Massage Therapy - Successfully!

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.

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.

While a business card will give the essentials: name, address, phone number, etc - only your basic contact information; a well-written massage brochure can provide the potential customer with all the information they need to decide to call you. Brochures should be used to attract new massage clients, and to encourage existing clients to upgrade and try other services you offer.

An easy, tri-fold brochure should include ALL the important information including not only the name of your massage business but also your credentials, your services and bodywork specialities (if any) and, most importantly, why this person will benefit from seeing you for a massage.

 Don’t waste time telling this potential massage client what you will do - tell them what you will do for them!

More on using brochures effectively in later articles. And lots more on quick and inexpensive massage marketing ideas, tips for beating the economic slump, and other good business sense ideas.