Ma Spa: Marketing Strategy for a Mom-Focused Spa Service

Introduction to the Ma Spa Concept

The new product introduced in this paper is a spa that services mothers of young children. It is called the Ma Spa, and the innovative idea behind the service is that it provides care for a customer's children while she receives her spa treatment. Most mothers with small children do not have the opportunity to stop in at a spa because they always have kids in tow—so the Ma Spa is designed specifically for them: no appointments needed and no worries about what to do with the children. The Ma Spa has certified childcare professionals on staff who oversee the children as they play in their own dedicated play area while Mom relaxes and gets her hair or nails done. It is a business that caters specifically to women and affirms how special and important they are to the community by ensuring their beauty and relaxation needs are met in spite of the responsibilities they carry with them everywhere they go.

There is nothing quite like the Ma Spa in the spa industry. Most spas require a reservation, and no spas offer childcare services as part of their standard approach to the marketplace. This spa differentiates itself from competitors because it is completely focused on mothers and their small children, ensuring that Mom has an opportunity to enjoy time at the spa within her busy schedule.

Other spas exist in the market, but they are typical day spas competing with one another based on the same framework, using the same resources and attempting to capture the same market share. There is nothing like the Ma Spa that caters specifically to a niche market, and there are many mothers who would love to have a spa designed with just them in mind.

The objective of the Ma Spa is to provide a unique opportunity for mothers in the community to receive a spa treatment without having to worry about what to do with their children or who is watching them. The mission statement is: To make sure moms get the mental, physical, social, and beauty health support they need through spa relaxation treatment at any time of the working day.

Target Market and Competitive Positioning

The four basic target marketing strategies are: (1) undifferentiated marketing, (2) differentiated or multi-segment marketing, (3) focused or concentrated targeting, and (4) customized marketing. Undifferentiated marketing refers to an approach in which a company seeks to grow interest in its products across a wide range of consumers without regard to demographics. For example, a TV ad that plays during the Super Bowl would be a case of undifferentiated marketing because it is seen by millions of different people. There is nothing specifically designed to make the ad appeal to one target population. Differentiated marketing, also called multi-segment targeting, allows a company to focus on specific demographics and tailor its marketing to connect with each of them. Concentrated targeting is a technique a company uses when there is a special niche market it wants to focus on. Customized marketing is useful when a company is looking to obtain a long-term contract with a particular population, organization, or group.

The Ma Spa will use concentrated marketing because it is focusing on a niche market of consumers—mothers in their 20s and 30s who are still interested in fashion, makeup, and being pampered, and who will welcome a break from their young children while receiving a spa treatment. This is a niche population that is currently underserved in terms of being specifically sought out by companies. Young mothers are a strong group to target because they are still interested in maintaining some of the lifestyle they enjoyed before having children, yet they are not so overwhelmed that they cannot get out and enjoy themselves. They typically have one or two young children who are not yet in school, along with errands they want to run. In a growing community, a spa dedicated specifically to mothers will be warmly received.

The market being targeted is mothers between the ages of 20 and their late 30s, as that is the age range of most mothers with small children. The geographic focus will be upper-middle-class suburbs, where most spa-loving women are likely to reside (household income of approximately $100,000). The core value the Ma Spa delivers is that mothers will be able to feel fresh and revitalized—something currently difficult for them to achieve since they rarely have an uninterrupted hour or two to relax.

Currently no existing organization offers a similar service. Many other spas across the country offer special promotions for mothers, but none are designed the same way as the Ma Spa. Other spas' specials focus on getting Mom out of the house and into the spa alone, relying on others to serve as caretakers for the afternoon. The Ma Spa recognizes how hard it is for mothers to find childcare and has built its entire service model on the premise that it will care for the children while Mom enjoys her treatment. There is nothing else like it in the market today.

The key strength of the Ma Spa is its ability to differentiate itself from the competition by offering something no other player in the industry has thought to provide. In this sense, the company is making use of the Blue Ocean Strategy (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). This strategy focuses on identifying a need in a community that is not being met and that no one has even thought to address—it is about discovering what is missing in the market.

Marketing Objectives and Revenue Goals

The short-term marketing objectives for the Ma Spa are as follows:

1. Promote the new service — This will include advertising locally with targeted online ads.
2. Engage the audience — By developing a social media presence, describing what is available at the facility, and inviting questions from followers.
3. Obtain positive product and service reviews — This will include collecting contact information from customers by having them sign up for email discounts and promotional offers, then reaching out via email or social media to solicit positive reviews.
4. Increase brand awareness — This will include sponsoring local events to spread the word about the brand.
5. Launch in a new market — This will include an opening day and opening week event in which all spa services are half price for all customers.
6. Generate web traffic for online product sales — This will include driving visitors to the website by promoting discounts applicable to online purchases. This approach eliminates stocking and storage costs, as distributors handle shipping and storage while the spa collects a premium for managing the point-of-sale process.

The goals for sales and profit center on two primary revenue streams: service fees and monthly subscription fees that allow mothers to take advantage of a set number of spa visits at their convenience. Sales of organic, locally sourced cosmetic and homeopathic beauty products will further enhance revenue. The spa will promote these products during treatments and sell them online as well. Because local producers will manufacture, store, and ship the products, the point-of-sale process represents a near-pure-profit scenario for the spa, which simply processes the sale and receives a premium for doing so.

The following business model canvas outlines the key components of the Ma Spa's value proposition:

• Key Partners: Beauty, bath, and spa product manufacturers
• Key Activities: Massages, facials, nails, masks, and related treatments
• Value Propositions: Giving mothers a chance to do something nice for themselves
• Customer Relationships: Serving every customer with fairness and care
• Customer Segments: Mothers with small children, typically under age 5 but also up to age 12
• Key Resources: Buildings, staff, brand identity, and supplies
• Channels: Social media and word of mouth
• Cost Structure: Value-driven
• Revenue Streams: Service fees and subscription fees

References

Kim, W., & Mauborgne, R. (2005). Blue ocean strategy: From theory to practice. California Management Review, 47(3), 105–121.

Mangold, W. G., & Smith, K. T. (2012). Selling to Millennials with online reviews. Business Horizons, 55(2), 141–153.

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