Mr. Di Stanisloa

Spas, Health & Fitness

Spa Marketing: Know Your Regional Market

By Bill Di Stanisloa, Founder & Principal, GreenSpa 101 LLC

Marketing has many definitions depending on the expert you may be speaking with. The key to successful marketing is not only knowing your product, price, promotion and distribution, but understanding the buying criteria of your regional guests.

With today’s changing economy, it is wise to reintroduce your spa’s business to your regional prospective clients. Define what your clients need and you will know how to attract those who want exactly what you have to offer. Be clear on your intent. What can your clients expect from their visit? New guests or clients select your spa for a reason. Find the reason; hopefully it is more than just their faithful commitment to having a massage or facial. Most spa owners, managers or their in-house marketing team focus on a current promotion for a holiday or season with a special offer, discount or free gift.

An important step for any spa manager or marketing manager is to meet with their spa team including all licensed providers, coordinators and support members. Engaging your spa team has multiple benefits. Obtaining valuable secondary research is one, but honoring their input will add cohesiveness, loyalty and motivation to your number one sales force. Ask them to reveal any comments or suggestions that a guest or client may have shared during their visit. This is also a time when you will hear about a specific service that was more favorable over another. For example, perhaps there have been many compliments on the new Seaweed Wrap treatment released three months ago. Your guests may have confirmed that this treatment delivers great benefits to their dry skin. Great feedback! If indeed your spa is located near the ocean it would validate the regional aspect of the service. Developing services indigenous to your region can be a true differentiator and make your spa a destination point. Ensure the success of your services by requiring your providers to be fully knowledgeable on all products used in each treatment. It is disappointing to visit a spa which merely offers “services” in which both the spa team and the provider can offer little guidance or education on the ingredients of a product from an indigenous or regional source.

Regional marketing can offer new revenue from local residents as well as those who simply just feel the need to drive a few hours and enjoy a day at the spa. Give them a reason to come to yours! Successful regional marketing understands why a customer would choose to come to your spa over another. Too many spas make expensive investments that mimic trendy services or treatments which may be very successful at a 5 Diamond hotel spa in downtown Manhattan. This same service may not generate the same interest in another location such as Phoenix, Arizona. An arid climate found in Phoenix would attract customers by offering treatments that would reflect a more indigenous product and benefit; a soothing Dilo wrap followed by an aloe vera based facial, for example. Design our marketing around your spa’s mission and vision which again should reflect the regional attributes of your location. Your spa’s treatments and services should differentiate you from other spas within your region. By the way, your region can be defined as in-state or within a 50 to 100 mile radius, it all depends on the actual location and size of your commerce area or how large of a business and/or residential base is within that radius.

Your resort or hotel based spa is attracting guests and clients to your region for a reason, find out what that reason is and market accordingly. For example, the developers of your spa at time of construction heard Watsu was popular in another state and built with this in mind. This service may not be the reason guests selected your spa which now results in less than a 3% return on the investment. Be sure you’re monitoring the volume of all services while focusing on guest favorites. If a service is not selling after 90 days of being active, then confirm your marketing strategy on this service and be sure it fits your mission and the expectations of your regional guests or clients. Never leave a service or treatment on the menu if it does not sell nor has a guest demand.

The ultimate goal for all hospitality and service businesses is for a guest or customer to truly become a client and return time and time again. How fortunate it is to hear that a guest enjoyed a unique experience from the service, the spa team and the environment. They will return and tell others of their experience which will add to your spa’s success. Regional guest feedback will help steer your strategies for growing your business as every region offers something special. Read your comment cards, speak to your regional or local customers and find out what they liked or did not like about your spa. Smile and say: Thank you, your input is very important to us! Listen to what they are asking for before running to implement what you may have read in the latest trend source.

Proper regional marketing is also used to enhance the qualities of your business and the products used for all services. More is not necessary more when it comes to retail products. If your spa carries the latest chemical peel product, yet your mission statement defines you as a pure and all natural spa supported by your regionally focused marketing, your product strategy will fail. The result will be a product line that sits on the shelf collecting dust. Products should reflect the qualities of your region and/or the vision of your spa. Products and services should be intertwined and support each other.

Spa employees are also part of regional marketing. They are your number one marketing source. They should promote and sell their services in addition to supporting the sale of products. Word of mouth is still the leader in stimulating a new prospect’s interest in a product or service. The Internet may be the top marketing source, but it still lacks the personal vibration of speech and expression not to mention passion. Encourage your team members to take pride in their positions and help them understand promotion and marketing. Openly share feedback obtained from clients and include them in suggesting service menu changes. Ensure all employees are informed and involved in the marketing process and fully support the vision and mission of the spa through their actions. As a suggestion to empower the spa providers, provide them with business cards to allow them to become part of the spa’s success. Encourage them to offer a first time discount on the back of the card and deliver what was once titled and respected as: Outreach Marketing. Support your team to be innovative and come up with regional promotions or additional services they feel will attract new guests and clients to your spa.

Keep in mind; most vacationers leave their state to experience something new or memorable. In today’s economy, more are choosing on “stay-cations”. Give them a reason to stay in their own region and re-discover what is surprisingly in their own backyard.

Finally, shop your region. Do not be afraid to visit and experience another spa in your area. This is part of primary market research. It serves to educate you and your team on what you may be missing. If nothing else, it may serve as confirmation that you are definitely on the right track.

There is a reason why the top 10 resort and hotel spas in the country usually remain the top 10. Their local and regional clients believe in them and support their success. Make the change in your marketing efforts by focusing on your region and invite your new prospects to see, hear and feel why they made the right choice.

Bill Di Stanisloa brings with him more than 22 years of personal and professional experience in the field of Holistic Health and Nutrition and 30 years in the business world including hospitality, property management, spa and salon development and operations. Mr. Di Stanisloa has also led a global product portfolio bringing customers together during the dot.com era. He has served director roles for a multitude of positions which include committee member of resort operations at Amelia Island Plantation Resort, its’ Holistic Spa and Salon and the Resort Green Program. Mr. Di Stanisloa can be contacted at 904-879-9203 or Bill@GreenSpa101.com Extended Bio...

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