Are you inadvertently driving potential customers away? Don’t laugh, it’s not as far-fetched as you may think and it’s exactly what happens on many spa websites.

Think about it. You build your website around some nebulous notions of what you like and don’t like – basically your personal design preferences. The web design team puts up your spa service menu with lots of pretty pictures…and then you’re in business. After a quick review and a heavy sigh of relief, you leave the website project behind and never look back.

Before becoming complacent, you may want to review your site from a visitor’s perspective. Let’s trace the steps of a visitor’s journey while searching for area day spas on the internet.

Once the consumer finds your site, he or she will navigate through your pages searching for specific information and most importantly, looking for a reason to do business with you. Before making a decision, the consumer will visit a few more websites, compare information, and only then make a choice. 

After moving from your website to the next, what does the consumer find? Not surprisingly, he or she finds another website which looks remarkably like the last. The colors and images may change, yet to the average user, they all look alike. Each spa web site offers a smorgasbord of services with repetitive language and imagery. As a consumer, how can you make a choice when every website looks the same?

Distinguish Your Day Spa from Others

It’s worth repeating, "Your website visitors are looking for a reason to do business with you!"

• Give them what they’re looking for.
• Make the information easy to find.
• Make it jump out at them and speak to them!

Don’t leave anything to chance. Offer website visitors LOTS of reasons to choose your day spa over the competition. Point out your differences, and the choice will become easy. Give your site visitors what they’re looking for: well-written, persuasive web copy – chock full of concrete benefits.

Differentiate Your Spa

Not sure how to differentiate your business or where to start? Begin here:

Use existing customer input.

Most day spas utilize customer comment forms or surveys to solicit feedback. If you don’t already have one, put an interactive form on your website. Use that information to create a list of customer wants and needs and then cater to them.

Expand your service offerings.

Be the first in your area to add a new exciting spa service to your menu. Become affiliated with a health practitioner (nutritionist, chiropractor, plastic surgeon, or dermatologist) to lend professional credibility to your day spa and set it apart from other businesses.

Contract your service offerings - Focus on a narrow niche.

Set yourself apart by focusing on a specific market. Dare to be different and don’t become a jack-of-all-trades. Rethink your business strategy. Maybe you don’t really need to do teen facials to survive in the spa industry. Perhaps you’d do better catering to baby-boomers and empty nesters, people with lots of discretionary income. Let’s face it, anti-aging treatments are here to stay.

Get publicity and get ranked.

In this day and age, it’s easier than ever to get ranked on the internet. There are countless forums, social networks, and other sites such as Yahoo and CitySearch where users contribute feedback about services such as yours.

Has your spa been featured in a professional journal or magazine? Have you won an award or prestigious title such "best spa" in your area?  Utilize credible rankings and awards to your advantage.

Create a killer customer-loyalty program.

Make your customer loyalty program prominent on your website. A great loyalty program can draw customers in the door and keep them there.

Online Stores

I don’t know about you, but when I shop online, I check out at least three stores before making a purchase. Want to make sure that people buy from you? Here are a few suggestions:

Offer free shipping.

Everybody loves free shipping. Admit it, you do too. Offer free shipping on all orders or at least on orders over a certain value. Display your shipping policy prominently on every page. Next to low prices, people love free shipping. Watch your sales soar!

Increase your inventory.

It’s happened to everyone. You shop around, find the best deal, get ready to place your order and then find that the item is not in stock. Don’t lose customers. Keep your inventory amply stocked.

Adjust your prices.

Be a price leader. Selling online is easy and there’s no commission involved. Incentivize people to purchase from you by offering competitive prices and guarantees.

If you sell premium, hard-to-find products you’ll have more leverage to adjust prices upward.

Try any of these ideas to help distinguish your day spa from competitors. Do yourself and your customers a favor. Break out of the pack. Give site visitors a reason to do business with you. Make it easy for consumers to chose your day spa and make it easy for them to do repeat business with you.

Need help with your marketing? Give Spa Marketing a call at 860-655-2283.