This week I got a serious request for some input on the “Ask Eileen” page. It reads:
“I have just recently moved from Chicago to Cape Cod, MA, and accepted a job at a spa/gym. The space and business is new to the owners of the spa. They have two other locations on the cape. I have been hired to be the massage therapist/marketing person.
We have tried numerous marketing ideas. Some examples:
Spring stimulus package for $99.00 (includes-hair cut,facial, massage),
Beauty bucks-$20.00 off a purchase of $80.00 or more,
Referral program for the trainers- refer 2 people get half-off a service.
We have even attended a ladies community night in which over 500 women get together at a local venue, to see the local businesses and what services they have to offer. Not one has called or come by.
What are we not seeing? I have learned not to discount your services or give them away for free.
The web-site for the gym is www.fitness500club.com and we are under the link Beyond Beauty. We also have our own link for the salon/spas, www.beyondbeautycapecod.com.
Please help. I do not want to give up on this venture.”
Usually I do three or four backing and forthing emails with people who ask for insight into their situation. Then I write a blog entry with their background and my suggestions. I find I ask the same kinds of questions most of the time. This time I’m going to ask the questions as part of the entry so you all can see one way to start examining how you market your massage therapy / bodywork practice. And so you can give your insights, too. Jump in!
Also, I have no idea what this person’s name is so I’m calling him/her “Sam.” I like “Sam.”
Dear Sam—
I don’t want you to give up either. Let me go through some basic questions and we’ll see if we can’t figure out what’s going on here.
Just to be clear, are you the massage therapy/marketing person for Beyond Beauty, right? Not all three locations. And when you say “massage therapy person” does that mean you are managing the massage therapy side of the business or that you are the massage therapy chief-cook-bottle-washer-and marketer?
Who are your clients? Who do you want your clients to be? Year ’round residents? Summer residents? Visitors, women, men, gym members, CPAs? Who are you focusing on here?
Is massage a recently added service with this company? Are there plenty of MTs in town (in other words, is the town educated about the benefits of bodywork)?
How is the gym side of the business?
I see that Beyond Beauty is an Aveda Spa. How does that affect your marketing, if at all?
How are you getting your marketing ideas (stimulus package, beauty bucks, etc.) out there? Web only? Newspaper? Fliers? Brochures in B&Bs? Mailings? How are you trying to get the attention of your targeted clients … other than the ladies’ community night?
Ladies’ community night: What was that like? A booth? A chance to speak in front of an audience? Chair massage demos? How did you try to attract clients? Why do you think no one responded?
Sam, the answers and insights you give to these questions will help us focus on what you should think about doing next. Let’s get cracking!
All my best,
Eileen
Okay, gang. What did I forget to ask? I usually remember some essential question after I push the send button. Which I’m doing … now …
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5 users commented in " “I Do Not Want to Give up”: A massage therapist takes a marketing leap "
“Sam”
I’m going to put my 2 cents worth in too…
Firstly, I think you’re doing great by getting out there, deciding you really want to make this work and asking for help and also by not discounting your services!
Secondly, what I’d like you to try is look at your website (beyond beauty) with the eyes of your potential clients…
Here’s what I’m seeing:
“your philosophy is all about you (in this case your whole business) and really that doesn’t apply to ‘me’ (your potential client), so I have no interest in reading it. You have offers for me (which means I have to buy something and part with my money – something people don’t like doing)”
How about this instead:
Change the Philosophy section to a “what’s in it for you” section. Go into how you can help me (your potential client) and what benefits I can gain from coming to see you.
Change the right hand side from offers to testimonials – video ones if you can get them, if not audio, then finally text. Let people see other people like what you’re doing – it’s called social proof and helps people decide to give you a try.
Get them so interested in what you can do for them and have done for others already that they call your number and ask YOU about your offers.
Good luck – we’re all rooting for you!!!
Karen
Hi Eileen,
Good advice.
Sam,
Do your spa has a website and have you tried joint ventures with other health clubs/gyms
Eileen
I have tried to answer your questions as best as possible.
Yes, Myself and one other person do the marketing for the business inside the gym. I do the massage related marketing for our business, but not for the other locations.
Our clients are year rounders and a percentage come from Boston for the weekends in their summer homes. I have been told, come Memorial Day weekend the masses start to come. We trying to capture both markets. The year rounders and the summer crowd.
The gym members are 60/40, 60 percent women and 40 percent men.
We are focusing on anybody who needs and can afford a massage.
The gym has its own marketing department and art department. We have had tandem basic ads with them, nothing to big yet. We are putting together a pull out that will be inserted in their tri-fold brochure. We are passing out the fliers, cards, etc to the gym members, we also have displays at the front desk and in the locker rooms near the sinks.
I have found referrals have been the best marketing piece.
We had a table with Fitness 500 at the ladies community night, where we gave out goody bags and had a drawing for a basket full of services, i.e. mani,pedi, facial and massage. We have only couple of the people come in to look at the salon and the gym has a few people sign up for membership. We were not allowed to have complimentary chair massage, due to some other facility offering the same service (spa type).
We offer comp 15 minute chair massages at the gym, 10% discount off services for club members, trainer referrals (for every 2 people, get 50% off a service), $20 off referral from the physical therapist next door.
I am sorry for the delay in response, school is a little crazy right now. Please let me know what you come with, anything will help. I forgot to put my name the last time, My name is David, but you can use Sam if you like.
David
Okay David —
Thank you for all the good details.
I did forget to ask if you were new to massage therapy or if you have been doing this for a while. I know you just moved to MA.
I’ve *observed* that when people are new to a practice, they are extraordinarily concerned about filling their appointment book. After all, they can’t build a practice without clients.
The problem is that a lot of money and energy gets wasted on trying to attract “anybody who needs and can afford a massage.”
You don’t want “anybody.” You want a very specific group of people. When you know exactly who you *want* on your table/chair, you will know exactly how to talk to them.
You are attached to a gym AND a spa. There’s a captive audience right there. You’re already doing some marketing through them, so that’s good. I’m *assuming* you want people who go to this gym and spa to be your clients.
This brings me to how you are talking to them. However you communicate (flyers, inserts, brochures), you need to address THEIR needs. You need to tell them how your work will benefit them.
Also, how you talk to the gym members is going to be different than how you talk to the spa clients.
Saying “Massage will reduce your stress and make you feel better” is far too vague. Tell the gym members “Massage helps you recover from muscle strain faster.” or “A massage after an intense workout clears metabolic waste from heavy muscle use.” or “Your body works hard for you. Reward it with massage.”
A hint: Look at all the advertising and “inspirational” posters in the gym. See what words are used frequently (intense, power, push) and use works like those in your marketing copy. Someone’s all ready spent a lot of money proving those are effective words. Why should you reinvent the wheel?
Tell the spa clients “Massage takes you one step further into total relaxation.” or “Massage heightens the effect of your detoxification regime.” or whatever.
All the discounts and things are great, but I’m willing to bet that if you change your marketing text to reflect the NEEDS of your specific, targeted potential clients, you will see a greater return.
Bits a pieces: You are a guy so you have more of a challenge than a female therapist would. I’m telling you that focusing on getting women to your table massage is the best way to get their SO’s to come see you, too. Not to mention their BFFs.
Chair is another thing. Consider a “shill.” Give a fellow (someone who has a “following”) from the gym some free chair work during peak hours. Find out why he comes to the gym, what he does when he’s not there. While you’re working on him, tell him how what you are doing will positively affect his golf game/bodybuilding/lobster fishing. Ask him if he has any big events coming up. When you see him next ASK HIM where others can hear you, how your work helped. If the response is what you wish, tell him he needs to schedule a longer chair or table session before/after his event so that he can improve his swing/focus his energy/catch more lobster. Think of it as coaching a referral.
More questions? Details? Ask!
All my best,
Eileen
Hi David,
You’ve got the ideas straight- but don’t be too quick to say “they don’t work!”… Give it time and keep doing what you are doing.
In your situation, the first thing I would do right away is hold a drawing every day for members of the gym. They enter their name each time they come in to work out. (one per day) and they get a chance to win a free 30 minute massage.
Three keys here: #1. Tie the drawing into an event, such as holiday (memorial day), Start of Summer, Club’s Anniversary… #2. DON”T call it a “30 minute massage”! Boring… Give it a name like “Relaxation Vacation” or “Sports Boost”or “Fix-It” session. #3. Have the rest of the club help you create excitement around it though talk, signs, newsletters etc. “Hey, did you hear you can enter your name in a drawing each time you work out to win a Sports Boost Massage session given by the spa department?”
Yes, you’ll be giving away services, but two things happen- the recipients will hopefully become regular clients and the people who don’t win are now more aware of your service.
When I do 1-on-1 biz coaching for therapists we of course go into more of the background, but hope this helps you get more biz.
Irene Diamond, RT
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