Time to consider a New Perspective on Retail sales in your spa?
What a difference a year makes.
As late as February 2020, I was still writing blogposts to a somewhat skeptical audience about the importance of selling spa retail. Managers were still worried about pushback from their teams! Many found the process of seeking training budget approval from senior management nerve-wracking. Combined with navigating the complex forms of the financial department it was too time-consuming. Sales suffered.
Connecting the dots between retail revenue, staff training, customer retention, and financial health was simply not being done.
Spas that did decide to take the training leap were for the most part considered outliers. Even as they achieved positive results, they still weren’t proof positive enough for a massive industry shift.
And then Covid-19 happened.
Today, we can all bear witness to these simple facts:
- More spas with a strong homecare/retail culture managed to survive than those that didn’t.
- Spas whose therapists were more comfortable selling retail transitioned more easily to online consultations than those that didn’t.
- Spas with robust online retail sales before the pandemic generated more revenue during shut-down.
The conditions that caused low sales before Covid-19 have not gone away and they won’t do so on their own.
This year, for a different outcome you need to seek out a different solution.
ACCORDING TO MARCH’S ISPA’S PULSE MAGAZINE ARTICLE “THE TRAINING EXPERIMENT”, THE DAYS OF SITTING IN AN EIGHT HOUR CLASS ARE OVER. YOU MAY STILL BE CUMULATIVELY IN CLASS FOR EIGHT HOURS, BUT EVERYTHING WILL BE ONLINE.
This means a shift in convenience and affordability. What may have been financially out of reach in the past is now not only doable but critical. However, the new flood of training material means that classes should be carefully assessed for the following:
- Quality
- Track record of training, prior to Covid-19
- The information being provided has real value
- The company you select can provide any ongoing support that the spa may need.
When you get these things right, you are well on your way to accomplishing your retail goals.
The New Perspective on Retail is authored by Spa Retail Guru and APSWC Member Linda Harding-Bond
More articles by ths author:
https://www.apswc.org/2020/10/how-to-perform-a-layoff-without-losing-your-mind/
https://www.apswc.org/2020/09/if-you-want-spa-customers-back-put-yourself-in-their-slippers/
_____________
THe APSWC has an open invitation to all members to submit relevant original content. We are also open to posting previously published materials with full acknowledgment of the author and source.
