Mala McAlpin Have you ever stopped to consider just how friendly your spa or clinic experience is towards millennials? Even if the younger generations don’t make up the majority portion of your client base, adding and tweaking components of your business to attract and retain more millennial clients can only improve your bottom line, and certainly won’t harm your remaining age brackets. In fact, Gen Ys are currently aged 24-38, with the oldest portion of Gen Z already hitting 23 years old – so they may make up a larger share of your clientele than you first thought!
As trends, technology and consumer habits shift with time, falling behind can mean losing favour with modern, savvy prospective clients, and sometimes even existing ones. So what are some simple ways we adapt to appeal to the younger generations?
Have a social media strategy
We’re sure you’ve heard this countless times before, but we cannot stress enough the importance of a social media presence and how greatly this can influence your client base. Post content daily, engage by liking and commenting other posts, tag your clients, request that they tag you, or create your own hashtag. These days, word of mouth is now more like word of social, and the more of a social media presence you grow, the more momentum you build and the more exposure you will receive. If you’re not tech savvy or just unsure where to begin, why not consult with a social media or creative agency to get you started?
Add check in location
As part of your social media strategy, ensure you have a business location set up for clients to tag/check into on Instagram and Facebook when visiting your spa or clinic. If you don’t already have one set up, go to Facebook and click Check In. Type the name of your business and when it doesn’t appear, click Add. Complete all the information and hit Done.
Create a selfie station
A guaranteed way to increase your in-salon social media engagement is by creating a selfie station. Most millennials can’t resist a knock-out photo opportunity, and they are relatively simple to set up. Simply create a stunning backdrop that reflects your unique brand personality – this could be a vertical garden, coloured balloons, fabulous wallpaper or a pop of colour, a flower wall, feature tiles – the choices are endless. Ensure your wall is lit with the perfect lighting, or set up a selfie station light such as a Luvo Ring. Finish with your social media tag on display where it’s nice and visible, and watch those selfies roll in!
Optimise your mobile site
According to new research, Gen Z spends (on average) a whopping 10 hours per day on mobile. Not to mention that 88% of Australians own a smartphone, 35% of us use our phones within 5 minutes of waking up and 70% of us are guilty of using them during social meals and interactions. For younger generations in particular, phones are where all required news and information is received. This means it is an absolute must that your website needs to be optimised for mobile. Simplify the aesthetics to suit a smaller screen, and shrink any large images or videos that may increase loading time.
