World spa&wellness
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EXPERT VIEW<br />
Anna Bjurstam<br />
you won’t need to sell the concept.<br />
Implementation is the tricky bit, and it<br />
comes back to trust.<br />
My most essential piece of advice would<br />
be to test the idea before going big. You’ll<br />
find that there are many things you need to<br />
tweak and if you go big from the start,<br />
making changes will a) become much more<br />
costly and cumbersome and b) dilute the<br />
trust in your brand. So, no matter how eager<br />
you are to roll out the brand, test it out<br />
first, going back to the drawing board a<br />
couple of times.<br />
Add things little by little, including<br />
standard operating procedures and<br />
templates. Stay true to your brand pillars,<br />
voice and vision. They are there to define<br />
what to do, but also what not to do. Former<br />
Nike & Starbucks executive Scott Bedbury<br />
said: “A brand is a story that is always being<br />
told”. Branding is the process of forming<br />
memories, emotions and a relationship<br />
around your brand in the consumer’s brain.<br />
The goal is to build such a strong connection<br />
that the consumer takes on your identity as<br />
their own, using your brand to help define who<br />
they are. Look at Apple, Nike and Google; they<br />
have diehard followers because they have<br />
been successful in establishing a connection<br />
with us and consumers purchase Apple and<br />
Nike products because their brand identities<br />
fit with their own persona.<br />
With Liv Nordic, we have found that<br />
our authentic Swedish massage; genuinely<br />
caring staff; Nordic bathing ritual with its<br />
hot sauna and ice cold dips; Scandinavian<br />
design; and Swedish tradition of “fika”<br />
resonates with our guests in a meaningful<br />
way. Our brand pillars of Nordic stillness,<br />
creativity and a connection to nature<br />
directs us in how we live and, therefore, in<br />
what we do and how we serve our guests.<br />
Which generates the trust necessary to<br />
build a successful brand.<br />
Anna Bjurstam has 25 years’ industry<br />
experience and is a partner in spa<br />
consultancy and management<br />
company Raison d’Etre, whose<br />
business includes in-house spa brand<br />
Liv Nordic and whose clients comprise<br />
more than 120 spas in 65 countries.<br />
She is also vice president of spas<br />
for Six Senses hotels and resorts.<br />
raisondetrespas.com<br />
<strong>World</strong> Spa & Wellness | July/August 2017<br />
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