Massage Therapy - Successfully!

Sometimes a client will benefit from self-care at home - either with the goal of decreasing their pain level, increasing their flexibility, or maybe just helping to relieve chronic tension in a specific area.

 Here are some resources for massage therapists who are looking for “handouts” to give to their clients.

• The book ‘Maintaining Body Balance Flexibility and Stability’ by Leon Chaitow not only helps massage therapists in their practice, but also has several handout sheets that can be photocopied (permission is given!) and sent home with clients.  A great resource for massage therapists!
• Massage Therapy Practice Website - This stretch index has several handouts that can be printed off and given to clients who are concerned with tension in the specific area: back of the neck, hip flexors, shoulders, etc.

I love the internet. It has allowed me to connect with other massage therapists when I wasn’t able to do so in person!

So today I thought I would highlight three great websites for massage therapists to connect with eachother, network, share tips, ideas, success stories, horror stories or questions.

 Bodywork Online - One of my favorite massage forums to frequent I tend to spend a lot of time checking in here…especially now that I’ve become a moderator.

ABMP Forums - One of the benefits of membership with the Association of Massage and Bodywork Professionals is access to the members forums. I love the professionalism and helpful therapists there. You have to be a member of ABMP to access the forums but there are many benefits of joining ABMP. If you decide to join - let them know Angela England sent you!

Massage Practice Builder - This is a yahoo group that has quite a bit of message volume with lots of great input. Questions, debates, class information, marketing ideas….it’s all there.

One of the best ways to grow a successful business is to keep the clients you already have. Research has suggested it costs 5 times more to gain a new client. So once your marketing efforts have paid off, and you have a new customer on your table, what can you do to make them feel special enough that they will want to come back?

• Keep your facilities clean and tidy! Dirty towels, stained sheets or bugs in the window sill will be a turn-off for clients and would not encourage them to return.
• Listen to what they say, call them by name and smile, telling them, “Hope to see you again soon!”. You would be surprised how often I hear clients complain about how often their massage therapist doesn’t even thank them for coming.
• Send a follow-up note or card to first-time clients thanking them for their business.
• Think of something you can do as an added “special” without being too expensive: give them a water bottle, provide mints, include an extra add-on special (I do an aromatherapy foot spritz and wipe with a hot towel), and pamper your clients in some memorable way.

So we’ve talked about Why to Use Massage Brochures and Creating Massage Brochures already, so today we are going to discuss a few quick tips about HOW to use your brochures, now that you have them.

• Put a copy of your brochure in the envelope with your gift certificates when you sell one. This will allow potential clients to see all the services you offer and what each service is.
• Place your brochures in businesses that compliment your business (with permission of course). Some businesses that have traditionally done well for massage therapists in the past include health food stores, chiropractic offices, childbirth educators or doulas, midwife offices or birthing centers, fitness centers and gyms, yoga and pilates instructors, karate schools or local hotels that do not employ onsite therapists.
• Be sure you track where a client comes from when they call! If you never get a single client from the chiropractic office, but get many from the health food store you’ll know not to replenish the brochures at the former. This will help you save money by using the most effective marketing and not wasting your money putting brochures where they aren’t bringing you clients.

I’m so excited to announce that The Massage Therapy Foundation will be publishing a peer-reviewed, scientific e-journal called the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. The journal is designed to to help highlight the growing body of research and case studies showing the benfits of massage therapy - hopefully establishing the validity of massage therapy as a dependable alternative treatment for specific medical conditions.

The website reads, “Principal sections of the journal will span the areas of research, education, clinical practice and professional development.” Sounds promising doesn’t it?

They are currently accepting manuscript submissions and the inaugural issue is scheduled for publication in August 2008 with the goal of being a quarterly scientific massage journal.

Sign up for free notification of the journal’s release here.

Laboring women have so many options available to them for coping with labor pains. One of the most beneficial tools to use to help a woman be more comfortable during childbirth is caring touch.

This article explains the benefits of massage during labor and why it is so helpful for the birth partner, or a doula, to be there helping the mother during her childbirth process.

This article gives specific tips and ideas for using massage during labor to help a mother cope. These basic Labor Massage Guidelines will help a birth support person feel more confident using massage during labor.

These essential oils make a wonderful massage oil with a relaxing, meditative effect that was really a pleasant treat for both me, as the massage therapist, and my clients who have used the blend so far.

I always use a more natural oil blend for my carrier oils, Sunflower, Avacoda, Sweet Almond, Jojoba, etc in a specific blend. Then the carrier massage blend is easily customized with whatever essential oils I want to add.

In this case I used:

10 drops Lavender Essential Oils

9 drops Tangering Essential Oil

1 drop Sandalwood Essential Oil

And added them in to 4 ounces of my carrier oil base. The result was a lovely scented oil that I really have become fond of. The sandalwood added a depth to the lavender and tangerine essential oils that was really nice.

A big question for many bodyworkers right now is whether home study courses are an acceptable means of continuing education for massage therapists. What about online massage classes? What about distance training with videos and books? What are the pros and cons of these types of education courses?

The Potential Benefits of Home Study Massage Classes:

• A greater audience potential
• Easier to attend a classes - especially for massage therapists in rural locations.
• Flexibility of time and scheduling the class.
• Access to a greater variety of techniques and specialties.
• Massage therapists can “sample” a specific technique for less before investing in a more expensive, hands-on workshop.

The Potential Downfalls of Massage Distance Courses:

• Massage therapists do not have expert teachers overseeing their techniques to be sure they are doing them properly and safely.
• Some massage techniques require advanced training to be safe.
• A massage therapist could feel ready to perform a massage speciality even when they are not and do not understand all the contraindications.
• The potential for misrepresentation about the massage therapists certification and knowledge.

Deep tissue massage is a sort of buzz word amongst massage therapists today - many of whom often charge more for a “deep tissue massage” vs. a “relaxation massage”. But what exactly IS deep tissue massage? How does a deep-tissue therapist work differently from the general Swedish massage taught in most massage schools?

One of the best set of resources I’ve ever seen for learning to safely and effectively give deep tissue massage that will truly effect a lasting change in a client’s body is the Art Riggs DVD Set and Visual Guide Textbook. Together they serve as a comprehensive and invaluable tool for increasing your effectiveness as a massage therapist.

The portion about body mechanics is one of the most well presented I’ve seen and I use many of the techniques in my daily massage practice. I have found that clients appreciate leaving the table and KNOWING that they had specific needs addressed. If they had a particularly tight calve muscle - I had the tools ready to address that. If their neck was troubling them from too much time on the computer - I would be able to spend a little more time there and the work being done would be effective.

Other Resources:

• Indepth Deep Tissue Massage DVD Set Review
• Indepth Visual Guide Textbook Review Article
• Massage Products Review Website - A place to write your OWN review about massage books and DVD’s

Continuing with the previous information about why to use brochures in massage marketing, today’s article will discuss some keys for creating effective brochures.

 How do you know if a brochure is effective? If you create a desire in the person reading your brochure to actually pick up the phone, or go online, and schedule an appointment with you! It isn’t about having a “pretty” brochure - it is about booking a new client or up-selling an existing client.

The most important thing when examining your brochure is to determine what your underlying message is. What is the message someone reading your brochure is going to come away with? That you are wonderful? That will hardly encourage them to book.

Think about what a consumer wants: relief, safety, satisfaction, value, trust, and ultimately - they want to benefit from having come to see you. What will the client get from a session with you? THAT is what you need to focus the most on. Use your brochure to highlight how you understand the client’s needs and what makes you special enough to fullfill those needs.