“Seek out other professionals in related fields and get to know them and what they believe and how they work. Yoga teachers, chiropractors, osteopaths, midwives, life coaches — find whomever you might learn from and can share your knowledge with.”

—Cynthia Bryant LMT, Columbus, Ohio massage therapist and business owner.

One way to build a massage business is to become an indispensable resource in your community. Since opening her business, Kneads On Call, LLC, Cynthia Bryant has made it a point to go out and create the kind of practice that goes above and beyond to meet the needs of clients and community alike.

Developing a niche: the athletic club

In the beginning, Cynthia’s practice was 95% corporate onsite massage. She now gives full-body, table massage 80% of the time. At Wyandotte Athletic Club, she targets two groups that work out there — the morning seniors, or the “Bagel Bunch,” and the afternoon group of young professionals. With both groups, she meets them, demonstrates on a massage chair, and talks to them about what she offers. But then her approach diverges. Why? These groups want different things. The first group wants relief from achy backs and joints. She emphasizes the gentle, but effective relief that massage offers and talks about resources that can help relieve pain and maintain flexibility.

With the young body-builder types, she talks about specific muscle groups, and uses terms like the ACL and iliotibial band because these clients understand them. She also spends time educating the personal trainers at the club. Personal trainers tend to know about massage for healing injuries. Cynthia works to educate them to see massage as part of the fitness regimen. Now the trainers understand that massage can help prevent injuries as well as treat them.

Taking the next step: expanding into new arenas

Cynthia has taken on two new groups of clients as well — fibromyalgia patients and yoga students. She employs effective techniques for fibromyalgia patients, and the word is spreading that she is a well-educated resource in this specialty. People hear about her and seek her out, saying they think they have the condition, for example. She advises them not to self-diagnose, and refers them to good websites and doctors.

At Flex Yoga Center, Cynthia has connected with new clients through the yoga teachers. She attended meetings with yoga teachers so they could get to know her personally. But she didn’t just talk about herself. She asked the teachers questions, so she could learn the differences between types of yoga and specific classes. Now when her clients have questions about yoga, she tells them what she knows, and then refers them to a teacher for more. She also attended yoga classes and introduced herself as the Center’s massage therapist. She thinks of all of this as becoming part of the yoga center “family.”

Now it’s your turn

Cynthia’s advice is to get more education, get comfortable with your knowledge, then share it with your clients and the wider community. And she recommends sticking with your specialties. Don’t be afraid of referring clients out for other conditions or techniques. You can’t help everyone, and even if you are helping someone a lot, other practitioners can complement what you are doing to great benefit. Using your referral system builds trust and adds to your reputation as a resource.

You are shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t track where your current clients are coming from.

What does that mean? It means you always get a record of what kind of person is coming to you and where they are hearing about you.

Ask new clients how they found you

Keep good records. Ask clients how they heard about you on your intake form, ask at the time they make their first appointment, or do both.

When you find out how new clients heard about you, you will know:

1) from what source people are learning about you, and
2) what kind of people are responding to which type of publicity.

If, for example, many of your new clients are responding to the recommendations of a select group of your clientele, that is valuable information!

1) It tells you something about what kind of people you naturally attract (the “select” group), and that word of mouth through your established clients is the best way to reach them.
2) It also alerts you that taking the time and effort to thank your referring clients with a greeting card or discount would be worth your while. (Remember, it is illegal in some states to give monetary rewards for referring clients. Check your state laws.)

In another example, if clients have scheduled because they noticed your flyer or business card at a gym or fitness center, you know that placing marketing materials at the kind of places active types go is a good bet for you.

In this case, make sure you keep your flyers, business cards and brochures current and appealing, and check that they are always visible at the sites where you post them.

If you use paid advertising

If you use paid advertising, keep a record of the costs of the ad, and track client responses to it. If it is not getting you new clients, ask yourself why.

* Could it be the design?
* Or is the medium not appropriate for the kind of clients who typically find their way to you? For example, it could be that your typical client doesn’t read the local weekly where you have placed a running ad.

In either case, consider an alternative choice for marketing. Here’s some ideas from massage marketing coach, Felicia Brown.

If you followed the steps in my last post, you probably came up with lots of ideas from your marketing research. Now you can use those ideas to develop a marketing calender that includes the steps needed to meet your goals.

What did you find out from your research? What do you want to achieve that is in keeping with your particular practice? What strategies will help you reach people who fit the profile of your ideal client? How will you set yourself apart?

Make a list of goals for your practice for the next 3-5 years. You may have only a few, or many. You definitely want to include a goal statement that expresses how many clients (per week or month) you wish to serve. Now write down the 1-2 year goals that can help you reach your more far-reaching ones.

Develop a strategy.

What steps should you take to reach your goals? Keep breaking these down into the smaller and smaller steps that you must hit to keep reaching your short and long-term goals.

Some of these steps will be obvious like getting brochures, business cards, gift certificates and a website. It could also include advertising in the yellow pages and newspapers, no-cost marketing efforts like sending emails and speaking publicly, and creating additional client communication materials like flyers and newsletters.

Make a calendar with completion dates for your steps.

Take the goals, objectives and action steps and and post them on a marketing calendar. It is important to include dates for COMPLETION of marketing tasks. Post the calendar where you can’t miss it. In order to stay on target, refer to this calendar as you work toward your goals, revising as needed.

* Write out the steps needed to acquire brochures, a business card, flyers and other marketing supplies.
* Include on your calender the distribution of your promotional materials. Where can you post them so your target clients will see them?

Make sure your potential clients can contact you.

Your contact information should be on every piece of marketing material you have. And it’s just plain good sense to keep your brochures and business cards with you. Be ready to hand them to anyone who shows interest in the services you offer.

Always be thinking: Who can you hand them to? What businesses or other offices are nearby? And don’t just hand them to people. Engage them in conversations — not just about yourself, but about their interests and concerns, too.

If you read my last post, you may have started creating what you need for a marketing plan.

To actually create a successful marketing strategy, you need to do some background research. Your research may produce many ideas. But don’t let it overwhelm you— the marketing plan will put the information into a form you can work with.

Questions to guide your research

Are people familiar with what you do?

You may be located in an area where the service you offer is already popular, or you may need to educate the people who live there. Are there many others offering the same service in your area?

Who is your competition?

Make a list of your colleagues and where they promote their services. Are the practices of your competitors’ viable? How do they set themselves apart? Note who seems particularly successful. Contact a few that you have met, or would especially like to meet, and ask them if they would be willing to share their take on trends or how they boost their practice when business is slow. Or treat yourself to their services, and talk to them while you are there.

Study your local business environment. How is the local economy doing at the moment? What are people willing to pay for your service?

Who else serves your targeted clientele?

In order to write your mission statement, I recommended you define the kind of clients you would like to target in your practice. Talk to other kinds of professionals who work with those you would like to serve, such as mental health counselors, chiropractors, or yoga and fitness instructors. Ask them how they reach their clients.

Take a further look around.

Read trade journals, search the web (look for free marketing newsletters) and dip into books on marketing for ideas on reaching clients.

Write up your notes and analyze them.

Which advice do you want to follow? Where do you want to try to reach potential clients and what kind of message do you want to send? This will help you decide what goals and objectives to list in your plan, and what actions will help you meet them.

For example, if successful clinical practitioners told you that one way they receive contacts is through physician referrals, establishing physician contacts may become one of your major goals. Here’s another example for someone who does pregnancy massage. Ask friends or clients who are pregnant or have small children what local publications they read. If they tell you they always glance at the coupons in your area’s family news magazine. So you may want to create a special promotion for that publication, and fit that into your marketing plan.

Conducting research may take time, but it is one of the most important ways to find out how to best direct your marketing efforts.

Soon we’ll embark on a new year. It would be hard to find a better resolution than to create a marketing plan for your business.

“I gotta have a plan?” you ask. Well…yes, in fact, you do. In the same way you need a map when you’re on a road trip, you really do need a planned approach to developing a viable business.
“Out With the Old! — Create a Marketing Plan for the New Year” continues »

“…men would get a massage more often if they were approached in the manner that massage is part of treatment for specific conditions such as stress reduction or diabetes, and not an indulgence.”
Massage Therapist Pete Whitridge in MTJ, Spring 2008

Do you need to work harder at marketing to men than women?

If you want more men in your practice, the answer may be yes. Women are still receiving massage more than men. According to the American Massage Therapy Association’s (AMTA) 2011 consumer survey, 24 percent of women and 13 percent of men reported having a massage within the year.
“Marketing Massage to Men” continues »

Question: When should you repeat yourself? Answer: Often!

Repetition is important because a focused, consistent message about your business is what’s going to get you recognized in your community.  The result being that any marketing you do — handing out business cards, mailing postcards, sending emails, giving public presentations, posting flyers or whatever — will always reflect a message that demonstrates specifically how you help people. It makes good business sense, and at the same time, you’re creating a practice that allows you to do what you do best and get appreciated for it. “Why Repeating Yourself Helps Market Your Practice” continues »

We just heard from a customer (thanks Melissa!) who told us this story.

Melissa just expanded her massage business into a wellness center that offers more services, including life coaching and fitness training.

But…nobody is utilizing the new services.

Sound familiar?

Well, folks, it can take time for people to get curious enough to spend money on something new. It can take time and — education. If their massage is keeping their stress/pain levels at bay ( a good thing!), then why would they try something new? Where’s the motivation?
“Q & A: Why Does No One Pay Attention?” continues »

The defining point of elevator speeches is that they are short. I mean, how long do you have between floors?

What elevator speeches are NOT is a fast, flat statement that you are a massage therapist. Or a reflexologist. Or a Reiki practitioner. Now a few people may be looking for a reflexologist and perk up at the mention. Most will nod politely and switch the subject to the weather.

What makes a good elevator speech?
“Elevator Speeches: What Problem Do You Solve?” continues »

In my last blog, massage business coach and author, Cherie Sohnen-Moe, revealed effective tactics for reaching out to people with headaches.

Here’s five more ways to really engage with potential clients suffering from headaches. (Hint: substitute any condition you focus on and it will work!)
“5 Engaging Ways to Reach People with Headaches” continues »