4 crucial steps to customer retention in the spa
Of course, usually a spa’s core service are spa treatments, respectively facilities, and good spas put a lot of effort into optimising treatment protocols. This is what guests are paying for after all, right?
However great spas understand, that augmented services enhance the overall quality of their core services, leading to even better customer satisfaction and customer retention.
Besides providing great spa treatments and facilities, this is what a spa can do to improve the guest’s spa experience:
1. Good Preparation is everything
In my article in 2 steps to uncompromising quality in service management I have explained, why meeting and exceeding guest expectation is very important for successful service delivery and customer retention.
The better the spa guest is informed about the spa experience in advance, the better his/her expectations can be set and met. This is particularly important for first time guests, as there is no such thing as a ‘second’ first impression…
Once the spa has received an inquiry or booking, the pre-spa-experience for the guest should not stop here. Enhance the excitement about the upcoming spa visit:
– send your guest your spa manual or brochure
– provide the spa etiquette (what to bring, when to arrive, what amenities to expect etc)
– remind your guest of their appointment, either by a handwritten note to the hotel room, or a mobile phone message or email with welcoming words such as “…we are looking forward to treating you…”
– direct your future guest additionally to information on your website, such as a 360degree-video tour for example, or a floor layout plan of the facilities like the one in the picture below, which is actually interactive!
Try staying in touch with the guest, keep up the communication for a lifetime!
picture source: http://www.alphotel-tyrol.com
2. Take your Time for a Live Tour
Upon guest arrival to the spa, make sure to take your time for a tour of the facilities. Particularly guests that have not been to a spa in general or to your spa in particular before, will be made at great ease by receiving this extra time and service. All to easy we professionals assume that guests know exactly what we offer, what terms stand for etc., however even experienced spa guests cannot know in advance, what protocol and policies in every spa are.
The tour provides the opportunity of not only making your guest comfortable with the surroundings but is also great for connecting.
This is direct marketing at its best!
You have time and option to learn more about your guests’s needs, to ask them about their preferences, to talk about the people in your spa, to introduce products or brands, and of course to sell…
3. Keep checking on your guests
During the treatment and their visit in general, keep checking on your guests.
By the way, this can and should be done by all spa staff!
www.pixabay.com
Not only therapists and beautician care for the guest during the treatment by ensuring that
- the guest is comfortable and warm
- the music style and volume is adequate
- the correct pressure is applied
- etc,
every member of staff should consider herself a host, and the phrase “is there anything I can do for you” should be used generously, by everyone
- spa receptionists
- spa attendants
- pool guards
- F&B service staff
- the spa manager
4. After Sales
In most of the spas that I know, the guest’s spa experience ends with check out and payment.
What a shame and waste!
[ctt tweet=”In most spas I know, the guest’s spa experience ends with check out. What a shame and waste! @talk_wellness >4 steps to customer retention” coverup=”KvQqI”]
There are numerous ways of keeping your spa or brand in the mind of the guest afterwards:
- send a small thank you note by email, mobile phone message or handwritten postcard.
I particularly love the handwritten version, preferably with my name on it! What could be more personal? Handwritten and personal notes work very well for Hotel Spas and their Hotel guests.
- send a small gift such as a product sample or a voucher for their next visit
Sales promotions are a great way of keeping in touch and small gifts maintain the friendship. - invite your guest to stay in touch by social media or newsletter
Messages to mobile devices via social media for example are being used by marketeers to inform customers about short term activities.
This works great for day spas, for example by publishing short notice availability of treatments during peak times, avoiding empty slots due to no-shows and short notice cancellation.Unfortunately until now, the power of newsletters seems to be underestimated by spas. Gathering email addresses is highly important for spa marketeers, so it is useful to come up with creative ways of motivating your guests to leave their email contact.
Newsletter are a great way of directly addressing your customer, thus having direct and personal communication. There is a variety of sophisticated apps and software out there to assist, I use MailChimp for my Newsletter.
Conclusion:
expand the spa experience, customer retention is fun and rewarding!
I hope you have enjoyed reading this article. If you would like to benefit from more free content and knowledge straight into your inbox, it would be my honour to welcoming you to the growing crowd of spa professionals worldwide following TalkWellness; and sign up for my weekly newsletter.
