As costs rise, the conversation around pricing can feel uncomfortable. But, if you’re running a spa or working full-time as a massage therapist, you already know the thought that goes into each and every treatment or service. That said, it’s surprisingly easy to forget how much goes into creating an exceptional experience, especially when you are trying to articulate the value to a client.
However, the value of the treatment is more than the hands–on work. When we feel the pressure to stay competitive, it’s tempting to look at what we can cut from our treatments instead of thinking about what subtle and cost effective elements we can add to the environment that make it worth paying more for.
The Science of “Arriving”
The truth is simple: the service your guests enjoy relies on stimulating their senses to make them feel. Though these touchpoints are hardly ever seen or noticed, their absence is immediately felt. And, when executed correctly, they are details that can leave a lasting impression on your guests. For example, therapists asking guests how they want to feel post-treatment and personalising the music and scent in their treatments accordingly make for a memorable, well-thought-through experience. Music is one of the strongest examples of this with research showing how it can lower stress levels and help regulate the nervous system. Long before hands-on work begins, sound sets the emotional tone of a space, helping the nervous system slow down, allowing guests to arrive fully in the moment. This ensures half the work of a therapist is done, as the right music helps overcome one of the toughest parts of the treatment; ensuring guests can surrender to the ritual and receive maximum benefits.
Excellence is in the Invisible
Guests can’t see the years spent refining your techniques and learning, or the continual research and reading to make each treatment feel premium. They don’t see the hours of prep before and after each day, or how much each treatment relies on you staying in the zone and reading each client’s individual needs, even when you’re overbooked or tired.
However, your guests and clients will always feel the results of the time and effort you put in. The softness of the linen, the extra minute you take to check the temperature is to their liking, the professionalism…even the music playing can quickly impact the mood, focus and emotion of a guest faster than other sensory cues. All those touches that seem small are exactly what turn a basic treatment into an unforgettable one. They’re also the first thing to disappear when a business tries to cut corners. Music is often one of the first corners to be cut because it is seen as something for the background. When in reality, if the music is wrong, it can be distracting and simply out of place. It can pull guests out of an experience just as quickly as anything else.
Why Quality Protects Your Passion
It’s a common trap to think that lowering prices or squeezing in more clients is the path to stability. But “economy” treatments often lead to therapist burnout and guest dissatisfaction. When you’re squeezing in too many clients or trying to save on everything from linens to aromatherapy, the guest experience suffers. And whether they say it out loud or not, clients notice.
The guests who truly value wellness aren’t looking for the cheapest option; they are looking for the most restorative one. They expect a premium environment, and they understand that a high-standard experience requires investment.
Elevate Your Environment
If you are looking to reinforce your value this year, start with the senses. Sound is one of the most powerful ways to anchor a guest’s memory of a treatment. It’s an investment in your own flow as a therapist and a gift to the client’s wellbeing.
This is why leading wellness brands increasingly treat sound as a core part of experience design.That includes the atmosphere you create. Sound is something that supports both your flow and focus, allowing you to give each guest the treatment they will want to come back for and talk about. Studies have shown that music plays a powerful role in emotional memory, shaping how experiences are recalled long after they’ve ended.
When you charge appropriately, you’re giving yourself the space to work to the standard you believe in, improving the guest experience, ultimately making them more likely to return or tell a friend.
You already know what happens when a treatment feels rushed or stripped down to the bare bones. It is not the kind of therapist you want to be.
Value your work so you can keep delivering the experience guests return for, the one only you can create.
Ready to be more intentional about the sound in your space?
Experience how purpose-built wellness music can transform your practice.
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