Tweet

Good Health and BeautyAlways in Style

Written by: Mary Tomzack

Article Overview: Good Health and Beauty - Always in Style The business of making our bodies look and feel good has never been healthier. The hair care industry alone rings up over $55 billion a year in the U.S. And while the massage industry isn't that big yet, the field has exploded over the last few years, rising to $6 billion annually so far. According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), getting a massage has become a mainstream practice - consumers last year visited licensed massage practitioners 114 million times. In this issue we talk to John Marco of Hand and Stone Massage Spa and Raymond Barton of Great Clips to learn why their franchises shine.

Good Health and BeautyAlways in Style

Good Health and Beauty - Always in Style
The business of making our bodies look and feel good has never been healthier. The hair care industry alone rings up over $55 billion a year in the U.S. And while the massage industry isn't that big yet, the field has exploded over the last few years, rising to $6 billion annually so far. According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), getting a massage has become a mainstream practice - consumers last year visited licensed massage practitioners 114 million times. In this issue we talk to John Marco of Hand and Stone Massage Spa and Raymond Barton of Great Clips to learn why their franchises shine.

Massage on demand is no longer a luxury
The Hand and Stone Massage Spa concept is a simple one: provide high quality therapeutic massage services at a low cost, seven days a week. It might not have been so simple to launch this concept 10 years ago. Until recently, getting a massage was considered a luxury. But according to Hand and Stone CEO, John Marco, times have changed. "It's a huge industry today." When asked if the industry is growing, he pointed to the annual surveys conducted by the American Massage Therapy Association. "The latest survey found that 2 million more people received a massage this year than the year before. Now consider that less than 20% of the population have ever received a massage. That means about 80% of the market are still massage virgins. So, absolutely, there is a lot of room to grow," states Marco.

Marco has been a physical therapist for the last 23 years. He observed and studied the growth of the massage industry before coming up with the idea for his franchised massage spa. What makes it unique? "It's a membership-based massage spa, specializing in the hot stone massage. We offer an introductory price for the therapeutic massage or what's known as a Swedish massage for $39 or the hot stone massage for $59. That brings customers in for the first time. They receive a 50-minute service and afterwards we offer them a monthly membership. The membership provides them one massage per month at a reduced price and they can get additional massages at even lower rates," according to Marco.

Although the low prices are certainly an incentive, Hand and Stone customers are not simply bargain hunters. "They are people who appreciate value, quality, and personal attention. About 70% are women and 30% are men. They range in age from 20 to 60+ so it's a wide demographic," says Marco.

Branding is key to beating the competition
Hand and Stone Spas compete with day spas and individual practitioners through branding. Marco explains, "We are all about branding. When you come to Hand and Stone you know what to expect. Our spas are conveniently located and the unisex layout is very sharp. There is a stone waterfall wall in the lobby and the rooms are all nicely appointed. The tables are top notch and there is dim lighting and individual sound control for every room. You can also expect a high quality of service that you can get right away. The concept is based on being available and affordable and that's what we accomplish that others don't. People can pick up the phone and get in the same day and get a massage - that is unusual in this industry. Each spa has 10 rooms and 22 licensed therapists on staff. They're not all out there all the time, but there are enough therapists to handle the demand throughout the week."

"Basically," says Marco, "it's about coming in and trying us out at a low price. Most people come out saying they loved it to which we say 'let me show you how you can get a massage every month and save money.' We sign them up at membership rates that are significantly less than the usual $80-$100 prices in most spas. And again, quality is not compromised. Customer satisfaction and repeat business is what we're all about."

Great Clips, the hair care industry leader
Established in 1982, Great Clips is the largest brand in the hair care industry. Great Clips salons are conveniently located in strip malls in 138 markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. No appointments are necessary for men, women, and children to get haircuts and perms at competitive prices. The services are provided by professional licensed stylists with advanced training from one of 70 Great Clips area training centers.

Great Clips CEO, Raymond Barton, says the concept combines three elements: convenience, value, and quality. "Convenience means there is no appointment needed. We're open evenings and on weekends, and we're ready when the customers walk in. Our target market consists of middle class, middle-income families who value their time and are looking for a great haircut at a reasonable price. We think they should feel like they've got the freedom to come in whenever they want and not have to wait a long time. Our typical waits are less than 10 or 15 minutes. People value their time today; they are very convenience oriented. When they go out to run an errand, they have four other places they want to be so it's important that we accommodate them. We value their time and we want to honor that for them," says Barton.

The high quality of service is the result of proprietary training. Franchisees hire licensed stylists who attend advanced training in a company-operated training center. "We first teach the stylists our system so they understand what it is that our customers expect when they come in to our salons and then how to deliver that to them. In addition, we want to keep them up to date on trends so there is trend training. And then we want to make sure they are very proficient at giving great hair cuts so there's technical training," explains Barton.

Great Clips also pays attention to making customers feel at ease. "The experience should be very comfortable for them," says Barton. Each franchise location features a nautical motif environment designed for customer comfort and privacy. "They should expect to get a warm friendly greeting and feel that our people are happy to see them. We are grateful that they chose us as a place to get a hair cut because there is a lot of competition out there. We want them to feel like 'this is a place where I fit in, where I can relax and just be myself.' They should also expect that we are going to listen to them and understand what they want their hair to look like when we're all done."

Beating the competition
Great Clips is thriving in a very competitive marketplace. Barton says, "There is branded competition and then there's the local mom and pop competition. How we set ourselves apart is by making sure we understand what the customer wants and that we're able to give it to them. Our whole organization is focused on making sure the customers get what they're looking for and I think we are just better at executing that." How does the company know what customers want? "Last year we spent a tremendous amount of time and money doing customer research. Then we designed new television and radio commercials and new print materials for our franchisees to use based on what we learned - what the customers told us is important to them. And we refresh that on a regular basis," says Barton.

With over 2,525 units, there is no question that Great Clips is the leader in the hair care industry. Barton says, "We are not only the largest brand in hair care, we are also the fastest growing. We'll open about 200 new salons this year and we're going to continue that pace of growth for the foreseeable future." Barton goes on to point out that Great Clips is poised to benefit from major changes in the industry. "This industry is in the middle of a transition where the major focus will be on the branded salons rather than the mom and pop's. We're the leaders in that transition and we're very excited about the future of the business. There is a lot of room to grow."

Related Articles
  Cause and Effect
  Key drivers for the beauty and wellness Franchise Business
  Home Based Business 101
  Do a Once-Over
  You should include in your Health Information Technician Resume

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Elements of Style - Can't comment on the two books you listed, but Strunk and White's Elements of Style belong on every writer's shelf.
Re: Search Engine Friendly Coding - According to my experience, You should avoid flash and java script while making a website for online business promotion. These type of coding also increases website loading time so avoid it. You can also use external CSS "Cascading Style sheet" for placing images on website it will reduce website loading time.
Best incentive to offer employees - What's the best incentive to offer employees? Is it more health benefits? More vacation? Health club memberships? Paying for training? Cash / non-cash bonuses & rewards? I'm preparing a new package for my company and would love to get your thoughts! Thank you in advance!
Elements of Style - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks.com":285x8n54]Thanks for the book recommendation OmnivoreInk! But can I ask if "Elements of Style" provides any tips on writing professional ad or web copy?[/quote:285x8n54] Well... kinda sorta. It is a reference work that you can use to check on proper grammar (the difference between "then" and "than" and "affect" and "effect," for example, whether commas belongs inside or outside quotation marks, stuff like that.
list building - OK.... I think I get it. Reason I'm curious is that I'm working on a Health product site with a friend, it will fit nicely with the client base on arcamax. We're planning to set up an affiliate program to drive sales and looking for low cost alternatives to generate traffic. We will be creating several reports, and a book is already available. We just need to get the puzzle pieces in place for the site - then get the traffic.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Selling On Ebay The Good The Bad And The Ugly

How do you keep it together on a daily basis?

Soda Vending Machine = Energy Hog

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.