Pat Shanahan, CEO of DaySmart Software, discusses how spas can prepare for an increasing demand in services and handle it with ease when it arrives.
Usually, the summertime can be a slow period for those in the spa industry. As clients go out of town for vacation or opt to relax outside in the sun, spa owners find themselves scrambling to get people through their doors and make up for lags in revenue. Not this year, though. After months of at-home treatments and pandemic-induced stress, individuals are eager to be pampered by pros.
Here are four helpful steps:
- Move appointment booking online
Spas will want to take advantage of clients’ enthusiasm and get as many individuals on the books as possible. If spas are still using pen-and-paper calendars though—or even static digital schedules like Google Calendar—they’re leaving themselves open to common but unfortunate errors like double booking or incorrectly recording a client’s information. Plus, if spa employees are constantly tied to the phone or their emails to make sure they don’t miss an appointment inquiry, they’re losing time to work on more personable activities like socializing with the clients already on premises.
An online appointment book that offers client access solves for these problems. The structure of the software ensures schedules stay organized and without overlap, which enables spa workers to pack in as many appointments as their days will allow. The open access also means that clients can book appointments whenever they want, so spas can still take bookings even outside of regular business hours. Likewise, when clients can book their own appointments, spa employees are freed up to spend more time delivering a quality customer experience.
Not to worry – owners can make sure timeslots are reserved for employee breaks and facility cleanings so that staff and the space both receive the downtime they need in between client visits.
- Automate appointment reminders
As excited as a client may be for their treatment when they first book it, summer calendars can quickly become hectic—causing clients to forget they have a spa appointment scheduled. Consequently, the spa loses out on a sale, and because employees didn’t have any notice to offer the time to someone else, they’re paying overhead and staff wages without a return. Reminding clients of their appointments manually, though—either by sending messages or calling people one by one—can add hours of tedious work onto employees’ days.
By setting up automated appointment reminders instead, spas can send clients a text or email ahead of the booking to confirm the time and details of the scheduled service. This message can also include any information relevant to the scheduled treatment, such as instructions on how to prepare, or forms the client needs to complete ahead of time so that clients not only make it to their appointment, but the service can get underway as soon as possible once they’re there.
- Take control of payments processing
More business typically translates to increased profits, but spas might still be shortchanging themselves when it comes to how those payments are processed. Relying on a third-party credit card processor, which processes payments independently of the spa’s accounting and operations software, tends to come with expensive fees—meaning less money goes back into the business and employees’ paychecks at the end of the day.
Especially after a year of pandemic-imposed financial strains, spas want to make sure they’re keeping as much of their capital as possible, which is why they should consider an integrated payments processor. In addition to smaller fees, integrated payments processing saves employees time spent consolidating transactions between the POS systems, payroll and inventory; since the programs are linked, they’re updated automatically.
This connectedness has the added benefit of eliminating clerical errors that can occur if processing was completed manually. Plus, many card processors offer clients the ability to tip during checkout with either a suggested percentage or pre-calculated value to add to the cost of service. Seeing the tip amounts on the screen encourages people to tip better than if they were to calculate the value on their own, again ensuring that staff receive the payment they deserve for their service.
- Optimize inventory management
One way spa employees can capitalize on clients’ business is through personal product recommendations—but if their spa doesn’t keep up with inventory and the suggested product is out of stock, then they are essentially sending the client to buy it from a competitor. With inventory logs that need to be manually updated every time a purchase is made, employees might not notice a product shortage until it’s too late.
That’s why spas need to adopt a program that updates inventory automatically with every transaction. Advanced programs will also include a dashboard revealing which products are selling fast—and which ones are not—so that spa owners can invest in inventory accordingly. Stocked with client favorites, spas can become individuals’ one-stop shop for all their beauty needs this summer and maximize the value of each transaction.
The coming months are expected to bring booms in business for spas—meaning now is the time for businesses to prepare. By equipping themselves with the right tools and techniques, they can take influxes of clients in stride and deliver a seamless, relaxing experience on both sides.