Word of mouth and social media drive clients to spas

Word of mouth and social media are more powerful than websites or internet searches in attracting new clients to spas and salons, according to new data. 

 

Research by software provider Phorest, surveying 1,000 spas and salons in the UK and Ireland, found that 507,000 clients said they had been referred to the spa or salon by a friend, while 370,000 stated they had come across it via a Google search. 

 

The study also revealed that Facebook is more than twice as effective in driving new clients to spas and salons than the business’ own website. While 92,000 clients said they found the spa or salon via their Facebook page, only 40,000 stated that they had come across the website first. 

 

Traditional marketing tools such as flyers were found to be more effective than daily deal sites such as Groupon and Living Social, indicating that the popularity of these websites may be declining – with less spas and salons placing and fewer consumers buying deals through them. 

 

The research also showed that more and more spas and salons are investing in apps, a move in line with figures revealing that, outside of calls and text messages, people with smartphones spend 82% of their time on apps and only 18% on mobile websites.