Relying on word of mouth advertising
Word of mouth advertising was created when businesses and people lived close to each other. Think about it-a hundred years ago, businesses relied on word of mouth advertising and a big sign outside to let people know about a service they provide. Nowadays, yes, you’re going to have clients who live nearby, but you’ll also have clients who live a little further away (and don’t mind taking the trip because of how much they love your spa!).
Word of mouth advertising is important, but it shouldn’t be the lifeline of your business. This is an important ingredient of a comprehensive marketing plan, but shouldn’t be the foundation. This isn’t a predictable way to run a business, hoping that you’ll get word of mouth referrals. Shouldn’t you be running your business on something that’s more predictable?
Relying on advertising where you can’t see the return on your investment
Would you invest money into a bank or stock where you wouldn’t be able to see the return on your investment? Of course not! The same approach should apply to marketing as well. If you aren’t able to see the return on your investment, consider asking for it, putting measures in place, or getting help from someone who is able to show you the return on your marketing budget.
If you haven’t considered marketing an investment, I invite you to. Marketing and sales go hand in hand and without an investment in marketing, you aren’t going to see a proportionate amount of sales. You should be seeing at LEAST a 2x return on your investment.
Offering a low price service to get people in the door, but not having a system in place to capitalize on that client
So you tried Groupon or an ad, got a customer in the door, provided the service, and watched them leave. This shouldn’t ever happen. You should have measures in place throughout the sales process to gather contact information, wow the client with their experience, offer them more services, and ensure you have a follow up visit set! If you aren’t doing these 4 things, you are leaving a significant amount of money on the table.
Not collecting contact information on the initial call
Are you collecting contact information whenever anyone calls to inquire about services? It’s a great way to add them to your email list and ensure you don’t get disconnected. After you get their name, you can ask for their contact information in case you get disconnected. After they provide phone number, ask if they’d like to provide their email too (so they can get insider news and special deals). **Always highlight a benefit for them to provide their email address!
Not collecting credit card information during appointment booking
Reduce your no-show rate with this simple trick. When you let people know you’ll keep their card on file and will charge a $20 (or your pre-determined) no show fee if they fail to show up, it does a few things.
It looks after your bottom line-you still have employees in the office to pay who now have no client.
The client now has much more “skin in the game” per se. You’d be surprised by how just having $20 on the line will reduce your no show rates!
Not introducing product you’re using during massage and offering a trial or promo for it
Have you ever gone to a restaurant and had a dish where you just HAD to know what their secret ingredient was? Clients can experience the same thing with services you provide, but they may not have the courage to speak up and ask what product you’re using. Create a sales opportunity AND enrich their experience by describing the product, why it’s the best, and what benefits they’ll be able to notice immediately as well as with long term use. This will help them start to imagine using it both now and in the future! If you’re running a special or promo on the product, even better! LET THE CLIENT KNOW!
Website where services/pricing are not easily found
Don’t surprise your clients with pricing at checkout. You’re in the business of providing an experience. Ensuring correct expectations upon visiting the spa will ensure a much more positive experience. You wouldn’t want a client to come in without knowing what their service entailed, would you? You should have the same approach with pricing since it’s part of the service provided.
Along with ensuring pricing is visible, it should be easily found on your website. If it isn’t easy to find, you’re going to lose customers right off the bat since they didn’t feel like waiting around.
No turnkey marketing system
If you don’t have a turnkey marketing system you can turn on and off when needed, you’re missing out on predictable customers and ultimately revenue. Wouldn’t it be nice to not ever have to worry if customers will be coming in that day, or if you’ll be able to afford payroll for your team and yourself? A marketing system should be in place for your business that you can turn on (and off) at will, when you need more customers, or are getting too many customers and need to slow things down so you can focus on delivering excellent service.
If your marketing approach looks like a blind-folded pin the tail on the donkey game, we’d love to help you make it a much more coordinated effort that produces consistent, reliable growth for your spa biz.
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