Silver & Gold
Holiday Promotions Wrap Up Extra Profits

by Wendy Craft

The holiday season is responsible for nearly 23 percent of retail sales for the year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). During 2002, holiday retail sales surged 2.2 percent, topping $205.6 billion. Last year, the NRF predicted a 5.7-percent jump in holiday retail sales to hit $217.4 billion, and for 2004 the NRF projects a 4.5-percent growth over 2003 holiday spending, increasing to $219.9 billion. Savvy spa owners and managers can capture some of the season’s silver and gold by offering fun holiday promotions.

Holiday Run

With the holidays in full swing, a spa’s staff needs to be primed and ready for the gift grab. Besides planning early, it’s a good idea to get all of the holiday specials and gift baskets ready for purchase—and keep them coming.

“Do heavy merchandising at the point of purchase,” says Yve Cole-Poy, Dermalogica® sales training and account development manager. “Eighty percent of buying power happens at the point of sale.”

The holidays are an opportune time to showcase new products and services. Knowing which products to put together is one cost-effective way to create and market gift bags or baskets. To determine which products or services have been building the bottom line, a spa manager may do a quick inventory of what has been selling well during the months leading up to the holidays.

“Combine best sellers with new products,” says Caradoc Ehrenhalt, director of marketing for Orly International, Inc.

Brightly-colored cellophane and a few simple tied bows placed around products can hook shoppers’ attention. “If it’s catchy and intriguing, packaging will be successful,” Ehrenhalt says.

Prepackaged gifts and holiday baskets can be fairly simple and inexpensive to create. Such packaging allows the sales team the opportunity to pair complementary products and services so clients get the most out of their treatment or service, says Brenna Collins, spa director of Haven in Soho, N.Y.

Holiday decorations and baskets can be picked up at craft and retail stores leading up to and throughout the season. Choosing price points for spa items and packages also can be a good sales technique.

“Clustering gifts in easy-to-purchase, distinctively-priced groups is best,” says Melinda Minton, president of Minton Business Solutions and executive director of The Spa Association. “A spa may have three different price points: $19.95, $49.95 and something close to $100.”

Selling Gift Certificates

Gift certificates can be the ideal sale to spa clients who are pressed for time; the sale is money in the bank regardless of whether services are redeemed.

“Sixty percent of gift certificates are never redeemed,” Cole-Poy says. “In some salons, gift-certificate sales through the holiday season—from October through the end of December—can represent 10 percent to 15 percent of their total annual sales, which is a huge margin for some salons.” Gift certificates also can be a staff motivator during the post-holiday season because clients start coming in to redeem them, which keeps staff busy, she adds.

A spa manager also may take the opportunity to build the giftcertificate sale. He or she can offer shoppers a quick rundown of the spa menu and mention items that may complement spa services.

“A gift certificate is a golden chance to expand the client base and build relationships with new people,” Collins says. “Over time this will directly impact profits and ensure a successful future if new clients are retained.”

Simply asking the spa client for whom the gift certificate is intended also can bolster the sale; armed with the answers, a spa manager can suggestive-sell services, which also may result in increased business.

“Maximize each gift-certificate sale by customizing it to the individual and not rushing the client out the door,” she says.

Marketing

A holiday advertising plan can be effective if a spa owner or manager keeps the spa’s demographic in perspective. Holiday-specific marketing can be as effective as holiday decorations.

Tom Holliday, president of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, recommends choosing the medium or media mix most appropriate to reach the appropriate market, whether it is newspaper, radio, TV or direct mail.

“Get the best creative work you can afford for holiday marketing and advertising,” he says. However, he cautions against spreading marketing budgets too thin. When it comes to marketing, viewers and readers do not consider a company’s size or budget, so the marketing approach needs to be effective, he says. “Look as good as the big guys do.”

On a smaller marketing scale, Collins suggests e-mail blasts, Web-site pages, in-house signage or handouts to notify clients of holiday offers.

A different approach a spa owner or manager may take is to get out there among the shoppers and spread the word.

“When I owned spas, we had a kiosk in the local mall and had a woman dressed in a robe and a terry turban selling gift baskets and gift certificates,” Minton says. “It was small on risk—big on profit.”

Once a spa manager has decided which marketing plan to implement, decking the halls with decorations can add a festive mood to the facility. One approach is to place bows or simple greenery around windows or inside treatment rooms. Wrapping up empty boxes with holiday-themed paper and placing them around the retail or greeting area also may provide the right trigger for a spa client to purchase additional products or services.

Another means to get shoppers into the spa is by throwing a holiday party or holding an open house for spa clients. Raffle or door prizes filled with complimentary spa treatments or products can communicate appreciation for clients’ continued business and gain loyalty.

Holiday Hot Spots

The holiday season is a fitting time to rouse excitement about featured products or services, and spa managers can do so by designing special retail areas.

Cole-Poy says it is important to create a hot spot—something that really draws the attention of the consumer coming in to the spa. The focus area can be brightly colored, either with packaging or holiday-themed decorations, she explains.

Choosing the area for the hot spot can be more than simply setting up a table. “If you think about any store you walk into, generally, you walk to the right, because most people are right-handed,” Cole-Poy explains. “If you want to create an impact or hot spot, look at the right-hand side of your store or salon and create the hot spot there.”

“Most salon or spa owners have to think about consumers rather than customers and clients,” she says. “They have to think of them as consumers—people who are going to buy.”

Cole-Poy suggests keeping prepackaged products from manufacturers in “clean” arrangements. For instance, a spa manager may wish to stack boxes in pyramids or tree shapes to attract attention to the area.

“Be aware of what your salon or spa normally looks like, keep that image clean, but just create that spot that people would actually head toward,” she adds.

Packages And Cross-Promotions

Potential clients may be attracted to holiday spa packages. Offering regular clientele a special spa package for the months leading up to the holidays may grow existing spa clientele and increase traffic during the holiday spending season. Spa managers can promote half-price treatments during the month of December, for example, or reward a client who makes regular spa visits throughout the year.

Year-end promotions or sales also can be an opportunity to sell current inventory to prepare for new product arrival, Ehrenhalt says.

Bringing the spa to potential clientele is another approach. Instead of discounting older merchandise to clear the shelves, Collins suggests creating raffle baskets to give away or donate to charities. “Raffle baskets are always a hit,” she says. “Go into corporate offices in your area and set up a raffle to expose their employees to your spa. It’s a win-win.”

Minton suggests creating a mini-corporate catalog and delivering wrapped gifts to offices. “Offering seated massage to celebrate the holidays is also a big winner in corporate settings,” she says, adding that corporations often thank large clients with holiday parties or with thoughtful small gifts or gift certificates, so spa owners should consider providing spa services or products.

New clientele can be discovered by holding holiday cross-promotions with neighboring businesses. Collins suggests partnering with hotels and restaurants, which often put together getaway packages.

“The spa could help share some of the marketing costs in exchange for some of the profits from the sale of ‘dine, sleep and spa’ packages,” she explains. “The people who eat at a particular restaurant may have never heard of the spa.”

Cole-Poy suggests a referral program with like-minded businesses. “If you send five people down to me, then I will give you, the manager of XYZ shop, a treatment to experience yourself.” A spa manager also can have the manager of a neighboring business come in and get the treatment first. “They’re going to sell it through the fact that they’ve actually experienced it,” she adds.

A discounted or incentive-based package offered for the post-holiday season also could add sales to this year’s bottom line. Consider arranging a spa treatment that features a free add-on product of the client’s choice or a two-for-one or couples’ treatment during February, for example.

“Packages for the entire year also are very popular,” Minton says. “Like a service for every month that fits the season.”

Educating And Motivating Staff

An educated staff is a profitable one. Making sure the staff is primed and ready for the holiday push is just as critical as having a marketing plan in place. Holiday dollars can grow with the help of a motivated staff.

“Everybody within the salon or spa has to know promotions inside and out, whether it’s a holiday promotion or a regular promotion,” Cole-Poy says. If spa staff have experienced the treatments, they can better promote them. Front-desk staff have to be aware of the services, so when they sell gift certificates they can educate the client with first-hand knowledge of treatments, she adds.

“The most overlooked revenue opportunity during the holidays is one-on-one sales attention,” Collins says. “Investing in a good sales team to focus entirely on gift certificates and retail purchases during the holidays is a smart move.”

To minimize holiday congestion within the spa, Collins suggests consult stations around the spa or boutique. Allowing clients to have the option to buy gift certificates online also can streamline the rush, she explains.

Teaching staff to suggest features and benefits of the holiday deal can end up meaning big dividends at the end of the season, says Jan Dismukes, American International Industries’ public relations director. “Teaching employees to up-sell is a wonderful way to increase business,” she says. Adding a micordermabrasion treatment to hands and feet prior to a manicure/pedicure is an easy sale, especially around the holidays, she says. “Being asked to spend a minimal amount of extra money seems logical for the added bonus.”

The holidays can be tiresome and sometimes staff members can be short on enthusiasm. Despite their own stress during the season, staff work hard to relieve stress from clients, whether by giving treatments or selling spa services. Let the staff know they are appreciated for all of their hard work.

To keep the staff motivated, Holliday suggests holding meetings to build bonding around the season. “Create contests and teams to reach preset goals,” he says. “Monitor progress as the season moves forward.”

Wrapping It Up

A spa owner or manager can coordinate the holiday season with efficiency through several methods: prepackaged gifts with predetermined price points, baskets, gift-certificate sales and an effective marketing plan that fits a spa’s demographic. Featured products placed in retail hot spots, spa packages and cross-promotions with like-minded businesses are several ideas a spa owner can use to boost year-end profits.

Spa clients and shoppers will appreciate and remember an educated and motivated staff after the season has drawn to a close, and be what can help drive business in the upcoming new year.

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