Among your spa or massage practice clients, who are your ideal clients? Which ones value your services, share your business values and appreciate your efforts to ensure they have a satisfying experience. Clients who have high regard for what you offer are more likely to stay with you for years and help you grow your business by singing your praises to others. For these reasons, it pays to take the time to consider what makes an ideal client. Once you profile the types of clients you want, the next step is to direct your marketing efforts to attract them.
Ideal client considerations
To create a profile of your ideal clients, ask yourself the following questions:
- What issues are you resolving for your ideal client?
- How do they benefit from your services?
- Do they regularly need what you offer?
- What do they value in a service provider that you provide?
- What type of customer service and atmosphere do they require?
- What price points are they looking for services and retail offerings?
- What will influence their decision to choose you as a service provider?
Develop your messages
Once you have a good idea of your ideal client, you can begin to develop the messages that will appeal to them about your services and their needs. For example, if you want clients who value the expertise you’ve built up over the years in therapeutic massage, you’ll want messages that speak to your knowledge in dealing with pain relief. That type of message is far different from one that speaks to your massage services for the harried business person seeking stress relief. . Or possibly you position your spa as an upscale retreat for pampering versus one that caters to clients who are motivated more by trends in new skin treatments.
Get in front of your ideal clients.
Once you have decided on your messaging, you need to be consistent in conveying it across all the marketing channels you use. Everyone is on social media these days, but the content you provide will vary greatly depending on your target audience. If your clients choose suppliers based on their knowledge of the field, you want to showcase your expertise. Maintain a blog and post about various techniques and treatments you provide and include research findings. Put links to your blog in social media posts. If upscale is the message, then post lots of images of your spa and talk about your establishment's ambiance.
A direct mail piece for clients who have health issues may describe the results you have achieved treating specific client problems. Compare that direct mail to one that offers a special on a massage and skin treatment to attract clients who want full-service offerings.
Your ideal clients may participate in local business groups, so try to attend meetings and other networking events where you can meet them in person. Some clients respond because of your success in business as well as your outstanding services. Go to LinkedIn and find groups on marketing or business development and offer your insights to see if you can strike up relationships with potential clients.
Also, don’t forget to ask current clients for referrals. The likelihood is that their friends and associates share their values.
Think about who you really want to work with and then go after them. The ideal will become real with just a bit of effort.