistent. Keep applying action until you reach the ultimate goal.  Giving up is not an option.  What can you do to be more persistent so you can paralyze resistance?

The fact is you will never achieve big results without consistent, persistent action. 

Let me give you an example.  Let’s say you schedule a spa meeting at 8:00 am and you have 15 team members but only 10 show on time. Two arrive 5 to 10 minutes late, one shows 25 minutes late and two don’t show up at all. It’s like that every week or every time you schedule a meeting. The lack of consistency will paralyze and wreck team performance.  What do you do about it?  The key factor is to establish spa rules and be consistently persistent.  Next time someone does not show up on time, lock the door, follow up and be consistent with your actions as a leader.  How would you rate your consistent persistence? Does your spa team know the rules of the game?

In sports there are rules. If players don’t follow the rules, they get a penalized. If they repetitively or grossly break the rules, they get kicked out of the game.  They don’t bend the rules for Dwight Howard or because you are a key player.  The rules of the game apply to everyone. It is your job to be persistent and consistent in enforcing them.  Once you establish consistency, you will paralyze resistance and have a much improved work environment.  

One of my favorite books is The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield. In the book, there is a chapter about consistency and persistence. It includes the following Consistency Circle that you may find very helpful. If you have not read The Power of Focus, you should.  It’s a good resource for improving spa team performance.

The Consistency Circle

Go ahead, see where you need to be more persistent so you can paralyze resistance and achieve greater results.

When was the last time you went to a spa and had an spa experience where the therapist actually talked to you about adding a treatment to what you already selected from the menu?  Or when was the last time a therapist actually recommended a product to use at home?  You are probably thinking, I don’t remember or it rarely happens.  Actually, the fact is most guests leave spas empty handed… except for cruise spas. 

You are probably a spa professional reading this and also a spa goer, as we all go spas. In my position as a consultant and a coach, I have visited spas around the world, have been a secret shopper for many spas and rarely do people recommend to me.  Normally you go into a treatment room, they tell you to lie down, begin the treatment and when you are finished, they let you go empty handed… This practice is costing spa leaders millions of dollars.

On the other hand, I took my family on a cruise to Alaska. Of course, I visited the spa several times during the trip.  What a difference in their entire approach!  They take the time to discover your needs, then recommend treatments and products.  The amazing thing is they do it consistently! I know this is the protocol on most cruise ships as I experience the same type of service on other cruise lines.  If the team on a cruise ship can do it, why can’t resort spas, day spas, and medi spas do it too?

InSPAration Management has conducted many studies on retail and treatment upgrades.  We found that they are two of the biggest missed revenue opportunities within the spa.  Many spas focus on delivering a great treatment experience, but totally ignore additional treatment suggestions and retail recommendations for home.  As an industry, we are missing out on significant revenue that can be generated through both of these revenue streams.  It’s a fact; Billions of dollars are spent on beauty and self-care products per year! Unfortunately, most spas don’t get their market share. Thousands of dollars are left on the table leading to slimmer profit lines.

Daily, we hear from spa leaders who are frustrated with the lack of retail sales and upgrade opportunities. When we ask, “What are the repercussions for lack of sales?” normally there are none.  How can you expect to improve performance and achieve new results if the team is not held accountable for their actions?  If you want to begin tapping into these missed revenue opportunities, you must implement the following 4 Steps in order for your team to produce the results you desire.

1.      Set Performance Expectations and Measures

2.      Tie Compensation to Performance

3.      Implement a Recommending System

4.      Train and Coach the Team

1.      Set Performance Expectations and Measures

You get what you expect and what you measure.  To improve performance, you must set expectations.  What does it mean to be a professional therapist on your team?  What are their professional obligations?  You will need to outline them in detail.  Set targets for both treatment volume and retail volume per guest.  Then measure often. Don’t wait until the end of the month to realize they did not hit the target, it’s too late then.  Just like in sports, the goal is to get to the playoffs, then win the championship.  In order to do that, the coach tracks statistics from every single game. You need to do the same.  Track performance daily and watch your profit line grow!

2.      Tie Compensation to Performance

VPG ComPlan

Tying compensation to performance is essential.  If a team member is not recommending, they don’t deserve to earn the same amount of money as the one who does.  Tying service commission to retail commission is a sure way to make the team recommend more.  That is why the cruise ships do so well in retail.  Their compensation plan rewards retail sales. Does yours? Compensation plays a big role and it must be addressed if you want to improve performance. 

3.      Develop a Recommending System

To succeed you must have a recommending system.  Systems insure consistency, accuracy and growth. Without a proven effective system, your future in uncertain.  Fortunately, there are systems available to help you.  We teach the P.R.I.D.E. recommending system. It’s called, Don’t Sell, “Recommend”!  It’s a philosophy focused on delivering a complete guest experience in the spa and at home.  The system identifies guests’ needs or concerns while making recommendations using the P.R.I.D.E. system. 

4.      Training and Coaching the Team

Training and coaching is a never ending process. Someone must be responsible for training and coaching the team. Who is the coach in your organization?  Training is an essential component to your success. It needs to be conducted often and must include role playing.  Just like in sports again, the team listens to the coach, then they go out on the floor to practice what they learned.  That’s role play… but in our industry, the therapists say “I hate to role play.” Many spa leaders accept that reply and don’t role play.  Can you imagine a basketball or a soccer player telling his coach I don’t want to role play?  How long will that player be on a winning team?  You get my point… they must role play. The more they do it, the more comfort and confidence they will have with the entire recommending process.

It’s time for the spa industry to realize opportunities they have and start recommending as a way of life.  Focus on these four strategies, set new guest experience standards for your spa and maximize your revenue generation.  Need help? Seek out an educational firm to guide you and implement proven effective systems.  Work smarter, not harder to maximize your success!

Check out this story from CTV News.ca.

Police are investigating after a woman died following a cleansing procedure at a Quebec spa, prompting the head of an industry group to warn spa-goers they ought to research their treatments.

Police told CTVNews.ca that Chantal Lavigne, 35, died after participating in a detoxifying treatment at a farmhouse-turned-spa in South Durham, Quebec on Friday.

During the treatment at Reine de la Paix farmhouse, about 100 kilometres southeast of Montreal, Lavigne was enveloped in a wrap made of mud and cellophane designed in an attempt to induce intense sweating.

“This was apparently a type of spa where they offer holistic-type treatments,” said Daniel Thibaudeau, spokesperson for Quebec’s provincial police (SQ).

Police said Lavigne lost consciousness during the wrap procedure and had to be rushed to a hospital in Drummondville where she later died.

“When officers found her she was in critical condition, first aid was given to her at the time and she was transported immediately,” Thibaudeau said.

The Canadian Press reports that another women was also vomiting when they arrived, but was in stable condition later Saturday.

Police are now investigating what role the treatment played in Lavigne’s death. It is not yet known whether Lavigne had a pre-existing medical condition.

Police said the results of an autopsy may help determine whether there are any criminal elements to the case.

The spa specialized in Reiki therapy and offers energy therapy, massage and natural products, according to its website.

The woman who rents the farmhouse, Daiva Goulet, wouldn’t comment except to tell CTV News that she felt badly for the families involved.

SQ spokesperson Christine Coulombe said about 10 women were undergoing the treatment that day.

Two other women who also fell ill had to be rushed to hospital, police said. Both are expected to recover.

Neighbours of the farmhouse said they have heard loud screaming coming from the property in the past.

The Canadian spa industry doesn’t have a national system of standards or regulations, according to the industry group Leading Spas of Canada.

“Many provinces have little or no licensing for spa practitioners…,” states the organization’s website.

“Schools do not have equivalent educational programs and/or requirements for graduation.”

While the group instead has its own set of spa standards, the quality assurance program remains optional.

Lucie Brousseau, the president of Alliance Spas Relais Sante, told The Canadian Press on Saturday that the onus is on the spa-goer to insure the treatment is safe.

“The industry is pretty new,” she said. “We’ve been putting an emphasis on quality.”

Meanwhile, Canada’s spa industry continues to grow with the number of spas increasing by 329 per cent between 1996 and 2006.

With files from CTV’s Aphrodite Salas in Montreal and The Canadian Press

Service with a SMILE!

It seems some people have forgotten about Please, THANK YOU and just good old customer service or as I like to call it client relations.  Aren’t you tired of the lack of good service?    I’m not talking just about guest experiences in the spa; also in general terms, when living your life outside the spa.  I had an awakening over the last couple of weeks.  We recently moved into a larger office. I had to purchase a lot of new office items.  Little did I know, I was in for some surprises!  So I would like to share with you what I experienced so you might save your clients from going through similar experiences…

1.      Standing in line to give a business money.

Imagine this, you are shopping or just finished your spa experience and you are ready to go only to find a long line of people before you waiting to do the same thing.  You wait and wait… no one comes to help with the back-up.  You are waiting and waiting to give them money!  If a client wants to give you money, you should not make them wait.  They need to be served.  How long do your clients wait in line?  I have walked out of businesses because of that reason.  If I have to wait to check out, they don’t deserve my money. I understand there are exceptions to every situation, but as business leaders, we need to have a backup and predict some of these situations.  We need to address them so we are not making our clients/guests and customers wait to give us money.  

2.      Spending hundreds of dollars and the cashier/receptionist not saying thank you.

I was in a big chain store and bought over $300 worth of items. When I went to the cashier to checkout, she rang up all my items, I handed her my credit card and she asked for my ID.  I said that’s interesting, the person who checked out before me did not have to show you her ID. Why are you asking for mine?  She said you bought more things.  Of course, I had to say something.  So I said, it’s ok to steal little amounts but not big amounts… where is the consistency?  And then she hands my ID and credit card back, never bothering to say thank you.  Let this be a lesson:  Consistency is the key if you are going to ask for an ID. Ask everyone, not selected clients or based on the amount they are buying. Consistency is a key to success.  You can’t have one therapist doing one thing and another doing something totally different, like giving away a free spa upgrade!

3.      Limited product knowledge and inability to recommend products.

Buying technology products is always challenging. There are so many models, many different prices, functions, and so on… There are things you need to learn before you make a decision and buy a product.  But here’s an unfortunate reality:  It’s sad when you go shopping and you know more than the sales person that is working in the store.  What is wrong with that picture?  That’s like going to a spa and your spa receptionist has never had a spa body treatment or a facial. She is trying to answer your prospective client’s questions while attempting to sell treatments she has never experienced.  Good luck with that!   Remember, it’s your spa image and reputation on the line. Designate time for training to make sure your team has the ability and knowledge to deliver a great experience and fulfill your guests’ needs. 

4.      Rendering the wrong service and having to do the same job twice or three times.

This is a very costly problem for any business.  Not giving your clients what they ask for because someone is either not listening or not focused on what they are doing.  I took my parents to dinner the other night and two out of the three orders came back wrong.  Does this happen in your business?  Has one of your guests ever asked for a certain type of massage or facial and received another?  Why aren’t employees listening?  It’s not that hard.  Customers are giving you money to listen to their order.  It’s very expensive to take food back to the kitchen and redo it, just like it is in your business.  Listen, pay attention, deliver the correct order and avoid costly mistakes.

5.      No customer service survey.

None of these businesses know about the bad experiences I had because no one sent a guest survey.  So they have no way to fix what is going wrong in their business.  Mistakes hurt.  Are you finding out about your spa mistakes?  Do you conduct client surveys to see how good you are doing or what you need to fix?  If not, start now.  It will make a big difference in your retention rate.

6.      Being on infinite hold, going through a maze of automated transfers and/or people transfers.

This is terrible customer service. Thank God I have assistants helping me!  I refuse to be put on hold or go through a maze of automated channels.  The phone company messed up our lines so bad; they had to come back three times to fix them.  Every time we called the phone company, my team was on the phone on hold for 30 minutes or longer before receiving help. It was horrible.  How about when someone calls your spa?  I called a resort for a coaching call this week and a recording came on to say we will return your call within 24 hours.  I thought to myself, you’ve got to be kidding!  It’s a resort, in the middle of the day, and you want to take 24 hours to get back with me?  So I left a message and when the spa director called me back, she informed that her receptionist was on the other line.  Soooo, why doesn’t your message say that?  It’s like shooting yourself in foot.   How are your phone calls being handled?  What messages and impressions are your callers receiving?  Listen to your telephone greeting and hold messages. Make sure your callers have a positive response and receive the right message.

7.      No flexibility for loyal clients, we only have black and white policies.

I am a Platinum Delta frequent flyer. One of our team members made airline reservation for the two of us, but instead of making it for 7:30 am she made them for 7:30 pm.  By the time I looked at the ticket, it was too late to change them without a fee. They wanted over $800 to change each ticket.  It did not matter that I spend thousands of dollars with their airline per year, they could care less.  When I asked to talk to a manager, they said there is no manager to talk to.  It is wise to have “grey rules” or flexibility within your organization to take care of your most valued or loyal clients, as they will take care of you. It’s ok to bend the rules to satisfy a great client.  Nothing should be so black and white.  In case you are wondering, I had the pay the price for a new ticket.  But now, I tell everybody how inflexible Delta is.

The reason I wrote this blog is becasue every business needs to consider the lifetime value of each client.  It’s not just about this one transaction. It’s about all their transactions over several years!

Do you know how to calculate your lifetime value?

We have a lifetime value formula you might find very interesting and useful.  Write to us at info@inSPArationmanagement.com and we will be happy to send it to you.

I hope this gives you some food for thought.  Evaluate some of your spa processes and make improvements!  Share with us your stories…

Posted on Massagemag.com

New research released on the heels of the Global Spa Summit held in Bali, Indonesia, points to an economic turnaround for spas; growth of wellness segments; and increased social networking, among other trends:

• The economic turnaround is directly, positively impacting the spa and wellness industries: 82 percent predict an increase in gross revenues for 2011.

• Training and education ranks as the number-one challenge facing the global spa industry today (27 percent), followed by standards/definitions/best practices (12 percent), with oversupply of spas (10 percent) ranking third.

• Executives predict that among all spa/wellness segments over the next few years, preventive medicine will experience the greatest growth (44 percent),

followed by beauty and cosmetic (24 percent).

• Fifty-seven percent of spa executives report that social media campaigns are driving an improvement in customer bookings and sales, but 26 percent still don’t engage in any social media initiatives.

• Thirty-seven percent report that group buying and online deal sites have driven an improvement in customer bookings and sales, but 58 percent don’t participate in group buying and online deal sites.

• China ranks as the number-one place industry leaders would most like to expand their business (31 percent), followed by other countries in Southeast Asia (28 percent).