Creating a nurturing community environment in your spa has direct and indirect benefits. The longer your clients remain in your spa, the more likely they are to buy additional products, try new services, and make the spa experience part of their everyday life. Experts predict that day spas will become social centers, much like the traditional health spas of Europe.
Peace of mind has become the ultimate consumer good. "Post 9/11, spa-goers exhibit a greater desire to use a spa as a place to connect with others," says Borgman. "I'm noticing that people want a little more interaction together," reports veteran spa director Anne Emich of Spa Gaucin in Huntington Beach, CA. "We're seeing more families, mother and daughters, siblings, and spouses who are enjoying the spa together. Spa guests who arrive alone also tend to want more interaction than before. Spa guests need connection on a deep, emotional level and relief—from stress, obligations, and a world gone mad."
A key benefit here is that when you build a community within your spa, you are also fending off competitive threats from other area day spas. Jay Conrad Levinson, the "father of guerilla marketing" and author of the world's best-known series of entrepreneurial marketing books, states, "The names of the marketing game in the 2000's and beyond are relationships and service... it takes time to nurture the customer relationships and render superlative service."