Nothing says as much about your spa or massage practice as your treatment menu. Your treatment menu defines your business and sets it apart from competitors. It also conveys your knowledge and expertise in effective care for skin and the value of massage for healing and/or relaxation. Your treatment menu also should reflect the needs of your marketplace. If your business is located in an area with a high density of seniors, for example, your menu, in addition to the basics, should cater to their needs for treatments that deal with aging skin and therapeutic massage.
Do your homework
As Melani Edwards suggests in “Revamping Spa Menus, Immediate Success in Five Steps,” the first step to ensure that your spa menu gets results is to analyze the clients you have and the type of new clients you would like to attract to understand their requirements and expectations. You can do this through online surveys and email or social media questionnaires and asking clients directly.
Simultaneously, you want to understand the competition regarding their pricing, strengths and weaknesses, and where they excel. You can find this information by doing research online by checking competitors’ websites and following their social sites. You might even want to schedule an appointment at a competitive spa or massage practice or have one of your staff or associates do so so that you can the first-hand experience what others are offering. The information you gather can help you determine where you excel and opportunities to provide services that the competition doesn’t.
As part of conducting research, look at current marketplace trends to determine ones you might want to add to your menu. But before you add any new treatments, make sure that clients and prospects are good targets and how much they would be willing to pay. Profitability should always be a factor in whatever new services you offer. To that end, in addition to pricing, make sure that the number of treatments you offer makes sense for the size of your operation and the ability of your staff to perform them with equal proficiency.
Remember retail
As you are creating your menu, don’t forget about retail offerings, suggests Bella Schneider, P.M.E. in “The Must-Have Menu Necessary Skin Care Treatments for any Spa Menu.” You’ll want to make sure that each treatment has a relevant retail product that you can offer clients for use at home in-between visits. As you update your menu, you should review your retail inventory and decide if it’s time to add new products or if there are products that you should no longer stock.
Don’t forget to design
Even after the research, revisions, and retail connections, don’t overlook your menu's layout and design to showcase your treatments and reinforce the brand message of your spa or massage practice. Your spa menu should be consistent in colors and look and feel as your other marketing collateral. If you use a modern typeface in your other materials, don’t switch to something ornate in your menu. Also, keep in mind that clients are looking for an experience. Try to convey that in your menu descriptions, although they still should be short not to overwhelm clients with too much description.
Clients and their needs change. Make sure that your menu offerings match the treatment goals of your clients.