How To Get Clients As A Massage Therapist
One advantage of self-employment for a massage therapist is the ability to set your own prices and as many appointments as you can handle daily. However, your business success depends on attracting a steady flow of clients. You will need some marketing skills to promote your services and get people interested in your services. With dedication, creativity and constant promotion, you can grow your client list. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects massage therapy jobs to grow by 20 percent by 2020, faster than the average for all jobs, so take advantage of the opportunity to increase your business.
Determine your target clients. The type of massage services you would like to provide can help you focus on a group of people. For instance, prenatal massage and sports massage target different markets. With this information, you can create an effective marketing method that will appeal to your targets.
Build a website to promote your business online. Many people use the Internet to find information and local resources. People searching for a massage therapist in your local area are likely to find you this way. Include helpful information such as the benefits of massage, the type of massage services you provide, your hours and prices. Mention any specials you offer, such as an introductory special for new clients, discounts for referrals or discounts for multiple appointments.
Reaching Customers In New Markets
If youre looking to reach new markets, RubRatings can help. The site provides user reviews of massage businesses in specific areas, such as Phoenix, Denver and Minneapolis. This information can be useful for attracting new customers and boosting your business.
Another way to market your massage services is through social media. Utilize Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites to share information about your business with potential clients. Use hashtags to broaden the audience you reach. You can also create a Facebook page or an Instagram account to draw attention to your work.
RubRatings is a valuable resource for expanding your massage business into new markets. Utilize it to connect with potential customers and boost your bottom line.
Tips on how to advertise your massage business the smart way
Not Thinking Like An Entrepreneur
Think like an entrepreneur and treat your massage practice like a business, not a hobby. According to research reports, small business owners work on average 52 hours per week. That number is probably even higher in the early stages of building a business.
Its no secret that building a thriving business requires hard work for an sustained period of time. But it can be a labor of love if you enjoy it. Theres no reason to expect a massage therapy business to grow with less work than it takes other businesses. You can find links to multiple research reports about small business on the SCORE website.
Massage therapy is a career where you can potentially earn $50,000 $75,000 per year, with relatively little invested time and money in training. So there must be a catch right? Well there is
To earn this level of income you must have your own business, have great clinical skills, and great business & marketing skills. This is the income for therapists who treat themselves as a professional. These people continuously work at improving themselves. Clients are attracted to therapists who love their work and are professional.
So commit to learning new marketing and business skills. Work on mastering the most important skills that you need for your business.
Since building a massage business can be challenging and stressful, it is important to also keep a positive mindset and take steps to avoid burnout. Find ways to celebrate each client and each little success.
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Answer Questions On Forums
Many people go to online forums to get their questions answered about various topics. This is a chance for you to position yourself as an authority and attract potential clients.
Go on forum sites like Quora and Reddit and give helpful, in-depth answers to people’s issues. Building a name for yourself on websites like these can spark interest and move people to visit your profile and massage therapy business website.
Make Your Salon Staff The Best Promotors Of Your Salon
Just like your salon window is and advertising space youre already paying for, so is your salon employees.
In fact, employees are generally the biggest cost that a salon has. So you better maximize this investment.
Your employees should be your best ambassadors. Everything from what they wear to how they act communicates your salons brand.
If you havent done so yet, take the time to define how you want them to promote your salon. Write it down. And train them.
Make sure to also include the biography of each hair stylist on your salons website. You can learn how to craft a good salon and stylist bio in this article.
You cannot expect that theyll understand this by themselves. A motivated team that knows what you expect of them can make a massive difference to how your salon is perceived.
For more ideas on how you can motivate your salon employees and get the most of them, you can read my article on the most effective ways to motivate salon employees.
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Why You Need To Market Your Massage Clinic Locally
To maintain profits, reputation, and to survive, local businesses need to learn how to adopt a more targeted approach with their audiences. Local marketing is the process of optimising your website and marketing strategies to help drive traffic and awareness in localised regions . This type of marketing targets the potential customers around your massage clinics neighbourhood and community.
For small businesses especially, local marketing can help establish a more secure foothold and attract customers with more potential for repeat business. Websites, social media ads, knowing your target market, and word-of-mouth can all help to market your business locally and showcase your services to a local audience.
Time To Move To Action: Build Your Salon Business Plan
This list of salon marketing ideas ended up quite long!
I really hope youve found some salon ideas today that you think would be right for your salon.
But it doesnt end here.
In fact, it starts now.
Youve invested a lot of time today to go through this list. If you do not take action now that time was just a waste.
In order to save you time, I strongly recommend you join my salon marketing program. New members are joining every week and I hope youll become one of us.
The program gives you access to step-by-step courses to help you succeed with your marketing. Youll also get the chance to meet with other like minded salon owners. Theres so much learning being shared in our live Zoom workshops that you can benefit from.
Its awesome and Im proud to be part of it.
I hope to see you inside!
John
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Promote Your Spa Business On Social Media
Weve already talked about how it is important to be present on social media. But thats not enough! You need to promote your business on social media to get more customers.
This is one of the most affordable and low-cost ways to market your spa. It requires consistency and commitment for the long term. Here are a few points to consider to boost your social media traffic and engagement, and get more customers:
- Post regularly: As I already mentioned, consistency is a must when it comes to social media. So make sure that you dont just post content on your various social media profiles only when you feel like it or only when youre free. Create a posting schedule for your social channels so that you never miss out. Consider the best days and times to post content while doing so.
- Use relevant hashtags: Hashtags are crucial to your reach on social media. Whenever you post something, ensure that you add hashtags that go with that specific post content, and then include the most popular industry hashtags. Dont put too many or too few hashtags. The optimum number of hashtags for Twitter is about two, for Instagram about 11, and about 6 for Facebook.
- User-generated content is the key: People relate more with your customers than with you. Encourage guests to share their photos post-visit and tag you on their own social media handles. You can then repost their content in order to promote it and build an emotional connection with your followers.
Salary Information For Massage Therapists
Massage therapists earned a median annual salary of $39,860 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, massage therapists earned a 25th percentile salary of $27,220, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $57,110, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 160,300 people were employed in the U.S. as massage therapists.
References
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Your No 1 Small Business Marketing Strategy: Keep In Regular Contact With Your Clients
One of the best small business marketing ideas is to find ways of maintaining regular contact with your clients. Email is probably the most effective way to do this. You may wish to email every month, or every second month, but letting your wonderful clients know what youre up to, any news, or industry updates and perhaps throwing a special offer just for regular clients should do the trick reminding them of your massage business and all that you have to offer.
Sage Institute of Massage its more than a job, its a rewarding career.
Connect With Clients Through Email
Email is a great way to keep clients up to date on hours and appointment processes, share special offers and deals and take the opportunity to educate them on the role and importance of massage.
Remind clients that you offer gift certificates, and share details on your referral program.
AMTA members have access to special discounted rates for Constant Contact.
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Make Your Website Stand Out From The Competition
How are you doing to do that?
Youre going to write an engaging Homepage and About page.
Wait, Mark, what about SEO?
If you want to pay someone to optimize your website or if you want to invest the gobs of time it takes to learn how to optimize your website yourself, go right ahead.
But I have a different strategy to getting someone to call me when she clicks on my website.
Its this: Follow Googless rules on my GMB page to improve my local search rankings. Then when a potential client clicks on my website I pull him in with words . Well talk about your GMB page after we finish with writing engaging content for your Homepage and About page on your website.
A HomePage That Draws the User In
I learned about the importance of a homepage from new clients.
When a new client comes into our office its not uncommon for her to say:
I like that your massages are 60 minutes long or I saw your tennis ball video or I never heard of anyone not accepting tips
Over time I made the connection that having an engaging homepage impacts our phone ringing.
Okay, Mark, how much is it going to cost to have someone write my homepage for me?
Nothing.
Because youre going to do it yourself.
Just follow this one simple rule: Dont bore the reader. Heres how youre going to make your Homepage engaging.
Make Your Copy Pop
It doesnt have to be radical.
In fact, radical can turn a lot of people off.
Here are some examples:
Customers?
Do I Need Business Cards
Yes. Some people say that business cards are dead, but they are not. Business cards are cheap. They are fast and simple to use when promoting your business. And they dont rely on phone compatibility or getting cell phone reception. You can get 500 at Vistaprint starting at around $10. You can get help on Fiverr designing it, or check out Canva to design it yourself for free.
People often forget the name of the person they are talking to, or their business name, before the conversation even ends. And people dont want to seem rude by asking again what your name is. Forgetting something like someones name as soon as you walk through the doorway is a common phenomenon called the doorway effect. A business card will at least let them remember you until they can get home. They may keep your card for months before calling you.
Many people still ask for a business card. It is better to have one to give them than to say, No but you can go to my website and expect them to remember it. A business card adds to the level of credibility and legitimacy of your practice.
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Additional Marketing Ideas Tips And Strategies
Based on the four pillars weve discussed above, we can expand our marketing strategy with the following tactics:
The Foundation: Superior Service and Experience
Above anything else, its important to establish the very foundation of successful marketing: your service quality.
Your clients come to you because they have a problem they need to be addressed: muscular pain, neck pain, back pain, and so on. Make sure you provide the best possible service so they are convinced that you are indeed the best possible solution for their problem.
This is what keeps them coming back, and even better, recommend your service to their peers and family members. This is how you retain clients and naturally grow your business.
Partnering With Local Businesses
While in this digital age you should focus most of your marketing efforts online, dont underestimate the importance of offline marketing like partnering with non-competitive businesses in your area.
The massage therapy business belongs in a large and diverse health and wellness industry, so you can potentially partner up with businesses that share similar missions and values such as:
- Gyms
- Holistic medicine practitioners
And more.
Chances are, these businesses will have clientele similar to your own, so you can perform cross-promotion campaigns together. For example, you can offer 10% discounts for members of your local gym, and vice versa this gym will offer discounts or free trials for your clients.
- Email marketing
Giveaways
What Should I Wear To A Massage
We recommend that you wear something comfortable and stretchy on your legs, e.g. Leggings or sweatpants and avoid wearing belts, jeans, pants/shorts without stretch or lots of pockets .
What do you wear to a massage at the spa?
Spas want their guests to feel as comfortable as possible, so non-restrictive clothing items such as yoga pants, lounge pants, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies are recommended at most resorts. Sneakers and sports shoes are often also allowed, but should be restricted to dry areas for hygienic reasons.
Do you undress for massage therapy?
Once you are in the room, the therapist will leave so you can remove your robe and step onto the table. There should be a blanket or towel to slip under for privacy. And unless the therapist tells you otherwise, you usually start belly-down.
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Take Appointments Through Your Website
Any real website should have a way to convert visitors to customers. And especially for Massage thereapy marketing there has to be a way to set an appointment. So make sure your website allows to make appointments. Your website platform should include this or have an appointment scheduling module or pluigin.
If youre not up for building a website yourself, then turn to one of the many professional companies that build them for massage therapy businesses or other service-based industries like yours .
The good part about a scheduling function is that you can set the appointments without the need for a phonecall and they can do it 24/7. You can ask the email address there, add them to your email marketing list and send automated appointment reminders
What Makes A Massage Good
A good massage is one that loosens tight or tangled muscles and provides relief from sore and stiff areas in the body.
What distinguishes a good massage? You must have good physical stamina and be able to stand for long periods of time as well as the hard physical exertion that massage requires. A strong sense of empathy is essential. You must strive to use massage techniques to improve a clients well-being.
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Locally Market Your Massage Clinic With Confidence
Having the right industry knowledge and learning everything you need to know from the best in the business will help you to market your services with confidence. Discover Massage Australia offers industry recognised massage therapy courses to equip you with everything you need to know about being a massage therapist and successfully running your own massage clinic.
How To Create An Account On Rubratings
To create an account on RubRatings, first go to the website and click on the Sign In button in the upper-right corner. Then enter your email address and password. Finally, click on the Create Account button to create your account.
Once you have created your account, you will be able to view all of the massage businesses that have been submitted by other members of the RubRatings community. You can also submit your own massage business or review any of the businesses that have been submitted by other members of the community.
To submit a massage business for consideration on RubRatings, first click on the Submit a Business link located in the upper-left corner of the homepage. You will then be prompted to provide information about your massage business, including a description, location, and contact information. If you would like to include a photo of your business, you can upload it by clicking on the Photo Gallery link located in the same corner of the page. After you have submitted all of the necessary information, please await approval from our team before continuing with your submission process.
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