Management Basics for your Spa or Aesthetics Business – Answers to Commonly Asked Questions

Determining Business Hours: As you know, your spa’s business can ebb and flow from one week to the next.  This is especially noticeable after the busy holiday rush.  This rollercoaster of high business times and low business times can also fluctuate throughout the week and even hour by hour, so determining the best hours of operation for your spa business can be a tricky task. Depending on where your spa is located and what the lifestyles of your surrounding client base are can dictate what your spa hours should be.  Perhaps you are located in a middleclass neighborhood where most people work during the day.  You will probably find that most of your spa business takes place in the evenings or on the weekends.  Or you might be in an upper-class area where your business spikes in the morning and during the week due to more flexible client schedules. You need to keep track of these trends in order to understand who your clients are and what their lifestyles are as related to your spa business.  Once you determine your high times and your low times, you can set your spa hours based on these trends in order to increase your profitability.

When to Raise Treatment and Service Fees: Many business owners dread the idea of raising prices due to fears of driving customers away, but if done correctly you can increase profits without losing clients. Always be aware of your clients’ perceived value of treatments and products.  Most people base this on what they have paid before.  You can adjust perceived values by setting yourself apart by offering things that your competitors don’t, such as certified therapists, extended hours, or all natural products. You also need to monitor what your competitors are charging and any increases they make.  If they raise their prices 20% then you better find out why and make adjustments accordingly.  However, you don’t want to get caught in a pricing war, so don’t just raise prices reactively without doing some research first. When you do raise prices, always package these services together because studies have shown that when items are grouped together people lose track of what the individual prices were. If and when your clients ask about the higher prices, be prepared to give them an informed answer.  Customers will be more willing to pay the higher prices if they are given a valid reason rather than just blaming inflation or poor sales.

Keeping Your Spa Menu of Services Fresh:  The holidays and other special events can often be the bread-and-butter of any day spa.  Gift certificates, gift baskets, and private parties are all great revenue increasing opportunities for any spa.  However, you need to plan ahead of time in order to make the most of these opportunities by creating special menus for these special events in advance. Any good spa manager is always looking ahead one to six months in advance.  Planning special menus for upcoming holidays or special events are great ways to increase sales.  Start thinking about offering couples services for Valentine’s Day, mother/daughter packages for Mother’s Day, stress relief packages for Christmastime, springtime specials for bridal season, or teen packages for all those June graduates. Putting together special spa menus and packages for these holidays and special events in advance will allow you time to order products or hire therapists that you might need for these busier times of the year.  So, make sure you plan ahead and create special occasion spa menus so you can focus on providing those services properly without stress rather than worrying about how you’re going to pull it all off at the last second.

Proper Beauty Etiquette for your Spa Employees: Most people want to look their best when they’re at work, particularly in a spa environment that it promotes beauty, health, and well-being. This is often expressed in the form of jewelry, makeup, hairspray, perfumes, and other accessories. This can be particularly true for spas that have uniforms because employees still want to express themselves. However, this is not always the best choice for spa employees. The number one concern of any spa manager should be their clients and many times these seemingly innocuous expressions of individuality can actually be distractions to your clients. For instance, jewelry has a tendency to jingle or can inadvertently brush up against clients during treatments. This can be distracting or even annoying for clients in certain situation. Makeup too can be a distraction because different people have different taste levels and this can often be interpreted negatively by clients. Since the spa lifestyle is meant to promote natural beauty, employees wearing too much makeup can provide a conflicting message. Hairspray and perfumes can also cause reactions in people with allergies or asthma. In a nutshell, you should avoid any unnecessary distractions or problems by insisting that your employees rely on their natural beauty while at work.