Essentials to Kickstart a Massage Spa Business
Spas and wellness centers are growing rapidly. Since they are becoming more easily available, people are opting for them as a medium to rejuvenate more than ever. Along with the growth in their numbers, the types of spas and their services are also increasing.
A Massage spa is one of the most chosen types of spa that people go to for complete relaxation. This type of spa is often mistaken for your normal day spa but as a matter of fact, they are completely different concepts. Massages are, of course, offered in all different types of spas but spa consultants around the world have written several articles stating how a Massage Spa is different from any other.
Since the spa massage therapies are becoming increasingly popular, the institutions offering spa management courses are educating aspiring spa therapists specifically about this type of spa.
The advice generally that consultants suggest when starting a massage spa is as follows.
1. How to Create a Business Plan for Your Massage Spa
Be it a massage spa business plan or any kind of spa business plan, having a basic foundation of what needs to be done, what should be offered, for whom should it be done and what are the mediums to do it, are some of the considerations.
With these factors considered, having a business vision is also important. This business goal allows the spa owner to direct their efforts in achieving the set goals one after another.
The steps for how to start a massage spa business includes, multiple factors like the business vision, services to offer, equipment to use, location to choose, the audience to target and so on!
2. Process of Determining the Services to Provide
The first question that you come across when you want to open a massage spa is what kind of services to offer. Since the spa industry is spread across different regions and each location has its own unique service to offer, there are certain services that stay constant and are the true identity of a massage spa business.
Another consideration to make while determining the services you want to offer is what kind of clients you are aiming to target. Offering the ideal set of services to your target audience is the only way to increase your ROI at an exponential rate.
Also, since the spa industry is vast when it comes to the types of massages, it is also important to consider what kind of resources are available to you, do you have the kind of budget to invest in equipment that are required to offer a varied type of massage therapies as well as your employees are qualified enough to provide high-quality services.
3. Types of Massage Spa Therapies You Can Offer
Starting a massage spa requires you to incorporate different types of therapies that your clients are looking for. The massage services offered by spas focus on treating various body and health issues like muscle sprains, digestive disorders, arthritis, back pain as well as relieving stress, anxiety, etc.
Depending on a variety of factors, spa consultants suggest you offer the following types of massage therapies.
a) Swedish Massage
A Swedish massage is the most common type of massage that most spas offer. In this type, the therapist applies light to medium pressure on the client. People opt for this type of massage for relaxation of the whole body as it plays a great role in stimulating circulation within the body.
b) Reflexology Massage
In reflexology, the massage is focussed entirely on the feet, hands, and sometimes the ears. The pressure is applied to certain points in these parts of the body only. It is an excellent therapy for people who do not like being touched all over the body. If the right amount of pressure is applied it can help a whole of ailments throughout the body as well as aid relaxation.
c) Deep tissue massage
When someone suffers from major muscle pain and soreness over the body, a deep tissue massage is what they tend to choose. The therapist uses deep finger pressure for relieving tension from the deepest tissues. People highly sensitive to pressure tend to avoid this massage.
d) Aromatherapy massage
An aromatherapy massage is the best type of therapy to provide to your clients who like to have beautiful fragrances around them with therapeutic benefits. Essential oils are used in this type of massage and generally a lighter pressure is applied. This type of massage is ideal for relieving muscle tension, pain and symptoms of anxiety.
e) Hot Stone Massage
A hot stone massage is a very unique type of massage where the therapist uses hot stones and places these over the body part that needs to be relaxed and treated. It is considered to be a deeply therapeutic type of massage. The effects of this massage result in healing and are a relaxing experience.
f) Shiatsu Massage
Therapists first understand the client’s problem areas before starting with this massage. The pressure is applied to the whole body during this massage but extra attention is paid to areas that demand relaxation. It helps in balancing the circulation flow etc.
4. Equipment Required to Run a Massage Spa
A massage spa business is a demanding one. Along with having the most qualified therapists on your team, having the right kind of equipment is equally important. The right massage devices help your employees to deliver quality services and live up to your clients’ expectations. The kind of equipment that you invest in decides your long-term output.
Having equipment that simplifies your job of massaging saves a lot of time and effort as well as increases the quality of your services. Listed below are some of the major massage spa equipment that you should consider investing in as a spa owner.
- Massage tables
- Massage chairs
- Towels, linens
- Essential oils, creams, and lotions
- Fragrance candles
- Heating devices and stones
5. The Procedure of Customer Segmentation
The type of customers visiting your massage spa is going to be varied. There will be people who like the quality of your services while others might not opt to revisit. In such cases, it is highly crucial for you to segregate your client base, improve your marketing techniques and regain the lost customers as well as invite the new ones.
While you contemplate the idea of how much does it cost to open a massage spa, it is also essential for you to ponder on the idea of how to attract customers through marketing ideas and what kind of customers would be actually interested in the services that you offer.
The two most popular ways to segment your customers is as follows
According to the services that your customers opt for
The frequency of client visits
6. Secondary Business Model for a Massage Spa
A massage spa business is not just limited to providing different kinds of therapeutic massages. It is much more than that. Though when you start a spa especially focusing on massages, providing the best quality of massages should be your main motive. Along with that, offering different kinds of products can also be a good marketing tactic.
Offering different kinds of products that are related to massage therapies also proves an advantage to you to create a high recall value of your brand among your customers.
The list of products that you can offer along with the massage services include:
- Salt and sugar scrubs
- Massage stones
- Muds and body wraps
- Thai herbal balls
- Skincare products
- Aromatherapy products
7. Location to Choose for Your Massage Spa
One of the most common yet significant questions along with how to start a spa business is where should you locate your spa. This is an extremely important consideration to make because the place where your spa is located decides the profits and losses that your business will incur.
The decision of deciding the location of your spa is primarily dependent on where your client audience resides. It is not that customers do not travel to visit a spa but the ideal goal is, the nearer, the better. By providing the required convenience to your customers, you give them more reason to visit your spa. Besides the location of your target audience, your budget is also a crucial factor to look at. This is important because the overall cost of owning a spa business is a huge investment in itself so deciding on the location is a decision that should be made with a lot of awareness.
All said and done, considering every factor mentioned above, results will be achieved when you finally decide to implement them. Massage spa is an upcoming concept in the spa and wellness industry and the only way to crack it is to take action and stay consistent throughout!
