Exceeding client expectations for better client retention
29 April 2011 – Section: News , Food for Thought
Knowing that attracting new clients costs five times more and takes ten times longer than catering for existing ones, should client satisfaction be the starting point or the end result of your marketing strategy?
Last June, at the BISA Conference in Budapest, Insight with Passion told us that recurring clients spend an average of 33% more, and Raison d’Etre reminded us that new clients visit spas in response to marketing actions, while regular clients come back because of the good experiences they’ve had in a spa.
Would you be able to say how many years your clients have trusted you to de-stress their body and revive their spirits? Do you know how much they spend on average with each visit? And do you know how far your current clients would go to recommend your spa to their friends, colleagues and family? Consider these three things and you quickly become aware that your client database is a gold mine that you should be taking care of every week… or else you risk losing them to competing spas!
Qualitelis was founded in 2006 to deliver online satisfaction questionnaires and is now used on a daily basis by over 200 facilities in 9 countries. For the third year in a row, Qualitelis has acted as a data provider on spa trends for the French Spa Trophies.
Here is a bird’s-eye view of the key findings in 2010 for French spas:
- Relaxation is the number one reason to visit a spa (91%), followed by ridding the body of toxins (56%).
- Discounts (81%) and spa gifts (65%) are the main means of attracting new clients to a spa.
- Since price is the primariy “perceived problem”, spa owners and managers should concentrate on what improves “perceived quality for money”.
- Massage is the most popular category of treatments (92%), followed by pedicure (63%) and facials (62%).
Some spas consider their database their most precious asset, but most of the time they send general offers to all their clients at the same time, with little or no follow up…
Other spas are more successful in targeting segments of their clients based on their usage and preferences, offering specific and well-timed offers based on a quality experience at great value for money (i.e. not just a discount). Over time successful spas build a strong relationship with their clients. La Compagnie des Indes in Belgium, for example, has more than 1300 fans on their Facebook page exchanging tips on lifestyles and promoting special events. Stoke Park Spa in the UK has over 800 subscribers to their Twitter feed with information on events and celebrities.
What about you, your spa and your clients? Do you know the three main reasons why clients come and why they leave? When was the last time you brainstormed with your team about what makes a good spa experience and how to deliver it consistently? Maybe it’s time to have a new brainstorming session with a benchmark on what makes a great spa experience and how to deliver it with great pleasure?
If you would like to fine-tune your client retention strategy, or get the brand new results of the 2011 Spa Study, get in touch with Alexandre Bouvier (Sales Director) at Qualitelis: or call +33(0)9.81.87.64.43.