How to work on the business when you’re not working in the business
By Nima Chadha, Vice President, Marketing, Book4Time
Amidst the uncertainty that we’re all living in right now, COVID 19 has taken a huge toll on the hospitality industry. We’re not blind to what is going on around us — spas are closing, hotels and casinos are facing low occupancy rates, and we’re all waiting to wake up from what seems like a really bad dream.
On the flip side, we’ve all been reading inspiring posts that help us remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, we’re here to be another arm of motivation for you to keep working on the business- even when you can’t work in it.
Here are some helpful tips and tricks to keep your mind and business active during this challenging time.
Don’t underestimate the power of going digital
We live in a digital era and have been inundated with tools at our disposal that allow us to work remotely and continue to deliver services to our customers. Let’s not treat the hospitality industry any different. Contrary to popular belief, the hospitality industry is evolving to a more digital space as we reach new audiences. With many individuals working from home – the use of YouTube videos for workouts and meditation and Google searches for “ways to relax” are soaring. For example, Jay Shetty, Internet Personality and Wellness Guru has launched a web series entitled “20 Days of Live Meditation” to help everyone put their minds at ease. Subscribers to the channel and levels of engagement have already reached hundreds of thousands of individuals. If your wellness business is closed at the moment, let’s open our online doors to deliver the same treatments virtually. Are you able to get your staff online and arrange to offer an “out-of-the-box” idea to r your regular customers?
They call it retail therapy for a reason
If you’re a business that actively sells products in one or all of your locations, now is a great time to capitalize on that offering. Many of your customers that would typically come in for regular essential oils massages or facials are now sitting at home without the ability to see your technicians for a full service or purchase any product. The solution? Simply run a report in Book4Time to find which customers purchase specific products on a regular basis. Then, you can export this list and consider sending a promotion for specific products to encourage a wellness routine at home. With shipping and delivery at Amazon speeds in this day and age, your customers won’t miss out on their regularly scheduled self-care appointments and will keep you top of mind when they can return.
You don’t need to be a marketer to use the marketing tools
Book4Time offers a Customer Relationship Management functionality built within the system. This houses customer information like birthdays, last appointment date, preferences and more all in one system. If there’s ever a time to leverage this data – it’s now. For customers with birthdays in March and April, the likely scenario is that they’re “social-distancing” and unable to spend this celebratory time with their loved ones. Why not send them a birthday promotion that can be redeemed a few months after their big day. This will allow them to “self-spoil” and look forward to something when the dust settles. In fact, for those that usually celebrate holidays like Easter and Mother’s Day, we’re getting extremely close to big moments of relaxation that would typically mean a high turnout for your business. Let’s export lists of regular customers during those days and offer a promotion that extends for the year.
Staff training should’t be ignored
Sometimes, being away from the office is when we’re able to spend the most time self reflecting, developing skills and thinking of our futures. That being said, let’s not ignore the staff that’s used to coming into the office when our businesses are open. One of the most used reports in the wellness industry amongst Book4Time customers is the “Technician Report Card”. Let’s use this data and come up with work-plans for our technicians. Whether it’s learning the product catalogue and better understanding what equipment is used for what, or learning how to perform a specific type of service, all of this can be done outside of the office. If you can conduct training virtually – let’s do it! You can reach out to staff and get them to professionally develop their skills and keep their minds stimulated for when they return to the business.
The membership opportunity
We know it’s difficult to get into the mindset of pushing memberships; however, when you think about your regular customers, their mental health and wellness is of utmost importance at this time. If there are regular visitors to your spa or resort, let’s give them a sweet deal for when they return. Once all of this is over and we’re done practicing social distancing, people are going to need to travel, take a load off, and ultimately, RELAX. Let’s make it easier for them throughout this process by offering a discounted membership to your spa. This gives them something to look forward to and in the long run is saving them money and creating a long-lasting relationship with a customer for your business.
We know that things in the media feel like it’s going to get worse before it gets better; but, the important thing to remember is that IT IS GOING TO GET BETTER. As members of the wellness and hospitality community, we have to remember that we will bounce back from this. It’s important that we take measures now to ensure that we’re stronger than ever when we do.
We’re in this together. Don’t forget it. #SpaStrong
Spa Executive magazine is published by Book4Time, the world’s most innovative spa, salon, wellness, and activity management software. Learn more at Book4Time.com.