A new age and a new era has dawned upon us and if you don’t want to get left behind, I strongly encourage you to start getting educated. We have just begun to scratch the surface! A little over a year ago, I became aware of a shift that was taking place in the spa industry. It was a knowing deep within, a compiling of data and watching how we have evolved from the days of flyers, gift cards, word of mouth, chamber of commerce meetings, etc. to gain business, to the internet marketing era and social media age. However, there is a HUGE gap and lack of education in these two areas in the spa industry. According to research and statistics given by the Global Spa & Wellness Summit recently,  the following was addressed:

“But in a recent Spa Management Career Trends Survey of 584 spa management and consulting professionals, presented at the 2013 Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) in India, respondents revealed “understanding technology and systems” was considered the “least important skill set for a successful spa career” and “dealing with Internet technology and systems” was the “least preferred aspect” of their jobs.

These findings show the industry has a long way to go before Mr. Gibson’s challenge becomes a reality—and the responses were startling in a world where virtually everyone has Internet access and online sales for health and beauty recently set a new record, according to data released by IBM on December 3.”

Also, in 2012, the GSWS and SRI International released a study titled “Spa Management Workforce and Education: Addressing Market Gaps.” The report concluded that:
• There is a lack of trained spa managers needed to fill the huge needs prompted by the growth of spas worldwide.

• The industry has few spa-specific college level courses and training programs.
• There is a shortage of management candidates with “technical/business” skills.
• Few companies invest adequate resources to train staff and managers.

It’s time for the spa industry to begin thinking outside of the spa and treatment room if you want to keep up and I don’t mean attending the annual conferences we have been use to attending. Although, these are great to attend and learn what’s new in products and services. I am talking about educating yourself on technology and where we are at today and where we are going with internet marketing and social media.  This one vital piece neglected can mean sink or swim for your spa. I understand time constraints and lack of help can put this as low priority, but you honestly can’t afford to dismiss this and put it off to a later date.

Now is the time to begin reassessing your spas marketing and business plan as we wrap up 2013 and start fresh in 2014. Anytime we approach a new year, we start reflecting on our past accomplishments and failures in business and begin pondering and setting goals for the next year. My encouragement to you, is to begin thinking differently than you have in the past how you have looked at and approached your spa’s business and marketing plan. Truly, anytime we step into something new, our old ways of thinking and doing business usually will not work with a new plan of action. Don’t let training and education be your greatest challenge any longer for your spa. Instead, let it be your greatest success! Let’s bridge the gap. May 2014 be your most successful year ever!

You can read the full article released by Global Spa & Wellness Summit here: A Defining Moment: Issue 50 Survey: Exposing the Technological Disc...

Love & Success,

Valarie Hurst

Valarie Hurst & Company