Last few months of 2011 – How will your Business fare?
As spend is still tight, it is crucial that customer service is 100 per cent as value is going to be a major theme for the latter part 2011.
The idea is to ensure that your clients keep coming back to your spa for all their treatments and also to achieve a higher docket value. How are you going to do this?
First of all I suggest you have a brainstorm meeting with all your staff as they know the client base best and also understand what would appeal to each of their clients. It is also imperative to get your staff buy in to whatever you do in your business as they ultimately deal with the clients on a daily basis.
See below a few additional ideas:
- Increase Average Docket Value. This needs to be the goal and main focus of all staff. In fact I would also suggest you run an incentive to ensure that all staff are focussed on increasing average spend per guest. This means trying to increase what each guest spends even if by just a few dollars be it in retail products or additional treatments.
- Loyalty or Incentive programmes. These can be an administrative nightmare if you allow them to or they can be the most effective client retention system! There is nothing better than rewarding your client for coming back and choosing your spa for ALL their treatments. For example: most people are loyal to their spa for facial treatments but generally might go anywhere for a massage, manicure or wax treatment. You should base your incentive programme around ensuring that the client has ALL their treatments at your spa as this will make them think twice before popping in for a service at another spa.
3. Contracts are the most effective and guaranteed way to keep your client. Contracts can be designed in many ways but the idea is for the client to buy 6 or 12 months worth of treatments upfront for a discounted rate. By paying for their treatments upfront it frees up cash when they redeem their treatments so you can sell them retail products.
4. Re-book treatments before they leave the spa. We all know this but how do our staff actually do this all the time? This is really an obvious way to ensure re-booking a client.
5.Gift with purchase offers. Everyone loves something for FREE! Instead of discounting you can always look at adding something free of charge. If the product houses you use offers any gift with purchase offers then ensure to pass them on as well as make up your own offers for treatments.
6. Combination treatments. For example if your client regularly books a facial once a month design a combo treatment offer of a facial and manicure at a discounted rate to get them to start having their manicures at your spa. Each client needs to be looked at individually but design not more than 5 or 6 combo treatments of the most popular services.
7. Lastly pay close ATTENTION TO DETAIL. This is where the referrals come in as clients never forget small things. To list a few examples: bill presentation folders – how do you present clients with their bill? Thank you card or gift on departure – do you thank your clients for choosing your spa? The gift can really be tiny like a miniature lip balm or sweet etc. Do you call to follow up on treatment the next day? You may be saying that this is very expensive but you need to start doing different things to increase client spend and keep them loyal. Lastly do you personally call your client on their birthday? Small but effective!
Let THE LAST THREE MONTHS OF 2011 be AWESOME! Change how you do business to get different results! Get out of your comfort zone and see how your business changes.
