Getting Started the Right Way
Establishing an internet presence as a first step to success

It’s all about integration

A spa or salon’s web site must be seamlessly integrated into the business, just as any other media (e.g., brochures, menus, stationery, advertisements). This is especially important for start-ups, because a web site offers an unparalleled opportunity to contribute to an image that doesn’t yet fully exist, even in the minds of the spa’s prospective owners. From its inception, everything about the business must help establish and maintain its brand identity.

Copperfalls, a new spa and salon business in Castle Rock, Colorado, used the power of the internet to establish a brand image. The owners approached marketing and image-building specialist Jim Verrilli while still in the preliminary stages of planning their venture. They had only an idea of the Copperfalls theme, of the direction in which the business would go. Graphics and copy for promotional kits and releases had yet to be designed. But they had a vision.

The promotional approach

Copperfalls’ web site reflects a concentration on marketing principles. It was of particular importance that the site be capable of handling responses to printed materials. Jim felt the most important element of the spa’s initial promotional efforts was a "call to action," so all printed ad pieces directed readers to the web site.
Creative interaction. A new business enterprise needs to collect as much data as possible from potential clients. At the Copperfalls web site, visitors may access information on the spa and salon; services; hours of operation, etc. They also are asked to share information of their own. But, to engage the public in the business’ development and growth, they needed a reason to act.

Jim presented the business’ management team with the idea of an interactive registration page for a grand opening sweepstakes. In registering for the drawing, contestants were surveyed on where they received their last facial, massage, etc. They were also asked to submit contact information such as telephone numbers, and e-mail and postal addresses. Copperfalls was developing a client database before the phone was connected…or the walls completed in the spa.

In keeping with the steadily evolving Copperfalls theme, Jim designed the web site with the client foremost in his thoughts. His primary concern: how the user feels when visiting the site (i.e., is it easily navigated, or does it leave one feeling frustrated).

Another plus mark

Publicity efforts also get a "heads-up" from the web site. Magazines and other media outlets requesting information are referred to the media page on the web site, where editors may view and download an on-line media kit. The kit contains information on the business’ principal partners, the Copperfalls story and promotional releases.

From the beginning, the internet has been an invaluable business-building tool for Copperfalls. The web site generated tremendous initial interest and buzz in the Castle Rock community. It was successful because it was treated as an important element of a comprehensive publicity gambit.

This article about Jim Verrilli's work with day spas was originally published in Salon Business Strategies Magazine