Honor Roll

DAYSPA Top Honor: Website

Courtesy SenSpa

Top Website recognizes a spa that’s created an online home to serve as an extension of the business. It should fully explain the spa’s mission and treatments, as well as add to the overall guest experience.

SenSpa

San Francisco

Randy Schreck, the president of San Francisco’s SenSpa, is the first to admit that he’s not into computers. "I’m not a tech person at all," he says. What he does excel at, however, is marketing and branding.

A visit to the spa’s website immediately proves it. The browser window fills with the lush, interactive and polished homepage—every piece of it the vision of Schreck and his colleagues. There’s a virtual library filled with informative articles on everything from wellness to rolfing. Videos feature SenSpa estheticians and aromatherapists demystifying the more cutting-edge treatments on the menu. "I thought, ‘How can we put nuggets of info here that can provide people insight or education?’" Schreck says.

This wasn’t always SenSpa’s gateway into the digital world. The 13,000 square-foot facility opened in May 2006 along with a basic website. Although SenSpa was a successful business from the beginning, by 2008 Schreck realized that he wasn’t using the Internet to its fullest potential. "I felt like there were a few more things that I wanted to accomplish with the site," he says.

After soliciting pitches from several firms, he settled on a Southern California agency and worked closely with it to perfect his vision. "For what I wanted to accomplish, it had to be more than just a pretty design," he says. "I wanted substance, function and oomph.” The improved site is filled with photos of the actual spa rather than stock images to "give people an instant glimpse of what their experience will be like."

The site is also user-friendly. SenSpa offers so many services that one goal was to "make choices easier.” At the top of the navigation menu is a "Help Me Pick" link that leads a client through a series of questions that steadily narrows down her optimal treatment choices based on her needs. Schreck was amazed at how quickly this tool cut down on repetitive phone calls to the spa. "It’s so much more informative and efficient," he says. In this way, the “site is a feedback-based resource, not technology for the sake of technology."

For smaller day spas—or those without the advantage of someone with a background in marketing and branding—Schreck insists that a site upgrade is worth it. “The Web has become a primary decision-making tool for people. It used to be more for products, but now it’s for service-based businesses,” he says. “You should be putting as much effort into your site as you do into brochures, product lines and treatment spaces.”

The lines are also increasingly blurred between brick-and-mortar and online businesses. SenSpa is rolling out e-commerce for gift cards and sets, and many clients find the spa via Web searches that turn up positive press. The facility’s Twitter account is coming online shortly, as are virtual "webinars" with SenSpa’s wellness coach. Ultimately, Schreck would like to hold online chats between wellness experts and clients.

All of this work continues to pay off: "From conception to launch, we never lost sight of the fact that this was a tool that we’re marketing." Schreck says. "We always need to make sure that whatever we do is worth the click." —Elizabeth Vitanza

To see all of this year's Top Honors winners, click here.

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