Spa Trends – Part I

 

I always get excited when I read the Trendwatching.com annual trends report, and this year is no exception.  Technology is driving many of these trends and because of this, a “re-positioning” of sorts continues to be forced upon businesses big and small.  If you don’t keep up, you may not necessarily expire, but you will lose ground.  Here are some points you’ll need to consider:

  

·      Continue to boost your “wiredness” socially and technically

·      Step outside your comfort zone to broaden your peripheral markets

·      Develop unique offerings that show off different sides to your personality

·     Attract the “value-seekers” market with a showing of dollar-driven offerings & incentives

·      Show you care with ethical, human behaviours and practices

·      Help sustain the planet consciously and creatively

 

Change your old familiar patterns and consider zeroing in on any one of the surfacing eclectic populations, who are making personal choices that will build their brand and solidify their status. 

 

1.  Red Carpet – Everyone wants to shower our Chinese customers and visitors with tailored services, perks, attention & respect; their overseas trips to North America, bring unrivalled business opportunities.  But what about the Chinese population that is within your surrounding area?  Could you be niche marketing to this burgeoning demographic?  Do you have Asian staff with eastern expertise?  Why not get your spa on their radar with a showing of specifically catered unique offerings?  You know a Chinese restaurant is good, when Chinese people eat there; well who’s to say that your spa couldn’t become the spa that this demographic chooses to relax in? 

 

2.  DIY Health  - Countless new apps and devices target consumers interested in managing their own health, from maintenance to prevention.  Tapping into this trend is a no-brainer for spas.  Your Client Intake Form just became “service solid gold”.  Familiarize yourself with your client’s health AND these new apps that cover everything from cardio fitness, to mole monitoring, to pain management and start looking at the NEW definition of “Client Longevity”.  In the rent past, client longevity has often been related to the lifetime value that a client brings to the business.  Now you can really work towards increasing your client’s longevity with cutting edge technological advances that increase LTV too.

 

3.  Dealer-Chic – The best deal is now a way of life, even a source of pride and status.  Even though many people have less to spend, they continue to expect the ultimate experience.  How you find ways to make deals and offers exciting and attractive, is your assignment and it’s mandatory.  

 

4. Eco-Cycology – This is brands taking back their products and recycling them responsibly. I have client’s who take back empty jars and packaging and recycle them for their clients; they put their tea bags and towelettes into compost; but what about hotel and resort spas joining an organization like the Global Soap Project, who recover discarded soap from hotels and reprocess them into new bars for worldwide distribution to vulnerable populations?

 

5.  Cash-Less – Forego your credit card and pay for purchases by waving or tapping your smartphone onto the electronic reader.  And when you subscribe to Google Wallet, it also allows you to redeem coupons, get sales promos and loyalty points.  Although this may be an initiative for larger spas to get involved in, it’s all about technology, and now you don’t just need to get online, you need to get onboard.  High-tech spaing...isn’t that an oxymoron?

 

6.  Bottom of the Urban Pyramid (BOUP) – Your ability to cater to the low-income consumer holds unprecedented opportunities this year.  BOUP consumers have materialistic and aesthetic desires too.  The Indian government is subsidizing tablet computers; ATM’s are finding ways to make services available to illiterate populations; and PepsiCo is test-marketing smart-food to BOUP consumers in India.  Spas have been doing no-frills, advantage pricing and online discount sites for awhile now, but are we marketing those deals to the BOUP consumer?

 

Don't Miss part 2 coming next week!