Guest blog: should you create a signature treatment for your salon?

A signature treatment is a brilliant way of introducing something new to entice and retain clients.However, there’s a few things you need to consider before you jump right in, says Beata Aleksandrowicz, therapist and co-founder of the Pure Massage Spa Training Method. 

You want the best for your business and you want something special that people can remember when they visit your salon.

Great service is remembered better than a beautifully designed treatment room; therefore, it’s important to deliver, even over deliver, to meet the expectations of your clients. This is what brings repeat customers and five-star star TripAdvisor reviews. 

Your objective is to make your salon stand out in an overcrowded market and the idea of offering a signature treatment is the perfect way to do it. The most luxurious spas are embracing this trend, you may remark; so why shouldn’t your spa have a signature treatment too?

It’s a good point except it’s a bit more complex than it first seems. I would like to invite you to ponder over a few questions that are too often overlooked.

The challenges of creating a signature treatment

Let’s take a step back and investigate the very meaning of the word signature.  

I find this word to be slowly losing its substance when it comes to signature treatments – too often the focus is on the decorative side of the treatment, such as colours, fragrances or gadgets with some local elements. 

Therefore, the substance of the treatment is replaced by a complemental experience that, yes, enhances the senses, but lacks the high-quality of its core. 

It’s more form than substance and is generally missing essential healing aspects, which could easily be part of the design. Saying that, I agree that the sensual aspect of the treatment is also important. 

Fragrance, colour, sound and texture are integral parts of a great signature treatment, but a whole experience can’t be narrowed to, let’s say, the outer layer. 

What should be included?

Creating and offering a unique treatment is a lot more complex than just putting a few exceptional novelties together. It’s an experience as unique as the concept and passion behind it, and it’s closely related to the reason why we want to offer a signature treatment, what would be the core of the treatment and how it will be delivered. 

When I’m asked to deliver a signature treatment, a lot of my research goes into finding local elements that can offer and appeal, but then I also need to find the structure, logic and purpose to make it work so that it has an intrinsic value.  

After that, the training structure needs to be created in such a way that the therapists can repeat it many times, with the deep understanding of the treatment and its core values. 

What I mean is that just by using a few local products and blending them into a protocol with some SOP’s for the therapists will not be enough and, in my opinion, simply a waste of money and time.

Therefore, understanding why you want to add this special treatment to your spa offering is fundamental, as well as finding out if this is what your spa really needs.

Ask yourself: what are you really trying to achieve?

Keep in mind that a signature treatment is powerful, in terms of both the benefits it delivers and the message it sends out. A signature treatment is you and your salon; what unique story do you want to tell?

And remember to ask yourself this important question: what is a signature treatment?

I believe that uniqueness only exists when a higher quality can be delivered. Not a second before.

Beata Aleksandrowicz is a therapist, writer, teacher and expert in the field of massage. She is co-founder of Pure Massage Spa Training Method.

Read Aleksandrowicz’s piece on how to prevent your staff from burning out.