We’re about to enter the holiday time of year and no doubt some people already are thinking about gift-giving. Now’s a good time to plan your year-end spa or massage practice retail sales strategy and make any changes to products, merchandising, and promotion to ensure you meet revenue goals. After all, retail sales can significantly contribute to your bottom line – as much as 20 to 40 percent of total revenue with a high-profit margin.
While you want to be sure to have a good product selection that will appeal to a range of clients, although not so many brands that you overwhelm them, education and prescription selling are key components to a successful retail plan.
Education involves serving as an advocate for your client’s wellness, providing advice on proper self-care, and tools for use at home. Here’s where retail sales come in. By promoting products for use between sessions, you serve clients’ needs for at-home treatments, and you have an opportunity to boost revenue. Even adding just one retail product to each massage, for example, can add significant revenue.
Regarding prescription sales, keep in mind that spa and massage practice clients want personalized care, which goes for the retail products you sell them. Using a prescription selling approach, recommend products for at-home use that address clients’ needs and preferences.
Cover All the Retail Bases
Merchandising
Don’t restrict retail display areas to a corner of your reception area or off to the entrance. Have several displays throughout your spa or massage practice, including treatment rooms and hallways, and ensure product displays stand out with proper lighting. Also, use bright colors as focal points in your displays and group items together with a similar color but different shapes to create a visual theme.
Signage
Keep your message simple and to the point to avoid confusion. Use colors to make signs stand out and attract clients. If you want to include images be selective, so your signage doesn’t overpower. Chose readable fonts – script, for example, is difficult to read. Use large letters, bold typefaces, and more color to highlight something. When it comes to placement, the rule of thumb is an inch of letter height for every 10 feet of viewing distance.
Promotion
Don’t wait for clients to come into your spa or massage practice to find out about your retail selection. Consider email or direct marketing and text message updates about special promotions and discounts. Also, promote your products through your social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and more – as well as through online ads.
eCommerce
For online shopping, make sure your website is optimized for mobile or consider a special app to make purchasing convenient. Clients will be looking for the fewest steps or taps necessary to search for products and place an order. Ideally, your site or app will incorporate purchasing history to be straightforward for a client to reorder.
Make retail front and center in your spa or massage practice. Clients will appreciate the convenience of purchasing quality products you recommend, and you’ll benefit from the incremental business.