Spa owners, just because we’ve already entered September doesn’t mean you can’t start your Fall spa marketing prep now! In fact, if you haven’t... grab a coffee, ready your favourite pen, and flip open your notebook. We can do it together here and now so you can get back on track with driving sales to your spa!

Why? Because I get it; trust me, I do! Whether you’re a mama, a team leader juggling their staff (like many of the owners in my spa owners-only Facebook group, Spa Business Mastery!), or are simply overrun with your daily to-dos in your spa business, sitting down and actually getting a plan done happens more rarely than you’d like. 

My tip for getting the ball rolling in a time-effective way? Big-picture strategizing.

The Boons of Thinking Big-Picture

Something I always encourage my coaching clients to do is think long-term and then trace their steps back to the beginning when it comes to mapping out their spa marketing. Idea-generating questions to ask yourself include:

• “At the end of the next six months, which services or product sales do I want to increase?” 

• “Am I going to have monthly or seasonal specials going?”

• “Am I planning on rolling out any new products or services this calendar year?”

• “What about discontinuing services or products? Am I changing tacts on anything this year?”

• “What do I want to happen this year? Do I have any goals I want to achieve that I can gear my marketing towards?”

Why are these such great questions? Because marketing demands consistency and, in turn, considering the big picture in advance; if, say, you want to increase the number of facials you’re doing, then your marketing needs to focus on skin education (approximately 60%; think ingredient decks or service descriptions to entice new potential clients) with a sprinkle of calls-to-action (20%) and a dash of entertaining or inspiring facial-related content thrown in (like before-and-afters!)

Another boon of thinking big-picture? Being able to break up your marketing into your primary focus and monthly or seasonal features, such as chemical peels in the fall.

A Note About Specials vs. Features in Your Spa Marketing

When it comes to marketing your spa business I wholeheartedly don’t believe that you need to have a service or product offered at a special price. Specials and features aren’t one-size-fits-all! 

In fact, always having discounts and/or specials running can sometimes backfire and curate a following of consumers who deal-hunt… rather than a following who trusts and buys into your skin care expertise as a spa owner! (Plus, some spa owners simply don’t have time to map out seasonal features— which is totally fine!)

If you have opted for running seasonal features, my tip? Determine the time frame and build out what you’d like consumers to focus on within that time frame. Remember: it doesn’t mean you only have to talk about that service or brand, it just means it’s the focus!

An example for planning a seasonal feature would be:

• Selecting facials with peels as your hypothetical October focus

• Mapping out your ideal client to ensure that your marketing is being geared towards them effectively

• Writing out why you are featuring this treatment (plus why now!)

• Marking down both the price and the outcome of this treatment to ensure that your copywriting process is as straightforward as possible

The result? An easy reference doc that will help you stay on track for your digital marketing.

Speaking of Digital Marketing for Your Spa…

Marketing comes in four core categories for spas, with three of those four being digital: social media marketing, email marketing, marketing via your spa’s website, and marketing via in-spa (or virtual!) conversations.

Let’s start with social media marketing. Within Kirsten Foss Coaching Company, Virtual Spa Management, my digital marketing team has helped spa businesses surpass their benchmarks via done-for-you social media packages… and today I’m sharing a posting recipe that has set up oodles of spas just like yours for success! 

• A minimum of three posts per week on each active social media platform to keep up your organic Reach (this consistency is especially vital if you’re not running paid ads, as the algorithm will already be stacked against you in terms of your audience actually seeing your content!) I know, I know, you don’t have the time… but it’s worth it, even if you have to get it outsourced! 

• 4x a month educational posts. These include service descriptions, ingredient highlights, how-tos, client stories, and before-and-afters.

• 4x a month promotional posts. The most successful way spas typically break these up are into two service posts and two product-oriented posts.

• 4x a month engagement posts. Fantastic examples of these are team photos, behind-the-scenes video, testimonials, and spa updates.

A bonus tip? Share some of your posts on your personal page, and get your team to as well! Having your staff share even one post a week on their personal page or Story will work to expand your Reach and get more eyes on your content, especially if you’re not already utilizing paid social media advertising. 

Email Content for Your Spa Marketing

One of the most effective digital marketing tactics when it comes to seeing ROI (return on investment), email marketing may sound daunting at first. What I’m here to tell you is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to be successful with it!

Take it from me: I publish a minimum of one newsletter per week and see phenomenal results. Consistency is the name of the game when it comes to email marketing. My tips for nailing it?

• Don’t be afraid to take some of your best social media posts and copy-paste them into an email! Add some pizzazz with formatting and images and you’re good to hit “Send”! Good copywriting is good copywriting, so take advantage of yours when you have a winner.

• Plan to send at least one email at the beginning of the month. Ideally you will want to send another email mid-month for cadence purposes; publishing a minimum of twice a month will keep your spa business fresh in clients’ minds.

• When my digital marketing team works with spa clients to do their email marketing for them, for example, we create the first-of-the-month email as a spa update that leans towards promotional. 

• The second email, which we schedule for roughly mid-month, nurtures this promotion; it’s typically a preview or link to an educational blog, a client’s success story, or even just a heartfelt touch-base with the community. Remember that the mid-month email should be about giving, not asking. You can still have a reminder to book via a “Book Now!” button without the bulk of the content being promotional.

Looking to start email marketing for your spa business? I have a list of platform recommendations just for you!

Be Sure to Update Your Website as Part of Your Spa Marketing This Fall

Next up is the importance of updating your website. It’s a well-known fact that Google rewards you for updating your website regularly, which is why SEO-driven blogging is such a prominent method of funnelling visitors to websites. 

What else can you do to make sure your website is refreshed this Fall?

• Polish up your home page

• Add or update to your service descriptions

• Ensure your online store is up-to-date

“But Kirsten,” you may be thinking fretfully, “I don’t know how to update my website, or don’t want to! Does that mean my website’s ranking is in trouble?” If this sounds like you, don’t let it eat you: contact me today to learn how my digital marketing team has both put spas on Google’s radar and bolstered their existing rankings via SEO-oriented blog writing and website copy updates!

Last but Not Least, Integrate Spa Conversations into Your Marketing Plan

As a former spa business owner myself, I know first-hand that it’s the conversations in the treatment room (or, if you’re offering virtual skin services, in video calls!) that are the most impactful when it comes to clients pre-booking their next treatment or purchasing products. Spa conversations are all about leveraging your relationship with existing clientele to increase sales,rather than trying to drive cold traffic from the website… which is what makes combining in-person and digital marketing so perfect for growing your spa business!

It can be way too easy to get comfortable with long-time clients and veer into primarily personal conversations in the treatment room, which in turn makes it awkward when it’s time to suggest retail and treatment recommendations! There’s nothing worse than a sharp heel-turn into promotional chit-chat when you were just talking about family. The goal for spa owners should be to keep conversations with clients 80% spa and 20% personal. 

Give it a try: your bookings and retail sales numbers will thank you!

“Kirsten, One Last Thing… How Should I Be Factoring COVID-19 Into My Spa Marketing This Fall?”

It’s a good question, especially since we are expecting another global pandemic wave to hit this autumn.

While we don’t know for certain which states or provinces will close the spa industry, we do know from Spring closures that it happened very quickly. Ensure that you have a marketing pivot readied for if you have to close again.

For us here at Kirsten Foss Coaching, we quickly pivoted any pre-scheduled content for our clients to reopening CTAs and virtual offers. This permitted our clients to still generate sales while they were closed, some of whom have permanently switched to virtual services due to the success of them! For spa owners looking to make a similar shift (or are simply tired of missing out on the revenue that virtual services offer), my Virtual Skin Consultation Services Toolkit is a can’t-miss.

I want to hear: what have your main takeaways been from today’s Thursday Spa Business Break? Which corner of marketing are you starting with first? Drop me a line to let me know, especially if you have any comments or questions!