With all the stress and tension this year, most people would love to treat themselves to a day of self-care. With approximately 20,000 spa businesses in the United States, you need to have excellent spa marketing ideas to make your spa stand out. And with new COVID-19 restrictions, customers need to feel reassured that you’re looking out for them.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to communicate the benefits of your spa to a huge number of customers — and keep them coming back.
We make it easy to get new clients and repeat business with all the marketing tools you need for your nails, hair, skin, or personal care business.
In this article, we’ll cover ten spa marketing ideas to help you:
- Make booking appointments easy
- Offer discounts, giveaways, and specials through email marketing
- Promote your business with social media marketing
- Offer regular free self-care content on your blog
- Promote testimonials on multiple online platforms
- Make your website mobile-friendly
- Create strategic partnerships with local businesses
- Create a socially responsible brand
- Offer package deals
- Create a special membership service
1. Make booking appointments easy
Your guests come to spas to relax and release stress — so make sure every part of their experience is a breeze, including booking their appointment!
Online appointment scheduling software is a must for your business website. This software helps book customer appointments, sends out reminders, and even lets them know when they should come in for their next appointment. This is a fantastic way to make things convenient for your guests and drive repeat business to your spa.
2. Offer discounts, giveaways, and specials through email marketing
Email marketing offers the best return on investment (ROI) of all digital marketing techniques. Businesses experience an average return of $42 for every $1 spent, making it a must for your spa.
But how do you get people to sign up for your email marketing list and open your emails? Why not offer discounts and giveaways for signing up, and then continue to provide them with information on special events you have planned for your guests? By making them feel special, you’ll encourage more loyalty among your customers toward your business.
Email newsletters are also an excellent place to reassure your guests that your spa is complying with all COVID-19 regulations for their safety. Explain how your spa is allowing sufficient time between bookings for effective cleaning measures. Show them your employees are all wearing face coverings. The more reassurance you provide, the more comfortable your guests will be in your spa.
To make it easier for you to reach your guests, Constant Contact offers an email marketing tool that automates your emails as well as free tips to manage your email campaign.
3. Promote your business with social media marketing
Social media is an excellent place for spa marketing. Not only do many people use social media to find spas and salons, but social media posts help you connect with guests by showing what your spa offers.
You should have a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Pinterest and Instagram are particularly effective places to promote your spa since many future guests visit these sites specifically for health and beauty tips. Be sure to include plenty of photos and videos to show your future guests what your spa experience is like.
One social media marketing tactic that seems tailor-made for promoting spas is to offer a “Selfie Station” in your spa’s waiting room or hallway where guests snap photos of themselves and post those photos onto their social media sites. Have a custom hashtag that guests can include in their tags and offer a discount or product if used in their posts.
Make sure your “Selfie Station” reflects your spa’s brand. This can mean placing your logo behind your guests or offering excellent lighting so your guests show up with beautiful-looking skin in their photos. This will also encourage more guests to post their pictures on social media and essentially do your marketing for you!
4.Offer regular free self-care content on your blog
Attaching a regularly updated blog to your business website is a great marketing tool. Search engines love websites that keep offering new content and in turn will rank your website higher on search engine results pages (SERPS). This makes it easier for new customers to learn about your spa and book an appointment.
More importantly, you can offer regular self-care and beauty tips on your blog that your guests will want to read regularly. As they see how knowledgeable you are about self-care and providing an excellent spa experience, they’ll find more reasons to visit your business and enjoy your services.
By the way, blogs don’t just have to include written content. Offering a professionally made video of recommended spa services and their benefits often speaks more eloquently to future guests than words.
5. Promote testimonials on multiple online platforms
People feel more comfortable going to places when they know others have had a positive experience there. 82% of consumers report reading online reviews for local businesses like yours. Because of this, you need to promote reviews and testimonials of your spa.
And don’t just post a few guest reviews on your website! People turn to many different platforms to learn about local businesses, including:
- Google My Business: This free tool lets you promote your spa on Google Search and Maps. Not only can guests leave reviews, but you’ll also be able to direct them to your spa by including your address and contact information in your profile.
- Yelp: Your spa may already be listed on Yelp, but you can improve your listing by claiming it and uploading photos and videos of your spa. Many people turn to Yelp to learn about hospitality and self-care services, so the more positive reviews you have there, the better.
- Facebook: Facebook should already be part of your social media network, but your guests can also leave reviews of their spa experiences, making it an even more powerful marketing tool.
So, how can you get your guests to leave good reviews? Simply requesting a review at the end of a spa visit is a good start. You can also follow up by requesting a review in a thank you email, as well as the automated appointment reminders you have for regular guests.
6. Make your website mobile-responsive
People love the convenience of finding a spa and booking an appointment with their smartphones. However, if your spa’s business website doesn’t show up clearly on mobile devices, those people might go to a different spa.
To keep this from happening, make your website mobile-responsive so guests can navigate through it easily on their mobile devices. Not only will this increase your bookings, but it’ll also make your website more search-engine-friendly and rank higher in online searches.
7. Create strategic partnerships with local businesses
Word-of-mouth remains a very powerful marketing tool — so why not start a referral service with the local businesses in your area? Find businesses that complement what your spa offers. For instance, yoga studios, gyms, and salons pair well with the health and beauty industry.
Approach these businesses and offer to refer your guests to these studios and salons if they do the same for you. You can even offer discount coupons and gift cards at each other’s services, increasing the chances that a guest will want to visit your spa.
8. Create a socially responsible brand
Making guests feel good at your spa doesn’t end with providing excellent service. Today’s spa clients also want to know they’re going to a spa with socially responsible business practices.
To show your guests they’re visiting a socially conscious spa, share your business practices and philosophy through your blog posts, email newsletters, and in-store marketing materials. Let them know if they’re being treated with organic products that are eco-friendly and animal cruelty-free. Your customers will be happy to do business with you and may also want to buy your beauty products.
9. Offer package deals
Going to a spa can get expensive — but guests feel better about the expense when your spa provides package deals. Offer your guests a chance to create their spa packages from a list of services, and throw in an upgrade for free. This entices guests to try multiple spa treatments and encourages repeat business once they discover how good you make them feel.
10. Create a special membership service
A step above package deals, spa membership programs put your guests in an exclusive club where your guests pay a fee regularly, usually monthly. In exchange, they receive discounted services on their spa treatments. Guests enjoy regular health benefits and the feeling of being part of a special group, while your business enjoys a steady stream of income from these guests and recurring appointments.
You can advertise your spa membership programs through your social media network and your email marketing campaigns, as well as your website. Print materials, such as brochures and flyers, can also be effective marketing tools.
Effective spa marketing
Having great spa marketing ideas helps earn you a devoted clientele, but knowing how to use these ideas effectively comes with its challenges. Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Constant Contact offers a free guide on marketing your spa online that helps you make sense of digital marketing.
