Finding Out What Treatment a Massage Client Really Wants

What Does The Client Want?

This is the simplest and most difficult part of building your client base - and also the most important thing to remember.

It is a very simple concept, but it can be very difficult to achieve and if you don't the clients won't come back or give you referrals.

So what is it?

Give the client the treatment they want.

That's it - I said it was simple.

Or is it?

Let's take an example of a client booking a one hour Massage appointment. They make the booking, turn up on time and you go through your intake process to ensure no contra-indications etc and you then give them the massage. At the end they leave satisfied having had the treatment they booked - a one hour massage.

Did they get the treatment they really wanted?

Each client is unique; they each have a different body with different tensions, areas of stress and needs. Sometimes a client has a specific physical problem they want addressing - knotted shoulders for example, other times they just want to have an hour dedicated to them in a nice pampering massage to send them off to sleep.

Which of these did the client who booked the one hour treatment want?

The difference between a treatment that is going to help ease the tension in some tight shoulders and one that is going to send a client drifting off to sleep in the clouds is immense, and if you don't give the client the right one they aren't going to be very satisfied with the treatment.

And if they aren't satisfied they had the treatment they wanted they aren't going to come back again.

So perhaps the key to an excellent treatment should be:

Find out what the client wants.

This is really important, I have been for so many massages over the years - from small private practices to some of the world's best Spa's in five star hotels.

Whenever I travel I like to have a massage, particularly if it is a new country or destination. From all of these treatments I have learnt something, just because you are paying a lot for a treatment in beautiful surroundings doesn't mean you are going to get a good treatment.

Most places, not all, have some sort of case history consultation. You need to check for any contra-indications before beginning any treatments, but all too often what is usually just a form is as far as the therapist goes in finding out my needs and desires for the treatment.

So here we have it, the first key to ensuring repeat clients - spend a few moments before the treatment starts asking them what they want. What type of treatment are they after.

But what does the client really want?

Ok, that's brilliant - we've asked the client what they would like from the treatment but unfortunately they have a tendency to be not very helpful. Very quickly, and I bet you've used these yourself, you will get some answers like:

"Just to relax and chill-out"

"I'm just really stressed with so much tension I need a really deep massage"

And of course the most unhelpful of them all:

"I don't know really, I just fancied a massage"

These, or similar, are the three most common answers I have found that clients give when you ask them what they want from a massage.

Our job as therapists is to understand what they really mean by their answer, to help them expand on it and to explore it. Generally they have come for a massage or treatment for a reason, they want to feel different when they leave to how they arrived.

And this is the second key to ensuring the client gets the massage they want:

How does the client want to feel when they leave?

I think this is really important, I always ask all my clients this because it makes them think about the outcome of the treatment a little more. Wording can be changed to suit, but some examples I use are:

"What will you notice that is different about yourself or in your body when you leave?"

"Do you want to feel different when you leave? If so how - describe how you would like to feel emotionally and physically"

"If you have the massage you want today, what will be different between now and when you leave?"

Like us, our clients are often lazy and don't want to think about the answers - often replying with?"I don't know" or "Relaxed." So in this situation I follow up with some more probing, similar to some of the following

"Ok, will you walk differently?"

"When you walk out of here to go to your car will I notice anything different about you or how you are walking?"

"Relaxed, how does relaxed feel for you? Can you describe it?"

You will then find that most clients will start to expand on their answers and give you a much better idea of how to plan your treatment.

At the end of the treatment you can ask them how they feel, did they get the outcome they wanted. A very powerful way of doing this is to ask them to walk around the treatment room and describe how they feel. Ask how it compares to when they arrived, what is different and do they feel they got the treatment they wanted. When they are walking they will often stand still to think about the answer, prompt them to keep walking. Through the movement of their body they will really start to notice the changes and differences.