Your brand is always on display. It is generally first seen on your website. But, it also needs to be celebrated on your storefront and showcased throughout your spa. It should touch every room, every piece of furniture and décor and every sign. Your brand is everything you stand behind. It’s not just your logo, tagline and color scheme. It’s the aroma of your spa, the music you play and the lighting levels you keep. Don’t bring anything into your spa without running it through your “brand filter.” If it doesn’t measure up or match your brand, then it doesn’t come in.
Here are six factors to think about when “branding” your interior, so your clients will always remember where they are and the experience they had.
1. Logo
Aside from having your logo on the outside of your business and behind the reception desk, it should be noted in every room the clients use: i.e. treatment rooms, changing rooms and restrooms. It should always be on your shopping bags, towels, robes, napkins, coffee/tea mugs and used in giveaways. If you carry a line of private labeled retail products, the packaging should proudly boast your logo and brand. Team members should wear branded shirts and name tags. There’s no excuse for not branding these essentials! If color printing is not in your budget, black and white, or charcoal and white, are still effective. The idea is to make a statement with your “identity,” a.k.a, logo, mark, monogram, symbol, graphic or icon.
2. Color
Most brands have at least one dominant color. Use this color, or a shade of it, to accent one wall in your reception or retail area, waiting area, larger treatment rooms and restrooms. Have this color show up in your artwork, upholstery, window treatments, towels, robes and packaging. A prominent color should be powerful, but not over-powering. It’s important to use it sparingly and strategically.
3. Pattern/Texture
If your logo has a graphic or icon, then play it up. Have wallpaper custom printed with the graphic and install a strip of it where you want to attract attention. Perhaps it’s placed at the end of a corridor and turns the corner for a few feet. Print tissue paper with a screened version of your icon, repeated in rows across the entire sheet of paper. If your brand expresses a pattern that can be turned into a texture, all the better. Raised dots, corrugated lines and faux fur are examples of memorable textures that can be associated with a brand. Worked into your spa’s finish and décor palette, these can become interactive and memorable via the sense of touch.
Related: Building a Brand They Won’t Forget
4. Style
Is your brand contemporary, Avant Garde, or traditional? The interior of your spa is an extension of your “brand,” so be sure to outfit it in a way that speaks to your brand. Contemporary style might exhibit minimalism, clean lines and polished surfaces. Traditional décor may be expressed in deep colors, carpet and velvets. Furnishing and retail fixtures should all be coordinated. The worst thing you can do to your brand is to bring in unmatched fixtures and furnishings. Often, when starting out, you may have had to borrow pieces, but that is not helping create a well-intended experience. Replace the old or unmatched pieces with ones that really highlight your brand.
5. Sensory Elements
Aromas and music should be related to the “experience” you are trying to create. When introducing an aroma, light a candle from a line you sell, or place an essential oil in a water atomizer from a line of oils you sell or promote. It should help customers relax and enjoy your services. Aromas can quickly become associated with your brand.Instrumental music or environmental sounds are a must, but always at a low level, and of a tempo that supports the services you’re offering. Whether it’s the sound of ocean waves, choral chants or indigenous drumming, the music and sounds need to create an atmosphere that wraps your customers in your brand.
6. Signage
All your signs should coordinate with one another via font, color, graphics and sign holders. It’s important to have your logo present on larger signs. Don’t overlook price tags on retail products. The higher the price point, the better the tag should be. A well-designed sign system brings a level of professionalism to a spa and will improve readership and retention of information.
“When you have successfully integrated your brand into your space, you automatically increase the perceived value of your products and services.”
Becoming “On Brand”
To create an experience your clients will remember, be sure to coordinate all the design elements and sensory aspects of your spa in a way that truly supports and expresses your brand. Some customers may specifically notice how you used color, or the repeated graphic patterns. Others may notice the supportive artwork, or the coordinated signage. However, most will simply recognize your spa’s overall “signature look,” and realize you are a professional spa that provides great services and quality products.
Remember, when you have successfully integrated your brand into your space, you automatically increase the perceived value of your products and services. It is well worth the effort. The sum is truly greater than the parts when it comes to creating a memorable branded experience.
Author, award-winning designer and international speaker, Lyn Falk, has earned praise for her holistic, innovative, results-driven design philosophy. She has devoted over 35 years to helping retailers and business owners across the country define their brand, tell their story, and create memorable customer experiences. Her designs are founded upon consumer behavior, environmental psychology and neuromarketing research. Falk started Retailworks, Inc. in1995 and continues to serve as President and Senior Designer. To reach Lyn, email her at: [email protected].
