The Most Important Factor To Getting & Retaining Clients

Let’s discuss something that is even more important than your massage skills; more important than what modalities you practice; more important than any other aspect of your business when it comes to getting and retaining clients.  

A lot of therapists tend to get caught up in the modalities they practice and how that’s going to be the wow factor that gets clients and keeps them coming back. Or it’s the flashy branding you spent thousands of dollars on. Or it’s all the expensive equipment and décor that makes your facility ridiculously awesome. Or if you just market right you’ll have a successful business. But while that stuff is nice and can obviously make a difference of course, there is one thing that trumps it all…one thing that will make or break a business regardless of all those other factors.  

Customer service.  

There is no modality or technique that will make up for poor customer service.  

There is no marketing strategy that will make up for poor customer service.  

There is no advertisement that will make up for poor customer service.  

There is no fancy amenities that will make up for poor customer service.  

Yes, you have to know how to market. You have to have some good hands-on skills. You have to have a somewhat nice facility. But guess what…you can be in a mediocre facility and deliver great customer service and build a wildly successful business. You can be in the fanciest spot in town with the greatest amenities but if you deliver crappy customer service, you’ll go out of business. The same goes for the best marketing plans or the best hands-on skills or any other facet of your business. It’s important, but it all falls to the wayside if you don’t deliver incredible customer service.  

Here’s a little example…there’s a beautiful spa somewhat local to me. I mean, high-end everything. Really well done overall from the look of the facility, the amenities they offer, and their marketing is on point. But when I finally decided to try it out…it was awful! The customer service was atrocious. And I try to be understanding, but this was overall just a terrible experience. I walked in, wasn’t even acknowledged by the first 4 employees who walked right by me during my 5-minute wait for someone at the front desk. Finally, someone did greet me, if you could call it that, and begrudgingly led me back to the treatment room with little to no instruction of what to do or what to expect. The entire time I felt like I was bothering her. I honestly, should have just left early on, but I stuck it out thinking maybe once she gets into the treatment, she’ll be fine. Nope. None of it was good. And the checkout process was just as bad, cold, and absolutely no check-in or follow-up to be seen. Honestly, the treatment might have been ok, but I don’t even remember because the poor customer service stood out far more than the treatment or anything about the nice facility. I obviously won’t be going back. I felt like it was a complete waste of money and time.  

So I say all this because I just really want to get across that how you treat your clients and potential clients, that makes a much bigger impression than any of the other stuff you may have put stock in. You need to make them feel wanted, cared for, and overall that they are your primary focus from the time they walk in the door until the time they leave. Great customer service really isn’t that hard, but it does take effort. Yes, even when you’re having a bad day. I know it’s cliché, but treat each of your clients like you would want to be treated. Go above and beyond for them. Treat them like a friend coming in to be taken care of. Smile, be welcoming, accommodate them as best you can and within your boundaries of course, keep your focus and intent entirely on them. Great customer service is one of the most important factors in the success of your massage business.  

Have you ever had a bad customer service experience? Or maybe you had an incredible customer service experience where a company went above and beyond your expectations.