I had a Sad Marketing Massage Moment this weekend.

Two lovely massage therapists had their chairs set up at the Fourth Annual St Martin’s Dragon Boat Races. I watched them the whole morning. They had three customers. Sad.

Here’s what was going on:

• There were 24 dragon boat teams of at least 21 people each, plus the spare rowers and all the support folks.
• Of the 24 teams, 8 were from the Olympia area. 6 were from areas more than 40 miles away. The remaining 10 teams were made up of people from here and there but probably most lived within a 20 mile radius.
• Each team had it’s own “tent” where you could find the coaches, coordinators and, most importantly, the racers’ significant others. Each tent was well marked so you knew which team’s it was.
• There was a program which gave information about the teams (why they race), the heat schedules (when they race) and also listed the sponsors and vendors and their ads.
• Most of the people attending the meet were attached to the racers themselves. Those who were not were very likely local residents.
• It was the first nice day in a couple weeks. You can’t plan for that sort of thing, of course, but you can take advantage of it. When the weather clears after a dull, soggy month, people feel more open and receptive to new ideas or experiences.

Here’s what I could see they were doing right in terms of marketing:

• They had two signs (one facing each way) with times and prices listed.
• The therapists acknowledged the people passing by with a friendly nod or a hello. They walked closer to people who asked questions. They weren’t heavily engrossed in a book or in conversation with each other.
• They had a 1/2 sheet of brightly colored paper with the benefits of massage listed on it which they handed to any interested people. (It wasn’t a list specifically for rowers’ issues but it was something.)
• Their chairs were set up with the tissue thingies pre-placed on the head cradle and arm rests so a person could reasonably infer that some care for sanitation and health was in force.
• They looked “clean”; both had obviously bathed recently and wore professional/casual khakis and tucked-in shirts.
• Their chairs faced the lake so customers wouldn’t have to miss any race.
• They set up a sun shade so they were prepared for most kinds of spring weather (mostly rain, some sun).
• Somehow they managed to be right by the best place to view the races. Whether this was by chance or design, it was an advantage.

And yet, they had only three people come and sit down during a four hour period.

These two therapists were new to doing chair massage at events. Thankfully, they seemed to have good attitudes and were taking notes about what could be done next time to improve their customer volume. They had a good start, just a small start.

For those of you who will be using events to build your clientele during the warm season, here’s what you can do to get far more than three customers in your chairs at an event (using this dragon boat race as an example):

• First of all, your copy and other marketing material should reflect who is at the specific event. In this case, it was an outdoor, athletic event, primarily attended by dragon boat enthusiasts and their families. Take some time to research what kind of nut cases like to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get soaking wet in the rain on choppy water (Oh … did I say that out loud?). What does their association literature say? If you find that most dragon boat associations talk about community, team building, health, tradition and personal accomplishment, be sure to work that into your marketing.
• Ask the event coordinator if and when team (participant/vendor/etc) information is available. Ask if the info is available online or if you can have a rough copy of the program or vendor list ASAP. In addition to knowing there would be several state and city government teams at this event, there was a Hispanic women’s coalition team and a visually impaired team, Blind Ambition. These are good groups to know about before you begin introducing yourself.
• Find out if there a program for the event. If there is an opportunity to buy an ad, do it. There was a lot of time between races. People had little to do so they flipped through the whole program. Watch next time you’re at an event like this. You’ll see it. This dragon boat event was selling a full page ad for $100, $50 for half, $25 for a quarter page. Nobody who advertised in this event’s program tailored their copy for these specific attendants. Nobody. GRAH! It’s hard to get a group of potential customers more selected than this.
• Whether you take an ad in the program (do it) or hand out 1/2 page flyers, you need to address the very specific concerns of the attendants/participants. In this case, tell the rowers that a pre-race warm up massage will help optimize performance and focus their concentration. Post-race work will help keep them primed for the next heat and ease strain. And you offer full length sessions at your conveniently located studio. Come visit your booth to book for future post-race sessions. Package deals are available! Share with your team mates! Buy a gift certificate for your coach!
• Suck it up and go introduce yourself to the attendants. There were tents for each team. If you’ve done your research, you’ll know the names of the local teams. If you are a shy sort, focus on the support people for the teams. These are usually the spouses/partners. They’re the ones who really tell the rowers what to do. They will not be so focused as the competitors and will have more time to hear you. Give them your flyer and/or point out your ad in the program. Tell them that, in addition to helping the rowers today, you can also make tomorrow less ouchie for them. If you are bolder, seek out the coaches. Tell them how you can help their team get an edge for the next heat. Tell them you do goal-oriented work. Tell them where they can find you today.
• Hand your business card to everyone you talk to. Give 3-4 to the people who seem most receptive. Consider attaching your cards to some of your handouts. Get your name in their hands.
• If you go out to introduce yourself and gather customers, bring your appointment books with you — both today’s and your regular one. If you’re talking to a team captain or coach and they suddenly decide to send some rowers to you, be ready right then and there to get them scheduled. Backing and forthing is going to make them impatient and you frazzled. AND think about carrying along some of your gift certificates, too. You just never know.

I’m sure there’s more. A lot more. Those of you who work events; what have I left out?

All my best,
Eileen