The Communications Factory

Do your homework.
Before a single penny is spent on advertising, you need to fully understand the arena in which you're playing. Your success depends upon how well you know your target customers, their needs and desires, your competitors, what makes you different, your positioning, trends, pricing, service offerings...and the list goes on.

An economical way to better understand your market and how others are positioning themselves is to spend time talking with customers and potential customers, as well as looking online. To that point, in just a matter of minutes I was able to find significant information about competitive offerings, pricing and brand positioning by visiting sites like www.tsiindia.com/ananda, www.marios-spa.com, www.ichibansalon.com and www.optionssalonspa.com.

The Internet is also an inexpensive way to gain demographic and psychographic insight about your target customers. Obviously, your primary targets are females, however, on-line research can help you better understand one of today's hottest and quickly growing spa segments, "metrosexuals" - urban men eager and willing enough to embrace their more discriminating, feminine sides. And since articles appearing in The New York Times and the Economist first hit the stands in 2003, marketers around the globe are even more keenly interested in this market segment - as the Spa should be.


Reviewing publications where your competitors might advertise is another efficient way to study the market. For the Spa, I would suggest Scene Magazine, Free Times and The Plain Dealer pull-out as good places to start your research. Additionally, trade associations are another tremendous resource.

Set the groundrules.
When it comes to marketing, it's important to manage your expectations, so be sure to establish some ground rules before spending any marketing dollars. These include deciding what you're trying to accomplish and by what date, what you're invest to reach those goals, and what results you consider a success. With your expectations clearly defined, you'll be on your way to a marketing experience filled with enthusiasm rather than regret.

Focus and execute.
With an understanding of your market and objectives, it's time to apply that knowledge to the development of your communications program. However, instead of impulsively trying to do everything at once, the Spa should focus on first developing some very fundamental tools. These include your logo, stationery, press announcement and signage. Given the sophisticated nature of your clientele, developing a solid Web site is also critical - not only for positioning but to provide a 24/7/365 presence that serves as both your sales literature and your sales staff.

Once these core elements are complete, attention can be redirected to more proactive efforts like direct marketing. Ideally suited for start-up companies with limited funds, DM allows the Spa to target only the number of people with which it can follow-up. Plus, DM enables you to choose exactly who you want to target based on demographic, geographic and psychographic criteria.

Used in combination with the Spa's online initiatives, DM is the perfect vehicle to draw prospects to your site. Then, you can bolster your efforts by creating a virtual community through email correspondence - helping the Spa build stronger relationships with its customers, while touting special offers, new services, staff members and workshops. Plus, the low cost-per-contact can't be beat.