RESEARCH We need to protect the privacy of our customers... On the other
hand, we need to consider how we give them a chance to capture a moment photographically, so they can share it with others
researching products and services and 45 per cent trust social media reviews. Nevertheless, spa operators feel that
gaining consumer confidence in social media is something the industry still needs to address. Jeremy McCarthy, Mandarin Oriental’s group director of spas, says: “The trust in content will depend entirely on what the content is, by whom it’s posted and the context in which it appears.” This view is endorsed by Shane Bird, director of spa operations at Turning Stone Resort, US, too: “Trust needs to be earned on social media just like in real life. Good trustworthy interactions via social media will improve the public’s perception [of spas].” Another part of the survey focused
on challenges surrounding consumer reviews. The researchers found that “businesses appear to already be aware that one of the best ways of securing new revenue streams is through consumer endorsements. The key question here is how to encourage consumers to make endorsements and whether incentives are necessary. This survey found that a relatively low proportion of people (three in 10 in the general population, and four in 10 spa-goers) expect to receive an incentive when making an endorsement.” Wendy Chamier owner of UK-based
Sesame Internet Marketing says: “the whole incentivisation for endorsements is a very emotive area with people selling
SURVEY METHODOLOGY The ISPA Foundation’s Social Media and the Spa-Goer survey was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Research to Insight (r2i) team. It was based on the response of 1,014 people from a sample of US consumers which it says were “representative of the age, income and regional distribution of the population as a whole”. It did not specifically target spa-goers. To find out more about ISPA and its founda- tion, visit
www.expereinceispa.com
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McCarthy says spas should give a great experience to get more social media exposure
review services. This is one reason why reviews on social media can struggle with reputation.” McCarthy suggests that “the best way to encourage consumers to endorse you on social media is to give them an experience that is worthy of talking about.” In addition, McCarthy believes that
“the spa world needs to figure out how to incorporate technology in the spa”. But there are two conflicting interests when it comes to this. “On the one hand, we need to protect the privacy of our customers and the tranquility of spas as a place to have a respite from technology,” he says: “On the other hand, we need to consider how we give customers a chance to capture a moment photographically, so they can not only reminisce about their visit, but also share it with others.” The survey also found that despite
the traffic on social media, adverts on the platforms aren’t especially effective. “Only one in five people click on the advertisements they see on social media, although this increases to two in five spa-goers,” it reports. Canyon Ranch’s social media specialist, Alex Williams concurs: “[Social media] adverts are not particularly effective specifically for
Canyon Ranch since our stays are tailored to each individual need.” According to Bird: “We get more response
through experiential interactions and word- of-mouth [than from adverts]. Obviously, social media is a great medium for this sort of interaction.” Meanwhile, Chamier adds: “success depends on how social media is used with regards to relationship building and being ‘real’. It’s not just about clinically running ads.” That said, both Williams and Bird believe that two in five clicks on adverts is actually considered very high. A further challenge according to
Andrew Gibson, the spa & wellness vice president for FRHI, is that, “what’s best for one property does not necessarily correspond to another.” Therefore, one social media strategy alone may not be sufficient in a multi-unit business.
More to come It’s clear that social media has, and continues to, revolutionise how spa operators and owners can target their marketing. According to Chekitan Dev, an associate professor of strategic marketing and brand management at Cornell University: “social media is critical to fully unleash the 3Cs of digital marketing and branding – communication, commerce and community. This is the new imperative for all businesses.” There’s still some way to go, however, to
fully realise the potential of marketing via social media channels. Further, in such a rapidly evolving and dynamic area, spas should also consider other uses of social media such as predicting trends and the popularity of different types of treatments or using social media to enhance knowledge sharing and collaboration between therapists and management. l
Leonor Stanton is an independent hospitality and spa consultant Email: lstanton@
spabusiness.com
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