BY JOSH CORMAN

AT THE ISPA STRONGER TOGETHER SUMMIT earlier this year , Rosa Crawford and Scarlett Dixon , co-founders of U . K . -based agency Partner & Bloom , shared a wealth of insights about how spas can make the most of their marketing efforts , even while facing the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic . Pulse recently caught up with Crawford to discuss recent trends , how your spa ’ s marketing dollars should be spent and more .

DON ’ T DROP DIGITAL MARKETING It may seem far-fetched to imagine that much has changed in the handful of months since the ISPA Stronger Together Summit , but the truth is that the spa industry itself has continued to evolve rapidly during that time . Leaders are doing everything in their power to meet high demand for spa services after many of their spas returned to full-scale operations and occupancy limitations fell away in the spring and summer . Staffing challenges have become greater , spa professionals are taking on increased workloads and , of course , the pandemic itself continues to keep everyone on their toes . All of these factors have an impact on the way that spas choose to — and are able to — market themselves .

Early on in the pandemic , around the time many spas were reopening last summer , digital marketing efforts were top of mind for many in the industry .“ I think some businesses , particularly those who hadn ’ t tapped into digital marketing and maybe didn ’ t have their retail offering online or through Shoppable links , through their social media or otherwise , they were under a lot of pressure to get up and running ,” Crawford says .“ And so one thing we saw [ at that time ] was partners , particularly in hospitality , who were interested in our help and advice on how to do that very quickly .” If this sounds familiar , then you may be a part of one of those businesses .

But as Crawford points out , as more spas returned to full capacity throughout 2021 , those digital marketing efforts slowed down in some

ROSA CRAWFORD is the co-founder of Partner & Bloom , a hybrid sales , marketing and PR consultancy , as well as the head of marketing and sales at Lola ’ s Apothecary .

28 PULSE ⁿ NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021