Thinking of adding a new service or product line to boost sales, spa owners?

Read this first!

Oftentimes, owners of spa businesses shift into a sense of panic when sales or plateauing– or, heaven forbid, declining! And if the initial scramble to fix things doesn’t work? Well, that panic can spur owners to grasp at straws.

There’s one actionable step to take instead: take stock of your client acquisition and retention strategy.

Here’s how to do exactly that:

#1: Don’t Make Rush Decisions

Here at Kirsten Foss Coaching, we frequently field the question, “Are my clients going somewhere else for spa treatments? Is that why my sales are trending down?”

Let’s let you in on an industry secret–the answer to that is likely no. While it may sound foolproof to assume that, as an example, you’re losing clients to your competition because you don’t have the most up-to-date dermaplaning-related training, rushing out to invest in that could yield you nothing but lost money if you’ve guessed wrong. Bringing in new product lines, new equipment, new services, new training… it’s expensive, spa owners! 

Instead, taking a breath and assessing which part of your guest experience may be broken (or underperforming) is a surefire way to determine where the leaky bucket in your biz is. No guesswork required!

#2: Understand the Importance of the Guest Experience

One of my favourite phrases that I use with VIP Day clients is, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Similarly, you can’t fix what you don’t know is broken!

As a former spa business owner myself who has dealt with your same struggles, trust me when I say that adding new services and products–and throwing money at paid ads for your biz–is not going to be the magic wand that fixes your financial situation. 

The real reason you’re struggling with sales is that there are dozens of places in your spa business and its guest experience that are using the wrong strategy for client acquisition and retention. Hiring, staffing, training, service protocols, client follow-up routines… if even just one of those areas is “leaking”, it means your whole boat is taking in water.

If one (or many!) of your staff members are inattentive or rude to clients, will they be inclined to come back? If you are chronically understaffed and unable to perform popular services, will your target audience be flocking to your biz? What about if, every time clients come into your treatment room small-talk takes over client education and they leave without home care recommendations or treatment plans? 

You know the answer, of course… and that answer exemplifies why simply stacking on new products and services isn’t going to be the fix-all you want it to be!

While it will take some time to turn things around, that doesn’t mean all is lost. Once you understand and recognize the importance of the guest experience, it’s time to spring into action.

#3: Take the Time to Re-Strategize

There are three steps you can take to carve out valuable time on your admin days to re-strategize your guest experience processes.

• Take a Deep-Dive: On the surface, what can you see about your processes that looks broken or like it’s underperforming? If you interview your staff, what can you glean from them about either your business’s protocols or their own behaviour that can tip you off regarding what the squeaky wheel is?
• Manage Your Expectations: Because it took you time to get into this situation, it will take you time to get out of it as well. To manage your expectations and get your spa business’s finances back on track as soon as possible, we recommend turning to a coach or mentor to keep you calm and focused on the end-goal–turning those financial blues into financial wins!
• Re-Strategize: Once you’ve done your detective work and determined what your spa’s main pain points are, it’s time to re-strategize. The key to being successful with this is to be intentional. Project management softwares like Asana or Monday, for example, will help keep you on-task and divide those big tasks into manageable chunks while simultaneously assigning responsibility and due dates to certain team members. This is key to getting things DONE.

While loading up on new treatments, retail products, and marketing is most spa owners’ knee-jerk response to low sales, it’s one of the worst reactions you can have if you’re looking to stabilize your business’s revenue. When we take the helm of spas’ digital marketing, our motto is “clean up before ramping up” for a reason! 

Anything is possible if you’re intentional with your responses, spa owners. Need help getting out of the situation of being cash-strapped and frustrated? Reach out today for professional guidance.