What others say about your spa or massage practice online matters more than ever in today’s digital age. Recent online review statistics from Capital One Shopping [1]indicate that 99% of American consumers read online reviews before making purchases and online business reviews influence 93% of consumers’ purchasing decisions. Here are some other stats about the importance of online reviews from Capital One:
· 92% of consumers read online reviews of a local business before making their first visit.
· 42% of consumers place as much trust in online reviews as they do in personal recommendations; among 18- to 34-year-olds, this share increases to 91%.
· Online reviews influence 30% of consumers’ local shopping decisions.
A few other noteworthy stats about online reviews and consumer engagement from Capital One:
· Consumers spend an average of 13 minutes and 45 seconds and read 10 online reviews before they decide to trust a local business.
· The number of reviews for a business influences the purchasing decisions of 60% of consumers.
· 71% of consumers regularly read reviews for local businesses.
Make online review monitoring a priority
Considering the impact and importance of online reviews to attract new clients, online review monitoring should be a priority of your spa or massage practice. By monitoring reviews, you can stay ahead of negative feedback.
Monitoring online reviews also helps you identify patterns, which may emerge following a new trend in the massage industry with clients and prospects expecting your business to be up to date. Conversely, busy holiday seasons which may result in a significant uptick in appointments, which you may not be prepared to handle due to inadequate staffing may lead to negative comment. If you can anticipate this happening, you can be ahead of the game by encouraging clients to sign up as early as possible to ensure you have sufficient staff to handle the demand.
Start with an online business profile
One way to mitigate negative online business reviews is to keep your online business profile up to date on the various review sites, including Yelp or Google. Include accurate information about your spa or massage practice, such as location, hours of operation, treatments and retail products. Enhance your profiles with photos.
Ultimately, creating optimized business profiles helps establish authenticity and credibility of your business when responding to reviews. Most clients and prospects would be less likely to trust responses from accounts without photos or verifiable business information. [2]
Proactively manage your reputation
A proactive online reviews management campaign should include the following:
Review sites
While Yelp is one of the most well-known sites, there are many others where your clients may be sharing their thoughts about your services. Among them, Google Business Profile, Facebook Page reviews, Better Business Bureau, Foursquare, Manta, and more. Review them routinely.
Respond
By responding, you let your clients and prospects know what they say about your business matters. Respond quickly, too, especially if the comment is negative. A quick response can make a significant difference in turning around a negative opinion. Just avoid getting defensive over negative reviews. Tact is the best way to handle bad reviews. Respond by pointing out where the information may be wrong. If the negative review is correct, thank the reviewer for raising the issue and indicate what changes you plan to make. At the same time, be appreciative of positive reviews and comments and show it. Thank the individuals for their kind remarks.
Participate in the online conversation:
Be part of the conversation on social media. Keep your clients and prospects informed about your spa or massage practice, special treatments, new retail offers, trends in the industry and more. In this way, you are shaping the conversation. Your involvement also shows that you are accessible and want to hear what your customers have to say.
Follow through
Make any changes that commit to making. If someone complained about a service treatment and you offered to provide another treatment at a discounted rate, make sure to follow through. If a customer did not get the promised results from a retail product and you offered to make an exchange, be sure to do it.
Monitor
After you make any necessary changes, keep monitoring review sites and see if the comments change and if overall reviews change in the direction you want.
Request reviews from clients
Satisfied clients are a great source of positive reviews, so do not leave the opportunity to chance. Ask clients to help promote your business by sharing their thoughts and experiences with your spa or massage practice on one or more review sites. Most clients will be happy to accommodate.
Timing may help in making your request. Choose a time when your client is particularly happy with your service, maybe after a successful treatment for pain or relaxation or when they express their satisfaction after the appointment. You can make the review in person.
Do not being overly aggressive in asking for an online review. Keep the conversation natural and bring it up after thanking them for their business over the months and years. Then casually make the request that they share their experience.
You also want to be specific about which platforms would be of most use for your business. Some clients unfamiliar with the review process may need some guidance on how to go about it. For example, in many cases, they may need to open an account to leave a review. Other clients even may ask for your input on what you would like them to emphasize. This can be particularly important if you are offering a new service and would like to get visibility for it.
Make sure to check to see if the review has been posted. You can politely remind a client if they do not follow up. Similarly, if they have posted a review, respond with your thanks in person or by text or email, again reinforcing how much their positive comments mean to your business and to you.
Online reviews are critical to today’s business. Make sure you manage them to get the positive input that sets you apart from the competition, enhance your reputation and win client loyalty.
[1] “Online Reviews Statistics,” CapitalOne Shopping,” August 7, 2025. https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/online-reviews-statistics/
[2] Petrilli, Adamn, “Have Bad Online Reviews? Here’s How to Turn that Negative Feedback Into a Bottom-Line Booster,” Forbes., December 9, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2025/08/29/how-ai-is-revolutionizing-product-management-time-to-get-on-board/