Spa+Clinic Team Think outside the box
I read two very engaging articles last week and thought how well they could combine to assist you in maximising a profit per square foot of space in your spa or salon.
No doubt you would all love to make more money per treatment room and for all of the opulence of your spas’ overall decor, the real profit per square foot is earned in the less expensively decorated, less glamorous treatment rooms so let’s have a look at some ideas by Melinda Minton, a spa industry veteran for more than two decades and the founder and executive director of The Spa Association (SPAA) Enjoy!
Melinda explains that the treatment room is where all of the key components of your eventual sales are created, embellished and extended into the spa-goer’s psyche. The efficacy and enjoyment of the treatment is the starting point for offering add-on sales, home-care recommendations and pre-booking of subsequent visits. Because treatment rooms are secluded, private and hands-off to management during a spa treatment, this is also the space that is the most difficult to manage.
Room Ergonomics and Design With the acknowledgement that treatment rooms need not be overly spacious, opulent or costly; there are some parameters that should be implemented in its design. Adhering to the cardinal rule of maintaining contact with each client, creating a treatment space that it cozy, yet not confined, is crucial. Furthermore, creating a space for the therapist that is workable is a key consideration. Therefore, staging the facial implements within reach of the treatment area along with easy-to-use dispensers for back bar products makes the task of creating a flow between steps seamless.
Feedback is very important so don’ be afraid to ask your clients a few simple questions that will assist you in creating the perfect space.
- Does the room have a draft?
- Is there noise from other spaces within the facility that are amplified in the room?
- How is the sound of the stereo system from the treatment table?
- How comfortable is the treatment table?
- Is the floor cold or slippery?
- Are the lights too bright or dim?
- Does the room feel warm, comforting and safe?
You may also want to ask yourself, the therapist, a question or two
- Are there locking storage bins for personal implements?
- Can the room be changed slightly for each team member’s personal working preferences?
- Is the room logically laid out for optimum working conditions?
Individual Coaching Although quotas, team working expectations and professional standards are always useful, utilising individual coaching practices is priceless. Standards of excellence when measured and nurtured individually create glove-fitting personal tools that reduce shortfalls and translate a winning approach to match each team member’s style.
Individual goal-setting is positive, specific and immediately measurable. Key coaching points include up-selling, retail sales or home-care bundling, add-on selling and client retention. For example, a client comes in for a gift certificate standard facial and the therapist assists the client in selecting a more comprehensive and customised facial from her repertoire and the spa’s menu.
The client is also offered a lash tint and brow shaping. Throughout the facial treatment, the therapist educates the client on the step-by-step components of her facial. Afterward, the client is offered an easy-to-use home-care kit to ensure that the professional results achieved during her facial are maintained between visits. The therapist then also secures the client’s next appointment and has integrated another successful client into her existing roster, and the client is glowing and is sure to share the news with her friends.
Improving on the Every Day No matter how unique your spa is, no matter how perfect your location is, no matter how much you spend on advertising, your spa is essentially selling a lot of classic services and products that are offered everywhere. So how do you get around this?
A skin care service must be impeccably described with visual aids that make the spa-goer want the service only from your facility. It isn’t a European facial; it is a customised living cell stem skin renewal with galvanic current with an enzymatic multilayer mask. Deliver on your description, but don’t blow the opportunity to tantalise the client by providing a poor presentation of the service’s benefits.
Crunch the Numbers By focusing on the specifics of the activities centered on your treatment rooms, your spa’s revenues can increase immediately. Measure your progress per treatment room on a daily basis. Find out how much per square feet specific treatments are costing your spa or salon to offer. Expedite and measure your back bar usage per treatment. Analyze your retention rate per client, and assess what percentages of clients are pre-booked before they leave after a treatment. Start working your rooms to enhance your bottom line.
Some fabulous advice to consider from Melinda Minton and now this is where I come in and get you to think outside the box for ways of maximising a profit per square foot of space in your spa or salon. Here’s a hint, the second article I mentioned I read last week was about yoga.
We all know the power and benefits of yoga but did you know that this 5000-year-old style of movement would become more popular in this country than Australian football? According to the Bureau of Statistics, more people take part in weekly yoga classes than they do in our national sport and twenty-five per cent of people who do yoga earn more than $100,000 a year.
I practice yoga every Friday morning but the twist is my yoga class has only 6 little wannabe yogis practicing at any time and we do it in a chiropractors treatment room. That’s right; they fold up the treatment tables and pull back the room dividers to create a small yet inviting space to practice yoga.
So are you game to turn your bigger treatment rooms or spa space into yoga or meditation classes after hours so as to maximise the profit per square foot of space in your spa or salon?
Put the word out to your favourite clients and see how quickly you will have half a dozen people willing to pay a little more per class (I pay $25 per class for 75 mins) for personalised yoga/meditation instruction in a beautiful environment they already know and feel comfortable with.
Your opulent space will be put to good use and who knows one of your clients may be a yoga or meditation teacher who would love the opportunity to take a smaller more intimate class for you. You may just want to start offering a small meditation class in your space after hours and see where and how this extra-curricular activity grows.
The concept fits in so well in creating total wellness for your clients as yoga helps to improve overall strength and posture while calming the mind and nervous system. This is probably why so many people practise yoga long term.
Researchers have finally concurred what yogis have known for centuries: a study published in Medical Hypotheses found that yoga was more beneficial than walking when it came to reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac disease. The researchers found that yoga increased the level of gamma amino-butyric acid (GABA), which helps decrease anxiety.
Give it a shot, you will never know until you try.
Article compiled by Madonna Melrose
Makeup artist and consultant, educator and beauty editor Madonna Melrose has been involved in the beauty and fashion industries for nearly 3 decades. She has experienced all sides of the industry as a cosmetics Importer, Wholesaler, Distributor and Retailer. Currently writing her first book she still travels with Olivia Newton-John when she is in Australia as her personal assistant while also raising her 11year old son and tour managing her partners live music shows.
