Jessica Turner As an aesthetics professional, you understand that special days can be a real boon for business – punctuating the calendar and marking out the most profitable times of the year.
Mother’s Day, in particular, is a prime opportunity to win over gift-seeking walk-ins, ramp-up retail sales, and potentially convert the surplus of bookings that follows, into loyal clients.
Less than a week away, it is interesting to note that Australian children of all ages collectively spent $2 billion on this occasion in 2o16. And, according to the Australian Retailers Association, day spas (along with florists, fashion stores and newsagents) profited most.
But lucrative special occasions shouldn’t be taken for granted, even in the spa and wellness industry. As a matter of fact, statistics indicate that this year, there are more people shopping online than ever.
That’s why, as an owner or operator in this industry, getting your messaging ‘just right’ is imperative.
“Forget anti-ageing or traditional “beautification”, Mother’s Day campaigns should never be about “fixing someone up”,” says Sydney lifestyle and branding coach, Scarlett Vespa.
“Your message should focus on making women feel good on an emotional level – the best gifts should pamper, nurture and empower the receiver.”
Whether you’re already rolling out a Mother’s Day campaign, or are currently getting it together, here are some ideas to make the most of clever messaging at every touchpoint.
Pamper and Nurture
When it comes to advising walk-ins on Mother’s Day gifts, Scarlett Vespa says all gifts should be “nurturing” in tone, and “pampering” in essence, so a body-care pack or gift card make great choices.
“You need to make sure they’re gifting something she would never buy for herself and that the response is emotional,” she explains.
“If someone is unsure of what to buy for their mum, make sure you position yourself as the expert – (take the stance that you know that everyone is unique and ask a couple of questions) – but always give the impression that you know exactly what she’ll want.
“This is why gift vouchers, which offer a choice between a manicure, pedicure and a relaxing massage can be great as you’ll be looking to give the buyer a sense of confidence that their mum will be happy no matter what.
“Mum’s may feel guilty about pampering and re-gift a voucher, which is why it’s a good idea to make them non-transferrable – you could even put a tongue-in-cheek message on the card, telling them they deserve it.”
Keep It Personal
Scarlett Vespa says a “story-telling” approach often evokes the most emotional respnse on social media. She elaborates:
“Make it personal and start a conversation – you can use Instagram and Facebook to share the best beauty advice your mum ever gave you or perhaps an post about the first time she showed you how to use skincare.
“It’s important that you invite feedback from your fans by asking them to do the same and share their anecdotes too.”
Be Altruistic
Taking a walk down memory lane, the history of Mother’s Day in Australia has charitable origins.
We started celebrating the occasion to honour the work of Sydney resident, Janet Heyden, who, in 1924, began the tradition of raising money at schools to gift to acknowledge and support disadvantaged mum’s without family support.
“Studies confirm that cause-related marketing that tugs on consumers’ hearts has a much her engagement rate to standard marketing initiatives,” says Tina Viney, CEO of APAN (Aesthetics Practitioners Advisory Network).
Indeed, this occasion could be a great opportunity to show your clients your altruistic spirit by giving back to the community.
The APAN/Think Pink Skin And Wellness Program marries well with the occasion as it’s a women focused initiative that helps fund living centres and compassionate care for breast cancer suffers and their families.
“Spas, salons and clinics can offer their services to the living centres,” explains Tina.
“Participating businesses can tell their clients about this worthwhile cause – you can let them know that a percentage of their gift purchase goes toward the initiative.
“The business can then determine what donation they wish to give Think Pink, which is also a tax deductible donation.
“If a client wishes to give a donation to the charity directly, they can submit the donation to the participating business to present the donation on their behalf.”
Promote Inner-Health
Rather than promoting unrealistic beauty standards, brands such as Luk Beautifood are well aligned to the ethos of this special occasion with their focus on natural, healthy aesthetics and inner-health.
And gifting something to this effect, can really show how much someone cares, which is spot-on ‘Mother’s day’ sentiment.
“Our makeup philosophy is all about inner-beauty – the healthiest glow comes from within, and we make products to highlight, not to hide,” says Cindy Luk, creator of Luken Beautifood.
“This way of thinking inspired me to create innovative makeup swapping in high quality skin foods without adding synthetics and hazardous chemicals for outer-beauty and inner-wellness.
“My own mum nurtured my simple approach to beauty – growing up in the country with limited resources, she used what she had at hand and I’ve continued to keep it simple and clean by seeking inspiration from my kitchen and garden.”
Make It Memorable
Makeup artists across the board have told SPA+CLINIC that as women age, they can loose confidence with their makeup application techniques.
This is why we loved this offer to spas and salons partnering with Smitten Cosmetics, as it fosters empowerment and learning.
The brand offers a Mother’s Day promotion in the form of an interactive makeover. A similar idea could be adapted to any aesthetics practice stocking a makeup range, with access to a professional makeup artist.
We suggest scheduling these sessions into quieter times or the “off-season” where possible.
*If businesses are interested in further details of the APAN/Think Pink Skin and Wellness Program, contact the Aesthetics Practitioners Advisory Network (APAN) Phone 07 55930360 or email info@apanetwork.com.
*Lifestyle and branding consultant, Scarlett Zola Vespa, has worked in film, TV and advertising for over 30 years as a producer, director and brand expert. She was Head of Broadcast for Commonwealth Bank then established her own advertising production and creative agency working across iconic brands such as Westfield, Westpac, Amex, David Jones, Sanitarium, Toyota, Bonds, AMP, News Corp and many more.
