December 5th, 2016, Secaucus, NJ – International skin care company and manufacturer Repêchage hosted their annual networking Champagne Power Lunch at the Repêchage Headquarters in Secaucus, NJ to provide inspiration and insights for better business in 2017, and launch the new Repêchage FUSION™ Face Mask Collection.
This year’s guest speakers included Lydia Sarfati, Repêchage CEO and Founder, Dori Soukup, President & CEO of InSPAration Management, Lois Christie, President & CEO, Christie & Co. Salon & Spa, as well as a brief presentation from Lauren Snow of Associated Skin Care Professionals. Beauty professionals from Russia, Mexico, India, Romania and the United States also joined Sarfati and the Repêchage team for this spa business seminar led by industry experts.
Prior to the presentations, guests were greeted with champagne and a holiday shopping event, featuring the new Repêchage FUSION™ Face Masks and Repêchage holiday gift sets.
Before beginning with her presentation, Sarfati provided a warm welcome to the audience of 100 attendees. “Success in 2017 will be about effective retailing, rethinking how to market your spa and services to clients, and maintaining your best employees.” To address how salons can increase their retail business, Sarfati began her presentation: “Retailing: Mask Evolution and Sensory Experience.”
“DataMonitor predicts the facial masks category to have a $7.4 billion dollar market value by 2020,” said Sarfati. “With the rise of this sector in the skin care industry, it is important to take advantage of the retail opportunities this presents for your business. After all, retail should account for 30% to 50% of your net profit.”
To accomplish this, Sarfati offered tips on how to sell retail:
- Don’t sell to clients – educate them.
- Ask clients what their concerns are and listen to their answers so you can help make the right choice for them.
- Be a true believer in the line you sell.
- Exclusivity is key to retailing in a spa or salon. Salon brands should never be sold in mass market.
- Keep your retail shelf organized and clean!
- Stop discounting and sampling products. The best return on investment is to provide gift with purchase (GWP).
- Use Social Media to educate your following and remind them of their next facial appointment & refill at home products.
In addition to discussing masking as a sector of growth for the spa industry and how spa/salon owners can take advantage, Sarfati premiered the Repêchage FUSION™ Face Mask Collection to attendees. These new masks from Repêchage are the at-home versions of the professional treatment – Repêchage FUSION Express Bar & Spa Masks, so clients can continue to enjoy the benefits of their treatments at-home. Using ingredients derived from the earth and sea, including Repêchage’s exclusive Laminaria Digitata extract, the new FUSION™ Face Masks consist of four formulas that create a true sensory experience, with aromas of chocolate, green tea, pumpkin and mixed berry, while delivering important benefits to the skin. The collection includes the FUSION™ Chocofina Moisturizing Mask, FUSION™ Matchafina Cleansing Mask, FUSION™ Pumpkinfina Multivitamin Mask and FUSION™ Berryfina Brightening Mask to satisfy every skin need. These masks can be used alone or to “multi-mask” different areas of the face for a truly customized, at-home spa experience for the skin.
Dori Soukup, President and CEO of InSPAration Management was next to take the stage to discuss marketing strategies spas can utilize in 2017 with her presentation “Differentiate Yourself from the Competition – Video Marketing.” Soukup discussed how spas are missing out if they are not creating videos that highlight different aspects of their business, as videos can help spas build a more dynamic website and strong online presence. From treatment launches, to success stories or tours of one’s spa, videos that are fun, educational and provide value should be part of a spa’s online marketing efforts.
Soukup discussed how effective Facebook can be as tool for spas. With Facebook marketing and advertising, spas can:
- Study their fan’s insights to get a better understanding of who they are.
- Use landing pages to gain opt-ins.
- Drive fans to specific landing pages.
- Use pixels to re-target those who visit the spa’s website.
- Partake in video marketing.
As discussed by Soukup, creating videos and being active on social channels is an effective way to set one’s spa apart from the competition. A strong online presence gives a spa can help the spa reach new clients while strengthening relationships with existing ones.
After a break for lunch Lois Christie, President & CEO, Christie & Co. Salon & Spa took the stage. For her presentation, “Staff Motivations – Why They Leave and What Makes Them Stay,” Christie discussed how to effectively manage and acquire a staff so one’s business doesn’t become a revolving door of employees. In terms of managing staff, Christie highlighted that she refers to her team as a “tribe.”
“Referring to my team as a tribe is inspiring to my employees – it helps them feel like they have a support system behind them and something to believe in,” said Christie.
Christie highlighted that all salons and spas should do the following for their “tribe”:
- Create inspirational work environments.
- Mentor and teach by example to promote education on an ongoing basis.
- Keep things fun and interactive.
- Always compensate at least 5% more than other salons to prevent them from thinking the grass is greener.
- Have an employee handbook prepared that clearly identifies expectations at time of hiring.
- Allow them to experience your services too!
Lastly, in terms of staffing, Christie goes by the motto “hire slowly, fire quickly.” Christie discussed that is important to take time to hire those that fit within your company culture and goals, and, although difficult, known when it’s time to let an employee go if/he is not contributing to the success of your business.
Finally, Lauren Snow, Director of Membership for Associated Skin Care Professionals took the stage for a short presentation on “Insurance and the Skin Care Professional.” Snow discussed how important it is for salon owners and skin care professionals to have proper coverage at their business and the individual level, and to have a thorough understanding of what the coverage pertains to.
With education being at the core of Lydia Sarfati’s values, Repêchage will continue to provide opportunities for beauty professionals to come together and learn from one another! Save the date for the annual Repêchage International Conference event to be held on May 1, 2017 in NYC!
For more on Repêchage, visit www.repechage.com
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