This Just In: Y CAN’T U?

Just when you’ve nailed down the perfect strategy for attracting baby boomers to your spa, a new generation of spenders comes of age. And, true to sociological patterns over history, they’re a complete contrast to the group that preceded them. So, roll up your sleeves and be prepared to start from square one, because Generation Y-ers are poised to become your next major client base. And these consumers are from a different breed.

You might protest, “Ah, people are people. They’ll always have skin that needs care, they’ll always have stress that needs relief.” True, but they don’t all seek it the same way. “People in their 20s want the massage, but they want it on top of a volcano in Hawaii,” explains Lisa Johnson, author of Mind Your X’s and Y’s (Simon & Shuster, 2006). “This group is looking, first and foremost, for unique experiences.”

And Gen Y doesn’t view spas as anything unique. It was their parents, many of whom were already into their 30s and beyond when the spa industry began to blossom in the 1990s, who were drawn to these havens of escape. So for many Gen Y-ers, spas basically seem like something for the older folks, and as such, kind of lame.

This calls for what business experts refer to a “paradigm shift.” To win over Generation Y, spa owners have to change the archetype of the spa as a dark, slow-paced and painfully quiet place (which younger people would easily associate with a school library or house of worship) to something fun, stimulating and rather exotic. Once Gen Y-ers start to see spas differently and can make them their own, they’ll become frequent clients.

Photo Brooks Ayola

Here are a few tips from the experts:

• Generate a strong brand—being distinctive is necessary to make Gen Y-ers want to identify with you.
• Downplay advertising to this demographic. Instead, rely on client referrals to make your spa seem like a shared secret.
• Give it a little drama. Extra design flourishes and mysterious treatment names help satisfy these clients’ affinity for the theatrical.
• Use technology. This can’t be overstated— without a web-based connection, you’ll have trouble connecting to Generation Y.
• Get involved. This generation likes to get involved and, according to experts, is more apt to offer its time and talent for events that benefit a cause than any generation in memory.