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But as businesses continue to deal with the rising cost of goods and services, they must decide whether swag bags are truly worth the return on their investment. We talked to spa owners and industry insiders about their experiences and how they are finetuning their practices for the upcoming holiday season.
An Added Incentive
At Oasis Day Spa, with locations in Manhattan and Westchester, N.Y., offering customers a gift with purchase began shortly after its opening in 1998. Owner Bruce Schoenberg credits swag bags for helping cultivate a relationship with his skin care vendors from the get-go. “We are always looking to find ways to promote their brands, as well as the relationship they have with Oasis,” he explains, noting the options of linking select services to a particular gift with purchase and participating in a community-wide initiative. At a recent Best of Westchester event, guests were encouraged to visit Oasis and if they selected a specific service that was promoted at the event, they would receive a special gift. “This helps us with tracking the effectiveness of any promotion,” he adds.
The effectiveness of swag bags are determined on a case-by-case basis, largely by customer feedback. Regardless of the specific promotion or product, Schoenberg emphasizes the important role that training plays in educating the client on the overall benefits. “We use the success or disappointment as a gauge to determine potential future promotions and what we should be focusing on in terms of services and retail,” says Schoenberg. This feedback is helpful for long-term planning as well, enabling the spa to see what works—and what doesn’t. “The majority of these incentive programs have been successful, but we have also had a few that didn’t work out in the way that we had hoped,” he adds.
Looking ahead, Schoenberg expects to offer gifts with purchase in time for the holiday season. Not only does this build momentum for special promotions, but for gift certificate sales as well. And while he believes that swag bags will continue to serve as an important marketing tool, he will monitor Oasis’s activity accordingly. “Reducing cost in this area is minimal, as the vendors are usually as committed to it as much as we are,” he says. “If they cut back on their programs, we might have to reassess, but we might use product that is not moving in retail.”
Related: How to Level Up Your Spa’s Media Events
Team Player
Swag bags are a treat that customers at Bernadette’s Day Spa in Amesbury, Mass., look forward to every fall. The 25-year-old specialty shop, which specializes in facials, massages and other skin care treatments, as well as nailcare, hosts its annual Client Appreciation Event in November. During this initiative, customers are treated to a swag bag of goodies for any purchase of $50 or more.
Owner Bernadette Flanagan praises her swag bag initiative as a goodwill gesture and for helping introduce her clientele to new merchandise. “It is a very effective practice to help clients get to know products they may not have normally tried,” she says. “I believe the bags draw people in to receive some extra goodies, while encouraging them to purchase their normal needs.”
Offering these swag bags also enables Flanagan to connect with other local merchants and drive business to their shops. Located on Main Street nestled alongside clothing boutiques, home furnishing stores and restaurants, the spa draws customers who may be passing by after a meal or shopping excursion. She is able to cross-merchandise by having businesses supply her with information and/or discounts at area shops, further cementing her role as a community resource.
For this year’s November event, Bernadette’s Day Spa will feature items from a host of swag bag vendors, including PCA Skin, Farmhouse Fresh, Sormé Cosmetics, Young Living, bioelements skincare and Repêchage. Just as excited as her customers are, Flanagan is focused on keeping them satisfied. “Even though our rules are you must spend a certain amount to receive the swag bag, don’t be so closed minded and not bend the rules to make a happy customer,” she advises.
Mutually Beneficial
For visitors to Solei & Company Day Spa in Sumner, Wash., swag bags are considered a win-win-win for its customers, participating vendors and the spa itself. Since opening its doors in 2008, the spa has been offering customized goodie bags that tie into its roster of special events. Swag bags contain not only vendor-provided samples, but products sold at the spa and other outsourced items. “We have a different theme for each event and always try to make our swag bags elevate the results of the treatment they have received at that event,” says director of marketing Amanda Weston.
Last year, Solei & Co. partnered with PCA Skin for a chemical peel event and worked with their sales rep to include product samples and other PCA merchandise. The bags were supplemented with cooling eye gels sold at Solei, along with some aftercare items like fan brushes and headbands. “We always throw in a little something to make them smile—usually in the form of a sweet treat,” adds Weston. Another more recent Solei & Co. program, the Spring Peel Event, incorporated a swag bag with skin care and body care samples from Eminence Organics. To add a seasonal element, each bag was topped off with Eminence-branded wildflower seed packs.
Weston sees the benefits of swag bags for all parties involved. Because these gifts are offered only when customers book an event treatment, they serve as useful selling points and help generate interest in special events. “We always keep the swag bag contents a secret until the day of the event and typically they change [for] each event, so customers can expect a fun surprise,” she says. And since Solei & Co. exclusively partners with one skincare supplier per event, swag bags promote awareness for a given brand.
This past October, Solei & Co. partnered once again with PCA Skin for its Fall Peel Event. Customers were treated to post-peel goodies, including travel-sized items, to supplement their skin care routine. Going forward, Weston is confident that swag bags will remain an essential component of their business model. “Any chance to connect with your guests at an event and give them a little ‘thank you’ for supporting your business is always worth the investment,” she affirms.
Swagging Done Right Hot Tip
For spa owners concerned with limiting everyday waste, the idea of filling bags with numerous samples, including full size, may not seem entirely practical. To combat this problem, Kim Collier, founder of Jamu Spa in Whitefish, Mont., advises spas to incorporate what she calls a ‘swag credit’ into a specific treatment that aligns with their needs. “They walk out with a swagger and a solution,” she says.
Pamela Brill is a writer based in Northport, New York.
