We all think differently. One person can gain great insight through visual experiences while another thrives using a systematic process. With that in mind, I have included a video How to Create a Facebook Business Page from Hubspot. In 7 minutes Lily Zhu of Hubspot demonstrates the ends and outs of setting up your own business page.

I have created this written overview, 6 Steps to Set Up a Facebook Business Page. The process should not take too long but make sure you set aside a chunk of time so you don’t feel pressured to finish quickly.

Step 1: Make sure you have a personal profile in Facebook before you create a business page.

A personal Facebook account is called a “profile” and and business identity is called a “page.” Even if you don't plan on using your personal Facebook account now, in most cases you should set up a profile before you set up your business page.

Go to Facebook and fill out the form to set up your personal profile.

• The personal profile setup requires that you include your name, email address and date of birth.
• If you are worried about entering your personal email you can set up a separate Gmail account specifically for your social media.
• Facebook will require that you confirm your email. You will need to log into your email, retrieve the verification email from Facebook and click on the link in order to proceed and fill out the entire profile.

Now that you have a personal profile on Facebook you can proceed and set up a business page for your spa.

Step 2: Register your spa business page on Facebook.

• Choose your business category, local or brand (product).
• Most spas should choose local business. The difference between local and brand will be apparent later when you fill out the spa information in the page layout.
• The name of your business should be the exact name of your spa; the name people use to search for it online. Stay away from abbreviations and nicknames.
• Category and Name can’t be changed once they are completed. If you need to edit this information you must delete it and start over.

Step 3: Upload your logo and fill out the page tabs.

• Once you have registered your spa in Facebook you will be encouraged to upload your profile picture. This will most likely be your spa logo and it will appear in the upper left corner of your business page.

Step 4: Fill out the page tabs: Wall, Info, Photos, Discussion and Video.

• Click on the Info tab and fill out information about your spa. Don’t forget to hit save before you move on to the next tab.
• You can upload photos in the photo tab but keep it professional. Showing consumers professional pictures of your spa could give them the incentive to take action and book an appointment.
• The discussion tab allows you to have discussions and communicate with your fans.
• Add video if you have created a webinar or have spoken professionally on behalf of your spa.

Step 5: Publish your Page so others can see it!

Step 6: Next time you log into Facebook…

• Log into your personal account.
• In the search bar, upper right side of your personal page, type the name of your business and select your spa. It will take you directly to your business page.
• If you created your personal profile, become the first fan of your new business page!

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Social Media, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing, Spa Technology • Comment »

Spas understand how important customer service is to their business, a priority for every employee. It can differentiate your spa from the competition and gives customers a reason to choose your spa over a large spa concept.

Leverage your social media, like Facebook and Twitter, and extend customer service by using it for customer inquiry and a means to respond to client service issues. It will give your spa that extra service edge that larger companies just can’t deliver.

Think about how clients and potential customers currently contact your spa, they use SpaBoom online booking, email or call to speak to someone in person. Facebook and Twitter are an additional contact source but it is also a place to build a dialog and develop a community of avid online spa clients.

Empower your employees to respond to inquiries via social media the same way they would using email. It simply requires that you set attainable expectations and that employees overseeing customer contact monitor social media activity throughout the day.

Great customer service starts with listening to and responding to the needs of your clients consistently. Every opportunity to engage with clients and solve their problems is an investment in your spa and its brand. Using social media to build relationships with your customers is a logical extension of quality service.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Social Media, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • 2 Comments »

I must say upfront that I like Tony Hsieh of Zappos, his business philosophy and I regularly enjoy his Twitter posts. He is just the right amount of geek innovator who brings great ideas into the marketplace, disrupts, breaks through the pack and wins just when competitors start to notice.

I recently read his new book, Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose, mostly because they offered an advanced copy to bloggers and I thought it was an innovative way to get the word out and wanted to be part of it.

It is an inspiring read for business owners, students, mothers and anyone looking to do more, be more and put a positive and happy spin on their life’s purpose. Happiness requires that we find and pursue our passions; it is the cornerstone of a fulfilled life. This book is filled with insight and interesting Zappos history, told by Tony and his employees and is applicable to small businesses, like spas, because customer service is in prime focus throughout the book.

Zappos Top 10 Ways to Instill Customer Service into Your Company.

1. Make Customer Service a priority for the whole company, not just a department. A customer service attitude needs to come from the top.
2. Make WOW a verb that is part of your company’s everyday vocabulary.
3. Empower and trust your customer service reps. Trust that they want to provide great service… because they actually do. Escalations to a supervisor should be rare.
4. Realize that it’s okay to fire customers who are insatiable or abuse your employees.
5. Don’t measure call times, don’t force employees to upsell, and don’t use scripts.
6. Don’t hide your 1-800 number. It’s a message not just to your customers, but to your employees as well.
7. View each call as an investment in building a customer service brand, not as an expense you’re seeking to minimize.
8. Have the entire company celebrate great service. Tell stories of WOW experiences to everyone in the company.
9. Find and hire people who are already passionate about customer service.
10. Give great service to everyone: customers, employees, and vendors.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • 2 Comments »

The iPad 3G came out at the end of April, and it's a great way to manage your mobile spa or massage therapy practice from anywhere. SpaBoom works great in Safari on the iPad and iPhone, but you need to know a couple of tricks to take full advantage:

• Apple, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that scroll bars often shouldn't show, which is where the two-finger scroll comes in. Just about everything produces a list in SpaBoom, and it just goes off the right-hand edge on an iPad/iPhone, seemingly lost. Use two fingers, horizontally, to tap and drag within the list, and the rest of your data magically appears. You've just done a two-finger horizontal scroll!
• Opening in a new page: On your computer, you can right-click on a link and open it in a new tab or browser window. You can do it on an iPad/iPhone, too: tap and hold a link to open it in a new page.

Posted in Spa Business Management, Spa Technology • Comment »

Read Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 3: What to do about it!

If I was being held captive at Massage Envy and forced to undergo mundane massage over and over again, and my only chance of escape was to come up with the one thing that would define how best to compete with them, it would be:

Great Service!

If you're a value oriented massage therapy practice with mediocre service, then the Massage Envy down the street will win. But let's assume you have the right focus on service and the great client experience that entails, and talk about how to use that to compete with ME.

Everyone likes to divide the world into two groups, and I'm going to do it here: high-end, luxury spas and relaxation-oriented spas vs. value-oriented spas and massage therapy practices:

High-end, Luxury Spas and Relation-oriented Spas

For the luxury spa, high-end day spa or spa with significant revenue outside straightforward massage, Massage Envy has more pluses than minuses:

• Massage Envy creates more prospective clientele for your spa. They're introducing massage to more people, who are now better prospects to upgrade to the full experience.
• Over time, Massage Envy will become increasingly effective at competing with discount-oriented day spas and massage therapy practices. As long as you are not one of them, it will reduce the number of competing discount voices in the marketplace.

Many consumers that I've talked to visit both: Massage Envy for a regular massage, and their favorite day spa for a real treat. You may think ME is taking business away from you, but it's more likely they just would have went without. Going to ME is a quick in and out, last-minute appointment, while going to the spa is a planned event.

Strategies:

• Stay high-end: You don't really compete with ME, and in fact, they're generating more future clientele for you. I caution you to be very careful in changing your strategy and going down market to a more value-conscious consumer. There's been a lot of pressure to do so during the recession, but it's a big challenge to change your cost structure and the meaning of your brand to go down market.
• Don't rest on your laurels: Here's a comment from a spa goer that sums up a common theme:

  I have had it with the attitude at many of the high end spas. If I'm paying $500 for four hours at a spa, I want to be catered to. I don't want my therapist leaving the room while a mask sits on my face, I don't want people walking into the treatment room while I'm getting a massage b/c they confused rooms, and I certainly don't want some twit at the front counter ignoring me while I'm waiting to check in. Small things like the ones I mentioned are enough to taint a $500 experience. Which means that any time I go to any spa, high end or low, I know I'm taking a risk that the service won't be up to par. Like any risk adverse individual, I want to minimize that risk if I can by paying less.

  In other words, back to ensuring that you provide great service. Expectations are high, particularly in this economy.

• Promote mini-escapes: Create "power hour" services that emphasize the convenience of a quick escape. Combine services like a foot massage and a scalp massage to create a unique mini-escape.
• Reevaluate your menu: If your spa menu looks the same as when you opened 5 years ago, it's time for rejuvenation. People come to you for an experience, and it's time for an update. Don't let Massage Envy be the new thing.

Value-oriented Spas and Massage Therapy Practices

For a massage therapy practice or a day spa with a lot of 1 hour appointments, Massage Envy is potentially a more potent threat.

Strategies:

• Great service: I hate to be repetitive, but great service is key. We've worked with a number of SpaBoomers that have faced the prospect of a Massage Envy opening down the street, and it's usually turned out to be a positive. But that's only because they've got great service. Susan Kirk at Village Therapeutics:

I do have a Massage Envy right around the corner from my business. At first I really felt threatened, but the longer they have been here, the more people have been turned off by them. They are currently offering facials here too. Of course we can't match their prices, but our fair prices, great customer service, and skilled therapist and estheticians, have kept our business strong. One of the things that I now mention in my advertising is that there are no contracts and no monthly dues. It seems to be of interest to those who have tried Massage Envy and were turned off by the sales pitches and often inexperienced help.

• Find your niche: Specialization is a great strategy regardless of who the competition is. Be the best at pain relief, wellness, or special modalities. Look at the scheduling habits of your clients — they may already be telling you what your niche really is.
• Promote the specialties of your therapists: craniosacral, thai massage, shiatsu, Ashiatus, etc. all create closer client relationships.
• Focus on convenience: Attack ME's strength: add an additional therapist so that you can schedule last-minute appointments.
• Shoot the answering machine: Returning messages just doesn't compete with calling Massage Envy and scheduling on the spot. Offer online booking and find a way to always have someone answering the phone.

In either case, excellent strategies for any SpaBoomer:

• Gift certificates: I'm sure Massage Envy sells a number of GCs, but none of ME's customers that I've talked to would give a ME GC. For SpaBoomers, however, GCs are the perfect referral mechanism for your clients to bring in more clients. And those that have been to ME will now get the upgraded experience at your spa.
• Encourage repeat clientele: Don't let your clients wander away! Keep in regular touch with them, via the method they choose. Media has fragmented, and you have to be there: up-to-date website, email marketing, FaceBook and Twitter. Enter your marketing message once in SpaBoom, and it's automatically broadcast to all these channels.
• Convenience: It's not just Massage Envy: the ease with which you can book travel, make restaurant reservations and pay bills online has taught consumers to expect convenience. You have to be available when and where your clientele expects.
• Secret shopper: Give a gift certificate to your most honest friend in exchange for a detailed report on the experience from start to finish: front desk check-in, therapist, atmosphere, cleanliness, checkout, product suggestions — everything! You'll be amazed at what you learn. Tip: it really must be secret.

Just to keep with the theme: if you have great service, you have nothing to fear from Massage Envy.

Help your fellow SpaBoomers! Share your experiences and strategies for dealing with new competitive threats.

Posted in Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • 2 Comments »

Part 2: Massage Envy's Weaknesses

In Part 1, we discussed the strength of Massage Envy: they've built a national brand that means cheap, convenient massage. Their core strength as a franchise, though, has some definite downsides:

• Inconsistent experience: Franchises are really about creating a consistent experience so that you always know what you're getting. It works pretty darn well for McDonald's, but doing the same thing for massage is a lot more challenging. You just can't script the same exact massage: it's a personal experience completely dependent on the therapist. ME can re-create the same sterile, business-like facilities over and over again, but they can't clone massage therapists.
• High turnover: Certainly varies by location (some MEs are run by massage therapists that really understand the business), but as a broad brush, MEs have a relatively high turnover in therapists. When a consumer finds a therapist they like, there's a good chance they'll be gone before long.
• Lack of individualization: A lot of fresh-out-school therapists combined with no prep time results in a common piece of feedback I've heard from consumers: the lack of response to individual needs.
• Atmosphere (or lack thereof): Often located next to a McDonald's, MEs feel like the fast food of massage. I could have listed this in their strengths, though, because this can be an advantage for attracting male clientele that are scared off by a "spa" experience.
• High pressure sales tactics: Massage Envy's low prices are supported by their membership program. It's not the most relaxing experience to be pressed to signup right after your massage.

In Part 3, we'll talk about how to turn this to your advantage.

Posted in Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • 17 Comments »

Part 1: Massage Envy's Strengths

A Massage Envy has opened down the street from your spa or massage therapy practice. What do you do now?

It's an all-too-common occurrence for SpaBoomers: Massage Envy has 600 some locations including over 100 Massage Envy Spa locations, and another 200 in development. They say they've provided 20 million massages and have 680,000 members.

So, how does your local, independent business compete?

Let's start by looking at the advantages of a Massage Envy franchisee:

• Convenience: As an example, in Phoenix, it's hard to turn around and not trip over a Massage Envy, with 28 locations in the greater area. But it's not just having a Massage Envy close by, it's the ability to get in for a massage just about any time you want.
• Cost: Price is what most people focus on, and Massage Envy's low prices are definitely a draw, particularly when combined with the convenience. I've spoken with many consumers who feel that ME has hit the right price/service point for regular massage.
• National brand: Massage Envy advertises nationally and they're big enough now to enjoy the primary benefit of a franchise: people know who they are and what to expect (at least in theory). You go to Applebee's not because of the amazing culinary experience, but because you know what you're going to get.

In Part 2, we'll talk about Massage Envy's weaknesses, then we'll talk about different tactics to compete.

In the meantime, a little homework: read the comments to our first post in 2007, Massage Envy envy? Consumers, massage therapists, and franchisees have all had their say, and there is a lot to be learned from their perspectives. I recommend following the advice in that post, and going to your local Massage Envy to find out what it's like for yourself.

Posted in Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • 12 Comments »

Unless you have a process for managing leads and aligning them with your advertising, relationship marketing and customer service efforts you are most certainly letting some get away. It has never been more important to address every lead available to increase your customer base and reach revenue goals.

Often, relationships with customers start online, long before they enter your spa. Giving online visitors control, speed and multiple routes of communication with your spa will result in more leads and opportunities to make them clients.

Create a structure, template, for handling leads with a goal to make them long-term clients. Capture as much SpaBoom Instant Gift Certificate and online booking statistics about your customers from the beginning. Your contact list is gold, critical to the success of your spa.

SpaBoom’s free online booking allows clients to book when it is convenient for them, 24/7. It records important client information and presents an opportunity for your spa to follow up with them regarding their appointment. Online booking can be an important lead generator for your spa but you must set up employee training and protocol to maximize results.

Instant Gift Certificates are an important solution for gift givers who may never enter your spa, ever. That said, they are extremely important and should be engaged and nurtured as valuable customers.

Make sure you are managing the gift-givers online experience with your spa. Consistently create holiday specials, like BOGO, and promotions that might lead to additional gift purchases. These customers will benefit from email communications, last minute gift ideas and will respond to package offers.

Customers are increasingly using social media, Facebook and Twitter, as vehicles for technical support, search and spa information. These customers use technology to make their lives easier and demand information the way they want it, online.

It is important to use social media to build and manage client interactions. SpaBoom has streamlined the process with automated event posting from your SpaBoom account to both Twitter and Facebook.

Customer interactions with your spa are critical and provide information that can customize their spa experiences, make your spa more responsive and improve your spa’s overall performance.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Social Media, Spa Business Management, Spa Gift Certificates, SpaBoom Online Booking • 1 Comment »

My husband’s family has been in sporting goods retail for over 70 years. His grandfather started off in 1939 with one of those downtown gun, tackle and camera shops that evolved over the years into a top 100 specialty outdoor, ski and bike retailer.

I have witnessed brazen, unrelenting, and impressive competitive intelligence carried out by my beloved family members over many years. I witnessed moments of poised incredulity from them when a sales person found one of them “lost” in the back room. Their zealous observation, consistent monitoring and extensive relationships within sporting goods set them apart from many competitors. Their respect for the industry and passion for outdoor sports drove their success.

There is an art to competitive intelligence, finesse to uncovering valuable information that can be used to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. Countless changes and improvements were made in the family business based on the competitive intelligence they uncovered. It improved every aspect of the business including marketing efforts, product assortments and customer service.

Keeping tabs on your competition has never been more important and I am happy to say that SpaBoom clients are very aware of their rivals. In a recent, SpaBoom Blog post about Massage Envy’s (ME) foray into facials, I was impressed with the level of intelligence and sharing that went on among those who left a comment.

Many SpaBoom clients see these large spa concepts setting up shop in their neighborhoods and they are taking action. These local spa owners are making appointments at ME, experiencing the facials themselves, and comparing it with the treatment experience at their spa. They are monitoring their competitor's marketing efforts, analyzing their overhead and using that information to develop more specialized spa services.

In addition, these day spas are reevaluating their product relationships and requiring support from specialized vendors that have no intention of selling their products in Sephora or ME. They are creating unique services and re-instituting strong employee training programs that will distinguish their spa from the competition.

At SpaBoom, we have seen an increase in the use of our marketing tools, the online booking application and our spas are adding the Joy of Spa Badge to their website at a record pace. This all flows into the spas efforts to differentiate themselves, take part in the Joy of Spa Directory and find unique ways to reach their target spa customers.

Given all the changes in the marketplace, an influx of national spa concepts invading cities all over the country, local day spas need to get savvy about monitoring their neighbors around town. Ultimately, competitive intelligence is useless unless the information is used to take action and create an advantage for your spa business.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Joy of Spa, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing, SpaBoom Online Booking • Comment »

Nadine is a classic entrepreneur. When I met her at IECSC in New York she was so enthusiastic, she is the driven owner of C.B.N.’s Mobile Day Spa. I only spoke with her briefly, but it took very little time to see that she was insightful, decisive and really good at running her spa business.

Nadine takes advantage of every possible SpaBoom marketing tool to make her business more successful. As a result, her business is thriving. She is always willing to try, to see how a tool will improve her business processes and help increase her revenue. She is just not wired to sit back, so there is no hesitation, she brims with confidence about her spa business because she runs it so effectively and intuitively.

Nadine was an early adopter of Facebook and Twitter; she has regularly posted events, specials and inspiring information to benefit her online clients. SpaBoom’s new automated Twitter and Facebook tool allows Nadine to automatically post events quickly and efficiently, it is a huge timesaver because it streamlines the whole social media process for the spa.

C.B.N.’s Mobile Day Spa is a Joy of Spa Member, she is listed in the directory and her Mother’s Day specials are easily accessible because she knows how it can help her business. She has added the Joy of Spa badge to her website so each time a client clicks on it to purchase an Instant Gift Certificate she benefits, even if it is not to her spa!

Nadine inspires immediate trust, an obvious cornerstone for running a successful business but rare to be so apparent in a young entrepreneur. She experiences true satisfaction from being part of her spa clients' lives. To her, it is an opportunity to share in her clients' happiest moments and she derives immense satisfaction from it.

Nadine’s success has evolved from a lifetime of hard work and dedication to a dream, to own her own business. Starting in her early 20s, has owned a series of small businesses, each evolving into something bigger and ultimately it led to opening C.B.N’s Mobile Day Spa.

Nadine’s Business Strategies:

• Use every possible tool to your business’s advantage.
• Always be on the lookout for new opportunities for your spa business. Once you see an opportunity, seize it and let it grow.
• Nadine’s businesses grew by word of mouth. Be willing to get out there and promote your business, one client at a time.
• Use all your resources. SpaBoom Instant Gift Certificates have been a major part of Nadine’s business; it is useful because clients can send a gift when it is convenient for them.
• SpaBoom online booking offers a personal touch, it gives clients the control they want to book online. It is easy and fast for them and streamlines the booking process.

Nadine’s advice: Be creative; do not rest on your laurels. Once your day spa is self-sustaining you must keep going, improving and not become stale. Always be willing to take your business to the next level. Try something new or add something to the business that will differentiate your spa from the competition.

Posted in Blogroll, Creating Customers, General, Joy of Spa, Joy of Spa Gift Certificates, Social Media, Spa Business Management, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing, SpaBoom Online Booking • Comment »

Create a special Mother’s Day package.

A spa package solves a problem for the gift-giver. It encourages a sale because your spa has created an instant solution that is easier, faster and more streamlined than traditional gifts. In addition, spa packages have a 15% higher average transaction than non-package sellers.

Automatically Post Mother’s Day events to your spa’s Facebook and Twitter page.

SpaBoom has eliminated the hassle of posting all your events to Facebook and Twitter by automating the process. Now, when you set up events in SpaBoom you will have a new option, to send it to social media. To learn more,
read this blog post.

Add the Joy of Spa badge to your website and get additional revenue for the spa.

Your online clients can now purchase instant gift certificates for distant friends and family right from your website. Add the Joy of Spa badge to your website, when a client clicks on it to find a gift for someone across the country, you receive cash if they purchase a Joy of Spa gift certificate. It is an easy way to increase revenue during Mother’s Day. To learn more, read this blog post.

Create a Mother’s Day event, show it prominently on your website.

Keep all Mother’s Day events, promotions, instant gift certificates accessible and upfront on your spa website. Make it easy to see and give customers the direct means to take action and make a purchase.

Promote online instant gifts on the spa door and reception area.

In-spa point of purchase should direct customers to your spa website to purchase instant spa gifts for friends and family.

Post the Joy of Spa sticker on your door and add the badge to your website. It is free and adds your spa to its national spa directory. It is designed to send online traffic your way. For more information, see this blog post.

Update your spa’s voice mail.

Update your voice mail and tell callers about the spa’s online gift capacity in the first sentence before they hang up.

Free up your staff with Free online booking.

A ringing phone pulls the staff’s attention away from current clients to speak to potentials clients. An ideal solution is to completely move appointments away from the front desk. SpaBoom’s free online booking, substantially reduces the need for the front desk to address reservations requests on the phone. Instead they can focus on re-booking clients, enticing them with Mother’s Day specials, instant gift certificates and promotions designed to get them coming back.

Use Free email marketing.

SpaBoom email marketing is free, incredibly effective and a great tool for communicating with clients about great promotions and events. If you have a client email list you should be using it to communicate with clients for Mothers Day. SpaBoom has Mother’s Day campaigns set-up and ready for spas to use immediately. Click for more information on SpaBoom email and getting started.

Try the Buy-One-Get-One-Free (BOGO) feature.

The SpaBoom BOGO feature allows your spa to offer a free gift certificate (G.C.) when your online customer purchases a gift certificate. This means that the free G.C. goes to the purchaser, encouraging another spa client visit and more revenue for your spa. For more information, check out this blog post.

Use percentage discount tool for instant gift certificates.

Want to give consumers a little push to choose your spa gift over another this Mothers Day? Try the super-easy to run percentage discount specials for your Instant Gift Certificates. To set it up go to this blog post.

Make sure customers know your spa offers fantastic gift options for mothers by promoting online instant gift solutions, highlight spa service packages and specials designed for their buying convenience. Align your spa with simple, easy and last minute gift solutions for Mothers Day and customers will be back for the next holiday.

Posted in General, Joy of Spa, Joy of Spa Gift Certificates, Social Media, Spa Business Management, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing, SpaBoom Online Booking • 3 Comments »

We love disruptive technology that helps businesses do their job better, faster and more efficiently. A new service, currently available only with iPads, demonstrates just such a technology. It's new, so there's no established track record as of yet; time will tell, as with all cool, new technology!

Square, a cash register application for the new iPad will do just that, by allowing spa clients to pay and tip all while seamlessly calculating tax, tracking sales and making transaction fees more transparent for small businesses. Square allows a massage therapist, mobile spa or small business take credit card payments with the iPad (and the iPhone in about a month).

• It takes a finger signature on screen.
• Generates email or SMS receipts that can be accessed securely.
• Tipping is a breeze with their intuitive tip calculator.
• Square will tell you how many times a customer has used your services so reward them, by all means!
• Computes sales tax and provides online dashboard to track sales.
• Transaction fees are transparent for business owners.

The result is a movable, portable cash register mechanism, ideal for individual massage therapists, day spas and salons that want streamlined solution or mobile device. Spas will see this application get better and better over time but without the hardware switch-off that many small businesses regularly endure.

It is cool to think how beautiful and extremely portable the iPad makes SpaBoom too. A massage therapists can manage instant gift certificates, rebook clients and keep track of email campaigns while on the go.

Even better news! Register to WIN an iPad in Las Vegas!

Come by the SpaBoom booth (#2418) at the IECSC show in Las Vegas and play with our new toy, the iPad. While you are there, register to win! Drawing will take place at the end of the show.

Posted in General, Spa Business Management, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing, SpaBoom Online Booking • Comment »

Every day, spas are faced with the momentous challenge to deliver value and find effective means to build relationships with spa clients. Spas strive faithfully to build credibility and establish themselves as a reliable and trusted source for all that is spa regardless of individual client preferences.

The Joy of Spa Newsletter is a valuable communications tool for SpaBoom spa customers.

Joy of Spa Newsletter Benefits:

Build stronger spa client relationships. Research has shown that subscribed email consumers react more emotionally to newsletters. Use the newsletter to develop deeper relationships with your spa clients.

Build your spa business. Your spa clients can sign up for the newsletter and forward them to friends and family. It is a perfect way to gather referrals and build brand awareness for your spa.

Relevant spa content is designed for your spa clients. This newsletter enhances the customer experience by providing relevant spa content and keeps your spa top of mind with consistent, targeted spa information.

Increase loyalty and response rates. Clients are much more likely to forward a newsletter and will choose your spa over the competitors.

It is easy for spas to send the newsletter. Simply log into your SpaBoom administrative account, go to the Basics page and select Joy of Spa newsletter. Say "yes" to the Joy of Spa newsletters, under the email marketing section. Click and save at the bottom of the page. Just watch for updates to know when the next Joy of Spa newsletter is available. Your spa can customize the newsletter with a written introduction to your spa clients. It is a great way to let clients know what is happening at your spa.

Clients are a spa's most valuable asset. Use this newsletter to build relationships with your clients and provide them with information that will keep your spa top of mind.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Joy of Spa, Joy of Spa News, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • Comment »

We've added a series of Events, beginning with an Administrative Professionals-themed event and spanning through Wedding season; plus four Email newsletters to your Marketing, 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. If you've opted in to our Email Marketing and you don't make changes, they will automatically fly, on the dates below.

Event:

• Help an Administrative Professional Relax! (Runs 04/15–04/21)
• An Instantly Special Mother's Day! (Runs 04/09–05/09)
• Present a Grad with Relaxation! (Runs 05/10–06/10)
• Give Dad 'Ah!' this Year! (Runs 06/11–06/20)
• The Gift of Spa for Weddings (Runs 06/21–08/31)

Email Newsletters:

• Nurture Mom with Wellness this Year (launches 04/12/2010)
• You have less than a week to do right by Mom (launches 05/03/10)
• Congratulate with an Instant Gift for Relaxation (launches 05/10/2010)
• This year, nurture Dad with the gift of rejuvenation (launches 06/13/2010)

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 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 Business Management, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing • Comment »

Consumers crave local. They seek valuable information that drives purchases and will track down websites that deliver on their promises. If you make it easy to conduct business, consumers will come in droves and return often.

Joy of Spa was created to drive growth and expand your spa's customer base. The website features rich, fresh content that inspires wellness and focuses on providing consumers with insight on incorporating spa into their lives.

Participation in the Joy of Spa directory ensures that your spa will be seen by targeted online traffic. It highlights your spa, allows consumers to see reviews and they can click directly to your spa website to make purchases or book appointments. Joy of Spa is a specialized conduit to drive growth to your spa.

Benefits of Joy of Spa:

Drives traffic to your website. Joy of Spa is designed specifically for spa consumers so you won’t see a catchall directory that will clump local spas in with plumbers and dry cleaners. It will send more specialized and targeted consumers with spa on their minds.

The Joy of Spa directory is Free to SpaBoom spa clients. The directory is straightforward, accessible and designed to highlight your local spa the way consumers like to see it.

• Google maps displays your location within a given city. Consumers can get directions to your spa right from the directory.
• Your spa website link is clearly displayed and can be accessed right from the directory.
• Consumers can see our spa instant gift purchase reviews to help them make informed decisions.

Delivers fresh and relevant spa articles. Joy of Spa offers consumers intelligent and relevant spa articles. It provides consumers with information they can use to make appropriate spa treatment choices. It promotes the spa industry and delivers fresh, relevant content consistently.

Local and cross-country gift givers can purchase Instant Gift Certificates. Joy of Spa makes it so easy for interested spa consumers to send gifts around the country.

Joy of Spa is designed to drive growth for local spas by driving consumer traffic to the Joy of Spa website. The spa audience is online, driving growth and is looking for "their spa" or they're seeking a gift for someone special. Call and set up your Joy of Spa account today, it is easy, quick and will get that traffic moving in your direction.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Joy of Spa, Joy of Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • 12 Comments »

Relax. Rejuvenate. Renew…

Entering its 19th year, International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conference, Las Vegas is the largest spa conference and exposition in the nation. It is the perfect venue to network and relax with peers, renew your passion and rejuvenate your business for the year ahead.

IECSC Las Vegas includes:

• 600+ leading skincare, wellness and equipment companies looking to do business with you on our Tradeshow Floor
• 100+ FREE Manufacturer Education classes
• FREE admission to the Spa Business Conference
• Admission to the International Beauty Show – Las Vegas

Daily Admission tickets are $35. Prices increase after March 29.

To register, visit IECSC or call 800.498.6984.

Posted in General, Spa Business Management • Comment »

We'll be at the upcoming IECSC event at Javits Center, so come by, catch up with our team and let us show you our newest features!

Show hours:

• Sunday, March 7th: 9:30 am — 6:00 pm
• Monday, March 8th: 9:30 am — 6:00 pm
• Tuesday, March 9th: 9:30 am — 5:00 pm

We hope to see you there! And yes, there will be chocolate. Blissful, yummy chocolate!

For info on the show, visit IECSC or call 800.498.6984.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Spa Business Management • Comment »

An email autoresponder, simply put, is a message that is sent back automatically to anyone who sends you an email message. Here's an example of a real email we receive from one of our spas:

Thank you [name] [email address] for contacting [spa]. We will be contacting you regarding your request very soon. Due to the volume of online requests, it may take up to 48 hours for us to respond. If you wish to contact us sooner, you can reach us directly at (123) 123‑1234.

Email autoresponders are used heavily throughout the business world — a quick Google search will turn up far more results for how to use them than results on why they are bad, bad, and possibly even dangerous.

Yet everyone seems to use them — are they really such a bad thing?  Let's think about it by taking yourself out of your business and into your personal life for a moment with this scenario:

You will be hosting a dinner party.  You invite lots of people, both those you know and those you do not — future friends, future networking contacts, family, anyone.  You arrange for the catering or do lots of advance cooking to make sure your guests will be fed well.  You buy great wine to serve with the food.

The magic day arrives and someone knocks on the door, but you are probably busy.  So, how do you handle the situation?  Easy — your high-tech front door is programmed to automatically open and then play a message to say, "Hi!" and welcome the guest through the doors, letting them know that you'll be with them in as soon as you're able. 

Here are the potential effects of your very special automated door:

• Does the door know whether or not this is an invited guest?  No — it opens and plays the message for any knock.
• If it is a guest, how do they feel?  Like you are placing an artificial barrier between their interaction with you, and supplying information that is not helpful. (Of course you'll be with them soon — after all, you invited them to a party!)
• Further, if it is a guest that you have not yet met, you are now giving them a rather impersonal first impression of your hospitality.
• If it is not a guest, what then? They know you're hosting a dinner party, that's for sure.  But they also know the inside of your house, the fact that you're a cook, what your social practices are, et cetera.

This is what you do every day with your autoresponder.  You supply a temporary and unnecessary barrier to your real and valued clients, a virtual brush-off to potential clients, and a opening to your business email address to marketers and spammers.

Once you've disabled your autoresponder, what should you do?  Easy.  Set aside two short windows of time each day (or more if you are not busy all day long) to genuinely respond to each email that you receive.  Give it the attention it deserves, whether it is a personal response or a quick trip to the trash bin in your email client.

Your business will be more focused, your customers will appreciate the personal touch, and you'll receive less spam.  Can you beat that?

Posted in Creating Customers, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • 3 Comments »

Let the Rejuvenation Begin!

International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conference New York is celebrating its 8th year as the premier Northeast spa show. Thousands of spa professionals from across the U.S. have looked to IECSC NY to keep them abreast of the latest trends, techniques and business practices in the fast-paced and ever-changing industry.

IECSC New York Offers:

• FREE Tradeshow floor Admission with over 200 leading skincare, wellness & equipment companies
• 45+ FREE Manufacturer Education Classes
• Industry-leading Conference Program designed to build your bottom line

To register for your free admission, visit IECSC or call 800.498.6984.

Posted in General, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing • Comment »

Imagine a lovely hotel in South Beach; swaying palm trees, a lovely sun-warmed breeze and a relaxing massage in the afternoon. The Swedish massage is fantastic and the therapist could not be more delightful. Add to this perfect equation, a spa facility replete with amenities designed to relax and delight any travel spa client.

Unfortunately this beautiful experience ends abruptly, with a frustrating shower test of the spa’s private label products. It manages to instantly end the bliss. The skin feels tight, hair is an uncontrolled rat's nest and the perfect moment is broken. It turns an ideal spa experience into a real downer and gives the client pause to recommend the hotel spa to local friends and family. All the warm fuzzy feelings wash down the drain with mediocre products and the client is now left with a film of disappointment. It can blemish the entire spa experience.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The good news is that there are wonderful private label product companies that use quality ingredients to meet your spa needs and increase revenue. The trick is to find the one that works for you.

1. Be willing to use the products yourself, on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean the spa products in the shower area have to be from the line used during treatments but as a spa owner you still need to stand behind the products. A client’s ability to test the product leads to an increase in purchases so make sure it is up to your personal standards.
2. If a product company promises the stars, moon and sun, chances are they will fall short. Stick with the straight shooter, your private label company will be a partner and their objective should be to develop quality products to keep you happy long term. Empty promises will lead to disappointing product sales in the spa so follow your gut.
3. Remember, it has your spa name on the bottle. Your marketing plan should include a strategic vision for the products your spa carries; private label spa products are an extension of your spa’s brand. Clients that purchase your products will be taking them home, and each time they are used it will remind them of your spa.
4. Word-of-mouth is a good start. It is worthwhile to do the research, talk to other spas, and find a vendor that will work hard to meet your spa’s needs. It will make all the difference to your clients and it will improve your spa brand.

No one wants private-label letdown. Spas work diligently to help clients live more meaningful, happy lives; it is the power of spa in action. Remember, the spa experience does not end until that completely satisfied client leaves the spa ready for the next occasion. It will make the full hotel elevator ride truly blissful.

Posted in General, Spa Business Management, Spa Marketing, Spa Product Sales • 1 Comment »