Risky Business – What Do Your Product Choices Say To Your Customers?

 It is the same across the board; in all industries and services we aspire to have the best quality products. It’s common sense to a certain extent. We all want to get the highest quality products at the cheapest possible price. But as always, you get what you pay for. Of course there are exceptions, bargains to be had, and when you are starting up a new business and need supplies, there is more often than not a budget to be adhered to. However, cutting corners in the massage industry simply means cutting profits. Anyone who has been for a massage before knows that quality is paramount. If you don’t make a proper investment in your equipment then it may not bring you the return you are hoping for.

If a customer goes to one massage therapist and is put on an extremely comfortable massage table that is the right width and with the right accessories to enhance the experience, as well as high quality accompanying products (e.g. massage oils and couch covers) then they are obviously going to view the experience as preferable to one where their massage therapist laid them on a too-slim table that smelled strange, felt unstable when they climbed on and had flattened foam or splits in the upholstery. Potent smelling, cheap massage lotions and oils might also put them off, or worse – give them an unpleasant skin reaction or dragging feeling on the skin during the therapy. We really can’t afford to cut corners with this kind of thing if we want to provide an efficient service. It is certainly not all about the massage therapy skills under your belt – the whole experience has various facets to consider.

Navigate the nonsense

When parting with your hard earned cash, it is wise to apply your critical thinking skills. There are people out there who are either extremely trusting or plain naïve – usually because they themselves are good natured – so they take things at face value and don’t like to think they’re going to be conned. It isn’t necessarily that sellers are out to con anybody, but of course it makes good business sense to talk a good game. The highlights will always be highlighted, and anything less will likely be brushed under the carpet. So if everybody is talking up their products and burying any weaknesses or flaws that could put you off, how are you to be sure that the product is what you want it to be?

It isn’t so difficult really. Cutting through the hype and find out what is really going on with the products we are interested in is as simple as finding out about the company’s reputation. Again, it’s common sense, but when we are excited and like the look of a product, we all too often forget to do any digging. We want to believe that what we see in front of us is exactly what we were looking for.

Find out who and what you are dealing with

Reviews are there for a reason, so look for them. Customers aren’t going to over-exaggerate their experience of the product – why would they? If the majority of them are telling you it’s not worth it, the chances are it isn’t. If you want genuine quality, you will need to make a some degree of investment; so it pays to be sure that what you are investing in is going to live up to your expectations. It’s not just the product reviews you should be reading about either – what are customers saying about the company itself? Did they appreciate the customer service? Were any complaints handled to their satisfaction?

Any reputable company will make it easy for you to find out what customers are saying about them, so look around the websites. If there are a lot of happy customers then the company will probably be going out of their way to show them off. The products should have clear ratings and sections for customers to give full information about their experience with it. Not only will this give you a clear idea of the quality, but it might highlight issues or benefits that you’d not even considered. Check the warranties too - good products will always have reasonable warranty periods. This is the company’s way of saying ‘we believe in our products and so can you.’ Of course if you look after it well, you can probably expect it to last well past this period.  

Choosing budget products is merely postponing the costs