Mala McAlpin How will you continue to serve clients that can’t come back to visit just yet?
Though you may be (or soon to be) back to business, even if you’re already fully booked for weeks in advance, that doesn’t mean all clients are willing or able to head back through your doors. Virtual services may be something to consider offering on an ongoing basis, even with most or all of your regular physical services back on the menu. What about those clients who are simply too anxious to go outside? Or are erring on the side of caution because they are high risk or have compromised immunity? Or are simply choosing not to risk it? How will you be catering to them in the coming weeks or months?
Continuing to offer virtual workshops is a great way to do so, and while they may have served you well over the past couple of months as a ‘meantime’ offering, there’s no reason they can’t stay on your menu on a more semi-permanent to permanent basis. In doing so you are not only servicing your aforementioned clients in isolation, you are also diversifying your offerings, permanently opening your services up to a wider interstate (or even international!) audience, and adding additional value to those visiting you physically, whose treatments could be complemented at home.
Whether you choose to run group class-style Zoom sessions or pay-to-access videos, here are some ideas to get the gears turning:
Couples massage techniques – this is an online class that some spas and hotels around the world have chosen to offer in lieu of their regular massage services. For clients lucky enough to have a partner or someone else at home willing to oblige them, this can be invaluable; providing them with massage techniques they can use on one another on an ongoing basis. Incidences of back pain and shoulder tension have skyrocketed due to uncomfortable or incomplete working from home setups, so offering these types of solutions may make your business invaluable.
Guided meditation – record some guided meditations or breathwork for your clients to utilise at home. You could do so over a music track of your choice, or provide a list of song/playlist/album recommendations to go alongside it. This can be a wonderful standalone service for clients to use at any time, or beautifully complement in-clinic spa facials or other wellness services.
Guided facials – would you consider offering a ‘virtual facial’ in which your client carries out the product applications and movements under your careful instruction and watchful eye? This could be a component of a home skincare pack, only the instructions are live and (virtually) face-to-face as opposed to written.
Immune Boosting Recipes – with the combination of COVID-19 and the beginning of winter, this is what clients will be on the hunt for. If your spa or clinic has a focus on gut health or holistic wellbeing, or has an in-house nutritionist, put together a demonstration video preparing simple but effective recipes such as soups or smoothies, that clients can prepare at home to boost immunity and overall health. If you can incorporate the use of supplements or ingredients that you retail as well, that’s just a bonus!
