Spa+Clinic Team Many of today’s spa clients want head-to-toe services in a New York minute. They also want a one-stop shop for all of their beauty needs; they do not want to hop around from hair salon to spa to nail salon. Explains Lydia Sarfati.
If ‘I-need-it-now’ clients make up a large portion of your clientele, consider expanding your current business into a departmentalised beauty mecca. With this model, clients receive all the services they are seeking and spa owners see the financial benefits of offering a full-service solution.
Only one element is missing: the bridge between hair and skin. Spas have the opportunity to bring the hair and skin categories together so that clients can get the most out of their visits. Logistically, it can be unpleasant to shuffle clients from department to department; instead, consider allowing them to stay in one place. Bring the services to them, creating a time-efficient and truly relaxing atmosphere.
With this time-efficient concept, busy clients can have hair and skin services simultaneously. While a hair mask is working, allow your clients to experience a rejuvenating facial and hand treatment. By providing a hair, skin and hand treatment together in just 30 minutes, clients don’t have to choose. They will love the results, and you will love the way it grows your business.
How To Installing a beauty bar is an important component of bridging hair and skin for time-efficient treatments, allowing clients to experience professional skin care services while sitting upright in a chair, without having to disrobe. Even though a beauty bar is commonly located in the spa’s main lounge or reception area, make the effort to treat clients with as much care and indulgence as possible so they can sample the spa experience.
Building a Beauty Bar All you need are chairs with headrests and a bar like area for your express facial treatments. It should ideally include all the supplies needed for express facial and hair treatments – single-dose, pre-measured packages of products used, helping the express treatment to move along seamlessly from treatment to treatment, within the allotted time.
Promote Retail Products and Full-length Services Your team should also promote products during the services. Once a client’s skin analysis is done, immediately grab the suggested retail products, bring them to your station and talk about the products while you are administering the treatment. A benefit of the beauty bar concept is that it is done with the clients sitting-up so they can see the products you are using.
In addition, because express treatments tend to be less expensive than full-length services, clients are more apt to purchase a retail product. Once the results are experienced from the express treatment and with the at-home care products, it will open the door for a conversation about full-length services with clients who may not have otherwise been reached.
Plan of Attack When adding a new treatment to your service menu; discuss your plan of action on how it is going to make you, your skin care facility and your employees more money. By bridging hair and skin care services, your hair and skin care team members can work together to provide as many services as possible to each client in a minimum amount of time.
For facilities that don’t already offer hair services, consider adding it through an express treatment to accommodate your clients’ needs.
In some cases, hair specialists don’t want to do skin services and vice versa. If that is the case in your facility, have a therapist who is dedicated to working the salon floor and the beauty bar area. This way, if a client comes in and wants to have a facial treatment while she is receiving a thermal hair mask or having her color touched up, this therapist can escort her to the facial bar while it processes. You also can offer your hair and skin team members’ incentives for booking a treatment outside of their department by paying them a percentage of the service each time they book.
Show and Tell Your target audience for this quick, professional skin and hair treatment includes career women or time-strapped parents who are looking for results-oriented treatments and products that are natural and effective. So make sure they know you created this treatment for them! Offer the combined skin and hair treatment at a discounted price during the week for a lunch break beauty fix or team up with nearby recreation clubs to provide fliers for 10 per cent off the treatment.
If you want to make a new service worthwhile, devise a grand entrance. Avoid simply printing a new service menu and hoping that your clients ask about it. Events are a great way to introduce new treatments and products. For this treatment, consider actually building a pop-up store within your spa. In the front windows by the entrance, showcase clients who are receiving the treatment so that everyone who enters or passes by your business sees the service in action. This can inspire a lot of intrigue and buzz. The pop-up store could be kept open for an entire month while featuring the treatment at a special introductory price. Show-and-tell and you will sell. What better way to highlight a new treatment than with a live window display?
If you have TVs, instead of airing the latest reality show, play a video of clients receiving the service to pique interest. Of course, appropriate signage is key. Then create mini service menus just for express treatments that are visible around the facility.
Maximise Time and Value Many of today’s clients don’t want to go from the nail salon, to the spa, to the salon. If you aren’t offering your clients full service – they are going to go somewhere else to get it. The best way to bring in new clients and optimise those you already have is to make sure that they are aware of all the services you have to offer. Once they know they can get everything they need in a one-stop shop, you will have fans for life.
Lydia Sarfati has more than 30 years of experience as an aesthetician, spa owner, manufacturer and consultant.
