Marketing Massage at the Holidays: How to Get the Most from Gift Certificate Packages
We're quickly moving into the holiday gift certificate buying season. Like many massage therapists, you may depend on this last-minute infusion of cash in December. Creating packages can be a great way of boosting clients' interest in your gift certificates.
Here's some tips on how to pull the most value from massage gift certificate packages:
1. Keep it simple. Offer only two or three packages, and give them explanatory names. The "Head to Toe" package includes head and neck massage along with a foot soak and reflexology. "Scentful Relaxation" consists of a receiving an individually designed essential oil blend which is then incorporated into a hot stone massage.
2. Think about including slower-selling services in some of your packages. Your new technique or unfamiliar services may do better when sold as a special experience rather than as part of your regular offerings. For example, if you love giving Reiki or some other energy work technique, but clients normally want to stick with a certificate for your "regular massage," create an "Energy Plus" package that includes both.
3. If a package is a special combination you don't offer at any other time, don't discount it. Clients usually don't expect a discount when they're buying a special gift. A holiday, just like a wedding, is a time when people often spare no expense. Of course, if you want to encourage clients to buy more than one gift certificate or package, offer them a quantity discount.
4. Consider building retail items into your packages. Select self-care products that reflect the package theme. Add pain-relieving ointments or gels to a "Stop the Aches" special. Package a hot stone treatment with a microwavable Bucky or similar pillow. Include an aromatherapy product and/or eye pillow with a "Recharge" package. If you carry some retail products, but sales are slow, this is great way to introduce your clients to them.
5. Finally, here's some advice from spatrade.com regarding the redemption of gift certificates and packages:
Suddenly the tide of demand is rushing in and you quickly find your schedule and schedulers inundated with appointment requests. There's a real danger that you'll run out of the most coveted time slots, forcing you to offer appointments unacceptably far into the future, and irritating customers. They all seem to want the same thing—evening and weekend hours—but there are only so many of them to go around. Worse, your important regular clients want those same limited appointment times as well, so you're risking their loyalty with an over-packed schedule.
Try this—not only with your package clients but also those who are scheduling anew or returning: offer your low-demand appointment time first, before suggesting any others. You'll discover that a remarkable percentage of customers will accept them, and probably would have all along had they been proactively suggested before. One of the costliest questions at reception can be, "When would you like to come in?" Change that to, "We have an opening on Tuesday at 3:00. How would that work for you?"
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