Spa Marketing

We've added a series of Events, beginning with Holiday and spanning through Valentine's Day; plus 5 email newsletters to your Marketing campaigns, so please take a peek and tailor them to your exact preferences.

If you use Events and don't make changes, the Events will automatically appear on your website for the range of dates listed.

Event:

• Celebrate Spa and Relaxation (Runs 11/28–12/18)
• Banish Yuletide Stress with Spa (Runs 12/19–12/25)
• Did You Receive the Gift of Spa? (Runs 12/27–12/31)
• Love Thyself this Valentine’s Day (Runs 1/16–2/5)
• Share the Bliss of Spa! (Runs 2/6–2/14)

If you've opted in to our Email Marketing and you don't make changes, they will automatically fly, on the dates below.

Email Newsletters:

• Give Instantly this Holiday (Launches 11/28/11)
• Need a Last Minute Gift Solution? (Launches 12/19/11)
• Gratitude and Spa for the New Year (Launches 12/27)
• Give Instant Love this Valentine’s Day (Launches 1/16)
• A Valentine’s Gift from the Heart (Launches 2/6)

You have the power to edit any Events and Emails we've created from within your SpaBoom account. Simply go to Marketing, Choose Email Marketing or Events from the list on the left side of your screen and edit away!

Note: We always recommend sending a test Email to yourself, even to multiple email accounts, to ensure it looks exactly how you'd like it to look. This gives you an opportunity to make changes to content, graphics, or even the colors if you like, before your clients see it.

As always, if you have questions about any of this, just give us a call and we'll help you out!

Posted in Spa Marketing, SpaBoom New Features • Comment »

According to Launch Media, a study by computer scientists from Harvard and Boston University reveals that businesses running a Groupon or Living Social deal can expect a 10% decrease in their Yelp star rating.

The study beautifully illustrates what happens when businesses compete purely on price. Daily deals often result in unique, price conscious consumers who are less loyal and inconsistent. They are also more likely to give your business a lower rating. Ironically, Groupon won't work with many businesses until they have established hard earned reviews on sites like Yelp. It's a parasitic relationship that uses your online reputation to sell their coupons.

Daily deal sites might need to tone down their claims that these offers will help "jump start" a business because the deals deliver consumers who are less interested in a businesses and more focused on the price they'll receive for a specific product or service.

As we've said many times, these consumers get your deal one day and the next they'll be pitched a local competitor's offer. Add to it, newer businesses have fewer Yelp reviews so running a daily deal would likely skew their rating down farther than an established business. It's just not a great way to get valuable customers through the door.

Posted in General, Group Deals, Spa Marketing • 3 Comments »

First there was word that Facebook was eliminating their daily deals program and then this week we heard from Greg Sterling that Yelp plans to chop their deals sales force in half. Anyone else hear the bottom dropping out of this absolutely unsustainable segment?

The economics of Groupon and other Daily Deal clone offers are absolutely out of whack, falling way short of providing long term value for most businesses. They have clearly over promised new customer acquisition generated by the trumped-up lure of deeply discounted coupons. Most businesses just can't recoup the deal's cost in new business generated from the promotions.

What's the best way to use deals in your marketing mix? Run them yourself with BoomTime Deals, they produce more long term clients by selling intelligently discounted deals to a targeted demographic.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Group Deals • 1 Comment »

Google Places no longer shows third party reviews

Demandforce focuses on a specific niche, and it's an important one: garnering more reviews for your spa. Their approach is to email clients and ask them to review you, and then push those reviews into Google Places (since Demandforce doesn't have the kind of consumer traffic of someone like Yelp).

This worked, because Google Places showed reviews from lots of different places. Google initially did this because they didn't have very many reviews of their own, so they showed reviews from Yelp, CitySearch, etc. Those reviews were used to calculate the average review that you see for your spa in search results.

That is, until last week. Google Places no longer shows third-party reviews. Instead, there is just a link at the bottom of Google's own reviews that links to Yelp, CitySearch, SpaFinder, Demandforce, etc. And, third-party reviews are no longer used in the average review calculation.

Although I like what Demandforce is trying to accomplish, there are some problems I see:

• You now need reviews directly on Google Places. A link to Demandforce — a name that consumers don't recognize — at the very bottom of the actual reviews isn't going to help much.
• If you do click on that link, the page is generic, not using your spa's branding or photos. Same thing with their appointment request functionality.
• If you stop paying Demandforce, all of your reviews disappear. [UPDATE: Please see comments — Demandforce says this is not their policy, and that their website hasn't been updated yet to reflect this change.]

You really need reviews in two places: your own website, where you can curate the reviews to highlight the best ones, and on local review sites, particularly Google Places, since that shows to anyone doing a web search.

We've been asked by SpaBoomers to come up with a better solution to build reviews.

Here's what we already do:

• SpaBoom Dynamic Websites automatically collect reviews on your website, giving you the tools to manage your reviews, highlighting the best ones.
• SpaBoom automatically send emails to your clients that book online or redeem a gift certificate to ask them for a review (turn this on or off in Marketing, Settings).

And, here's what we're adding:

• The ability to import your recent client additions from your POS system to ask them for reviews (and add them to your email list at the same time!)
• An option for your review request emails to send clients to Google Places to review you.

Posted in Spa Marketing, Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • 6 Comments »

We've added a series of Events, beginning with Back to School and spanning through Fall Rejuvenation; plus 3 email newsletters to your Marketing campaigns, so please take a peek and tailor them to your exact preferences.

If you use Events and don't make changes, the Events will automatically appear on your website for the range of dates listed.

Event:

• Back to School (Runs 8/16–9/11)
• Seasonal Transitions (Runs 9/12–10/16)
• Fall Rejuvenation (Runs 10/17–11/27)

If you've opted in to our Email Marketing and you don't make changes, they will automatically fly, on the dates below.

Email Newsletters:

• Back to School (launches 8/16/11)
• Seasonal Transitions (launches 9/12/11)
• Fall Rejuvenation (launches 10/17/11)

You have the power to edit any Events and Emails we've created from within your SpaBoom account. Simply go to Marketing, Choose Email Marketing or Events from the list on the left side of your screen and edit away!

Note: We always recommend sending a test Email to yourself, even to multiple email accounts, to ensure it looks exactly how you'd like it to look. This gives you an opportunity to make changes to content, graphics, or even the colors if you like, before your clients see it.

As always, if you have questions about any of this, just give us a call and we'll help you out!

Posted in General, Spa Marketing • 4 Comments »

The Joy of Spa News: The Art of a Cool Summer edition is now ready for you to customize. It is complete as is, but you are always welcome to make it yours by playing with the introduction.

Joy of Spa News: The Art of a Cool Summer will launch over a three day period, August 7th-9th, unless you've opted to change the date it goes out. Be sure to make any changes prior to that date! (And be sure to send yourself a test email after making any edits, and remember that Events that encompass the date on which your email is sent will be included in the email as well.)

Note: The new articles that accompany this edition of the Joy of Spa News will appear magically before it goes out to your clients, even if you can't see them in their entirety when you send yourself a test email. No worries, they'll be in place! We promise!

We highly recommend creating Summer events and cooling, soothing, service packages to accompany this edition of Joy of Spa News. Helping people choose a great spa gift package for the occasion provides them a perfect gift solution while increasing the average amount of the gift certificates — a win win!

Remember, the Joy of Spa News is branded with your spa's logo and when your client clicks to read more, the website is branded with your logo, too!

Not yet signed up to send a beautiful, branded newsletter to your clients on a regular basis? Now is your time to get onboard! Go to Setup, Basics to put Joy of Spa to work for your spa!

Posted in Blogroll, Creating Customers, General, Joy of Spa, Joy of Spa Gift Certificates, Joy of Spa News, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing • Comment »

Research demonstrates that optimistic feelings induced by mild everyday, positive events, like congratulating a sweepstakes winner, can have a significant influence on social interactions and our overall thought processes.

Often people won't enter a sweepstakes on Facebook because they don't actually think they will win. That's why it's so critical to make sure your spa announces who wins each time you hold a sweepstakes on Facebook.

When your spa announces the sweepstakes winner on Facebook it generates instant engagement and a positive impression of your spa brand. Because winning is a true possibility, the announcement creates a tangible and affirming experience with your spa.

Fans who enter your spa sweepstakes get to see who wins, the winner loves to share their excitement using Facebook’s handy social interface and lastly, it is the perfect medium for friends to congratulate the winner giving your spa incredible social media reach.

We've had tremendous success with the Joy of Spa sweepstakes on Facebook because once the winner is randomly chosen, a Facebook post is generated linking to the winner and congratulating them on their win. The congratulating comments and likes begin to flow in from fans, friends and family creating a wealth of additional exposure for the brand.

Cloud 9 Spa Salon had a very successful Sweepstakes before Mother's Day. When it was all over, they posted the name of the winner and kept the Mother's Day excitement going with another promotion. In the end, Cloud 9 Spa and Salon had 1,346 people register for the sweepstakes. Those registered then invited 4,857 of their friends to become fans of the Cloud 9 Facebook page.

The morning after your sweepstakes ends, the winner will be randomly chosen. If the winner is a friend that was initially invited by someone else, then the person who invited them wins, too. Make sure you are ready to give away up two GCs, as you indicated in your initial Sweepstakes Event setup.

The winner(s) receive an email that contains a referral code that was generated by the Sweepstakes. Here is an example of the Sweepstakes winner email:

The winner simply clicks on the email link to claim their gift. They can use it themselves, or gift it to someone they adore – it's totally up to them. They'll be happy, and you'll have new clients to wow with everything that you offer.

You can monitor the sweepstakes event to see the number of entrants, friends invited and, once it's over, the winners in Events in the left sidebar. Included are links to the winning client(s) and the referral codes sent to them; the referral code detail will show you the value of the referral code and whether or not it's been used.

Setting up and running a sweepstakes on Facebook is super straightforward. We know that growing your Facebook fan base is key to your spa, salon or massage therapy practice's social media management and SpaBoom gives you a super easy way to do that!

Facebook is such a valuable medium because it's built around social communities, a foundation that businesses can use to extend the reach of their brand and engage with fans. The very fact that clients become fans of your Facebook page validates your business to their friends just by interacting with you.

Posted in General, Social Media, Spa Marketing • 2 Comments »

We are so excited that many of you could join us as Janell went over 3 common mistakes that spas and salons make with their email marketing campaigns. These mistakes could damage reputations and squash potential relationships! We discussed the mistakes and how to increase your email list to achieve success.

If you missed all the fun, just view and download our webinar files and catch up on your own schedule – but do it soon and capture some hot summer interest.

Watch the Video: Email Marketing Success or Failure

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

Posted in Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing, SpaBoom Webinars • Comment »

What have you shared today?

Using social media to engage with clients and share information, video, new products, a great event or a new blog article is growing exponentially. We know that top spas in the country use SpaBoom's built-in social media tool to take advantage of social sharing and maximize their reach as part of an overall integrated marketing strategy.

According to Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, online sharing is growing at an exponential rate, a record 4 billion shares every day on Facebook.

750 million Facebook users spend more time on the site and each user shares twice as much as they did last year with approximately 2 billion shares per day in 2010 and 4 billion per day in 2011. Does that mean there will be 8 billion shares per day in 2012?

Spas and Salons must think about offering products and services in a social way and in conjunction with their overall marketing strategy. Facebook is the platform for sharing experiences, ideas and suggestions with friends and family. If your spa is not actively participating in that conversation it will be pushed to the margins.

It has never been more critical for businesses to be part of the conversation and that means doing more than using social media as a means to disseminate your latest offer or promotion. You must consistently and effectively communicate value in a way that engages and encourages your clients interact with your spa or salon brand.

Start Sharing Today:

• Create a social media schedule by picking a spa or salon industry topic that you can use to engage with clients each month (not a promotion but a topic).
• Look online for relevant articles, video, images, opinions or your own original blog articles to post to Facebook and Twitter.
• Use SpaBoom to schedule multiple social media posts in advance.
• Next, highlight a treatment or event that will complement your monthly spa or salon topic.
• Ask for feedback and respond to comments in a timely manner.

Congratulations, you have just created the base of a social media strategy for your spa or salon. 

Posted in General, Social Media, Spa Marketing • Comment »

Flawless Skin Spa is set for growth here in New Mexico. We don’t always get to see spa clients take their first steps with such panache and style but they are doing everything right. Flawless Skin Spa specializes in advanced skincare and they have differentiated themselves with an inspired membership program that rewards loyalty.

Our graphic designers are raving about the Flawless Skin Spa logo because it’s clean and modern, by all measures fitting their business concept perfectly. The logo has the ability to evolve and develop significance as they establish their local brand in the community.

Ernest Hemingway taught us that getting the most from the least multiplies intensity. The contemporary look of the Flawless Skin Spa website exemplifies that ideal. Their strategic use of white space is clean and distinctive, a complement to their modern aesthetic.

The Flawless Skin Spa has launched their social media presence on Facebook and Twitter. This will help them build valuable connections in the local community and will evolve as they see their fan’s reactions to specific content, events and promotions. All their marketing efforts will continue to create a powerful synergy that extends their reach and delivers positive results.

The power infused into a spa brand over time is what gives it value. It’s cumulative, each spa experience, image, marketing communication, employee interaction and news item influences the way consumers think about your spa. You start with a blank slate and build each time you send an email or touch a client; all those collective impressions build in significance and ultimately acquire a representation of your spa brand.

In an increasingly social world it’s no longer just what you communicate that defines your brand, it starts and ends with the experience clients consistently have with your spa. Whether you participate or not consumers are talking about your business, using social media to review and discuss your brand. Make sure you’re part of that conversation by listening, engaging in the online dialog wherever it resides.

Posted in General, Social Media, Spa Marketing • Comment »

Did you know there are 3 common mistakes that spas and salons make with their email marketing campaigns that damage their reputation and squash potential relationships?

Join us as we discuss the mistakes and how to increase your email list to achieve success.

Reserve your Webinar Seat Now!

Title: Email Marketing — Success or Failure? — Free Webinar
Date: Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM — 2:00 PM EDT

Posted in General, Spa Marketing, SpaBoom Webinars • Comment »

SpaBoom's new email templates were inspired by sophisticated and modern website themes recently created by our talented graphic designers.

The new templates are polished and designed to engage by allowing images to pop while seamlessly anchoring the email content. They also appeal to almost any color palette so they work with both subtle and bold backgrounds. The templates are more integrated, spas and salons can automatically include recent blog posts and relevant offers in the body of the email.

The best part? These new email design templates are also easy to access and set up in your account.

Simple and Big Templates:

Organic and Sleek Templates:

Posted in General, Spa Marketing • 4 Comments »

Variety is the spice of life. Your spa is unique, so you should have choices in email templates. To give you more selection, our graphic team has delivered a batch of fresh, new email designs to give you an edge. The new designs  highlight your message, include current offers and blog posts to engage your readers and give your spa a polished look. The new templates are clean and sophisticated, perfect for showcasing your brand with a design that fits your aesthetic.

Like all SpaBoom emails, they can be automatically generated and sent with your existing offers and promotions or be as customized as you like. All the email templates are professionally designed and included as part of the overall cross-channel marketing integration features we offer SpaBoom clients.

To access these new email designs simply select which email design you'd like to use the next time you create an email campaign, or choose the default which will be used for all of your future emails in the Marketing tab under Marketing Settings. We recommend you choose the design that you love and stick with it – consistency for your clients is a great thing. Here's what the setting looks like:

When you change your settings in Marketing, ALL of your upcoming campaigns will acquire the new look – so your message and branding are consistent, with just one easy step!

So that you can see the subtle variations between all four new designs, here they are as seen from an email client (the iPad, actually), using the same content for each, and labeled with their names:

ORGANIC DESIGN

SIMPLE DESIGN

SLEEK DESIGN

BIG DESIGN

Posted in Spa Marketing, SpaBoom New Features, Tutorials • 2 Comments »

You might have missed your chance to take in the webinar about secrets that helped local spas and salons execute successful online promotions and drive more sales than they ever imagined.

Seth and Janell used three wildly successful promotions as examples – what made them blockbusters and how you can easily implement similar programs in your spa or salon.

If you missed all the fun, just view and download our webinar files and catch up on your own schedule.

Watch the Video: Three Successful Promotions with Big Results

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

Posted in Creating Customers, Group Deals, Social Media, Spa Marketing, SpaFinder • 2 Comments »

Everything you need to know in 2 ½ minutes

SpaBoom's Client Services group enjoys nothing more than walking our clients through various features so they can get the absolute most out of SpaBoom. A great call is one that ends in a client saying, "Thanks! I've got it! I'm all set and ready to promote that new service. Appreciate your help!"

We also work hard on our Help files, so you can find what you need there, too. We want you to have not only access to tools that help you effectively market your business online, but also guidance to use those tools to their fullest.

Now we're creating Video Tutorials for those of us who like being walked through a feature, regardless of whether we're at our desk at work or at home late at night in our 'jammies preparing for the next day!

Our first video, Sweepstakes on Facebook for Spas, takes you through the super straightforward steps in setting up a Sweepstakes for your spa, salon or massage therapy practice in just 2 ½ minutes.

We've also added a complete description of Spa Sweepstakes for Facebook on the SpaBoom website, complete with this video, for your reference.

Give the video a watch, and tell us what you think! We're producing more as we speak, and will let you know as they're ready for prime time.

Posted in Social Media, Spa Marketing, Spa Technology, SpaBoom New Features • 7 Comments »

You might have missed your chance to take in the full personality and sparkle of our webinar on Wednesday with Seth and Janell, but you can still take advantage of all the marketing features in your arsenal to build repeat clientele and make sales sizzle, even in the lull of summer — just view and download our webinar files and catch up on your own schedule.

Janell and Seth reveal how to leverage promotional opportunities with a marketing strategy designed to keep your spa busy and double your sales this summer.

Watch the Video: Double Your Summer

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

Posted in General, Spa Marketing, SpaBoom Webinars • Comment »

Today YouTube celebrates their 6th birthday and an impressive milestone: 3 billion views per day, a 50% increase over last year.

Online video has become an integral source of information for the online consumer and a valuable marketing and SEO tool for businesses including local spas.

Businesses are using video to educate and provide service demonstrations, which can increase conversions and take relevance to the next level with information that written content can't convey.

The visual experience of seeing spa services in action can put potential clients at ease and ultimately seal the deal. According to Google, 52% of people took action as a result of watching video online.

Video testimonials are a valuable way for online consumers to see satisfied spa clients; their enthusiasm becomes an infectious incentive that can lead to increased sales. First hand experience goes a long way in encouraging online viewers to book an appointment and ultimately step into your spa.

Given this explosive growth, SpaBoom's goal is to make it easy for spas to use video on their website. We have created a new dynamic website theme that incorporates video indexed by Google and gives your website an advantage in local SEO over time.

Posted in General, Spa Marketing, Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • 3 Comments »

The Joy of Spa News: Wedding Edition is now ready for you to customize. It is complete as is, but you are always welcome to make it yours by playing with the introduction!

Joy of Spa News: Wedding Edition will launch over a three day period, June 5-7th, unless you've opted to change the date it goes out. Be sure to make any changes prior to that date! (And be sure to send yourself a test email after making any edits, and remember that Events that encompass the date on which your email is sent will be included in the email as well.)

We highly recommend creating Wedding and Bridal Events and service packages to accompany this edition of Joy of Spa News. Helping people choose a great spa gift package for the occasion provides them a perfect gift solution while increasing the average amount of the gift certificates — a win win!

Remember, the Joy of Spa News is branded with your spa's logo and when your client clicks to read more, the website is branded with your logo, too!

Not yet signed up to send a beautiful, branded newsletter to your clients on a regular basis? Now is your time to get onboard! Go to Setup, Basics to put Joy of Spa to work for your spa!

Posted in General, Joy of Spa News, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing • 5 Comments »

Now is your chance to take full advantage of all the marketing features in your arsenal to build repeat clientele and make sales sizzle, even in the lull of summer.

Join us as we reveal how to leverage promotional opportunities with a marketing strategy designed to keep your spa busy and double your sales this summer.

Double Your Summer — Free Webinar

Reserve your Webinar Seat Now!

Title: Double your Summer — Free Webinar
Date: Wednesday, May 25th , 2011
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Spa Marketing, SpaBoom Webinars • 2 Comments »

We'll be at the upcoming IECSC Las Vegas, so come by, catch up with our team and let us show you our newest features! We will be at booth number 1459.

Our very own Seth Gardenswartz will be speaking at IECSC, Las Vegas so make sure you take this opportunity to learn more about the New Gift Law and how it affects your spa.

How the New Gift Law Affects Your Spa
Sunday, June 19, 2:45pm-3:45pm

Celebrating its 20th year, IECSC Las Vegas is the largest spa conference and exposition in the U.S. With a leading conference program and dynamic trade show floor, you'll have the opportunity to purchase products, see the latest trends and learn the newest techniques emerging in the spa and medical spa industries.

Your $37 Daily Admission ticket to IECSC Las Vegas includes:

• 600+ Exhibitors on the Tradeshow Floor
• 100+ FREE Manufacturer Education classes
• FREE admission to the Spa Business Conference
• Admission to the International Beauty Show — Las Vegas

SPECIAL TICKET OFFER:

Register by May 23 for $37 Daily Admission. Visit IECSC Las Vegas or call 800.498.6984.

Posted in General, Spa Marketing • Comment »