How to Use Promotionals to Boost Return Visits
When someone comes in and pays your established fee, you know they are willing
to put their money where their health is. They are not looking for the cheapest
bodywork around. They are looking for something that will help them, and they
will fork over their hard-earned cash in search of it.
Every massage therapist has clients who have made it clear they love (and are
willing to pay for) the work, but who aren’t inclined to reschedule at
the end of their session. Try using this three-part marketing method for massage
clients who didn’t reschedule after their last session or who you haven’t
seen in several months. You may find it encourages them to return. If the strategy
works, it may even convince them to book their sessions more regularly.
Marketing research shows that when a customer hears from a business three times in a row, they are more likely to remember it and use its services. To give this a try, send a new client a series of promotional messages over a period of two to four months. Send postcard mailings or emails, or mix it up.
Promotion #1
Soon after your client’s first session, mail or email an offer for a one-hour bodywork session at a discount, or, if you don’t want to discount your services, offer to add 15 extra minutes to their session at no extra cost.
Promotion #2
Within the next month or two, send a promotion encouraging clients
to try another modality you provide. For example, offer 25% off reflexology,
stone massage or any other specialized modality you practice. Again, if you
are opposed to discounts, promote a standard session that includes 15 minutes
or more of your favorite specialty for no extra fee. This way, your clients
get to experience your other skills without missing out on the work they know
and love.
Promotion #3
Within another four to six weeks, send a special offer of a gift when clients book a session by a certain date. This could work particularly well when a holiday is approaching, like Christmas or Valentine’s Day. When a client comes in, give him or her a bottle of an essential oil blend, a microwavable bag to use for pain relief or some other useful and enjoyable gift.
If you sell retail items in your place of work, select one of these as your gift. This will alert your clients that you carry them.
If you don't sell retail items, this may be the time to start with a few items you can vouch for. Consider a joint venture with another small business. Maybe you know someone who makes herbal lotions or eye pillows. Or you might want to carry a soothing liniment you can buy in bulk at wholesale prices.
Track client response to your offers as well as other client contacts. This will tell you more about what each client appreciates. You may find, for example, that clients respond less to a discount offer, and more to a follow-up inquiry about how the session helped their condition. They may not call to get the free gift, but may mention a thank-you card you sent after they referred new clients. Or maybe the opposite will be true. But you won’t know anything unless you keep a record.
In addition to understanding your clients better, tracking will help you know what to continue doing and what to ditch.
Whether or not you send promotional specials, it pays to stay in touch with your clients between sessions. Making all kinds of client contacts reinforce the personal relationship you have with your clients and help establish you as an ongoing source of support. Special offers are icing on the cake. By tracking client response, you can find out how sending promotionals compares to other tools like thank-you cards, newsletters and follow-up calls or emails. |
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