Three Tips to Improve Your Chances of Winning Our Spa Competition

Our spa competition can bring the spa community together in a fun and exciting way. The competition between spas can bring out the best in each spa, promote their growth and keep their customers coming back. A spa competition can be created to benefit all of the participating spas, such as The Race for the Omega certification (for spa operators) or the Spa of the Year (for those who attend competitions) or the Best of Show (for a spa’s top customers). Another great opportunity to engage and network is through social media. Whether it be via Facebook, Twitter or any other social media network, social media allows the spa industry to connect with others and gives the spa industry exposure to those in other communities as well. This allows the spa industry to expand into new markets with ease while providing a measure of visibility to their spa competition and increasing customer satisfaction as well.

When planning a spa competition or event, there are several things to consider. First and foremost, is the target audience of the contest? If the target audience of the contest is older, more sophisticated or of a higher educational level, then the style and/or competition ideas need to be geared towards their needs. For example, a skincare contest may not be as appropriate as a spa for the ageing population.

The second thing to consider is whether the competition will be a grand prize or “service” based. In most spa contests, the prize will be an award-winning product or service that will be of high value and/or uniqueness. Some spas and salons offer separate “reward” programs for spa guests (such as an individualized aromatherapy experience) or a combination of spa and reward programs (for example, a “special occasion package offering a day of pampering with a personal masseuse”). If the competition is simply to recognize exceptional services or products, then the spa may choose to use a single stylist to serve all of the service categories. The stylist may be uniquely qualified to perform a specific set of service tasks to qualify for a spa master technician title or award.

The third thing to consider is whether the spa intends to award cash prizes or products such as coupons or free spa days. In my opinion, the best spa competition entries incorporate both types of reward programs. A “spa master” technician receives a special spa day while a “spa patron” receives a coupon for another beauty treatment or a discounted massager.

Finally, some spa competition social media entries may utilize the social media platform to encourage participants to make a “swipe” at the ” awarding” process. In my experience, spa competitions are also typically run by professional beauticians who have the resources, education, and training to answer spa attendees’ questions and concerns. A swipe application requires spa attendees to enter their name and email address via their preferred social media site to receive an award. The beautician with the most “swipes” wins the prize. However, I’ve also seen social media entries that provide attendees with the option to simply click on a button to enter their name and email address for an award.

Spa competition lies within the purview of the spa industry and involves a diverse set of spa professionals who engage in innovative marketing strategies to attract new spa customers. A savvy marketer recognizes that the current spa trend lies in playful Interpretation of traditional spa terminology and business elements. Beauty contest ideas are therefore ideal for spa marketers who seek to create an environment that encourages participation and engagement rather than cold marketing tools that fail to engage potential spa customers. A “spa master” will only be rewarded if he/she creates a winning design and spa treatment experience for the client.