When was the last time you “shopped” your store? When you visit, keep in mind the things that matter to the customer:

• Is it easy to navigate? Can they find what they are looking for?
• Does it feel “bolted on” or does it express your spa brand?
• Are there product reviews?
• Is it integrated with your Facebook Fan Page and other social media?
• Is the shopping cart and checkout process fast, smooth and secure?

If it’s time to revamp your store, keep in mind:

• This is not an overnight process. Even with the new, simpler templatized solutions, it may make sense to hire someone with experience in that platform to set it up and train you in its use. After that, you can update and maintain the store in house, or with minimal assistance.
• You’ll need to customize the store template to ensure that it reflects your spa’s colors, images, branding, etc. Preston Wynne Spa worked with a programmer experienced in the Big Commerce platform to refine the look of its store template.
• You can’t get all the bells and whistles on your wish list with a templatized store solution. Be prepared to compromise here and there; you save a lot of money. As the store’s sales grow, invest more to customize and improve it.
• Product pictures must be consistent in appearance. Do the backgrounds match?  Are they clean? Use a “drop out” white background and you’ll find that many of the product images you need can be provided by the vendor. The rest should be done by a photographer (unless you are one.) Freelance product photographers are inexpensive, consistent and fast.

Need help starting? I’m part of the project team that can remodel your web store, and even update your website (on an platform that you can maintain yourself.) We also assist spas with their social media programs. For more information, contact Wynne Business. Or if you have a question about your web store, drop me a line at erin@prestonwynnebusiness.com.

But there’s one unintended consequence of all this discounting that doesn’t seem to be on the radar yet: inflation.

Money, like water, finds its level.  If dizzydizcounts.com grabs 50% of my 50% off service, and I’ve gone down that coupon road, ultimately I’ll be raising my suggested prices to enable constant discounting. Department stores have done this for years, knowing that a substantial percentage of their fashion inventory will have to be sold at discount.

As well, as small businesses turn to mindless, cattle call extreme discount marketing, their profits will drop. What do you do when you’re staring at a P & L and the bottom line has dropped out? Hey, let’s raise prices and sell more coupons! In the ecosystem that is the free market, endless discounting will just lead to endless price increases.

We’re already seeing “discount fatigue.” Discounts are sexy when they’re deep…and rare. When they’re deep and common as dirt, they lose their cachet for more affluent consumers. Once tickled by the novelty of a shocking discount, even the customers from the Affluent demographic recognize that the spas who pimp themselves this way are not the ones you take home to mother.

Churn is very hard on a quality spa, and discounting can turn your facility into a churn-factory. It’s hard on employee morale to work with demographically unqualified customers, people you can’t retain no matter how happy they are with your service. It’s hard on employee morale to have your compensation discounted for the promise of future business.

If you’re going to go down that road, any deeply discounted offer you concoct should still be at the net price point of a full-price treatment, i.e., if you’re giving 50% off, it should be on two treatments, not one. And for heaven sakes, unless you just opened your doors, you have a database full of inactive clients who’d love to receive your very own 50% off coupon, and share it with a Friend. They are far more likely to be retained than Newbie McNotip.

Seriously–if you’re gonna get naked, do you really need to pay Groupon to take off your clothes for you?

Discounts encourage a mentality that is the exact opposite of what a clientele-based business wants to cultivate. Discounts train customers to want more discounts, not to be loyal to that kind and generous business that offered them a discount last year.

My last conversation with a Groupon rep lasted for about an hour, an entertaining bit of gladiator combat that I initiated. I was impressed by his passion and we had a fun and lively debate. Here’s what I told him the Groupon promise boils down to: “We’re going to fill your spa with a giant Caterpillar tractor scoop full of dirt. In that huge scoop of dirt is some gold, and it’s your job, Ms. Spa Owner, to find it. If you don’t find it, it’s because you’re blind, not because it was, in fact, nearly 100% dirt.”

In other words, the only reason our discount lovin’ Groupies won’t toss away that next 50% off coupon for Trollop Spa, and offer to stay with you and love you forever, is that you didn’t provide them with a quality service.  Groupon,  a company that’s blessedly virtual, unsullied by the bricks-and-mortar, blood sweat and tears work of delighting actual clients in the real world, would have you believe that if their customers don’t return to your spa at full price, it’s because you suck.

Groupon is the fastest growing company in history, and it’s not surprising. Parasites usually grow faster than the hosts on which they feed.

Did you miss our 5/17 webinar? Register for this live encore presentation.

FREE with advance registration. If you can’t attend live, you can still register to receive a copy of the webinar recording via e mail.

A great public relations program is more important than ever, and there are more outlets for public relations than ever before–including online review sites, Facebook and Twitter! But which modalities are working best for spas in the era of social media?  Which are a waste of time? Are you in control of your brand’s reputation, or is it careening out of control? Kim Marshall, a veteran public relations professional who specializes in spa, hospitality and wellness businesses, takes you on a journey through this fast-changing, sometimes hair-raising, and highly competitive landscape.

This fun, fast-paced webinar, designed to help you separate urban myth from reality, will help you to focus on the marketing tools that “move the needle” and to avoid wasteful experiments. Find out what editors really want–including the topics that travel and beauty editors are interested (and not interested) in right now. Kim has the ear of a diverse array of media professionals, and will share with us exactly what they’re telling her! Gain a valuable understanding of the key components of a compelling public relations campaign–and an insider’s perspective on how public relations actually works–from one of the pioneers of the spa industry.

Moderated by Peggy Wynne Borgman

According to a terrific new study of 1350 spa guests from Coyle Hospitality Group, “people problems” are the predominant issue in every spa. Coyle, the leading mystery shopping firm in the hospitality industry, undertook a survey to determine the most common spoilers of spa experiences.

The summary notes that, “62% of the respondents mentioned ‘People’ as a significant contributor to the bad experience…Nearly two out of every three people that have a bad experience at a spa are talking about staff behavior. This is most interesting because most spa owners feel that the quality of their staff is their most significant competitive advantage.”

This is a bad news/good news situation. As the Coyle report points out, behavioral problems, unlike issues with your plumbing, are usually inexpensive to fix. However, unlike a one-time fix, correcting people problems–and keeping them corrected–requires focus, discipline, and follow-through. It sometimes requires a cultural shift. It sometimes requires more supervision. It always requires training.

Hearing what guests actually experience is an eye-opener. The top complaint in the Coyle study? Over 100 of the respondents indicated that the “staff was not listening, responsive about special needs, or accommodating,” and 100 more felt there was “too much conversation.” 64 guests experienced “unfriendly, impersonal, robotic staff.” Others noted that they were “ignored by staff during treatment; not checked on,” and a significant number encountered, amazingly enough, “offensive, demeaning” staff. (We took pains to include some of these issues in our customer service training DVD, including role play examples of the wrong and right way to handle various conversations.)

If like many spas you’ve been focusing on promotions to get new guests in the door, there’s encouraging news–and perhaps a cautionary tale–in one statistic. “Only a total of 35 out of 1,350 respondents spoke about value…the price paid is not at the heart of the problem” for most dissatisfied guests. This rogues’ gallery of poor communication skills, in short, has more to do with a lack of repeat business than economic conditions.

This is counterintuitive during a major recession, when discretionary spending has shriveled. The new generation of social-networking discount promotion sites, like Groupon, may seem tempting to a spa with lots of empty space on its books. But focusing on quantity over quality will quickly erode any perceived value that remains for your customers. Taking the high road–staying focused on delivering a stellar guest experience–is a healthier strategy for a spa that wants to be in business in 2011.

Give us an hour and we’ll kick start your marketing plan with our stimulating online Marketing Round Table. During this Wynne Business web conference, you’re invited to share your best ideas from 2009 and your plans for the New Year. This is a rare chance to find out from other smart, savvy spa operators from all over North America what’s working for them.

This fast, fun, peer-to-peer learning event is moderated by Peggy Wynne Borgman and Lisa Starr of Wynne Business, as well as guest panelist David Victor from Accelerator Enterprise Technologies, our resident web marketing expert.

To register, visit the Wynne Business Webex Training Center and click on the “upcoming” tab.

But times have changed, and the spa industry been remarkably slow to pack away its “champagne wishes and caviar dreams”. (If you’re still larding your marketing communications with words like “luxurious,” “indulgent,” and “exclusive,” please go to the back of the class.)

This year, it’s all about helping your guests overcome pain. Results-oriented services are withstanding the recession’s battering far better than those perceived as merely relaxing. Even stress relief is looked upon as a guilty pleasure. (It’s a recession–everyone‘s stressed out!)

Maybe you’ve only used the word “pain” sparingly til now. Perhaps a discreet mention in the copy for a massage treatment. But many, if not most, of our clients are living with pain, and don’t even realize that their spa therapist can actually do something about it. You need to tell them.

No, we’re not recommending a return to dreary YMCA-style rubdowns with smelly liniment. Pain relief can and should be…fabulous.

Our newest offering, Thaiyurveda, is a Thai-inspired warm herbal poultice massage. The treatment, created by the inimitable healer Camille Western, is exotic, intriguing, and incredibly effective for pain relief. (I maintain that even listening to Camille describe the treatment in her melodic Puerto Rican accent is pretty good therapy.)

We introduced our new Thaiyurveda Warm Herbal Massage during a recent client spa party, with “bite size” samples administered on a table smack in the middle of our spa lobby. Guests swooned with delight…er, pain relief.

The next time a client calls your spa to inquire about treatments, make sure your staff asks, “Are you experiencing any muscle pain or discomfort?” “Sell in” with pain relief, to get them onto the table, but “sell through” with a luxurious experience, to get them to return. Offer motivating series specials (we like a summer ‘mini series’ of just three treatments.)

With a slight attitude adjustment, your spa can join the companies who know that “no pain, no gain,” is one of the great truths of marketing during a downturn.

Leo Renaghan, Emeritus Professor from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, delivered the keynote address, “Creating Customer Value in a Down Economy.” Providing insights into the social and emotional factors that affect economic decision-making, he encouraged the spa marketers in attendance to reframe our marketing messages to increase perceived value.

His thoughts on pricing impacted me the most. He explained that when consumers are given a choice of soft drink sizes that includes Small, Medium and Large, Medium beverages are sold the most. When Extra Large is added to the choices, Large beverages are the best sellers. Why?

Consumers perceive the Large to be the best value, but only when juxtaposed with Extra Large.

So perceived value is very much about context, and pricing has an enormous impact on perceived value. Yet the spa industry’s understanding of the price-value equation is only just evolving. What sort of pricing context do we offer our customers? As little as possible, it seems. This probably springs from a shared misapprehension that we are “above” pricing tactics, such as dropping a service price to $99 from $100. In any other industry, such practices are accepted. But the spa industry has a stubborn affection for increments of $5.

It’s not just about reducing price. Another example Renaghan provided was the improvement in sales that followed a product when its price was adjusted from $105 to $119.

How could one apply this example to services sold in the spa? At our spa, we decided to roll out a new promotion, called “Small Indulgences,” designed to appeal to consumer’s thawing desire to treat themselves well after months of sensible behavior. American consumers don’t seem to do well with privation, and thought the “I deserve it” ethos is now officially unfashionable, it is also utterly indelible.

Small Indulgences was inspired by a very similar promotion being offered by one of the spas in our Spa Leadership Round Table, a group of Bay Area spas that get together every other month to share best practices. Avant Garde, led by the irrepressibly creative marketer Blanca Caballero, has been running their “Spa Tapas” promotion with great success for over a year.

We decided we wanted to focus attention on our menu of 45 minute spa treatments, which are normally priced at $75, as well as a luxury pedicure that is 75 minutes, for $75. So our menu consisted of a facial treatment, a massage, and a pedicure, to keep things simple.

One “indulgence” can be had for just $69 (a mere $6 off its normal price, a discount that most consumers would sniff at were it described as “9% off.”) Two can be purchased for $129, and three can be had for $199. And in every case, the discount is less than 10%.

Voila! Small, medium and large. (extra large will be tested next!) The consumer suddenly has choice. They’re in the driver’s seat. The first purchase, the single Indulgence, is virtually a no-brainer, because that price point is so low. It opens what I call the “shopping door” in a consumer’s head. (I’m sure there is a real scientific term for this phenomenon: you agonize for a half hour about whether to buy the dress…yet once you decide to buy it, you add a pair of shoes and a cute shawl. What just happened???)

So, while they’re convinced that they deserve one little Indulgence…golly, that “Medium” starts looking good. Two spa treatments for $129? You can’t beat that.

We launched the promotion through our favorite medium, the e mail blast, limiting it to weekdays. We had a strong response, stronger than we got for our “Buy a full session treatment and receive an additional 30 minutes of treatment with our compliments,” which of course is a much better value.

This is yet another cautionary tale for folks who think throwing discounts at their customers is the best way to improve sales. We call discounting the “D” bomb, but I think “D” is the grade that marketers deserve if deep discounting is all they can come up with. (Come to the front of the class and write on the chalkboard “I won’t mindlessly discount my great spa services” 100 times!)

“Small Indulgences” doesn’t tear down our brand, or create expectations that more and more free stuff will be shoveled out as time goes on. It actually enables a new guest to try our spa, or an infrequent visitor to return more often; it taps into the midmarket price point without diminishing our brand promise. Wouldn’t you rather have a bona fide spa experience than visit a storefront budget massage place? (Hint, luxury spa operators: there is a way to beat ‘em at their own game, and it doesn’t have to cost you giant chunks of margin.)

Renaghan recommended the book “Predictably Irrational,” as a great introduction into the often baffling art and science of predicting consumer behavior. I can’t wait to read it!

This idea comes from Preston Wynne, but more precisely, from a Preston Wynne employee, one of our newest.

We had a team retreat in February and created “three commitments” for the first half of the year. One of these commitments was, “Do something you’ve NEVER done to market the spa in a new way.”

Where do the best new ideas come from? Your new people.

Our newest esthetician came to me and asked me if she could have permission to send out her own “March Madness Special.” She wanted to send an invitation to any client who had not yet rescheduled with her to come in and enjoy another facial treatment, and, as her gift, she would lavish them additional thirty minutes of upgrades.

She didn’t want or expect to be paid for this time. It was her gift to them.

Employees often forget that spas are making a contribution too, when a service is given away using time that could otherwise be sold. But Jennifer “got” that. She knew this was an equal contribution. Our mutual unsold time could be invested, at no cash expense, to bring her customers back in. She thought that was a pretty good deal. She was more interested in generating activity than in being compensated for every minute of her time. She knew that she was sowing the seeds to grow her clientele. And she was delighted that we were willing to go along with her plan.

Fussy marketing maven that I am, I had to control my impulse to refine Jennifer’s offer. “March Madness” isn’t a phrase you’ll find in my copywriting. Was it too shrill? Was it incongruent with our brand? But I controlled my impulse to control, because I didn’t want to squelch her radiant enthusiasm. This was a fantastic idea, and it was totally aligned with our team Commitment. These are moments that managers dream about.

Jennifer told a few of her co workers about her idea. Two others joined the “March Madness” promotion. Others pooh-poohed the idea of “working for free.” The Madwomen busily prepared their personal offers, and put them in the mail. Jennifer herself mailed out 70 cards. Their energy was contagious. Even the skeptics were curious about what was going on.

We ended up crafting an offer for the estheticians and for the body therapists, so we’d have a SKU in the system for each of the unpaid “Madness” treatments. Other than that, this was grassroots marketing all the way. Into the mail their cards went, and we waited for the response.

It was swift and enthusiastic. Jennifer’s book began to fill. So did Elena’s, the first massage therapist to get on board. Word traveled quickly, and the “Madness” spread.

In fact, this offer has garnered the best response of any we’ve done this year. Why?

1. It’s personal. It came from their service provider, not from the “business.”
2. It’s timely. It touched them at the moment they were ready for another treatment, and leveraged the fresh memory of their great spa experience.
2. It was sent via snail mail. Say what you will, but internet marketing fatigue has set in. A hand addressed card is a real attention grabber these days. If you’re finding that your e mail blasts are generating fewer returns than they used to, mix it up!
3. It’s a great value. Full stop.

This offer is also one of the best business builders we’ve done. Why?

1. It is focused on creating the behavior that we need most from our clients: repeat visits. It cements the relationship.
2. It showcases us at our best, in a longer-format treatment that will deliver more benefits to the client. It’s not our “base sticker price” treatment. It introduces clients to irresistible upgrades they might not otherwise have sampled, and they’ll be back for more.
3. It shows our staff that they have influence over their clients, and builds their confidence. Think the “Madwomen” will be shy about inviting these clients back? Probably not.

Thanks to holiday promotions that we run, clients often buy gift cards for their own use. Sadly, with layoffs on the increase, they’re hoping to put the money from this purchase back in their pocket. My operations director Nandita reported to me today that she’s fielded three calls in the last few days from guests requesting refunds.

Our policy is to provide cash refunds only within the first two weeks after a purchase.

A client making this request is probably abashed, if not mortified. Make sure your team knows to handle them with kid gloves–and the right amount of empathy. Have them explain your policy gently, if in fact you don’t offer refunds.

If you do give cash refunds to gift purchasers, brace yourself!

With cash flow slowing, and operating capital in short supply, gift sales are one of the few ways that spas can raise money. That cash is essential to your health. Hang onto it for dear life!

Of course, you can make a case-by-case call, just as you would for any customer service situation. If you make the business rules, you can break them too. It’s always worth weighing the cost of being a stickler.

As my dear friend Holly Stiel tells us, “Being Right is the Booby Prize!”