Every spa owner wrestles with the emotional and monetary loss incurred by defecting customers.  Here are some simple measures that you can take to retain or win them back.

• Identify potential defectors.
• Communicate with customers.
• Listen to your front-line staff.
• Treat valuable customers well.
• Be even-handed and fair.
• Ask why they’re leaving.
• Win the right customers back.

Identify Potential Defectors

Run periodic queries to generate a list of customer activity and separate the list into groups such as 3 month inactive, 6 months inactive, 9 months inactive, and 1 year inactive.

Communicate With Customers

Communication is the best way to stop customer defection. Emotionally connected people will not stray far from your brand. Ensure that you stay connected through regular communications. Use the phone, email, or direct mail to engage your customers.  “TLC” shouldn’t be restricted to the treatment room.

Listen to Front-Line Staff

Your therapists are the first to hear about what bothers customers. Attend staff meetings and pay attention to their input!

Treat Valuable Customers Well

Survey your customers to find out how they feel about your day spa versus the competition. Solicit feedback about products, services, and their loyalty commitment to your business.

Once you've identified customers with high lifetime value and low loyalty commitment, put a plan in motion to keep them from defecting or to win them back if they have already left you.  That can be a phone call, a personal letter, a meeting, or even a comp.

Be Even-handed and Fair

• Treat your customer fairly; never use misleading or false claims
• Meet your customer’s needs
• Make costs transparent
• Resolve complaints quickly to the customer’s satisfaction

Ask Why They’re Leaving.

Most customers won’t tell you they’re leaving; they’ll just never return to your spa. If you’re lucky, a customer may actually confront you before leaving. Consider that an opportunity to find out what the problem is and fix it before the customer leaves.

Win the Right Customers Back

Determining which customers you want back is not always easy because “high value” is not synonymous with “big spending.” Customer relationships can be valuable to you for any number of reasons. For instance, a celebrity or person with a strong place in your community will enhance your spa image. A person who refers a lot of business to you may be more important than a customer who spends a lot of money.  

Below is a four-step plan to keep customer defection at bay.

• Determine which customers you want back.  
• Find out why they left.
• Fix the problem.
• Invite them back.

Each day spa has to design their own win-back campaign based on individual findings and requirements. Just remember, not all customers are created equal. Put your efforts into the right customers at the right time and you’ll reap the rewards of a strong customer relationship.

Need help designing or implementing a customer win-back program? Call Spa Marketing at 860-655-2283 to get started.