njoy the holidays. Hopefully your spa or massage practice has been very booked hese past few weeks and will continue to be so as the New Year gets underway. The gift cards and gift certificates you sold will help bring new clients through your door, many of whom are bound to become regular customers. But you can’t count on the holiday bump to sustain you throughout the year. If moving your business to a new level in 2016 is your goal, here are some things to think about to help you boost sales.
Focus on current clients
Don’t overlook existing clients when it comes to sales. According to the Harvard Business Review in “The Value of Keeping the Right Customers,” acquiring a new customer can be anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. Plus loyal clients can be a great source of referrals.
Check in with your clients periodically to make sure they continue to feel confident about your service offering. Treat them to some value added offerings from time to time. An occasional free gift or discount on a service or retail product helps to build loyalty. Also show your concern for clients’ well-being by asking questions. Offer useful information on health, diet and exercise and skin care. When you show your concern for a client’s welfare, you give them a reason to keep coming back.
You’ll also want to make sure that you and your team are rebooking and pre-booking clients consistently to ensure that you don’t have gaps in your appointment calendar. Before a client leaves your spa or massage practice book them for their next appointment or even several over the next few months.
Upsell services
You may have clients who come to your spa or massage practice for months or years and always get the same service. Consider which ones would be candidates for additional services. Suggest a Pedi Scrub and Massage treatment with a massage, for example. Think about client needs and offer suggestions to enhance the experience.
Cross-sell retail products
A good part of your revenue probably comes from retail sales. With cross selling you can expand on that. Cross-selling involves adding products from different categories. Timing is always important. You don’t want to force a sale on a client; you want the opportunity to happen naturally. For example, a client may want to extend the benefits of a skin-renewing exfoliation with a body polish for at-home use. At that time, you might suggest a hydrating body lotion to use after the exfoliation.
Plan ahead and think about how you can pair complementary products for cross-selling. You also can bundle products or products and service and offer clients a price break to make the offer more attractive. Don’t forget to leverage your website to showcase products to be used together or products tied to your services.
Co-market with the right partner
When done properly and with the right partner, your spa or massage business stands to gain a lot more leads than you might by going it alone. Just be sure whoever you partner with has the same goals; resources, financial or manpower; and same business ethic as you. Work against a plan with agreed upon deliverable and measurements.
These tips are just some of the ways to increase sales that should be an ongoing part of doing business.