David Wrobel's experience has been in the direct-sales industry building a company with a partner from two people to more than 500 and $15 million in annual sales in five years. He brings a unique perspective to the day spa and health club industry through his marketing and business coaching. David has authored two books: Life Balloon and 45 Little Known Marketing Strategies That Will Have Your Health Club/Day Spa Leap Frogging Over the Competition.
Mikstake #1. Improper use of promotional products.
It’s exciting to open your day spa and even more exciting to start marketing and getting your day spa's name and brand out there. So you order pens, mugs, T-shirts, etc. While it's great to have your spa's name in print, you don't want to waste thousands of precious dollars on useless products that do nothing to help your business grow.
Don’t fall into the trap of calling a distributor of promotional products and just buying on price. Take the time to consider how your potential customer will view the gift you give them, and try to pick practical products that they can use.The Fix-Day spa owners should have a strategy to get the most for your dollars spent. First, figure out exactly how, what, when and where you will use promotional products. Secondly, pick a product that the customer will be able to use on a daily basis or at least something that will sit on their desk all day.
Mistake #2. Having a logo that is not 100 percent usable and appropriate.
The Fix–First and foremost, use due diligence. Find a talented graphic artist who has experience in designing logos and who has a background in embroidery, screen-printing, and promotional products and the image you want your logo to reflect.
Mistake #3. Poor or no customer service.
You get the clients to your day spa only to lose them from poor customer service. This is a mistake. It costs five to six times more to acquire a new customer as it does to keep an old one
The Fix–The same amount of time that goes into developing your marketing and sales strategy should be allocated towards developing a customer service program for your day spa. Develop one that has long-term customers in mind.
Mistake #4. No unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is really just an easy and fancy way to answer this question: Why should I or anyone else choose your day spa over the one down the street? It’s almost impossible to compete if you don't have an USP.
The Fix-Here are a few questions to ask yourself when figuring out your USP:
Mistake #5. No prospect follow-up system.
You’ve spent thousands of dollars to get people to notice your day spa only to let potential clients slip through the cracks.
The Fix-The easiest way is to set up an e-mail system whereby you take the prospects' information (only if they give their permission) and enter it into a system that will generate e-mails on a monthly basis.
Mistake #6. Executivitis.
Thinking you’ve made it, you slack off.The Fix–Because executivitis creeps up quickly and silently, it is hard to recognize until someone else points it out to you and even then, denial sets in and excuses are made for your behavior. Some things for you to focus on as your day spa becomes more successful are the following:
Mistake #7. Poor Web site or no Web presence.
Every day spa needs a Web site. I know of one day spa that sold more than $20,000 in gift cards from their Web site.The Fix–The first thing you want to do is educate yourself on how the Internet works and what is effective. Then search out a company that can help you achieve your goals.
Mistake #8. Poor people management.
Problems can creep in if you don't take the time to make sure your employees are fired up and ready to go.
The Fix–The first thing you must realize, whether you are a manager or an owner of a day spa, is that people need to be managed. That’s why the position is called management. People love to be part of something bigger then themselves, and when you provide that environment, people can’t help but to be motivated.