2020 and 2021 have been two of the hardest years on record for spa owners around the globe: whether it be grappling with the introduction of virtual events and offerings, not being able to rely on in-person treatments as a main income source, or dealing with the general whiplash of on-again, off-again restrictions, spa sales resiliency has become nothing short of crucial.

I had the pleasure of virtually sitting down with Meaghan Tenbergen, founder of Ontario-based spa and beauty store Skin Studio Beauty Co, to talk all things spa sales resiliency… and her spa business’s transformation can be used as an example for spa arounds worldwide wondering what the next step may be for enhancing their spa sales resiliency.

Meaghan of Skin Studio Beauty Co.

I’ve known Meaghan for six years and have watched her brand grow and mature right alongside her: after starting out as a small spa in Guelph, Ontario in 2014 called the Skin Studio Spa that specialized in holistic skin care, brow beauty, and eyelash treatments, the COVID-19 pandemic is what created what we now know as the online shop and virtual consultation-provider Skin Studio Beauty Co.

Even before COVID-19, many spa owners can agree that being in this industry comes with many ups and downs emotionally and financially; COVID-19 just happened to be the dooziest of doozies for many!

Meaghan agrees. “We [here at Skin Studio Beauty Co.] will soon be celebrating 7 years of business,” she says. “I started out wanting to focus on skin care. At the spas and salons I’d previously worked at, doing small services like waxing just wasn’t speaking to my soul. It wasn’t why I’d gotten into this industry. As an acne sufferer, acne was my true passion from the beginning and, as an employee, I wasn’t getting the opportunities I wanted to focus on it. So I branched out to start my own spa business. 

“Even just 7 years ago, people thought I was crazy for not wanting to do waxing, manicures, or pedicures, which many spa owners think of as the ‘bread and butter’ of their services. It goes to show you how much has changed!” 

One of Meaghan’s biggest principles now is that “like attracts like”, and that spa owners should brand themselves in a way that is relatable and empathetic to their ideal client types: for example, since becoming a mother to two young boys Meaghan has included that in Skin Studio Beauty Co.’s brand transformation in order to connect with both moms and expecting moms… especially in relation to acne, since Meaghan’s own acne experienced a flare-up after the birth of her first son, which is a common occurrence in those with chronic acne.

How COVID-19 Shut Down Skin Studio Beauty Co.'s Physical Location

The beauty of working in this industry is the capability for authenticity: just like how Meaghan’s glowing skin is living proof of her skin care know-how, this focus on personalization and authenticity has played a key role in Skin Studio Beauty Co.’s spa sales resiliency plan throughout 2020 and, now, 2021.

Guelph, Skin Studio Beauty Co.’s original location, is just one hour’s drive away from Toronto… the city that has currently been under one of the longest lockdowns in the world. Right before COVID-19 hit Canada, Meaghan had just given birth to her second son; she had been hiring more staff, been focusing on building each staff’s clientele, and sales were steady across the board. The spa was open 7 days a week. All marketing benchmarks and sales goals were focused almost solely on growth.

Then the first COVID-19 lockdown hit Guelph and, as what happened to the majority of spa owners, everything changed overnight. “I was absolutely gutted,” says Meaghan. “I’m sure everyone can relate to that. I remember being on the phone to my in-laws right before the restrictions came into place and being on the brink of tears saying, What if they close my business? What will I do then?

“And then prior to getting shut down came the societal pressure of people wanting us to close down before we officially had to. Everyone was voluntarily shutting down for two weeks, and, all of a sudden, even though Public Health kept reassuring me that we were okay to stay open due to our health history and precautions, we started getting messages from random people saying that it was unbelievable that we weren’t voluntarily closing. I had to defend my decision to keep the business open. It was so unfathomable at the time.”

At the time of publication, Skin Studio Beauty Co.’s physical location is still closed. It goes to show that, at any point, life can throw a wrench in all of our plans and, as entrepreneurs in the spa industry, we need to think on our feet and turn sales losses into sales opportunities.

As I like to say: you’re allowed to have a pity party. You’re just not allowed to stay there. 

How Personalization, Authenticity, and Wherewithal Played Key Roles in Meaghan's Spa Sales Resiliency Plan

Meaghan’s epiphany moment hit immediately. “Even before we closed I turned to Danielle, who is one of our part-time employees, and said, There aren’t enough clients coming in this week, so you should take the week off. But before you go, please upload all of our products onto Mindbody so that we can set up an online store. We voluntarily closed that Friday and, that week, started our online store. Danielle spent every day getting it ready.”

Meaghan’s checklist to getting her spa sales resiliency plan rolling was as follows:

• Posting about on social media daily

• Dedicating newsletters to the online shift

• Customizing their product images and descriptions on Mindbody and, now, Shopify 

• Seeking out other viable opportunities like DIY at-home facials, skin care boxes and virtual skin consultations

“For example, I saw a lot of spas doing online facial kits,” she says, “but our in-person facials were actually 100% customized. So I tweaked the concept of a standard facial kit and made it so we customize them based on each client’s skin file. Each one also comes with a booklet that says what each product is and what it’s for, which is a really awesome sales tool as well when combined with samples.”

Pricing was weighed carefully during Skin Studio Beauty Co.’s shift to online-only. Meaghan based the pricing of her kits and virtual services off her original in-person services, as well as freebies and add-ons to ensure that clients felt appreciated even though they weren’t able to come in in-person.

Meaghan also built a launch around the release of her virtual kits in April 2020 and, lo and behold, they sold out within 24 hours! At the start, she was customizing and putting together each box completely by hand and was working until 3 o’clock in the morning. Her next virtual facial kit launch, which was geared around Mother’s Day upon client request, sold out in a staggering 4 hours! Talk about the benefits of planning ahead!

This hands-on and labour-intensive method of marketing and selling products wasn’t sustainable, however, and Meaghan recognized that early on in the process. Her next step was transitioning to virtual guided facials, which she did as a DIY on iMovie. “I sat down and did an hour-long guided facial for clients,” she said. “It was great. There was actually another woman in the spa industry who has been meeting with clients on Zoom for facials for ages, so I signed up for hers out of curiosity and realized that, while there are merits to meeting with a client live on Zoom, some clients like the flexibility of a pre-recorded video instead for their guided facials.”

That realization is a fantastic reminder that every client is different, and every spa owner’s take on an approach will be equally different. To keep your spa sales resiliency lasting, it’s vital that you work off of what works for you, not what works for others. Even with my own spa business coaching content, I provide spa owners the choice to read a blog about the episode (like today!), to listen to it as a podcast, or to watch it over on YouTube.

Meaghan's Takeaway Lessons About Spa Sales Resiliency

One of the biggest lessons that COVID-19 has provided Meaghan is that change is inevitable and that it should be leaned into. “I’m sure I’m a different person than I was a year ago,” Meaghan says. “For me, it solidified the importance of retailing. It is such a common conversation in our industry because so many of us suck at selling! It was a conversation I had many times with my busiest esthetician because she was cramming  clients in and had hit a sales ceiling. And I said to her, Well, you can’t see any more people in a day so you need to sell more products. That’s the only way to make more money.

“That esthetician ended up leaving in November for another spa down the street, so when we’re talking about resilience during COVID-19 I’ve had to endure a lot! But that happening cemented to me that product sales are so important and that saying that isn’t pushing others to be saleswomen; you just can’t sustain a business on services alone. That’s a lesson that we, as spa owners, all learn at least one point during their careers. And sales aren’t just sales: they’re educating clients and keeping their skin care outcomes consistent.”

Retail boils down to serving your clients at the highest level that you can: if you are not serving retail solutions, you cannot deliver on the long-term outcomes that your spa promises. That’s why letting go of old misconceptions that “services are everything” is so crucial, not only during COVID-19 but every year after. 

In fact, due to the majority of businesses moving to the online sphere because of COVID-19, not developing an ecommerce revenue stream is now the same as not being on social: the visibility is so vital and by not putting ourselves out there, we’re leaving money on the table.

“My ecommerce store paid the bills for the first year of COVID-19,” Meaghan says in agreement. “It will now be its own sustainable business after we reopen that will help me give me the lifestyle that I want. As many spa owners know, running a spa isn’t as profitable as you think… and takes a lot longer than you think! I’ve spent the past 7 years paying my staff more than I pay myself and now it’s my turn to get the amount of money (and the amount of sleep!) that I need.”