Spring is the season that celebrates life, growth, and new beginnings. It is the perfect time of year for professionals to check in on their yearly goals, spa strategies, and client acquisition and retention efforts to ensure their spa is anything but garden-variety. PETAL TO THE METAL It has been several months since New Year’s resolutions were set. Whether they were personal career goals or business goals for the spa, now is the time to see if progress is flourishing. Are the right seeds being sewn? Determine concrete goals for the year and assess if current efforts are on the right track to get there. In many cases, making adjustments to strategies already in place may be all that is needed to ensure continuing progress. Sometimes, however, it may be necessary to weed out the efforts that are not working and take new approaches. If old goals and efforts have not been fruitful, do not throw in the shovel just yet. Do some research on industry trends to gain ideas for setting new goals. For instance, maybe social media marketing can use improvement. Or, perhaps, the tools being used in the spa are no spring chicken and it is time to upgrade booking software, equipment, or product lines. SPRINGIFY THE SPA Capitalize on this beautiful time of year. Incorporate spring lingo into menu names, service descriptions, images, marketing, and décor. Emphasize ideas like: refreshing, growth, new life, new beginnings, blooming, flowers, sunlight, spring showers, and more. Many spas offer spring-oriented menu items. The Borgata in New Jersey offered a “Spring Wrap” one year with the description: “Spring has sprung and just in time. Get wrapped up in lemon lime.”1 Dollywood in Tennessee advertised an April special called the “Hunny Bunny Couples Massage.”2 Use additional lighting, plants, and floral scents to create a bright and colorful spring ambience. Highlight floral and natural ingredients in treatments and products. Whatever the angle, get creative and be bold. The effort will surely pay off! Another popular term associated with this vibrant season – one that is often met with dread – is spring cleaning. Rather than focusing on all the organizing and dusting that needs to be done, approach spring cleaning with a vision of all the benefits the spa will harvest later. Go through retail and determine which items are not selling; then, blast out a message in a spring newsletter to clients and on social media advertising spring cleaning discounts. Not only will leftover retail products be sold and no longer clutter up displays, clients will also be forced to come into the spa, creating a great opportunity to reconnect and rebook. Once all that shelf space has opened up, take a look at what is trending in the industry, branch out, and offer new and exciting products. Consider promoting new inventory with a “Spring Fling” event where clients can bring their friends and sample new products, providing opportunities to connect with clients and gain referrals. GROWING A FLOWERBED OF CLIENTS Finally, find new ways to reach out to potential clients. A spring promotion offering new client specials is a great way to get people in the door. Also, whether it is through a weekly or monthly email, social media, or an old-fashioned phone call, remember that connecting regularly with current clients is also important. Whatever the tactic, embrace spring. Reassess and refresh goals, incorporate spring into the spa, do a little spring cleaning, consider client efforts, and watch the benefits begin to blossom. References 1 “April Spa Specials at Borgata.” Borgata Blog. November 2016. http://blog.theborgata.com/2015/04/06/april-spa-specials-at-borgata/ 2 “April Spa Specials.” Dollywood. https://www.dollywood.com/Resort/DMR-Spa/Spa- Specials/april-spa-specials.Want to read more? Subscribe to one of our monthly plans to continue reading this article.