Charlie Thompson: “Now is the time to refresh your business”

The Massage Company founder and managing director offers eight ways to support your team and grow

By Sarah Todd

02 March 2021

massagecompany.co.uk/

European Spa‘s new Leadership Experts series shines a spotlight on the key challenges facing spa and beauty businesses right now.

One such business, with more than 60 staff and over 2,000 members, is The Massage Company (TMC), founded by Elliot Walker and Charlie Thompson in 2016 to bring high-quality massage in centres around the UK.

The massage company has more than 60 therapists and 2,000 members

During the weeks that businesses were allowed to open in between three nationwide closures throughout 2020, The Massage Company team delivered thousands of massages, increased membership sales conversion and effectively dealt with the huge changes the pandemic brought to businesses and people’s lives.

Thompson’s work during the pandemic was recently recognised by the SME National Business Awards when he was given the ‘Lockdown Leader’ award for the support he provided his team, franchisees and customers during the pandemic.

We asked him to provide some valuable insights and creative solutions to help you empower your team and future-proof your business ahead of reopening:

CHARLIE THOMPSON'S EIGHT WAYS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR SPA BUSINESS

1. USE VIDEO TECHNOLOGY

The message is clear and personal, and video technology is far better for adding emphasis or emotion to a situation. Our YouTube channel now has nearly 300 videos – most of which are internal or ‘unlisted’ only.

2. EVERYONE NEEDS CERTAINTY AND CLARITY

Ensure your team receive weekly video message that demonstrate you’re in control of the situation and also the rules.

3. UNDERLINE THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING

Everyone needs structure. At TMC, we have a mandatory training session each week – if you want to be paid, you are on the call.

4. HARNESS THE POWER OF YOUR TEAM

By making your content relevant and interesting, we can bring our whole team with us to a new level. Challenge your team to film short, 90-second insights to a topic. Just remember to wear uniform when you do this, and film in landscape!

5. RAISE YOUR PRICES, BE DECISIVE

Justify your value and increase your prices. Underlying costs have happened since the Coronavirus pandemic began, so repair your balance sheet, re-evaluate your business and ensure that no one works for free.

6. IMPROVE YOUR SYSTEMS

If you’re going to put a 100% upfront payment system in place, now’s the time to do it. We’ve done this right from the beginning (with a refund policy in place). Industry cancellation rates are between 3-5% but at TMC, our rates are 0.5%.

7. BUILD THE HOUSE

From our TMC Intranet to a new Mentorship Programme, new payroll systems, an enhanced Eco-Project and our TMC Knowledge Base, where we have created voluntary Working Groups that are led by a senior team member, we have put lots of resources and systems in place for the future.

8. REFRESH AND INCREASE YOUR OFFER

It’s time to retain the interest in your business and make it commercially viable. While you have no bookings in your system, now’s the time to refresh your business. Be comfortable that some clients will drop off and not come forward, but over the next 6-12 months, you’ll build those numbers back up.