Increasing Sales by simplifying your offerings

[?? Kitty ??]

This is from the spoboom blog @ http://www.spaboomblog.com/

More choices means less sales

November 28th, 2006 • Posted by Bill Bice • Permalink

A strange thing happens when we have too many choices: often we make no decision at all. A growing body of consumer research shows that providing too much choice will reduce sales.

In an often cited example from a psychologist at Columbia University, a display table of jams was setup at a gourmet food shop. On Day 1, six flavors were displayed; on Day 2, 30 different flavors. Although the display of 30 flavors attracted more attention, shoppers were only one-tenth as likely to make a purchase. More choice, less sales.

Your spa menu might be doing the same thing, particularly in the eye of the holiday gift-giver. A large portion of your holiday gift certificate sales are to men, many (most!) unfamiliar with the spa experience, who just want to make their wife, mom or sister happy.

Make their lives easy! Simplify your spa packages to reduce choice, and increase sales. If you just can’t part with your extensive spa menu, consider creating a new services category of Holidays Spa Packages. Create three packages designed for gift-giving, and move them to the top of your services menu. When that male buyer goes to Instant Gift Certificates, the first thing they’ll see are the perfect gift-giving options.

And another link from http://www.spaboomblog.com/2006/simplify-your-spa-packages

Simplify your spa packages

September 28th, 2006 • Posted by Douglas Preston • Permalink


Problem: You offer too many packages and some that are excessively long.

Can be costly to track and train employees to perform
Are often complicated and time-consuming to schedule
They expose your business to big business losses when cancelled
They decrease your retail sales
Solution: Reduce your packages to 3 in total and most less than 4 hours in length.

Always include a strong retail producing service (such as a facial) at the end of the package to increase the chance of purchases.
This plan opens more of your prime time appointments for established clients — the most loyal, referral active and retail buying clients you already have!

I would like comments on this from the board.

Does it make sense? Do you believe in this?

 

[Polgeria]

Increasing Sales by simplifying your offerings

I would like comments on this from the board.

Does it make sense? Do you believe in this?

absolutely. less is more.

imo, places that offer 400 millions services, beg the question: how expert are you at your vast array?

 

[Blondie23]

agree 100%. Too many choices = less sales conversion.

 

[??G?AC3??]

I have a vast array of services, but they are variations.

For instance, I have about 8 different foot soaks with foot and lower leg massages. They are just about all the same save for the soaking part, different scents, some with milk, etc...

I have your basic massages, the foot soaks with foot massage, basic massage, hot stone, deep tissue, reiki, and also packages that combine things together so clients get a longer mini spa like session.

I do have a lot of offerings on my spaboom site. I will have to give this some thought. Right now I have just about everything listed on spaboom. Perhaps I should simplify what gift certificates people can buy online.

 

[Xcbvc]

...Or, if you feel like you want to leave all of your selections available online, why not put something at the top of the page like:

"Our most popular offerings:
Choice 1
Choice 2
Choice 3


....and then the rest of your selections could follow.

Just a thought.

 

[Soprano Girl]

I price everything except for hot stones the same, so I just say something like decide how much you want to spend and buy a gift certificate for that time, that way you don't need to decide what they want on the day, they can decide when they make the appointment (Gift certificates says something like 60min treatment, select from massage, pedicure, facial, body wrap, etc.) If they buy 2 or 3 hours or whatever, I'll add, can be used as 3 1hr appointments. I don't offer any discount on longer appointments, so it doesn't matter to me if it's 2hr or 2x1hr.)

I've been selling lots of 2 and 3hr gift certificates over the last week, mainly to males - I think they like not having to decide what treatment to get.

 

[cutseypututaypie88]

I have a vast array of services, but they are variations.

.

i was just recalling a particular day spa menu i saw that proudly advertised over 100 services. :shock:

 

[Brandon]

i totally agree that too many choices is not a good thing. i am one of those people who can't make a decision when given too many choices so i choose none. i can't stand seeing a spa menu that goes on & on & on & on.

 

[Foo]

It would seem that if you have too many items to list, you would find yourself referring to your own pricelist in order to remember them. Especially if you don't perform them all on a regular basis. Better for both parties to keep things simple and offer fewer choices so that clients can make a choice.