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34 DAYSPA | NOVEMBER 2014 BUILDING BLOCKS What's a more memorable way of creating a personalized spa treatment than letting your clients custom-make their aromatherapy cream—right in your spa? That's the concept Nicholas James, cofounder of Body Bliss, had in mind when he created the Intentional Aromatherapy Application, which merges 21st-century technology with the increasing demand for customized spa treatments. The smartphone and tablet app enables your clients to answer a series of questions about their objectives for the treatment, emotional state and ongoing at-home goals. Their answers help formulate a recipe for a unique aromatherapy blend. Using the easy- to-assemble Aroma Design Bar—which was created to accompany the app and contains a robust set of essential oils—your spa's therapists can add the selected oils to a cream base and produce the guests' customized scent on the spot. The blend can be used in the treatment room, then sent home with the client. Spas can use the duo to create aromatherapy blends based on seasonal, fl oral and herbal inspirations. They can also formulate blends to complement scents already being used in treatments. Wielding his advanced degree in Botanical Science, James ensures Body Bliss sources top-quality raw materials from artisanal and co-operative farmers and distillers across the world. "In making products, two things are important: what you leave out and what you put in," says James. "Therapists and body workers are in intimate contact with the products they use all day, every day. They deserve to work with the purest products possible." For more information, visit bodybliss.com. If you're concerned about not capitalizing on empty appointment times, you're certainly not alone. Nearly 1,000 spas across the United States and Canada have employed the help of WebOpenings Inc. (webopenings.com), whose website integrates with existing appointment software and helps sell the last-minute openings in your spa's calendar. The site is branded to have a VIP feel, in which clients become members to sign up for discounted, last-minute services. They provide their email address, and are also asked to forward the invitation to four friends. With that contact information, WebOpenings is able to drive a viral marketing campaign to thousands of potential last-minute clients. "Instead of going after the coupon seeker, our company targets like-minded individuals through Facebook and email marketing to drive incremental revenue for the location," explains Sam Hennes, president of WebOpenings. Your potential customers have three entry points for WebOpenings: a widget on your business's website, via your company's Facebook page and directly through WebOpenings.com. The New York City-based company charges a one- time software set-up fee and takes an 18% cut of the service's cost. You're savvy and skilled when it comes to skin care and everything beauty industry related. But when it comes to coding a website, understanding Search Engine Optimization and perfecting your social media strategy, you may not necessarily be an expert. That's where LocBox aims to help. An online marketing platform designed to offl oad the headaches of web branding, LocBox combines creative services and technology to digitally boost your business. "We're discovering all of these marketing tools and techniques, and we're fi nding that some spa owners aren't aware they even exist," says Rick Kawamura, vice president of marketing for LocBox. The platform focuses on email marketing and click-through rates, search rankings, presence on review websites and social media. "Facebook is a huge channel for driving new business acquisition," Kawamura explains. His company works to get small businesses more "likes" and a bigger fan base, and helps generate fun, engaging posts that perform well on news feeds of their clients' targeted audience. With a dedicated creative team, LocBox prides itself on three points of service: engagement, reputation and attracting new customers by creating lists of email addresses based on daily deal sign-ups. The Silicon Valley start-up has about 1,000 customers—60% of which are spas, health and beauty businesses— and has launched more than 13,000 marketing campaigns. For more information on LocBox services and packages, visit locbox.com. Marketing Off-load FILLING THE BOOKS Personalized Perfume TOP LEFT: © WAVEBREAKMEDIA LTD/GETTY