Since the initial rush toward opening day spas began in the 1980s, the appeal of this business idea has not lost steam, even if the number of new players has. Skin care professionals, former spa directors, and even ordinary enthusiasts have all invested time and hard cash into beautiful facilities, both large and small, with the hope of becoming a runaway success. Read More

by Mara Shorr, B.S., CAC II-XII and Jay A. Shorr, B.A., MBM-C, CAC I-XII   Every year it seems as if the holiday season has arrived out of nowhere. One minute, the start of summer vacation is being celebrated and then, suddenly, jack-o-lanterns are being replaced with evergreens or dreidels. This holiday season, try some spa management tips to make it through the holiday season unscathed. While it is certainly not an all-inclusive checklist, the following are the mistakes that are most often made by spa owners. Read More

Every new business owner aspires for consistent progress on their road to success. The smart spa owner will recognize when the timing is right to seize the opportunity to increase market share and formulate a strategic plan to capture it. Strategic planning using sound business tools will help professionals to achieve their goals. Read More

by Mara L. Shorr and Angelica Pierini   The world is a diverse place that allows for the enjoyment of cross-cultural interaction. As a result, skin care professionals must be careful when trying to fit their spa’s culture into a sea of sameness because their demographic makeup greatly affects a number of factors including the methods with which the spa is marketed to clients and how they are communicated with once they are in the spa. Read More

The key to upselling and cross-selling is suggesting value-added products and services that truly focus on clients' needs. Most clients do not want to be sold to, but do want to be serviced and are looking for solutions. The reality is that add-on sales do not just happen; they are carefully planned and executed and can result in significant revenue and profit for the spa. Read More

On a daily basis, skin care professionals are asked about their service offerings. These clients are usually directed to the spa's website or handed a spa menu on a rack card. The client then books an appointment and becomes excited about the service they are receiving. At this point, the client is prepared to spend money, especially since they are spending money on themselves, which is a different form of everyday spending. This type of spending has more value; it has self-worth. Read More

In today's highly competitive spa industry, success is reliant upon effective marketing with a focus on the client experience. Improving market conditions continue to increase the number of skin care professionals and spas at an average annual rate of 5.5 percent. It is predicted that by 2019, there will be 1.3 million professionals.1 Regardless of whether the skin care professional works alone or owns a large spa, their time is valuable and they need to ensure that they are working smarter, not harder, when executing their marketing plans. As a worker in the service business, skin care professionals must focus on new client acquisitions and maximizing client loyalty to stay ahead of the competition. Read More

The new faces of beauty require fresh messaging and unique marketing methods. Millennials, Baby Boomers, and those who are multiethnic are some of the new faces skin care professionals are likely seeing in their spas. Knowing how to deliver a message that is customized to the unique skin care needs of today's consumers and keeps them coming back is a vital skill that professionals should thoroughly understand. Read More

by Mara Shorr, B.S., CAC II-XII and Jay A. Shorr, B.A., MBM-C, CAC I-XII   When skin care professionals create their spa's image, they are often convinced that it could not possibly be more perfect. They agonize over every detail they can think of, usually convinced that they have perfected every inch of their brand. Often times, professionals end up realizing that as time passes, their branding is no longer the perfection they once thought it was; they find that they cannot continue to run their business like they have in the past. Read More

Successful spa events are the result of months of preparation. It is not uncommon for an average spa to spend 20 percent of their total marketing budget on events. During these events, clients can enjoy live interactions with other individuals, making them the perfect addition to a spa's engagement marketing strategy. Person-to-person interactions can pull in a prospect for conversion to the sale and upsell existing clients for additional products and/or treatments. Read More