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38 DAYSPA | JUNE 2014 BUILDING BLOCKS The pro: 1. A unique identity. "We try to stand out from the crowd, in several ways," says Perington, who co-owns the spa with Jennifer Zrubek. "First, we hand-select natural ingredients for all of our services, and switch them up according to the time of year and how the weather affects the skin. Because we're located in Colorado, this is a really useful selling tool that gives us excellent repeat business. We also provide harder-to-fi nd services such as facial acupuncture, which we combine with a peel or facial and sell in a series. This has become an integral part of our brand identity." 2. Private practices. "Custom private bridal, baby and birthday parties have also worked well for us," adds Perington. "We're able to accommodate groups of 5 to 35 people. These events are great for revenue because we can upsell with food and beverage, makeup services and gift ideas for attendees. For our bridal parties, we offer chair massages, makeup applications and champagne to enhance the experience." 3. Community spirit. "We've taken an active lead in partnering with other small, women-owned businesses so we can jointly benefi t by working together," explains Perington. "For example, we've donated our makeup services for a local charity event, Recycled Runway, which encourages young students to use their talents to create garments from 'found' materials. We've received wonderful feedback and new clients through these events." JU LIE PERINGTON & J ENNIFER ZRUBEK Julie Perington, co-owner, J Lounge & Spa, Boulder, Colorado PRO TOOLS As a savvy spa owner, you're always on the lookout for creative ways to plug gaps in your book, even if it means offering discounts in the short term. Many have found that it pays to have some easy-to-implement, price- busting promotions up their sleeve: adding some extra affordable options to your menu can help reap big returns down the line as you attract new guests and keep existing ones interested. Case-in-point: the Ritz-Carlton Spa in Denver, which recently launched a series of weekday promotions, including Martinis & Massage Mondays ("Sip a complimentary martini and save 20% when scheduling any 50- or 80-minute massage"), Treat Your Toes Thursdays ("Receive complimentary paraffi n with any full- length pedicure") and Face the Weekend Fridays ("Take 20% off on any full-length facial"). Contrary to what you might think, a generous marketing budget isn't a prerequisite: all you need are creative ideas—a tempting tie-in here, a clever play on words there—and, voilà!, you have an enticing menu you can post on your website, blog and social media accounts. You can bring employees on board by calling promo-idea brainstorming sessions, and offer a prize or incentive for the best ideas. Result? Happy clients, an upswing in bookings and a boost in staff morale. Book 'Em The star: FarmHouse Fresh Agave Nectar Ageless Body Oil The spa: The Woodhouse Day Spa in Dublin, Ohio Why it fl ies off the shelves: "Our estheticians, massage therapists and nail technicians all love the body oil," says owner Alan K. Reuter. "It has such a wonderful aroma and it's so restorative, plus it feels fantastic on the skin. And since I began including the oil in the birthday gift bags we give our team members, they've become even bigger fans. It's so easy to sell a product when you believe in its benefi ts and use it yourself." How it's promoted: "We have testers throughout the spa, including our men's and women's changing rooms and quiet rooms," notes Reuter. "This allows our guests to experience the products without any sales pressure. I never want any of my team to push an item on a client and then have that client take it home, look at it one day and say to themselves, 'Why on earth did I buy that?' There's never a hard push to sell anything in our spa. I don't believe in it and I won't put up with it. I want to build long-term relationships with our guests." Retail Superstar ALAN K. REUTER B u i l d i n g B l o c k s . i n d d 3 8 Building Blocks.indd 38 5 / 1 / 1 4 3 : 2 8 P M 5/1/14 3:28 PM