ASK THE EXPERT
HEATHER LEMERE BY MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON
Do you know your profit potential? Heather Lemere, one of this year’ s Professional Development Sessions( PDS) speakers, helped attendees unlock growth areas that are often overlooked by spas and small business owners. Founder, CEO and marketing director of Salon Success Strategies, a marketing agency for the beauty industry, Lemere understands the key factors that could lead to growth because she herself was once an owner of a successful salon and day spa.
Fresh off the ISPA Conference, the marketing expert shares tips and expert ideas on how to tap your spa’ s hidden potential.
Pulse: In the spa or salon setting, what are some of the areas often overlooked that may result to missed revenue opportunities? Heather Lemere: The two most overlooked areas of growth are frequency of visit and average ticket increases. Most businesses will review what appointments they have on the book for today, this week and this month, but will fail to look at the bigger picture, which is how many times per year is( or isn’ t) this client visiting the business. This is such a critical number that could actually double the business revenue without spending money to bring on even one new client.
For example, if a client is visiting once every four months, spending US $ 100 per visit, then that client’ s annual value is US $ 300. If that same client increases his or her visit to once every three months, then the same client’ s annual value increases to US $ 400. This missed opportunity can be overcome through systems within the business, but can also be strengthened through targeted marketing campaigns designed to increase areas of growth.
P: What do you see as a major retail problem that needs to be addressed in the spa industry? L: When a staff member does not recommend to a client everything he or she needs because they don’ t want to“ sell,” this is a big problem in our industry and one that does a huge disservice to the client. Fear of selling means completely missing the reason why clients come for a service in the first place.
I have seen staff turn away a sale because of this fear. The client will be asking questions about what to use, how to use it and what to buy and the service provider will actually redirect the subject matter to a topic that is less intimidating, which leaves the client to figure out what to do on his or her own. This is often the
reason why the client will leave and buy a product somewhere else within the next 24 hours of a service. Not only is this missed revenue for the business, but it also greatly devalues the service.
P: Can you share some tips on how to maximize add-on services as a way to increase value and profitability? L: Add-on services are the epitome of increasing average ticket price but often, this strategy fails because of the delivery of the offer. Simply asking“ would you like fries with that?” is going to gain a big“ no” from your client. Add-on services need to be presented in a way that the client understands the benefit and reward for experiencing the additional service.
If you are trying to shift the needle, bundle your add-on treatment with a popular service and then combine this new package with product or enhancement to create an exclusive package. If priced correctly, it will give the illusion of value to the client while exposing them to the additional service. To strengthen this strategy within your marketing, incorporate a credit voucher applicable toward the same add-on service that can be redeemed on the next visit. This is important because you need to create a habit out of booking with the additional service. Not all clients will rebook with the add-on service; however, a percentage of them will, which is what we want to see happen in this type of strategy.
P: Once a loyal guest is lost, what are the best steps to take in order to win them back? L: Chase your lost clients, relentlessly. Business owners today think that a single reactivation email is enough to win a client back, but in reality, the lack of proper marketing is likely the very reason that a client left in the first place. Reactivation is not a“ set and forget” strategy with a one-trigger email. Email open rates are
60 PULSE ■ November 2016