Eye on Small Business — Bruce Schoenberg of Oasis Day Spas
In February, we wrote about Bruce Schoenberg and his Oasis Day Spas, https://westfaironline.com/exclusives/the-personal-touch-at-oasis-day-spa. Now Schoenberg is back to offer further insights on how to market and promote a successful business.
“I came out of the trade show industry so I was used to B2B (business to business). Then when I got into this (spa) industry, it was B2C (business to consumer), which is a totally different animal,” Schoenberg said.
What he has learned is this: Just because a business is a brick-and-mortar enterprise, it needn’t “stand still.” At his Dobbs Ferry spa, located in the Rivertowns Square complex off the Saw Mill River Parkway, Oasis also hosts all manner of commercial events, as well as private parties. Companies or individuals can rent out the entire space if they choose, including all 19 treatment rooms, for events like bachelorette parties or even weddings. The spa includes a 2,000-square-foot rooftop terrace where the view might have you thinking you were in the heart of the Catskill Mountains.)
Schoenberg reaches out to marketing companies and ad agancies as well, who do their own presentations and then send (their clients) for spa treatments.” Oasis also supports local philanthropies, including Yorktown Heights-based Support Connection’s recent 30th annual Support-a-Walk event to bring attention to breast and gynecological cancers.
The message: If it’s any kind of outreach and making connections, Schoenberg is in. “We can be an asset to help you in any event you are doing – discount programs, something for your customers, something for your employees.”
Beyond the physical walls of his Oasis spas (the flagship is at 1 Park Ave. in Manhattan), Schoenberg sends his chair massage and nail technician teams far and wide, offering spa services at trade shows, where his team was dispensing wellness at the time of our meeting. Schoenberg described this as a “spa-to-go” setup.
Many of the companies he works with, such as Conrad hotels, Credit Suisse (now part of UBS), Doubletree, Empire City Casino in Yonkers, Empire Hotel New York City – and these are just a few of the Cs, Ds and Es he shares with me from a list on his cellphone – are widely known, often national or international brands. “There’s a lot of hotel work,” Schoenberg said, referencing New York City hotels with whom he runs programs for admittance to his Manhattan Oasis spa on beneficial terms. And the arrangement is not just for guests. After all, what overworked, over-tired housekeeper or restaurant staffer doesn’t appreciate a wellness treatment?
“When we go in to any of these events, we’re giving away marketing materials and, I have to say, we’re doing an outstanding job.” He is an unabashed marketer, pointing out how his staff, apart from asking spa customers how they have enjoyed their treatments, will encourage a departing customer to write a review. Going a step further, if customers are enthusiastic, staffers will remind them about Oasis gift cards, which they can give to friends, because as Schoenberg said, “There are 365 days in a year. Every day someone is celebrating a birthday.”
