Utilizing the Internet for Business
Changing your web focus to reflect evolving business objectives

Tallgrass, a day spa located in Evergreen, Colorado (near Denver), had a web site. But, as many possible applications were unexplored, it was not being utilized to its fullest capability. More importantly, it did not accurately reflect the brand image that the owner had cultivated for her business. So, when the time came to update the spa’s printed brochure, she decided to reinvent the web site as well.

Motivating results

The decision to remake the web site was driven by a number of factors, with no one truly outweighing the others. However, the spa has recognized some very specific benefits since bringing Day Spa Marketing director Jim Verrilli on board. The most significant is a streamlined gift certificate ordering system.

Tallgrass averages over $150,000 in gift certificate sales per year, with much of the volume centered around the holiday season. This creates significant traffic jams in reception, impairing the staff’s ability to properly assist clients, both on the phone and in the spa.

The updated web design incorporates a secure order page, through which clients may customize their own gift certificates by selecting preset packages or individual services. Their choices are submitted to the spa via the internet, where they are processed and confirmed. The orders are then automatically and securely routed to the fax machine in the Tallgrass office, where a gift certificate specialist prepares the order for mailing. The process, called GiftFAX™, was developed by Jim to provide an easy, turn-key system for spa owners to reap the rewards of e-commerce without the technical snags:

• Orders and information details are submitted by clients from the web site and delivered through to Tallgrass' fax machine, which doesn't even require their spa to have Internet access! The information can be manually entered into the database, or automatically integrated via an email database file.
• The desk team can compile an e-mail address book of clients who purchase gift certificates, for use in future marketing efforts.
• When clients or other browsers of the web site submit an order, they are sent to a "order confirmation page" which thanks them for their patronage, reviews their purchase and offers the opportunity for further cross-promotion interaction on the site.
• The desk staff can track referrals and multiple-visit clients.

Narrowing the field

Jim designed the Tallgrass site to appeal to a variety of shoppers. Buying patterns are not differentiated along gender lines. Both men and women are repeat buyers, often purchasing multiple certificates for co-workers and friends. But how do they find the site?

The spa’s URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or domain name is included on all printed materials and is registered and indexed in internet search engines. Indexing is important because web surfers looking for a spa in a specific area will often narrow their search by including the location in their directive. So, when a potential client enters "spas in Denver" or "day spas in Colorado" into a search engine, the odds are pretty good that she will find Tallgrass.

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