People go to a spa for a relaxing, stress-free experience. They don’t want to be pressured into buying things or distracted by too much noise, imagery, or even other people. These are baseline marketing practices that most spa owners understand.
But, if you really want to satisfy your customers, you must listen to them and go beyond their basic needs. So, what can you do to create feedback loops in your business?
- Seek out Feedback. Choosing to adopt a feedback-centric approach will help every aspect of your business. Customer feedback is crucial, but you should start by getting input from your employees. When your workers know that their opinion is valued, they’ll feel empowered. That can improve retention, boost your business, and make it easier for your staff to ask customers for reviews.
One of the easiest ways to get feedback from staff is during exit interviews. It’s never fun to lose a valued employee, but asking the right questions can help you improve your business. Consider asking things like:
• Why are you leaving?
• What do you think could be improved?
• What was your relationship with the staff like?
• How did your time here align with your expectations?
From a consumer standpoint, feedback is a great way to keep customers engaged. Everyone wants their voice to be heard. It’s also important for consistent improvement within your spa. It shows that you’re accessible, communicative, and willing to adapt to the needs of the people who keep your business afloat.
- Foster Quality Feedback. One of the easiest ways to hear what your customers are thinking is to ask for feedback after they’ve experienced a service. This can be done digitally or with a survey card. However, a more streamlined approach that can create a consistent feedback loop is to utilize technology and improve your spa’s communication efforts. Consider platforms like:
• Social media
• A business website
• Regular blogs
• Videos
• A newsletter.
These can all be avenues to harness effective, quality feedback. They also give you the opportunity to encourage positive feedback. Ask your clients to post reviews online and thank them for taking the time to do so. Make it easy for them by leveraging multiple platforms, so they can use the one they are most comfortable with.
- Manage Negative Feedback. When you encourage online reviews, you’re also opening your business to negativity or even fake feedback. You can typically spot fake reviews by noting a lack of information by the reviewer, unnatural language within the review, and someone making multiple reviews in a very short period of time. Even if a review is made on a public site, like Yelp, you might be able to get it taken down if you can prove it isn’t legitimate. If it is legitimate, respond to the author publicly in an open and honest way.
And finally, it’s important to listen to what your employees and customers say and execute on their feedback. People have all different kinds of ideas and suggestions. If you only stick to your thoughts and ideas for how to move forward, your business could become stagnant, and customers might feel like their voices don’t matter. So, put those mechanisms to gather feedback in place today.