Seven Affordable Marketing Tips For Day Spa Owners That Will Drive Your Business To Success

So you have opened the doors of your Spa and now you sit in your beautiful Spa eagerly waiting for clients to come flying through the doors and make you a lot of money. For some spas in highly visible, high-traffic locations, like hotels, this happens. However, more often than not, the process takes a bit longer and requires marketing. Even if your Spa starts off with a bang, it’s always wise to have a marketing plan in place and keep up with your marketing initiatives. You never know when the next economic crash might hit unexpectedly or the competition might move in next door! Here are seven inexpensive marketing tips to help you make your business a success.

1. Own a website

A must have website in this day and age and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Don’t be shy to search for quotes from websites. Ask to see past jobs and find a web designer who is a good designer and has knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO). There’s no use having a pretty image online that no one can find, so be sure to quiz your potential designer on their SEO knowledge and design your site with content in mind rather than beauty. Of course, your site must look good visually, but it must also be optimized for the web in terms of content and keywords. For example, when someone types “Spa” or “Dayspa” into Google, they want their website to appear on the home page.

I would also recommend writing your website content yourself initially. This will help you clarify what you want in terms of your navigation and other elements on your site. For example, a booking request form that is sent to you by email and a “newsletter subscription” box.

2. Market your website through online marketing tools

The next step is to market your website online. This is really important since most people go online as their first port of call when looking for new information. I’d rather be found on the web than not! Here are some cheap things you can do to market your business online (you may need a web design expert to help you):

– Submit your website to search engine directories to start being ranked organically by Google. If your website has been search engine optimized with the right content and keywords, you should start ranking pretty high on Google within six months.

– Register with online directories and booking services – they do their own marketing on your behalf and refer clients to you. Many of these are commission-based businesses, so it won’t cost you anything.

– Social networks: start a Twitter and Facebook profile and update it regularly. (go online and research how to do this)

-Google AdWords. If you have a marketing budget, set aside some money for Google AdWords. Once again, go online and research this cost per click marketing option.

3. Create your own database as quickly as possible

Many spas I have consulted in the past do not keep records of their own clients. This is a marketing crime. The fastest and best way to start growing your income is to market to your own customers first. These people already frequent your establishment, so it should be easy to sell them to keep them coming back. (As long as they had a positive experience the first time).

So, build your database. Capture their email and cell phone details and then send them regular updates, for example on your Specials. Which brings us to the next point…

4. Create a calendar of offers/promotions to market in your database.

There are twelve months in a year, make sure you have twelve specials lined up, especially for “Special Events” like Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Mother’s Day, etc. Don’t forget these important dates when people are looking to do something very special with someone they love. And don’t just do what everyone else is doing, be creative! Think of your own specials that set you apart from the rest. It is not necessary to always think about “Discounts”. You can also think about “Added Value”. For example, buy a full day spa package and receive a free French manicure set.

5. Email and SMS from your database

Now that you have your database and special offers lined up, how do you get the information out to your customers? Through email and sms marketing tools. Email and/or SMS your own database every week or at least every month with your weekly or monthly specials. Don’t spam them every day as this will become irritating, but once a week is acceptable and once a month is required.

There are quite a few email and sms tools out there that offer great rates and also have awesome newsletter templates to choose from. I use Graphicmail which is very easy to use and has great support and offers a 3 month trial so give it a try. Alternatively, do some research on the internet and choose the one that best suits your needs.

6. Gift vouchers

Gift vouchers are another great way to promote your spa, so be sure to offer them. Print Spa Gift Vouchers and keep them in a conspicuous place, for example, at the reception where people pay. This will remind them to buy gifts for their friends or family where they might not have thought of it otherwise.

Selling gift vouchers is a great way to “market” your business to new customers while also generating income. You should also consider selling gift vouchers online from your website. Your web designer will be able to help you with this.

7. Public Relations (PR)

Paying for magazine or newspaper ads is extremely expensive and requires a large amount of repetition to be effective, so a great way to get into magazines for free is through Public Relations (PR). Invite beauty editors from the top 10 women-focused magazines to visit your property for a spa treatment and write a review. This review will effectively endorse your spa, which is worth more than just a blanket announcement!

Make sure your treatment is done by your best therapist and make sure your overall experience is five star. Do this regularly with Beauty Editors. Do this whenever you want to get magazine coverage for free. Works. Please note that magazines have a 2-3 month lead time, so your article will only appear 3 months later.

I hope you found this article useful. Good luck with your business venture!