What is Good Massage Marketing? A Natural Extension of Who You Are.
"You are never too old to set another
goal or to dream a new dream." —C. S. Lewis
As a healing arts practitioner, your business goals probably range
widely, from straightforward financial goals to personal, community-oriented,
even spiritual goals. Your goals spring directly from who you are, and
who you want to be.
Good marketing is one of the most important ways to attain your business
goals. And, like your goals, your marketing efforts will be most successful
if they are an extension of who you are.
But what is marketing, really? Many people confuse marketing with sales
or advertising. Those are certainly among the many tools available
to you, but marketing encompasses much more. You are marketing your
massage practice when you:
- Develop relationships with your clients built on trust and respect.
- Identify the clients you want to serve, determine their needs and
then decide how you can help satisfy those needs.
- Create and maintain a practice that satisfies your business, financial,
personal and spiritual goals.
January is a great time to review your goals, and to select one or
more of the many, many available marketing tools to support them. If
your career goals are financial, there are marketing tools you can use
to make that happen. If your goal is to make a significant contribution
to the health of your community, you can choose marketing tools to get
you there.
To be sure, marketing tools can help you get more clients. But they
can do more. They also serve to deepen your relationship with the clients
you have, to inspire them to take the next positive step toward good
health.
Here, in no particular order, are just some of the many tools you can
choose to support your marketing and business goals:
- create an inviting and
safe environment;
- offer referral rewards;
- advertise;
- send greeting
cards with welcome messages, thank yous, or birthday wishes;
- offer
massage gift certificates to help your clients spread the word for
you;
- give
public presentations or classes;
- send promotional postcard mailings with updates
on your practice or special offers;
- develop a “look and feel” for your business
that includes colors and design elements;
- create a brochure and/or business
card with information on your practice;
- supplement all of your efforts
with informative client education brochures on relevant topics.
The list goes on, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed. Don’t
be.
Take things at your own pace. Get clear on what you most want to
accomplish, and then choose one or two tools to try out that match
both your goals and your personal style. As you find what works for
you and what doesn’t, you can make adjustments.
Marketing is not about being something you’re not! Remember to
choose tools that feel natural and true to who you are. The more your
marketing tools represent your unique passion and gifts, the more enjoyable
and successful your efforts will be.
To get you thinking in the right direction, read how two of our customers
support their goals with particular marketing tools.
Filling a customer need.
Donna Kimmel asked herself, “What do
my customers need?” To fill one of these, she has water bottles
printed with her name and number along with a list of Top 10 Reasons
You Should Get Massage. She adds water and gives them to every new customer
after their first session. Donna told us, “Water bottles are
a lot harder to lose than a business card and, of course, they are
a reminder of your generosity and care.”
Increasing personal satisfaction and business viability.
Tama Bevan
wanted a satisfying way to give back to a group of people she values.
So she shows up at health fairs to give chair massage. What’s
more, she’s also interested in moving more into the health care
community with her massage, so this doubles as a chance to meet people
and hand out business cards and brochures. She said, “Becoming
one of the medical community's trusted sources of information will
make my business more viable over the coming years.”
What are your goals? What tools can get you there? We are very interested
in hearing about how you get where you want to go. Please email us
with your thoughts.
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