Marketing massage and bodywork practices with Groupon is a hot topic on the massage forums right now. If you live on Mars, you may not know that Groupon is a deal-of-the-day web advertiser particularly active on Facebook.

Some practitioners love the way Groupon has helped them build business. Others say they have put out way too much for the return. Apparently you have to be well prepared for the response. The hefty discount gets seen by lots of people, so your phone can ring right off the hook.

To jump into these discussions, check out these forums at Massage Professionals and LinkedIn. You do have to join to participate, but they are easy to join and great places to network!

If you do it, how do you manage it?

Some good suggestions are coming out of practitioners’ nerve-wracking experiences. Here’s two out of many:

1) Limit Groupon clients to certain hours, and limit scheduling to your website, so you can avoid playing phone tag with the masses.

2) Once you get a Groupon client in the door, give them a coupon for an incentive for their 2nd appointment. In other words, use the door-buster not simply to get a client, but to make a regular client. If they like you, they will come back. Instead of a discount for their next appointment, you could offer an add-on, like an extra 15 minutes to the feet — or whatever. Read more about this massage marketing strategy here.

Discount or not?

This takes us to the whole controversy surrounding discounts. Groupon is the latest to bring the issue to a head, but it is ongoing.  Many therapists feel strongly that discounting damages the image of the profession, and makes it even harder to have an economically viable business. Others feel just as strongly that they are responding to the needs of clients by offering discounts — and that they have to do it simply to keep their businesses off the ground. The answer is it depends on what your goals are and how many discount first-timer sessions you are equipped to handle.

Have you jumped on the Groupon bandwagon? If so, please tell. How did it work out?