Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kristin Ballantine on February 22, 2011 at 8:55am

Thanks for the feedback. I have been suspect of these group buying coupons for some time, but I figure that I will get the clients' email addresses and put them on my monthly newsletter list, that way they will get my other promotions via email, and hopefully be back to see me. Unfortunately, in Atlanta, there are so many spa deals out there that it's making it really cutthroat to get customers. At first I tried not to participate, but it seems like everyone is doing it now, and I'm taking the stance- if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! I hope that over time, the market will flush and some of the spas will stop offering so many deals so that we can start to make a little more money.

I do own my own spa, and I don't have any employees. I guess if I did have employees, I would pay a flat fee per client to my staff (of coarse you'd need to factor in if you pay hourly and benefits also.) I think it's easier for me to do this because I don't have that kind of overhead to deal with, just myself to worry about. Good luck!

I'll try to post later this year on how this goes, whether or not I get any repeat business from it.

Permalink Reply by Denise Ivers on February 26, 2011 at 9:44pm

I'm doing Trubates in the bay area. They  claim to be the 3rd most popular with Groupon in 1st place....  Just placed my ads on Friday and so far have 1 customer purchase.  They allow you to run up to 3 ads concurrently and you can run them for as long as you wish. 

I too am concerned with the issue of client retention and have decided to give my Trubate clients an additional discount if they schedule their next appointment that day.  I won't provide such a deep discount but it will be enough to hopefully keep them coming back and allow me to stay in business.  I think it's possible to have a good retention rate if you provide excellent service with great results.  Many of my clients have been elsewhere and paid less but now come to me because they get results..

Permalink Reply by Nicola Ericson on April 28, 2011 at 8:04pm

Hi Denise,

I am looking into trubates.  How quickly do you get your payment for the coupons purchased???  I know that they only take 18% which I love (instead of the 50% for Groupon)

 

I have just done Spa Week and had a great re book rate and I am hopeful that Trubates is just as good.

I agree, it is all about the service they clients receive.  Great job!

Permalink Reply by Denise Ivers on April 29, 2011 at 1:43pm

Hi Nicola,

I get paid the first few days of the month for the prior month.  They offer automatic deposit which I opted to do or they can send you a check by mail.  I'm very happy with the clients I've been seeing through Trubates.  As you know they allow you to post up to 3 ads. Many clients have become regulars after buying each special.  I created a flyer with all my specials so if they come in for my facial special, they can see the other two specials that I offer..I found this to be better than just telling them.

Good luck, let me know how this works out for you!

Denise

Permalink Reply by Denise Ivers on April 29, 2011 at 1:47pm

Nicola,

One more thing....

On my client intake form I added the question:

"May I send you my skin care newsletter and promotions by email"? If they answer yes, I obviously add them to my database and have a good indication that they may return if they haven't already rebooked.

I also send a "thank you" note by mail and have had many call to rebook after receiving it.

Permalink Reply by Nicola Ericson on April 29, 2011 at 7:07pm

Thanks Denise, 

Some great ideas, and feed back making me feel that I have made a good decision to go with trubates.  Love your idea of the flyer for all 3 promotions.  Hope you don't mind if I copy that.

 

I have always found that a hand written 'Thank you' goes a long way with new clients.  Almost better than offering them a discount.

 

Permalink Reply by Lori Taylor on March 8, 2011 at 8:19pm

I did Groupon and will never do it or anything like it again. The people who purchase these types of deals are just out to get what they can for as little as they can. I sold 52, I'm solo, and it's nearing the expiration date (April) and not one person has been a repeat customer. I added them to my database of which I send out monthly newsletters and promos and some of them have 'unsubscribed'. It's the economy, and people are watching what they spend. It will get better! I won't participate in these types of things anymore, it's not worth it. The discount is way too deep. Instead, I've committed myself to networking as much as I possibly can in my down time. The power of networking is and can be very powerful, like anything else it take time and patience. Good Luck Kristin I hope it work better for you then it did for me. Keep us posted!

Permalink Reply by Lori Taylor on March 22, 2011 at 2:18pm

Hi Kristin,

I just wanted to touch base again. I read a post on another esthetician's website where she talked about the negatives she was hearing about the Groupon deals. She pointed out some very interesting things, like where can you find a job now adays that will pay you $20-$28 an hour? And it's all about the energy that you exude when dealing with these groupon clients. Essentially, it really made me count my blessings and look at how I was perceiving clients and basically pre-judging them before they even walked in the door. So I took her words to heed and changed my attitude and low and behold, I've either been rebooking the clients or selling them products. What a difference! So I just wanted to share this with you becuase I was so negative in my first comment, which I apologize for.  I hope this will help you and that you will succeed in your deal! =)

 

 

Lori Taylor said:

I did Groupon and will never do it or anything like it again. The people who purchase these types of deals are just out to get what they can for as little as they can. I sold 52, I'm solo, and it's nearing the expiration date (April) and not one person has been a repeat customer. I added them to my database of which I send out monthly newsletters and promos and some of them have 'unsubscribed'. It's the economy, and people are watching what they spend. It will get better! I won't participate in these types of things anymore, it's not worth it. The discount is way too deep. Instead, I've committed myself to networking as much as I possibly can in my down time. The power of networking is and can be very powerful, like anything else it take time and patience. Good Luck Kristin I hope it work better for you then it did for me. Keep us posted!

Permalink Reply by Kristin Ballantine on March 22, 2011 at 2:26pm

Aww, thank you Lori for sharing that.  I think you've made some great points.  I'm trying to be very positive about the experience.  My first coupon went out Feb 18th.  It was with a smaller company though, not Groupon. So far, 19 people pre-paid, and 6 have been in to see me.  All of them except 1 person has been over the top really awesome. 3 of them re-booked already, and one bought over $300 of product.  I think it's best to approach it with a neutral mind, and you'll know what kind of client you're dealing with before the treatment even finishes.  

 

I've been watching these coupons that have been coming out, and I've noticed some companies have done them more than once, which must mean that their experience must have been pretty good for them to want to do it again.

 

For me, it's a win/win.  I don't have any employees to pay, just myself.  Also, my business is 6 mos.  old, so I figure the more I get my name out there, the better.

 

Good for you that you're the kind of person who is open to experience and able to look at how you're perceiving things, that's a difficult thing to do, and in my opinion, when you can have the ability to do that, you're growing as a person and success will come to you!

 

I've got 4 more coupons coming out over the course of the next 6 months.  I'll share my experiences with you as they come up.  Next one is coming out within the month some time.   

Permalink Reply by Denise Ivers on March 22, 2011 at 3:36pm

 

I'm so glad that I have a place to go to share ideas and get such awesome feedback.  

I'm a sole practitioner and  I've been advertising 3 separate specials on Trubates.com.  My specials are one facial with lip and eye treatment, one peel package (includes 2 peels so that they will return) and a wax special- bikini & brow.  They don't take 50% like Groupon.  Trubates allows you to advertise your specials for as long as you want, not just 24 hours like Groupon in my area.  This has created lots traffic on my website and yelp page. It has quadrupled my views this month so far.

 

 Since Feb 27 I've had sold 30 vouchers, mostly facials, 10 have come in for services. Two of the 10 clients are students and admitted to spa hopping for the best deal out  there.   A couple of the customers that came in for facials went back online and purchased my peel package!   Eight of these clients tipped me on my usual fee and tipped very well, a couple facial clients asked for an eyebrow wax, 7 rebooked and 4 purchased products.  I agree with Lori, once you change your energy and attitude about this "type" of client and become more positive and giving, you will see them return. If they feel like they are being treated differently; rushed, or being offered very few appointment options like no saturdays etc, they won't return...  Many call me first to ask questions before they book. The only requirement I have of them is that they purchase the Trubate voucher before I place them on my schedule.

 

It's all about customer service and making the client feel excited about meeting you and what you can do to help.   I'm new to the industry as well and network with many people but one cannot deny the power that these collective buying sites have in attracting customers.   I have the "if you can't beat em, join em" mentality as well.  I personally don't  think these sites are going away anytime soon. I love what I do too much to not be creative in finding ways to help clients and of course make some money doing it.  

 

I read a recent article on Spa Trade about these sites and one esthetician said something like  "doctors, dentists and lawyers don't offer any discounts"...my first thought was, yes they do! I see it all the time..."free consultations", "free x-rays".  My second thought was that with the economy being what it is today and moving forward it looks like many who never felt they would have to discount services are now doing so just to survive.   

 

So far it has been a very positive experience for me and I'm so glad that I did it.  It beats an empty schedule!

Permalink Reply by Kristin Ballantine on March 22, 2011 at 3:45pm

Awesome, Denise!  Thanks for sharing your experiences.  I'm so happy for you that you're doing so well.  I agree with you 100%, it really is about creating a positive experience, what goes around comes around.

Permalink Reply by Tasha Baughman on April 7, 2011 at 7:43pm

I did groupon a while back to help my business build and i can honestly say i think it did helped. I feel that if you do treat every client like they are paying the full price and not short their time when walking in the door then they feel alot better about their purchase. NOW don't get me wrong their are those clients that are out their that are groupon jumpers and jump from salon to salon but I also offer to all of my clients(groupon clients and reg. clients) that if they prebook with me no more than 4 weeks out for their next facial treatment then i give a discount. (They have to prebook before leaving and can not go any longer than 4 weeks or the treatment is full price then. I personally have found that this really works and have many reg. facial, chemical peel and micro clients because of it.

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