When Should I Create A Special Offer In My Massage Therapy Business?

A Massage Therapy business is always more attractive to clients initially when it has a special offer going. However, it would seem odd if every time see the ad or brochure, it has a special offer. After a while, if the special offer is done to death, that offer looses it sweetness. That’s why you should only offer specials at the right time, not every Sunday, for example. It cheapens the value that your clients believe you have.

A special offer should be done with a marketing campaign, or at special holidays or events throughout the year, such as Easter time, Christmas time, or Mothers and fathers day. If people know that you have giveaways or special offers all the time, they will not place as much value on your massage as you deserve.

Always keep your prices at the higher end of the scale, and give extra value for this.

Let’s take the Christmas vacation period for example. One of my busy times was the time before Christmas. Everyone wanted to get their massages in before going on holidays. Most people went away for the summer (here we have summer in January) and wanted to easy their Christmas stress before the big day in December.

So I used this to my advantage. I sold a lot of vouchers during this time. More people were coming to me looking for Christmas presents, so I made sure I sold vouchers and gave it until the end of January for people to use them. Why? Because January was a little quieter than December and it was a way I could gain extra clients in a quiet month and it still kept the income flowing in.

The more I made use of special offers especially at a busy time, the more referrals for gift vouchers I got. You see if you advertise a special offer on your massage around a busy time, you are more likely to be seen as special yourself. You need a reason to have a special offer.

I also used Mothers Day to it’s full extent. About two weeks before Mothers Day I advertised a special “Mums Special Relaxation Pack” if you bought a gift voucher for Mothers Day in the month of May. In this pack I put a gift voucher for one hour a bottle of Lavender Essential oil, a cake of rose soap, some Rose scented bath salts and a few floating candles. It was definitely a special offer, because it was especially catered for women at a particular time in the year.

What made this so unique was the perception that it was just for Mothers, for a short time, so you had to be quick. And I held my time too. The minute June ended, so did the availability of the gift packs. The special offer had a definite expiry date, as all special offers should. (Don’t let people talk you into extending it for another 3 months.)

This created the impression that I gave more than my competitors, and made it special for people when they saw me. It was something I was glad I did, and it encouraged people to come more often.

Use special offers wisely. Don’t over do it. Just select a good reason and don’t do special offers top much. Remember you are quality and quality practitioners only give away something at selected times of the year.

Good luck!

The Secret To Successful Marketing In A Massage Therapy Business

In order to know how to get more clients you must do marketing. Anyone can market their massage business, but not everyone can market their massage business to a point where in months they have the client numbers they need to sustain good income, good business and plenty of referrals.

Is there a secret to marketing? You bet there is. I’m going to tell you what that secret is right now:

Knowing your clients.

Sounds simple enough but what does it really mean? Simply put if you don’t know what your clients want from your massage you will never know what message to put in your marketing. How can you have an effective marketing message that people will respond to if that message doesn’t mean anything to them on any level? In order for your marketing to work you must create marketing where your clients feel emotionally involved when looking at your promotional material. Why? Because marketing is about reaching out with an emotion. Its all about emotion!

Okay lets take this a little further.

As people we are emotional and that’s precisely what out purchase decisions are based on. We feel a desire to experience something which is why we buy things. Massage or not the psychology is exactly the same.

When you tell your clients about your massage service in a brochure do not tell them about things such as “increases blood flow”, clients don’t come to you because they want better circulation. Clients come to you because they want their muscles pain relieved. They are usually in pain of some kind, or stressed out, so make sure you market THAT message to them. They will respond faster to you if you reflect what they want in your marketing, not what YOU think they want.

If a client is looking for massage because she is pregnant and her back is aching, then why use blood flow as the main interest point? Its crazy and this is the reason why most therapists experience a total financial loss when marketing.

The secret is if you know your clients wants and needs as a group, when you first market your massage business, you have a better chance of capturing their interest and forming long term relationships with these people. Its common sense.

So get cracking! Find out what your clients want from you. Ask them directly why they came to you in the first place and then get the most common theme and use THAT in your marketing.

Good luck!

Amy Roberts

How To Get The Most Out Of Doing Massage Therapy From Home

There is no place like home, and whilst running a massage practice from home has its advantages like no rent and less power cost there are some disadvantages you need to be aware of if you are thinking from setting up your massage business from home.

1. Stay focused

It’s easy to become distracted sometimes when you work from home. It’s too easy to say “Oh I’ll just get a cup of coffee” whilst writing your all-important business plan. When things are difficult or challenging you can easily head straight for the comforts of your home and not go back to the important tasks at hand. In a clinic away from home, you can become more focused and can get more done than at home for this very reason. No distractions and nothing to use as an excuse to distract you from something you’d much rather not do.

If possible have your massage room away from the main living areas. If you have a spare room as far away from the rest of house as possible then it will prove not only quiet but less distraction should prevail.

2. Set your hours. While working from home gives you more freedom over the booked massages, it also gives you more room to become lapse at keep up with other tasks that are important such as bookkeeping, keeping up to date with client history files, washing towels, cleaning down the room from the days activities. So try to set strict working hours for certain tasks. Since you are seeing more people during the day and most likely in the evenings too, make sure you allocate the next morning to catch up on all these other tasks that are essential to running your massage business.

3. Getting It Clear With Family. As great as they are, family need to understand your working boundaries. It’s too easy for the kids to knock on your door whilst doing a massage or trying to get your client records up to date. Your family need to be fully aware (emergencies excepted of course) that you are not to be disturbed during certain allocated working hours. You can say that between 7pm and 8.30pm you need to be undisturbed after you finish treating clients for the day. That way you can get all those things done that you don’t get time to do during the day when treating clients.

4. Adhere to that business plan. A business plan is a working progress of what direction you are going in your massage business. It’s a map to achieving your goals and attaining the massage business you would love to have in your life. A business plan is not just something you write on your computer because you’ve been told you should. A business plan, if done with heartfelt joy for your massage business, is fun, colourful and enjoyable. It should be a plan of what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. Its your own personal guide to your success.

Working from home can be great fun and very relaxing. It gives you complete control over your environment and can give you many years of enjoyment. Always remember to put it into perspective and avoid the saboteurs.

Good luck!
Amy Roberts

6 Successful Ways To Market to Existing Clients In Your Massage Therapy Business

Marketing to clients can be a challenge, especially when you have no been trained to do so. Many therapists have been “trained” in the field of massage therapy but when it comes to marketing so that we can get clients in the first place, many of us are at a complete loss at what to do and how to do it.

Here are some tips I’ve put together to help point you in the direction of gaining new clients faster.

1. Communication with your existing clients. Staying in contact with your existing clients is very important. People forget about you if they have not been for a while for a number of reasons that usually have nothing to do with you. Set up an email system to stay in touch with them on a regular basis, such as once a month. Or perhaps you can send out a newsletter about Massage therapy and the benefits to the client. This simple thing reminds your clients that you are available for them when they need you. And don’t forget to contact them about specials around Christmas time or Valentines Day.

2. Be personal. If you want your massage practice to be the first thing they think of when they get up in the morning with that aching shoulder you need to form a good relationship with that person. Get to know them, almost like a friend. A great way to keep yourself fresh in that persons mind and make them feel special is to send them a card on their birthday with a special gift inside. It doesn’t have to be a free massage or anything expensive. It might be something like a gift voucher for an extra 15 minutes on their next treatment.

3. Reward Your Best Clients. Its time we started letting our best clients now how much we value their business. Our best clients might be those who come every week, or fortnight, or even once a month. You know who your best clients are because they are regular, pay on time, refer you their friends, respect you and follow your advice. You can set up a reward system where your best clients get to enjoy some free service sometimes, or perhaps you send out a gift to them to let them know how valued they are. They might even like something else that’s not entirely related to massage such as two movie tickets on their birthday, or a pack of essential oils, or a gift certificate to a book store if they like to read for example. Make sure you do find out what they like first. No point getting something they will not like! And you will know what they like because you will listen during your time with them.

4. Get Rid Of Complaining Clients. Not every client is the client you want. There are some people that no matter what you do, complain, wine, whinge and generally cause problems for you. This can be extra difficult if you are a sole practitioner working from home. If a client is a pain in the neck and every time you see them its more pain and stress for you then get rid of them. You DON’T want a massage business with people who don’t respect you or complain at every tiny thing. Cleanse your massage business of troublesome clients, your practice will thrive in the long run.

5. So How Was It? By asking your clients how you can improve is an excellent way to not only improve your massage treatment but it also helps you work out what your clients are thinking. Once you know what your clients are thinking you can put together expert marketing campaigns based on what the needs and concern of your client market is. Not only will you be seen as taking on an honourable sense of responsibility on your clients eyes, you can find out what message to use in your marketing.

6. Following up with clients. You can't expect to have some one come for a massage and then that person come to you for the rest of your days as a massage therapist. If only it was that easy! You will always need to remind your clients to come and have massage treatment with you and this means regular contact. You spent a lot of time learning massage therapy, now comes the marketing to gain new clients and keep them. Having a lot of clients requires a lot of effort, but over time you'll reap the benefits of a steady stream of repeat clients and referrals if you view marketing and client contact as just a part of your business as the massage itself.

I wish you the utmost success in your practice. If you apply these strategies in your massage business at least once a month you may notice the same thing I did in my massage business: a significant increase in client numbers over just a few months.

Good luck!
Amy Roberts