As a professional massage therapist or acupuncturist, we believe you’ve already acquired the skills and experiences related to your professional treatments that will really make a difference in how your client feels after a visit. However, your expertise isn’t the only thing that counts in this business! Creating the right impression can really tip the scales in your favour, making you clients more receptive and relaxed before and after your treatments, and, finally, making them much more likely to remember you the next time they’re feeling out of sorts.
It isn’t always obvious how to go about creating an atmosphere that’s your own, however, and many professional clinics just end up looking and feeling the same. Here are some tips to get started on creating a personalized, signature atmosphere in your space!
- Scent really is the sense most associated to memory! Creating your own essential oil blend can create a powerful sensory association between the way your clients feel in your clinic and the space itself. It’s also a relatively easy step to implement, and it’s very versatile! For example, you can dab some essential oils on your head rest cover, or use them in a pretty diffuser in your clinic.
- Feel the heat! Keeping your massage oils, lotions and gels slightly above body temperature can make a massage undeniably more pleasant for your clients. Liquid oil warmers and massage candles are a great way to make sure that they’re always the right temperature, and your clients will love the incredibly soothing sensation of pre-warmed massage oils, gels and lotions on their skin: the extra heat will make penetrating tissues and relaxing tense muscles much easier. Towel warmers are also a great idea to keep the heat up after treatments – there’s nothing cozier than a warm towel!
- Eye pillows are a great way to relax your clients that are unfortunately quite uncommon in clinics! They can be scented or unscented, and they soothe the muscles around the eyes.
- Offering a cup of herbal tea before or after the treatment adds a personal touch: hot tea is perfect for cold weather, while ice tea is cool and refreshing hot weather.
- Besides a stone heater for both hot stone massage and warm stone massage, try keeping some massage stones in the fridge for clients who need to cool down during the hot summer months!
- It’s always a good idea to take notes of clients’ preferences and their important dates such as their birthdays or some of their anniversary days: after all, clients will always remember if you make them feel valued and understood.
- Change up the décor, and invest in local artists’ work if you can! You can vary your decorations from season to season as well, opting for flowers in the summer and for candles in the winter, for example.
The tips mentioned above are just a starting point: it’s important to take you time to think up more creative ideas to attract clients and differentiate yourself from others.
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