“It’s easier for staff to buy in when they know
the humans behind the products. We treat the
products with a little more respect because we
feel connected to them, and we look after them.”
– CAROLINE CORNISH, Spa Manager, The Scarlet
Toward the top of Seth’s Top 100
posts is a piece entitled “Ode: How to
tell a great story” from April 2006. In the
post, he lays out the characteristics of
great stories and what makes them so
vital in marketing. With so many thou-
sands of blog posts, it’s no wonder that
this one ranks among Seth’s most pop-
ular. Seth’s readers are marketers, man-
agers and executives of all industries
looking to reach a consumer with the
most effective and pointed methods
available to them.
Consumers want great stories. They
want a story they can believe—some-
thing they can grasp, invest and hold
stake in. It is a spa professional’s re-
sponsibility, then, to define and tell a
great story in the context of their spa.
Great stories command attention, and
when you can gain your consumer’s at-
tention, their dollar is not far behind.
A spa’s retail space is all about tell-
ing a great story. If the retail space is a
microcosm of the spa as a whole, then
the implications of the products chosen
to be featured cannot be overstated.
More and more, spas are experiencing
a trend toward incorporating boutique
brands in their product lineup and find-
ing that a tactful combination of both
“small box” and “big box” products
paints a comprehensive picture of the
spa and aids spa directors in telling a
great story.
The Best of Boutique Business
Caroline Cornish is a spa manager with
some pretty compelling reasoning be-
hind her decision to feature boutique
brands in her retail space. Over the
course of her nine years at The Scarlet
Hotel in Cornwall, United Kingdom,
boutique brands have always been a
staple.
“All our products are from boutique
brands and always have been,” says
Cornish. “I think it’s one of Scarlet’s
founding principles, that we’re a bit dif-
ferent and quirky. Our treatment rooms
are uniquely furnished, and I think we
want to encourage our guests to feel
they’re somewhere they can be com-
fortable. When you enter the hotel, you
come to a long, curved corridor that re-
moves any feeling of being in an intimi-
dating hotel environment. The same
goes for the spa. When you’re here,
you’re specifically here, enjoying your
time here, with products and furnish-
ings you don’t see everywhere. This at-
mosphere at Scarlet gives us an
identity.”
The uniqueness of The Scarlet’s
identity is matched by the strong iden-
tities of the brands they feature—and
this is where “story” really comes into
play for Cornish.
“The origin stories of the products
are really important to us. We have a
personal connection with the founders,
and their passion is powerful. The con-
nection we have with the products al-
lows us to tell a lovely story to our
guests as well. Knowing the motivation
of the person who made the product
and what led them to create it moti-
vates us in our duties as a team. Our
team really enjoys interacting with pro-
ducts in this way and understanding
where they came from. It’s easier for
staff to buy in when they know the hu-
mans behind the products. We treat
the products with a little more respect
because we feel connected to them,
and we look after them.
“This approach has been with us
since the beginning, and it is part of our
culture. For me personally, it’s really
nice to work with our product providers.
They’re so interesting, passionate and
supportive. They’re not just trying to
sell their product. We’re all in it to-
gether to deliver an exceptional pro-
duct experience and I really enjoy
working with them in that way. [Build-
ing] a relationship with a smaller
brand is special.”
MAY 2020
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