Marketing Mix Plan

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 Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..3

Product/Services Strategies……………………………………………………………… ….3

Pricing Strategies…………………………………………………………………………….5

Distribution Strategies……………………………………………………………………….6

Promotion Strategies…………………………………………………………………………7

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………9

Reference List……………………………………………………………………………….10

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Introduction

The many wonders that a health spa can do to our bodies is public knowledge, just

like the knowledge of the benefits of a good body massage and steam bath. But some people

are not quite aware of how good these services really are, especially in relaxing oneself and

in maintaining one’s health of mind and body. This is the reason why more and more health

spas are mushrooming, even in the same city and more so, on the same street in a locality.

About five years ago, most of these spas catered to the physical grooming and health needs of

a mostly professional women clientele who have moderate to high incomes. However, in

recent years, some spa owners saw the need to expand their markets by targeting the female

counterparts – males in white collar jobs who are also concerned with good grooming and

keep themselves healthy, both in mind and body.

Most of the products and services of a day spa for women can also benefit the men.

But, men’s preferences and health needs may differ considerably from those of the women,

because of the way society has socially constructed the roles of women and men. So, just

like the clothing industry, and other businesses that have segregated their products and

services, to suit the needs of either sexes, the health day spas have also been offering products

and services that are exclusively for male clients. To do this, they need to have a good

marketing mix that will include effective strategies for the development of products and

services, for pricing, for distribution and for promotion, and a couple of strategies that will

encourage customers to keep coming back to their male day spas.

A. Product/Services Strategies

Metro Males is a full-service male grooming venue offering a range of male specific

hair, face and body grooming services supported by the industries’ best range of male

grooming products, to highlight its commitment to rebuild, repair and maintain men . In its

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modern, uncomplicated, functionally designed and masculine inspired environment where the

logo says it all and the industrial feel perfectly frames the venue, guests sit in comfortable

couches, view plasma TVs, chill out with a magazine, newspaper or a coffee table book,

drink a refreshing beverage and experience the best in male grooming services.

Metro Males’ owner had previously worked at beauty therapy stores and day spas

catering to women before they decided join the growing market of health/beauty for men in

2005. The Metro Males day spa is located in the upper market part of the CBD in Sydney

where there are a few day spas, for mostly professional, 20-50 year-old fashionable men, with

moderate to high income. One of these spas is scheduled to open within the next 4 months,

and will be offering the same products as Metro Males. Thus, it will compete directly with,

and pose a very huge threat to Metro Males.

Metro Males full-service day spa is in the growth stage, which is characterized by

“rapid revenue growth that has to be maintained”1. Its marketing objectives are: (1) increase

new booking by 20% in 12 months, (2) increase the repeat customers’ bookings rate by 15%

in 6 months, and (3) review their products and services to ensure they stay on top of the

competition. To accomplish these objectives, it has to increase its product features and

packaging options, and improve/enhance product quality. To facilitate this process, Metro

Males’ staff will be tasked to survey customer (starting with loyal customers) responses to the

following questions:

1. How and when did you hear about us?

2. How can Metro Males improve the quality of its service (s)?

3. What other products or services would you like Metro Males to offer?
1
The Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc., “The

Product Life Cycle,” 2002-2007. NetMBA.com,

http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/

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 The customers can drop their comments and suggestions in the suggestion box, to be

installed on the wall near the entrance to the spa. These responses will be correlated with

Metro Males’ advertising and promotional activities and referral-generation programs. Also,

to maintain its success in the male beauty/day spa market, Metro Males’ manager or staff will

visit other day spas on a quarterly basis, to gather competitive information, and subscribe to

many catalogs describing beauty products for men, such as herbs, essential oils, and other

specialty products, to enable it to provide its customers with a wide variety of services that

will improve their physical well-being, and experience these services in a personal, unique,

and informational manner, in a comfortable and stress-free environment. To give Metro

Males’ clients the full benefits of its products and services, the latter can readily avail of the

former’s wide variety of services and treatments and directly purchase beauty products used

in the spa. Also, its highly competent and trained staff can help clients design a spa package

that would be most beneficial for them and suitable for their skin types and individual needs,

based on their comments and suggestions. And, information on home treatments conducted

by Metro Males’ professional trainers, can also be made available to the clients.

B. Pricing Strategies

Metro Males’ products and services will be as competitively priced as the other day

spas in the CBD. There has been a tremendous growth in the spa market in recent years. In

the United States, according to The U.S. Spa Industry - Fast Facts2, the growth from July

2007 to June 2008 was 24%, with 14,600 spas and 18,100 spas in July 2007 and June 2008,

respectively. This same report added that there was a 25% growth in spa visits from 2006 to

2007, with 138 million spa visits in 2007 and 110 million in 2006. These trends suggest that

2
The U.S. Spa Industry - Fast Facts. “Spa Locations,”

http://www.experienceispa.com/media/facts-stats/

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more and more people have been increasingly aware of the day spas’ health benefits,

especially those seeking a variety of forms of stress release and alternative medicine. They

have come to appreciate the therapeutic effects of homeopathic medicines, herbs and

essential oils. So, instead of consulting a medical doctor and paying for an expensive

medical care, which may not really be necessary for maintaining one’s physical health, many

individuals visit spa to calm their minds and relax their bodies, with the use of natural

elements. In Australia, an increasing number of men have been strongly concerned about

their mental and physical health. This is evidenced by the increase in male spa visitors, as

observed by 29% of respondents to a survey of spa facilities conducted in Australia3. Metro

Males’ pricing structure will be one that is extremely competitive with other spas, based on

its initial survey of customers’ individual needs and preferences . It will offer attractive

discounts for two or more services. For example, instead of paying $25 for a Relaxing

Facial, and $40/hour for a Full Body Massage, the customer will be entitled to a 10%

discount if he avails of both services. If he receives three or more services, he will be given a

total of 20% discount. Metro Males will strive to give base prices of its products and services

that are 20% lower than other male day spas, while maintaining the high and reasonable value

of these products/services.

C. Distribution Strategies

Metro Males’ beauty products and services will all be distributed at the spa, which

will operate seven days a week, including holidays, from 10:00 o’clock in the morning to

10:00 o’clock in the evening. It will also develop a website where customers can purchase

3
Intelligent Spas Releases New Spa Industry Research for Australia, 5 September

2006. http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news06/59-SpaResearch.shtml.

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products and services online, through the use of their credit cards and other online payment

options. Furthermore, it will consign its herbal products and essential oils in high-end

department stores, aside from displaying a wide variety of its product line in its spa located in

the upper market part of the CBD in Sydney. In addition, Metro Males might consider the

creation of a direct selling force, who will be trained in conducting free seminars and lectures

about the spa industry and its enormous benefits in maintaining health, particularly men’s

health, to individuals, companies and organizations who are concerned about men’s health

and will be interested in availing the services as well as in buying the products of Metro

Males . In this regard, companies and organizations can get special corporate/group packages

and big discounts, if they avail and purchase a variety of Metro Males’ products and services.

D. Promotion Strategies

To promote men’s physical health and well-being, through the use of varied products

and services, Metro Males will be circulating fliers and brochures at gyms and fitness centers

as well as health stores, not only in the upper market part of CBD but also around Sydney.

Coupons for discounted or free services will be inserted in these fliers, to attract potential

clients to Metro Males. It will also penetrate colleges and universities, in coordination with

some school/university organizations, and post ads on bulletin boards and other places where

these materials can be seen by most students and the faculty members. Furthermore,

billboards and other appropriate signages will be strategically placed near business and

commercial establishments, condominium buildings and apartment complexes around

Sydney. In addition, loyal customers will be encouraged to invite their friends to visit Metro

males’ day spa and avail of its products and services. These customers will be rewarded

incentives and discounts to Metro Males’ products/services, depending on the number of

guests and new customers they invite. New clients who have been referred will also get

discounts and gifts. Another way of increasing sales and reaching Metro Males’ sales targets

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for the year will be to offer a free trip to, for example, Fiji Island. To participate and be

entitled to a raffle ticket, a client would simply refer new clients to Metro Males, and they

will get as many tickets as the number of new customers they bring. So, customers who have

many tickets will have more chances of winning a free trip to Fiji Islands. In line with Metro

Males’ promotional activities, its promotional expenditure will be equitably distributed in PR,

Advertising, Sales Promotion, Personal Selling, Direct Communications, Experiential,

Digital, and non-traditional promotional activities. It would be beneficial for Metro Males to

explore all of these activities and maximize the advantages of each activity in promoting its

products and services and expanding its market.

Metro Males’ marketing mix of Products/Services, Pricing, Distribution and

Promotion cannot fully succeed without Customer Service: Thus, all of our employees will

be highly trained in the ins and outs of the spa business. As a service industry, Metro Males

goal is to provide an excellent and unsurpassed customer service, to ensure its success and to

distinguish it from other male day spas in Sydney. To ensure that its clients will continue

receiving its services and buying its products, Metro Males must offer superior service. In

encouraging strong client-staff relationship, each staff of Metro Males will be assigned to

cater to the spa needs of individual clients, which might include services and products, such

as facials and skin care treatment, nail services, and full body massage. In this regard, Metro

Males will have to hire more competent and trained staff to cater to the various needs of its

customers, if it wants to attract more customers and increase its profits, and stay in business

longer than its competitors. And, it must continue to do surveys and other research activities,

to update itself with the latest trends in the spa industry, to develop new products and

enhance its existing services, to promote employee satisfaction, and to provide superior

customer service.

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 Conclusion
Male day spas offer a lot of health benefits to professional men who want to look

good, relax, and make the most of their time and extra resources. However, it also comes

with many risks, even in its growing stage. Although, it has done a significant amount of

market research to support its opening and introductory stage, it must prepare itself for more

business/industry-related problems in the near future, just like its competitors and any other

business in the area. In this regard, Metro Males’ owners and personnel must continue to

work together in developing new and exciting products and services as well as enhance the

existing ones, which will satisfy the different needs of their prospective clients. They must

not waver in conducting more market studies and listening to their clients’ comments and

suggestions about their products and services. Metro Males’ success as a service industry is

anchored on careful planning and marketing, which are indispensable tools in the spa

industry.

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 References

The Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. “The Product Life

Cycle,” 2002-2007. NetMBA.com. Available online at.

http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/

The U.S. Spa Industry - Fast Facts. “Spa Locations”.

http://www.experienceispa.com/media/facts-stats/

Intelligent Spas Releases New Spa Industry Research for Australia, 5 September 2006.

Available online at http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news06/59-SpaResearch.shtml

- - Jojo V. Gabuya -

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