Retail Sales Management in Your Spa: Gift Certificates are Hot - Is Your Spa Cashing In?

Gift certificate sales can provide a continuous flow of steady income to any spa throughout the year, but can also significantly boost profits during the holidays. These sales can account for nearly 25% of your spa’s total sales, increase new client traffic, and lead to regular return business.

In order to make the most of your gift certificate sales, sell them for a specific individual service or for a specific dollar amount that can be redeemed over multiple visits. Once the gift certificate is redeemed for services, have any credits applied towards product sales.

If you choose to sell gift certificates that can be applied to specific spa packages, try creating smaller packages for shorter times to make scheduling easier. Rather than discounting these special packages, you actually want to charge a little more for them because people are more likely to spend more money when purchasing gift certificates.

Also, make your gift certificate sales as easy and convenient for your customers and staff as possible. This might include making them available online, selling them through a third party service, programming them into your POS register, or training your staff in the process ahead of time before the holiday rush.

Retail Sales Management in Your Spa: Moving Product 'Duds'

Oftentimes, some of the best spa products don’t sell for reasons other than quality or effectiveness. Sometimes these spa product duds are the victims of staff familiarity and shelf isolation!

Many products don’t sell simply because your staff is unfamiliar with them. They may become attached to certain products and push them solely based on familiarity. Instead, make sure your staff is familiar with all of your products by creating tester bottles and conducting weekly training sessions to educate them about new products.

Shelf isolation is a common problem with most products because they tend to get lost in the displays. So, you need to regularly rotate products and create high-visibility displays out of product duds and place them in easily accessible locations. Rather than marking products down, create excitement about these slow moving products by placing them out in the open and making signs that say “new product” or “featured item” to get clients interested.

Creating a sales competition for product duds is another great way to stimulate sales and get your staff excited. Have a contest each week and award prizes for whoever sells the most of the featured weekly products, in addition to their regular sales goals.

Have a Favorite Day or Stay Spa?

We Want to Hear About It! You May Win a Spa Gift Certificate

Every day spa or stay spa has its own unique offerings that make it special. By developing the latest pampering techniques, a spa can set itself apart from other spas and give clients something to come back for over and over again.

Do you have a spa that provides outstanding services that make you want to keep coming back for more? If you have a favorite day spa or stay spa, we want to hear all about it. Tell us why the spa you go to is healing, soothing and enjoyable and you may win a spa gift certificate to apply to your next day of treatments.

Our Spa Story "What's Your Favorite Spa Spot" contest is running from November 1 to March 31. Each entry you write about a favorite spa you have visited will garner an additional contest entry. At the end of the contest period, the best post entry will win a $100 gift certificate, compliments of Spa Story, which can be redeemed at prestigious spas worldwide.

With that type of inspiration, why not write all about your favorite spas and what makes them so wonderful for all of our readers? It gives you an opportunity to share valuable spa information with other enthusiasts, read their opinions about spas and get a chance to win a $100 SpaFinder gift certificate.

Give us all the details about the best qualities of the spas you visit today and you could be the big winner of an exciting $100 SpaFinder gift certificate (compliments of Spa Story)!

ENTER YOUR STORY HERE

What Does Your Spa Reception Area Say to Clients & Visitors? First Impressions are Important

The next time you walk through the front doors of your spa, take a good look at what your reception area is saying to your clients. Is it saying “come in, relax, we’re here to serve” or “go away, time for stress, we don’t want you here”? Whether you realize it or not, your reception area can say all of this and more, so make sure yours is projecting a positive attitude, not a negative one.

Create a welcoming environment by making your reception area light and open. Stay away from harsh colors that are too dark or too bright. You want to create an atmosphere of serenity, so don’t distract with unusual artwork, ugly furniture, or unnecessary clutter. You might want to consult with an interior decorator or room planner to help you develop the right atmosphere.

Your front desk should be low enough for the receptionist to see everyone in the reception area, but not so low that all of the computer wires and desk clutter can be seen. Studies have shown that higher desks or ones with closing windows make clients feel unwelcome. So, make sure your clients know they are welcome by creating an inviting atmosphere.

Keeping up with Competitors Calls for an Educated, Informed and Intuitive Management Team

Knowing what your competition is up to is one of the best tools you have in keeping informed of what services and specials your competitors are offering. This is why it is so important for your management team to keep updated and continuous records of what the other spas in your area are doing by simply making regular calls to your competition.

If you are not making these calls then you are going to fall behind when it comes to offering the newest services and latest products at competitive prices because you won’t know what your competitors are offering. More than likely, your competitors are calling you to find out the very same things, so fight fire with fire by making sure you know what they are up to as well.

Another great way to find out exactly what your competitors are doing is to visit them for yourself or send one of your employees or a friend for an “undercover” site visit. Have them take a tour or even provide the money to get a treatment or two done. This is money well spent that will give you greater insight and information into what your competition is up to.

SpaTrade.com: An Excellent Resource for Spa Professionals Worldwide

SpaTrade.com is a wonderful online resource for spa professionals because it provides relevant and up-to-date industry information that can keep you connected with other spa professionals and armed with the knowledge that you need to know to keep your spa competitive.

This well-organized and easy to navigate website provides important spa industry news and press releases that you need to know, such as the latest ISPA industry trends as well as information about what other spas around the world are doing to improve profits. There is also an events calendar that lists all of the upcoming tradeshows and training seminars around the world.

Other helpful information on the SpaTrade.com website are useful articles on how to run your spa business, regular webinars and podcasts from industry experts, information on spa products and services, an online forum where you can chat with other spa industry professionals, a job board, as well as information about spa associations and programs.

Joining SpaTrade.com is absolutely free and once you’re registered you’ll receive a free monthly newsletter, discounts on spa industry reports, and access to all of the online forums, posts, and podcasts.

Knowledge is power, so staying informed is essential to your spa’s success.

Exceptional Customer Service in the Spa Industry: Without It, Your Business Will Fail (and Fast)

It goes without saying that customer service is the most important aspect of any business’s success. This is especially true when it comes to a service business, like the spa industry. No matter how great your products are or how wonderful your treatments may be, if your spa’s customer service skills are poor no one will want to buy your products or enjoy your treatments because they won’t want to return to your spa ever again.

This can easily be solved by learning how to deal with customers correctly by getting additional spa management training. Dealing with the public on a daily basis is never easy, especially when clients have high expectations of what they might experience at your spa. Obtaining the tools needed that will make dealing with clients easier is essential to the success of any spa.

The customer service skills that are learned in a spa management training program can then be passed on to your spa staff which will result in higher customer service satisfaction and even a happier staff.

Remember, the spa industry is a people industry, and if you can’t keep your clients happy and satisfied your clients won’t give you a second chance.