From the Editor's Desk

In consumer-research news, academic researchers have found that purchasing a massage brings more satisfaction than buying products.

But then, we already knew that, right? Perhaps this report can be spun in massage marketing materials, to help confused clients know where their money is best spent.

A new report out of Cornell University shows that consumers found that satisfaction with “experiential purchases”—from massages to family vacations—starts high and increases over time. In contrast, spending money on material things feels good at first, but actually makes people less happy in the end.

This is according to researchers Thomas Gilovich, Cornell University professor of psychology, and Travis J. Carter, Cornell Ph.D. ‘10.

“When it comes to material things, Gilovich and Carter found shoppers often second-guess their original buying decisions, comparing what they bought to other people’s purchases or to better deals they missed,” according to a Cornell press release.

“But buying experiences provides greater satisfaction as time goes on, in part because of selective memory and because a consumer’s experience is highly subjective, making it much harder to make negative comparisons. Consumers also find it easier to decide on experiences, spending money on the first option that meets a set of expectations rather than painstakingly comparing all options.”

I am seeking massage therapists to interview for a feature article on green/environmentally friendly practices. To participate, send me an email at kmenehan@massagemag.com. Thanks!

I feel inspired and touched, as I so often do, by the caring people in the massage profession. I just posted a news article about the outreach underway to help the people of Haiti. “Massage therapists are traditionally quick to help people in need. The tragic events in Haiti, following a 7.0 earthquake, are no exception.” Read the article on our homepage: www.massagemag.com

It often feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day to keep up on all the news and developments in the massage field. Still, our editors often take time to reflect on the jobs we’re doing and how we might do them better.

Today we each created two New Year’s Resolutions: One specific to MASSAGE Magazine, and one of a more personal nature.

I’m sharing them (with Stanford and Jen’s permission!) with you here, and also want to invite you to share your resolutions with me. What do you resolve to do in the New Year? And how can MASSAGE Magazine help you keep your professional or personal resolutions?

Stanford Erickson, editorial director:
1. I will interview a massage therapist who not only is operating her/his own practice but also contributes constructively to improve the professionalism of the massage community.

2. I will keep my office organized and neat.

Jennifer Whalen, managing editor and associate editor of integrated media:

1. I will seek out additional experts in the massage and bodywork industry to either blog for www.MASSAGEmag.com and/or write articles pertaining to topics most important to massage therapists and the challenges they face.

2. I plan to eat healthier in the new year, choosing nutritious foods and snacks to help recharge throughout the day.

Karen Menehan, editor in chief:

1. I resolve to continue to seek out many sources of information in order to present the massage field with a wide variety of topics, experts, advice and ideas.

2. I will meditate for at least 15 minutes every day.

I’ve just begun researching an article on how social networking can help massage therapists (market, reach clients, connect with colleagues). If you would like to be included in the article, please send me an email at kmenehan@massagemag.com and we can set up an interview.

Whether you’re already a social networker or not, be sure to check out MASSAGE Magazine’s Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/#/MassageMagazine?ref=search&sid=795283418.1015148408..1

I just wrote up a news story for our website, and wanted to give it an extra push out to the massage-o-sphere. Here goes.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health is inviting input from the public to assist the creation of its long-range plan. This input “will provide guideposts for future scientific direction, a useful framework for priority setting, and continue the internal efforts to advance the organization,” a statement on NCCAM’s website reads.

I’d love to see massage therapists, en masse, provide NCCAM with some solid information and ideas about massage therapy and the clientele that can benefit from it. The site below covers NCCAM’s plan and includes a link where you can comment.

To comment on the NCCAM Strategic Plan: 2010, visit http://plan.nccam.nih.gov.

In my years reporting on this field, I’ve learned about massage and spa therapies done in at-first-unimaginable venues—from airports to backstage at circuses. I used to react with no little amazement to these stories. But now I realize: Wherever there are people, there’s a need for healthy touch.

So it was with surprise tempered with an “of course!” that I read a new article from Newsweek—posted online today and to run in the Nov. 9 print edition—that describes a new fusion: the spa-fari.

It entails spa treatments provided to people on safaris.

“Safaris can be seriously hard work,” the article notes. “The dedicated animal voyeur needs to be up at the crack of dawn, bumping over rough dirt tracks in jeeps and scouring the thicket for rhinos and giraffes.”

In this economy, it’s essential for massage therapists to think outside the usual word-of-mouth box. So, tell me: Shat is the most interesting or unusual place you’ve seen massage offered?

Read the complete Newsweek article here: www.newsweek.com/id/220754.

Our editors are hard at work on our July/August issue, a double issue that will be mailed along with our first annual Special Trends Issue. This special issue will be filled with ideas and advice from experts in the massage profession.

During this time of economic challenge, I know this advice will benefit massage therapists in running their practices.

I just wanted to let you know what’s coming up, and to look for this double issue in your mailbox in late June.

Despite the less-than-positive news from around the world, there is so much to give thanks for.

I am grateful for my family and friends, for my health and the opportunities available to me as a member of a first-world society. I am thankful for my job, for the gift of working with, and for, the massage therapy profession.

I feel blessed by life itself; just to be here and make a positive difference in people’s lives.

The news tells us the U.S.  economy is shaky. But that means your gifts are needed by that many more Americans. According to the American Massage Therapy Association’s 12th annual consumer survey, stress relief and relaxation are the leading reasons clients turn to massage therapy.

Another study shows that nearly half of Americans report that their stress level has increased over the past year, with as many as 30 percent rating their average stress levels as extreme. Key factors in stress levels include the worsening economy and health concerns.

So, while fiscal frugality might be part of your holiday season this year, never doubt that your skills are needed. Keep the faith in your profession, continue to advertise and market your services, and know that healing touch is vital to the health of us all.

MASSAGE Magazine has run some articles on how to sell products within a massage practice, and we’ll run more on this topic in 2009. We’ve taken some flack from readers who think that offering products to clients is somehow unethical, or shouldn’t be part of a health-care practice. I’m writing now, from the perspective of an avid massage consumer, to tell you it’s not only ethical, but also desired.

Shopping for bodywork supplies is interesting for me, and fun. Using self-massage tools, lotions, heated buckwheat pillows and other products keeps me in touch with my body, relaxes me and helps me take a break from my overactive mind. The only problem I face in this regard is access to such products.

My local health-food store stocks a few things, and I can always shop online. But when I’m shopping for vegetables or surfing the Internet, I’m just not in a frame of mind to look for self-care products. Instead, I’m in “doing and thinking” mode – so I usually contain my massage-product purchasing to the national massage conventions I attend for MASSAGE Magazine. And let’s be real: Most massage clients don’t attend massage therapists’ professional conventions!

Maybe it’s just me (but I honestly don’t think so): I’d love it if my massage therapist carried some items I could buy to take home with me after a session. If such products were appropriate to a massage practice, within the therapist’s scope of practice, and offered in the spirit of self-care, then those products will be accepted, appreciated and, most importantly, used between sessions for health maintenance.

Isn’t that what really matters?

Until next time.