Today's spas, days spas, resort spas, wellness centers and medical spas need to strategically and proactively create marketing programs with a variety of direct response advertising and marketing programs. The spa client does not magically walk in each day 7 days a week. We must go after building a larger base of new clients all of the time. Whether your spa is known for therapeutic massage, skincare, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, facial treatments, specialized therapies or day of beauty packages, there will always be some new area and service that you should promote. Plus, if you offer the more traditional haircare, nailcare, hair removal and beautycare services, it is even more important to build a regular clientele. There really is not one single way to market your spas, yet the only wrong way is to do nothing at all. There really is no magic, yet the magic can be the reward of a dynamic marketing program that builds new clientele, while keeping your regular clients.
There are also many special areas that are important to promote seasonally like retail and gift certificate marketing. With so many beautycare options for consumers today, professional spas, day spas, full service salons, medical spas and skincare clinics need to get their message into the targeted local community homes. Even though newspaper, radio, TV, billboard, magazine and the Internet are viable marketing options today, direct mail marketing remains one of the most successful options for spa owners in our very competitive marketplace
Steve Zuckerman, president of Clipper Magazine suggests the following guidelines and strategies to help your future direct mail marketing campaigns to be more successful. Clipper Magazine remains known as one of the best premier quality full color direct mail advertising magazine publications here in the USA.
Direct Marketing 101: It is important to first understand the basics. Advertising remains a very large and important long term investment for marketing the complete benefits of your spa and day spa business. Take the time to investigate the best options to make your complete advertising, marketing and public relations programs work best for you. We all know that professional beautycare is a very visual art and full color direct mail marketing offers us the opportunity to visually share our professional massage therapies, body treatments, facials, makeovers, haircare and nailcare services. We know that direct mail marketing offers day spa owners one of the most unique opportunities with some of the most effective and measurable advertising results.
Direct mail marketing offers spa owners the unique opportunity for the most effective and trackable advertising results. Itç—´ time to promote your spa services with valuable and effective direct mail advertising investments. Direct mail will build sales with a positive quality image while also building your name brand in the local community.
Advertising Options: Newspaper and radio are rarely the best advertising options for spa services. TV works, yet is very expensive and not specifically targeted to your neighborhood. People aren� letting their fingers do the walking these days, so Yellow Pages are not the best investment for spas. Full color regional magazines and direct mail are absolutely the best advertising and marketing options available to us today. Most spa service clients will only drive 3 to 5 miles from their home. So, targeted marketing to specific communities, neighborhoods are ideal strategies. Direct mail can be facilitated independently, with direct mail houses and through local printers as well as through nationally recognized direct mail resources that are available in most major communities across America.
Spa Marketing Calendars! Start to develop an Annual Spa Marketing Calendar that promotes all of your various service categories. It is important to plan to promote all of your many varied spa and beautycare services throughout the year, while taking into account the many seasons and holidays. If you are creating and facilitating the direct mail campaigns, postcards and newsletters yourself, you may want to be prepared with bi-monthly or quarterly direct mail programs. Gift giving holidays should be pre-planned for Motherç—´ Day, Fatherç—´ Day, Valentineç—´ Day, Graduations, Grandparentç—´ Day and the gift-oriented year-end holidays.
Strategically examine your seasonal sales peaks and valleys within your day spa business. Develop an annual marketing calendar that promotes all of your spa, hair, skin, nail, makeup, hair removal and medical services throughout the year, while also promoting them at a time when your clients will usually want to take advantage of them. You can also take advantage of your strongest salon and spa service months, by capitalizing on them with additional direct mail advertising strategies. You will often be able to turn traditional soft months like July, August, October and January into stronger months, by planning in advance with extra direct mail marketing and advertising support.
If you are using an external direct mail magazine resource like Clipper Magazine, Mint, or Savvy Shopper, ask for their in-home mail dates as well as maps that target the homes surrounding your spa. We suggest that you sign up for annualized programs, so you can bring in new clients every month. Review the advantages of their annual agreements as well as the cost savings when you mail to multiple or larger targeted areas. This will make your advertising campaigns more effective, while it may also reduce the costs of your overall advertising budget.
Us Colorful Photographs & Inspiring Spa Illustrations! You will need to portray a clear message, while sharing an inviting opportunity for clients to rejuvenate, refresh and revitalize their lives at your spa. As most people read advertisements, they search for exciting colorful photographs, headlines, offers and logos. Todayç—´ prospective spa and day spa clients are very visually oriented consumers. Seeing is believing and a picture is still usually worth a 1000 words, in conveying your marketing message. If you do not have your own spa, skincare, nailcare and beautycare photographs, you can look to purchase stock photographs or you can often work with your professional beautycare manufacturers to see what they have to offer. Some manufacturers offer cooperative advertising programs. Some also offer boilerplate advertising layouts with photographs. These are often available for free and via the Internet.
Make sure that you always present an upscale image with these spa photographs, to portray a rejuvenating and relaxing spa experience. You may want to show a facial and a massage treatment, so those are always terrific at attracting new first time spa clients. You may want to use a collage of two to three or more photographs, with one larger massage photograph designed with a series of additional smaller facial, skincare, nailcare, makeup and body treatment photographs in the same direct mail device or advertisement.
Consistency Is Critical! An effective direct mail advertising and marketing campaign needs to be ongoing throughout the year. Consistency is an important factor. Maintain a very consistent visual image for your spa business throughout all of your integrated print, broadcast and direct mail advertising campaigns. After placing a strong photograph, headline and logo, be sure to consider a brief bullet point listing of your specialized spa ad beautycare services. This should include extras like hydrotherapies, aromatherapy, reflexology, specialized massage therapies, hair removal services, makeup and gift certificates.
Celebrate Creativity! It痴 good to be very clever with your spa marketing advertisements through attractive headlines and photographs. They will need to command instant attention. Just be careful. Don� get so cute and clever that your prospective spa clients do not easily know what you offer in your spa.
Promote Specials & Spa Offers! You need to consider promoting most of your spa services at full price! There is nothing wrong with that in any advertising format. Whether you want to offer specials or to promote at full price, just be sure to share specific services and prices: If you want to offer special features and seasonal promotions, make your direct mail spa and day spa coupons as valuable as possible, so you will get a terrific response. Make your advertising designs look upscale by using dollars off and not percentages, while also designing your offers to look more like mini gift certificates, than coupons.
- Swedish Massage Therapy One Hour -- $000
- G5 Cellulite Treatment 亡eries Of 6 Treatments -- $000
- Signature Facial Treatment -- $000
- Aromatherapy Facial Treatment -- $000
- Complete Day Of Beauty Only 0000 Includes, X, Y & Z
æ"¢REE is Fabulous! Offer a free gift with service, a purchase or a purchase with purchase promotional strategy. Free will help persuade current clients to try new spa and beautycare services as well as to get new first-time clients to switch and to try you for the first time.
- Buy Any 6 Microdermabrasion Treatments Get 1 FREE!
- Buy Any $100 Gift Card ~ Get A $20 Gift Card FREE!
- Complete Day Of Beauty Only 800 Includes a FREE $25 Value Retail Product Gift Certificate.
- Holly Day Gift Of Beauty Only $500 Includes a FREE Box of Chocolates
- Year Of Beauty Only $3000 Plus a Bonus FREE $200 Value Spa Skincare regimen
- FREE Skincare Trio -- $00 Value With Any First-Time Professional Laser Hair Removal Service Package
Promote Gift Certificates! Gift certificate marketing is one of the best methods for marketing spas and day spas. Be prepared to aggressively promote gifts of beauty and gift certificates for days of beauty and series packages. Gift certificates can be your best new client referral program. Some spas sell hundreds of thousands of dollars of gift certificates per year, totaling up to one-third of their total sales. You can promote gift cards and gift certificates throughout the entire year, especially with seasonal and holiday updates. As we all know, the three best gift certificate seasons are the year-end holidays, then Motherç—´ Day and then Valentineç—´ Day. Fatherç—´ Day is also an important annual event to build your menç—´ business, yet a distant fourth priority. Whether you use personally signed direct mail postcards, direct mail magazine coupons, seasonal day spa newsletters or any direct mail device, gift certificates should always be promoted!
First-Time New Client Specials! Many spa owners want to protect their 嗪egulars? yet they are afraid to offend their regulars by offering specials just for new clients. You will need to offer special incentives for both your regular clients and your new first time guests. Some special offers should be good for everyone, while one extra mini gift certificate or coupon should be dedicated to attracting new first timers with an extra strong special introductory gift or discount offer. Don� be afraid to mix it up.
Disclaimers! Avoid excessive disclaimers in your advertisements, coupons and gift certificates. Try to keep your special offers simple with words like, å"²o Double Discounts? å¾¹ne Per Person and æ'?xpires 00/00/07. Use expiration dates of no more than 90 day to keep your offers timely.
Colorful Direct Mail Devices Are More Dramatic! Look for professional full color designs and printing capabilities from your local marketing and advertising resources. Just as full color advertisements in regional magazines work better for most spas and day spas than newspapers today, your direct mail campaigns also need to be colorful. When possible, avoid black and white marketing options. You can affordably market your services as well as your professional products in full color to ensure the best possible redemption. Direct mail research has repeatedly shown that full color advertising options can actually increase redemption rates by 30% to 60%.
Direct The Best Upscale Options! No matter what type of day spa, medical spa, skincare clinic or beautycare business you operate, you need to use marketing and advertising that works to build your professional image and reputation. Direct mail is the perfect resource for any type of upscale spa or day spa. The overall image, illustrations and offers that you present can make any spa or full service day spa salon business look elegant, inviting and upscale. While it is very always important to educate both current and potential new clients on the benefits of your day spa services and staff, try not to clutter your direct mail advertisements and marketing devices with too much extraneous copy or a cheap image. Whether you use regional magazines, solo direct mail postcards, cooperative direct mail, direct mail coupon oriented magazines or a combination of many media resources, you can make them all appear upscale. If you use the right resources, they really will not be perceived as junk mail. Today, full color direct mail magazine advertising resources are considered to be valuable money saving offers by most people.
Use Quality Direct Mail Resources! Work with the best local and regional full color direct mail magazine resources available, to you -- like Clipper Magazine, Mint and Savvy Shopper. Examine their local mailing area maps near your spa as well as the potential costs. Look to see samples of their direct mail products. Ask to see examples of what other successful spas and day spas have successfully used in other markets. For example, Clipper Magazine offers their standard magazine format, inserts and a variety of other solo direct mail options. Use reputable and nationally respected resources, with a proven track record. Go for high quality, upscale resources. Avoid lesser quality resources, even if they save you a few pennies. Ask to see samples of mailing devices with samples of similar businesses like yours. With quality direct mail resources, you can specifically target neighborhood homes surrounding your salon business. It is best to target homes within three to five or ten miles of your spa business, while targeting at least 50,000 to 100,000 homes or more.
Direct Mail Solutions Are Affordable: At approximately four cents per home with high quality full color direct mail advertising resources like Clipper Magazine, direct mail marketing is extremely affordable. This is especially true when you partner with a national resource that has local programs targeting the homes in your community. Solo direct postcards, brochures, mail letters, fliers and newsletters can also be very effective, while the costs for independence may range from seventy-five cents to one dollar more than a resource like Clipper Magazine per targeted home. This also depends upon the direct mail device or strategy you use. With the costs of graphic design, printing, address labels, postage and handling, solo direct mail is certainly a more expensive, yet viable alternative. You may find that solo direct mail is the most advantageous to target your own clients. The key disadvantage is that you should also want to attract as many new first-time clients as possible to your spa. A combination of both direct mail strategies will usually work best.
Cooperative Advertising Funds! If cooperative advertising funds are available from your professional beautycare product companies, plan to visit with your manufacturerç—´ sales consultants and use them. Carefully use their company logo and product photographs in pre-approved sizes and formats. By following a few simple cooperative program guidelines, many skincare and beautycare suppliers will provide up to 50% of the cost of your cooperative direct mail advertisements. Some will even pay 100% of the cost of these advertisements, while sometimes reimbursing you in credits towards future products or services.
Set Realistic Expectations! Direct mail advertising really works, especially with very strong offers and ongoing campaigns! Like any advertising, promotion and marketing, it takes a long term investment to successfully market your day spa. Set realistic expectations, so you are not disappointed. Coupons and mini gift certificates are extremely trackable. Achieving good results are not about getting hundreds of new first-time clients from each direct mail advertisement. Many people will be attracted to your spa or professional beautycare business to come in without the coupon or direct mail advertisement offers. Many consumers are coupon shoppers as they like to 壮ave money? Other prospective new first-time clients will not, yet that痴 OK. Remember that one new spa client may result in several thousands of service sales dollars per year. So, as few as 5 to 20 new clients from any one direct mail advertisement, you need to consider it a success
Direct Mail Definitely Works! To determine the statistical effectiveness of your direct mail advertising campaigns, plan to ask every new first-time client how they first heard about you. Many clients will bring in their advertisements, mini gift certificates or coupons. Some of these responsive new clients will come in based upon your direct mail advertising without bringing in the advertisements or the coupons. Some clients will still ask their friends, family and co-workers for a recommendation after seeing your direct mail advertisement, so any successful combination will be great. Plan to measure your total sales volume each week or month, especially on the spa services and the professional products you promote with your direct mail efforts.
Anthony Kilpatrick of the Focus Spa in Westchester, NY promoted $120 1 Hour Focus Facial with Reflexology for $120, a $160 One Hour Facial with a One Hour Swedish Massage for $160 s well as two larger packages at $260 and $360, rather than to use discounted dollars off. Kilpatrick notes, �e have seen considerable positive results from Clipper Magazine痴 direct mail marketing program. It痴 better than radio and the newspaper for us! Rebecca Sprecher of the Skin Spa in Encino, CA offered 5 different mini-gift certificates for free services with other services and service packages. Sprecher adds, �e have advertised in Clipper Magazine using direct mail for over 2 years and we love it. This direct mail magazine peaks the interest of our prospective clients. People call us about the specials and for information about all of our services. Clipper is great! It always brings us lots of new spa clients.廿/P>
Find Full-Service Resources That Do It All! With valuable local and national direct resources like Clipper Magazine, Mint and Savvy Shopper, they do it all for you! Clipper Magazine is proudly known as the premier quality cooperative direct mail resource in America today. Clipper Magazine also offers a unique turnkey direct marketing program for local, regional and national businesses. Clipperç—´ special benefits include complimentary marketing and advertising consultation services with full color printing on high quality glossy paper stocks, professional photography, expertly designed layouts and a complete array of comprehensive high quality resources at an extremely affordable price. The well-trained marketing consultants from Clipper Magazine and many of these nationally represented, local direct mail companies have tremendous resources available, to share with you from other spa and beautycare resources all across the country.
No matter what form of radio, TV, newspaper, magazine or direct mail marketing you plan to use, ask your advertising sales representatives to share examples of what has worked well for other similar business owners. Take advantage of their special experience, expertise and library of knowledge.
Make Wishes Come True! Too often spa owners look down their noses at direct mail, coupon and magazine format advertising, while they sit there wishing, hoping, dreaming and questioning, æ»´ow do I get more spa clients? Many day spa owners wish that some of their specialized spa, wellness and beautycare services were not the best kept secrets in town. Many clients wish for that special massage or facial gift certificate. Direct mail will effectively match your spa services with their wishes and needs. Direct mail remains one of the best ways to build your reputation, get the message out and to build an exciting new base of clients!