By providing spa consumers with individualised experiences that tap into their very own preferences – whether that’s the type of tea they drink, to their favourite therapist – operators are making the ordinary extraordinary, which can only help to increase their reputation and retention rates. And software suppliers are at the heart of the evolution, helping spa operators to reap the rewards.

Targeted tech
Hyper personalised marketing is the obvious starting point as sophisticated software systems deliver big data analytics that are mined for information at every touchpoint, allowing spas to dig deeper into their consumers’ behaviour than ever before.

With Shiji Group’s Concept Spa Business Intelligence functionality, spas can pull guest data such as anniversary, nationality, spend trends, preferences, favourite services and booking behaviour in order to create tailored promotions. Meanwhile, Book4Time provides insight on guest behaviour across multiple locations, a full 360˚ experience with data insight revealing important elements about a guest, offering numerous ways to personalise their campaigns and experiences once in the spa.

ISalon Software says seasonal offers capitalising on busy periods work well for its spa operators. Meanwhile, Oak Haven Massage in Texas, US is using Mindbody’s branded web tools to break down its communications into the three groups – new clients, reactivation campaigns and those which target the top 100 spenders.

In another lucrative move, Young Medical Spa, which has three medi-spas in Pennsylvania, US, is using DaySmart’s Orchid Medical Spa software in conjunction with automated marketing company DemandForce where data is populated every 10 minutes to generate automated emails and texts and communicate with patients seamlessly. Orchid’s ability to connect with DemandForce has proven valuable says the spa’s PR director Paula Di Marco: “Since using this one-two punch approach, our rebookings have increased by at least 70 per cent.”

Getting to know you
Just as the options for carving up personal data for marketing are endless, so too are the options for how spas interpret preferences once guests arrives. Leonie Wileman, COO of Premier Software says its Core system provides all the data a spa needs – from details such as date of birth and marketing preferences, through to favourite therapist, drinks and magazine choices. Just how personal the spa gets with that information is up to them. However, like most software systems, Core also ensures that spas remain GDPR compliant.

Likewise, The Assistant Company (TAC) emphasises the importance of being able to guarantee the secure handling of guests’ data and maintain the balance between the quest for the ultra-personal and the potential for invasiveness.

For those facilities operating in a medical setting, such as Young Medical Spa, data capture inevitably necessitates acquiring an even greater level of personal info which, alongside the standard robe size and favourite scents, includes sensitive medical information that the Orchid Medical Spa Software tracks confidentially.

Di Marco says: “We know our patients have a particular provider that they prefer and Orchid Medical Spa software helps us to ensure our patients are scheduled with them. We also utilise the pop-up feature to notify us whenever a patient record is open so that we may address personal notes to greet them, perhaps a wedding coming up, or special event they are refreshing their look for, or even a concern they had last visit to guarantee we can give them a little extra service moving forward.”

For Mindbody client Oak Haven Massage, data collection starts even before the guest walks through the door. Spa co-owner Allison Moreno explains: “Most of our clients fill out our new client intake form online before they come in for their first visit.

“Alongside alerts to track clients’ favourite therapists we use client indexes to follow up on their preferences including temperature, scent, music and lighting. Treatment preferences are also kept track of in client indexes, which I love because it’s easy for both the therapists and client to look at and update when necessary.”

And the impact on business from their personalised services? “We get over 800 referrals per month,” says Moreno. “We also have a 95 per cent Net Promoter Score which is the real way that we judge our performance from a customer service standpoint; our 1,500 five-star Google/Yelp reviews don’t hurt either!”

In South Carolina, US Urban Nirvana spas, which has 14 locations, says it’s seen an additional 7.1 per cent in service revenue, recovering 4,221 lost guests since using Zenoti’s personalised Smart Marketing program.

Tessa Golemis, director of retail, explains: “Urban Nirvana prides itself on knowing each and every guest. We do this primarily through Zenoti software by adding important information directly to the guest profile. Zenoti’s Notes and Forms help us customise services from visit to visit, providing consistency across treatments.

“Guests can be very particular with room selection and in some cases it’s as important as a therapist preference. We also note treatment preferences such as areas to focus on or avoid in massage or skin type. With this information, our guest can feel comfortable booking a treatment with any of our providers or pick up where the preferred provider left-off last visit.

“Capturing and sharing personalised information is critical to creating consistent and elevated experiences for our guests. This level of personalisation drives a happy customer and increases retention rates. Even our user feedback surveys are critical to understanding customer likes and dislikes. We’ve seen a great improvement in retention since using Zenoti software to capture and share this information.”

Precisely personal
Today’s spa landscape is highly driven with operators looking for any advantage to differentiate themselves from the competition, separating the merely personal from the hyper personal. As Zenoti’s SVP of marketing, Guy Weismantel, says: “Whether it’s texting your client to confirm the appointment, using geofencing capabilities to know when they’re approaching allowing you to proactively welcome them in, or using your app to allow them to choose their own music playlist and scents in the studio, spas today strive to provide a uniquely personal experience to their clients. Guests want to feel that they’re one of a kind and great technology can help spa operators create that experience before, during, and after their visit.”