A hammer doesn’t build a house, the person swinging the hammer does. Massage marketing tools don’t build your practice, you do. It’s all in how you use the tools available.

Lately, there’s been a lot up on the discussion boards and Facebook about whether brochures are still relevant. Speaking for Natural Touch Marketing, which has built and kept a strong business by producing massage / bodywork brochures, I have to say: Depends.

Just handing someone a brochure isn’t going to gain you a client. A brochure is to offer support and/or validation to the conversation you’re already having with a prospective client. It’s your backup.

Some people do not find brochures useful at all. Some depend on them entirely. The best way to find out if they are good for your practice (and your clients) is to try them out.

For me, brochures are an excellent tool to support word-of-mouth marketing. Here’s a small list of ways to use brochures effectively and economically in your WOM efforts:

1. Include brochures with gift certificates

This is especially good for new clients who will be trying your service for the first time. It is also good for established clients who have been reluctant to try a different service. You know, the ones who have been hemming and hawing about whether to try Thai massage or add stone massage onto their usual session.

2. Send brochures home with any client who wants to speak for you
You all have your fans. Give them something to share that presents your practice in a professional, welcoming way. When someone says, “Oh, I have to tell my aunt about you.” Give them a brochure. A brochure coupled with your “fan’s” glowing descriptions will create a much stronger impression.

3. Hand out brochures after speaking
Whether you are speaking to a group about the benefits of massage or to a physical therapist you’d like to work with, a brochure is a good thing to hand out at the end of the conversation. A brochure reminds your audience of your main points and your healing philosophy. A brochure shows your peers that you take your profession and your service seriously.

4. Use in networking
Your business card is an absolute essential. If a business card gives the essentials, a well-written brochure seals the good impression. Include brochures in letters to health care professionals when asking for referrals. Have brochures ready to give to people you meet on the bus or at the market. Why not?

5. Include in communications to local publications
If you’re trying to interest the local media in doing a story on your work, or writing a press release, send a brochure to the editorial staff. If you’ve been interviewed, finish or follow up by giving the interviewer a brochure.

6. Display them in your room/lobby
You never know what your clients really know. You may have done two mailings, a special and put up flyers all over town about your new hot stone service and your clients still don’t know you offer it. Or if they do know you do hot stone (or warm stone, or cold stone), they don’t know what it is exactly. Having a brochure available for clients to read while they wait can answer a lot of questions they — and you — didn’t know they had.

So.
Whether you buy your brochures or write your own, be sure it is professional in its appearance and text. Brochures, like your business cards, are often the first physical contact a client has with you.

If you plan to write your own brochure, Diana has a great article on how to get started: Massage Brochures: Do it Yourself or Ready-Made. There is also a more recent one on creating a brochure insert (my personalized tool of choice): Amplify Your Marketing with Brochure Inserts.

All my best,
Eileen