Listening to the Needs of Spa Customers is Important When Considering Business Expansion

Customers generally like the same types of services and if you see a trend from customer responses, the chances are very likely that another competitor in your area is offering that service or most customers would prefer them. Run customer surveys on a quarterly basis (keep them short) and always leave questionnaires and service evaluations with every bill for service.

The final phase in staying ahead with your services and with your competition is to “test, test, test.” Run specials to see what customers prefer and what draws new customers. Offer new services on a test basis and do not be afraid to fail. Plan your tests, but remember that failure is part of any process that leads to success.

A key to testing is to minimize your exposure through “controlled testing requirements.” That is a racing term, but it also applies to testing in any other industry. If you control what you offer, how it is offered, what risks you take and the environment of the test, you will keep costs under control and not expose yourself to the point of financial harm. Remember that all testing costs money, so your goal should be to create a valid test, control costs, but no so much that you skew the viability of the test.

Testing is the key to any successful expansion.

Try different advertising methods and track responses.
Offer different types of specials and find out which ones your clients prefer.
Test different products and services and use your existing and new customer reactions to evolve what you offer on a regular basis.

By paying attention to market conditions, monitoring your competitors, listening to your customers, doing your research on new products and services and testing, you can keep your spa “cutting edge.” Not doing so or not doing all of this will not necessarily mean you will fail, but this is an almost fail-safe way to avoid fads, capitalize on trends and adapt your company to any changes.

It also is a way to ensure that when you do decide to grow, you are not catching up with your competitors so much as keeping them at arm’s length and it can help you avoid the common pitfall of lagging behind and losing money in the process.