Marketing Matters

As I go through my days I see all sorts of ideas other, non-massage/bodywork businesses use to market their services. Why can’t you take what they’ve done and make it work for you and your ideal clients?

1. Kind of Frequent Flyer Bonus, but Not
I heard an ad on the radio for an active senior apartment complex. The special was: Sign a one year lease. After you pay for the first 11 months, you get your 12th month free.

How this can work for you: Massage is a reward and motivator! Give yourself a reason to keep working toward your goals. Book and keep one appointment a month with me for one year. Get the 12th month free. OR get a certificate for a [90 minutes session] that you can keep or give to a friend. OR, or, or …

The advantage to you is obvious. The advantage for your clients is being able to make appointments for times that work best for them.

2.  Get People Thinking, Get Them Laughing … about You
Coffee huts and hamburger stands have these little “quizzes” where you get 10% off if you answer the trivia question correctly. Stuff like “Where did the word trivia come from?” or “Who was the father of the sons of Zebedee?” It’s fun, it’s cute. If we don’t know the answer, we go home and look it up. You can take this basic idea but make it bigger.

How this can work for you: Send out an email or postcard to your clients with an intriguing question. eg: My favorite holiday is fast approaching! The first five people to correctly tell me what is celebrated [September 19] will get [a preferential appointment time/extra 15 minutes added onto their next appointment]. If you’re not one of the first five, I’ll put your names in a hat and draw three more names for the same prize. Answers must be received by Friday, January 29th.

3. Respond to Your Ideal Clients’ Immediate Needs
I saw Avatar this weekend. After a 3+ hour movie, my first stop was the restroom. Two things jostled for brain-space as I washed my hands: 1) The cleverness of the florist who placed fresh arrangements on the counter top with her name and location clearly visible and 2) My leg really, really hurt.

I had carried the tension of the last two hours of the movie in my right leg. I think I had been physically ready to leap in to action and … do … something.

I felt the same way after one of the more recent Bond films.

Surely I can’t be the only one that does this.

These physical feelings combined with the smart florist’s marketing got me thinking about you.

How this can work for you: The first off-the-cuff thought I had would be to place a card at the bottom of each mirror in the bathroom — with the theater’s permission. The text could relate to a specific movie saying something like:

“Helping [Neytiri]? Feeling a little sore now?
Take a deep breath and exhale, letting the tension out of your neck.
Breathe deeply again and exhale the tension out of your lower back.
With your third breath, let the tension out of your legs.
Better?
If not, give me a call at 555-1212.”

Or you can offer advice for sitting through long movies in general. Or you can leave cards in the men’s room suggesting that after dragging their date to whatever the current blockbuster shoot-’em-up is, they could do something she would appreciate, ie: couple’s massage, chocolate massage, etc.

This would work best if you reference a movie that you feel your ideal clients would go to. You want your ideal clients to get that “They’re talking to me” feeling. This isn’t as hard as you may think. Hey, come on, an amazing number of 40-50 year old women went to whatever that vampire movie was …

All my best,
Eileen

Further Reading
Ideal Clients Defined
Who Are You Talking to?

When you are building your massage (energy work/yoga/skin care) client base, you have to market. You just do.

Marketing takes time, money, planning and effort.

To gather more clients while using your time and effort wisely, you need to do the one best thing to get more clients:

Specialize.

It’s a bit like saying, “Plastics,” I know. But …
When you specialize you save time; you are talking to the clients you want on your table.

When you specialize you save money; you advertise and market in places where your ideal clients already are.

When you specialize you save effort; you know who you’re talking to, you know what they need and you know where to find them.

When you specialize people see you as an expert; the clients you want to serve will be better able to find you.

When you specialize you stand out.

Here are five steps to get you going

1. Decide what kind of clients you want.
You need to be specific. “Everyone” is not a helpful answer. You really don’t want “everyone.”

Deciding you want to work with “moms” is fine. Deciding to work with “active moms whose active children attend the Tae Kwon Do school across the street from your studio” is much better.

“Elders” is fine. “65+ year old men who have put their body through the wringer who want the facts and have been in low-grade pain for so long that they are willing to seriously consider acupuncture” is better.

And, yes, you can have two, three, four, etc different specialties.

2. Discover where your ideal clients can be found.
Once you know who you want, you have to go find them.

You could run a specific ad for your specific clients in the local paper or on the radio. Or you could save money and buy or trade ad space in a club’s newsletter or in a yoga teacher’s email or in a health cooperative’s flyer.

Find the places where your ideal clients go: fly fishing club meetings, dog parks, sports bars (the nice ones, of course), jogging trails, farmers’ markets, etc.

3. Consider the problems your ideal clients deal with.
Again, you need to be specific. Yes, your ideal client’s shoulders hurt but their problem is that they can’t reach the top shelf, or work at their desks for more than an hour, or put on their coats, or go into downward dog.

They are stressed but what they can’t do is sleep through the night, or stop drinking so much coffee, or they can’t make decisions.

4. Keep your message clear and brief.
Next time you’re driving down the road, look at a business’ sign or a billboard. See how long that took? That’s how long you have to capture your clients’ attention.

It’s important to tell them what they want to hear first thing. And keep it brief.

If they need or should have more information, they will call you or go to your website.

5. Follow through.
I am continuously astounded by the number of therapists who spend time and money creating a marketing plan and then never actually do it.

Your clients (and potential clients) want to hear from you. They rely on you to keep them reminded and informed. You don’t need to be slicky-salesman about it. Ever. Just be who you are and all will be well.

Honest.

All my best,
Eileen

So what are your plans for gift certificate sales this season?

Focusing on gift certificate sales should be a seasonal project for you. If not,  it’s time to incorporate it into your regular massage practice marketing plan.

Why You Ought To
The Holidays is when you are more likely to be introduced by existing clients to new or potentially new clientele.

And, this is the time of year when people are wanting to buy.

Therefore, this is the time of year to focus on gathering new clients, revitalizing your practice and/or shifting your practice’s focus.

The easiest way to do this is to remind your clients that you have gift certificates for sale.

Give Your Clients a Reason
People buy for the Holidays. They just do. So if they’re going to spend money, why not spend it on something healthy and good?

Your clients need to be reminded of the benefits of your work. They need to be reminded that it is very simple to share your work with their family and friends.

What to Say
Your clients have a problem. You have to tell them what their problem is.

Your clients need a solution their problem. You tell them how you can solve it.

Your clients problems can be solved by one phone call or email. You tell them that.

The Thing Is
In order to write this simple message, you have to know your clients.

You should know by now why your clients come to you. Whether in your head or on paper, your clients should be divided up into distinct groups of shared needs and interests: arthritis, stress reduction, beauty, physical goals, emotional work.

People (your clients) tend to gather together with others that share their interests … friends and families. So, sending a specific message to specific clients will result in a higher response.

If your clients come to you not only because of your work, but also because of your certified toxin-free practice, play that up. The likelihood is high that they will either buy a certificate for a friend that shares the same interest, or that they will at least pass your message along with a, “You really would like her; she’s done wonders for my allergy issues.”

If people come to you because your work improves their golf swing, keep that at the forefront.

If you have one group of clients that love your prenatal work and another that love your TMJD relief, send different messages to each group.

Act Now
It can take four to six weeks to get a good mailing planned, written, printed and mailed.

Diana and I have written several articles on how to “discover” your ideal client and how to write messages to them. Links to these are below.

If you have specific questions, you can email me at marketingmatters@comcast.net OR (even better) call our office at 800-754-9790 and sign up for a free brainstorming session. The session truly is free and completely, absolutely, positively obligation-free.

All my best,
Eileen

Diana’s stuff:
Target your clients’ real concerns — in tough times and good times

Promos for the Holidays. Use these samples to get started.

Buy Local, Get a Massage

Marketing with Postcards

Eileen’s stuff:
MT Seeks Ideal Clients: Courting the massage clients you want

Taking Your Cues from the Big Guys: Targeting your massage marketing to the proper clients

Why You Should Book a Session with Me: Marketing massage on your website

Spell. It. Out.: Valentine’s promotional messages for the romantically handicapped

My mother-in-law (whom I adore) is a disaster magnet. It’s nothing she does. Stuff just happens.

Whiteouts. Wildland fires. Elk.

After seventy years she has her disaster management down to a science. She can throw her stuff into the car and be down the road in under 25 minutes. In addition to her essentials, she is always sure to pack her address book, a phone book, and her cell phone with an extra battery.

In other words, she is well-prepared to maintain contact with people who care about her and also with people she needs.

If you don’t have a plan for keeping your clients in the loop if and when your practice experiences a disaster, now is the time.

Soon we’ll be in the season of burst pipes and collapsed roofs. Never mind the high flammability of things in the Pacific Northwest right now.

If you have to close down your practice for even a week, how will you keep your clients in the loop? How will you care for them while you’re repairing your place — or looking for a new one? And how will you bring your clients back to you when your practice is up and running again?

What’s your massage practice marketing plan for disaster recovery?

Basic Steps for Right Now

1. Get all your clients’ current emails and addresses.
2. Check periodically to make sure the contact information is still good. Send an email to check that they can receive emails from you. Or send a postcard mailing with 1st Class postage so if their address has changed, you’ll get the postcard back with the corrected address.
3. Keep a copy of your client contact lists in a place other than your studio — at home, in a safety deposit box — and be sure to update it weekly.
4. Think about how you will keep in contact with clients if disaster befalls your practice. Start a blog? Will you email them all? Can you email them all? Some email accounts won’t let you send emails to more than 25 people at a time. Know these things before you are under serious stress.
5. Make at least a minimal effort to maintain a rapport with local news media — whether it’s radio, newspaper, health issues blogger with a decent following. Whomever. If you suffer a disaster, you will need someone with a bigger voice who is willing to readily support you.
6. Be a friendly neighbor. If your practice has smoke damage, will the salon down the block give you a “friends and family” deal on a temporary room? Look in your neighborhood for places that would be okay in a pinch. Bring over a couple lattés once a month and have a little chin wag. Can’t hurt.

Marketing After the Disaster

1. Contact your clients. Tell them what happened, your current plans and how you are going to keep in contact with them.
2. Keep in contact. Blogs, emails, twitter, phone trees, whatever works. Do it. Do it regularly. Make people part of the process.
3. Get the story out. Disaster is newsworthy. When you get your story on the radio/newspaper/newsletter, make every effort to ensure the story includes ways for your clients (current and potential) to be updated on your progress.
4. Don’t whine about frustrations to your clients. That’s what your friends and forums are for.
5. If you’re down for a long time (a month+) create ways so your clients can still see you and still get a taste of your healing services and so you can continue to market your massage practice. Set up a chair at a coffee house or gym or park. Be adopted by an other practice that has a free room on odd days. Anything to keep yourself on your clients’ radar.
6. When you reopen (even if it’s only been two weeks) make it a big deal. Make it newsworthy. You overcame challenges and you want to celebrate and thank everyone for their support. Right? Have a BBQ or potluck or outdoor movie night. Invite your clients and everyone else who helped: city employees, the fire department, the plumber, other therapists.

As I wrote this entry it was very hard to stick to just marketing topics for disaster preparedness. Of course, you need to think about your practice and insurance and customer care and all that kind of stuff.

I did a little searching and found three relevant entries on my new favorite blog. They are Planning for the train wreck before it happens, How your top 10 clients can impact your disaster recovery, and What can you learn from a business disaster.

All my best,
Eileen

My mother-in-law turned 70 this week. In the Swan Valley, you put an “events notice” in the weekly paper when you are going to have a big party. You don’t ask for RSVPs. You don’t try to make a potluck list. Just tell them to gather and don’t try to “organize.” This is not how I operate, but I was not the one being invited. It’s hard to remember that sometimes.

You have to reach out to your potential clients in a way that is familiar to them.

Ask your favorite clients (or people who you would like to have as clients) how they like to get their information. By mail? Electronically? In the papers?

How you like to get your information doesn’t figure here.

Maybe you prefer electronic communication, but there is no sense in spending time and money trying to attract someone like my dad through email or web ads. Don’t bother. But if you snail-mailed him a quarterly/bi-monthly newsletter full of facts and studies, he would be more likely to pay attention. Another option for reaching him would be through an article in the newspaper or a regional seniors’ journal. He wants facts and he wants them on paper. So do most of his friends. Remember this if you’re trying to attract 65+, educated, retired professional, active codgers.

When you know who you are trying to reach, you will know how to go about actually reaching them.

Ask your good clients where they like to get information about local activities/events. From the paper? Flyers? Radio? Word of mouth? Yahoo groups?

If you are after the kind of people that shop at farmers’ markets, see about asking a vendor to put flyers in the produce bags or sponsor a food bank bin.

If you are trying to attract summer visitors, see what the Visitor’s Bureau will mail out with their information packs or if they will allow you to advertise on their site. Explore how visitors find out about your area and adjust accordingly. Make your search terms reflect the Visitors’ Bureau’s website. See about doing tandem marketing with a thriving local attraction or B&B.

Even a big city can be broken down into smaller, more manageable communities.

I have heard from a lot of folks who are trying to get their practices going in Chicago or Miami. Quite frankly, they are overwhelmed by the magnitude of potential clients. Understandable.

Every place is made up of tiny communities. A community is by definition tightly knit. Focus your efforts on these.

Maybe these communities are neighborhoods of like-minded or like-monied people that you want to work with. They have local coffee shops and parks.

Maybe these communities are people with same values or enthusiasms like churches or softball teams. They have parish flyers, team updates and seasonal picnics.

Reach out to potential clients on their terms, in their space, and you’ll save yourself time, effort and heartbreak.

All my best,
Eileen

By the by, here is a link to a rather intriguing article about using your business cards in different ways for different target groups: How to Order, Design and Use Personal Business Cards in a New Way. I also wrote an entry about it with off-the-cuff ways the ideas could be adjusted for marketing your massage/bodywork practice.

My boss (one of them) said he was working on the selectors and pseudoselectors for HTML maintenance.

“Great,” I said. “What does that mean?”

It means he’s switching CSS styles.

“Great,” I said. “What does that mean?”

It means we can do cool stuff on the web faster and easier.

Ah, well! That means something to me.

When you talk to your clients — especially in mailings or ad texts — you need to keep their needs in the forefront.

Most clients will not understand what you mean by, “The intention in my work is to bring you back to balance and into a homeostatic state of well being.”

As a group, your clients don’t know what petrissage, trigger point therapy or Ayurveda massage is either. Those terms don’t mean anything to them. Those terms don’t tell them how they are going to feel after a session with you. They don’t know what they results are supposed to be.

Your clients will understand:

I can ease your headache pain.
I can help you sleep more soundly.
I can help you recover from from injury faster.
I can help turn your mountains into molehills.
I can help you find your ankles again.

When you market your massage / bodywork practice, start by telling your clients what they truly want to know. They want to know the results — what they are going to get for their money and time.

After you have their attention, then you encourage them to call you or to visit your website for more details about your techniques and your training.

All my best,
Eileen

I had an object lesson this week.

I am absolutely devoted to my Mother Care (peri-natal) yoga class. Half the time there aren’t enough students to make it worth the instructor’s while.

Because I have a vested interest in taking this class, I’ve been working with Kristen (instructor) to figure out how build up her attendance. How hard could it be?

In addition to Mother Care yoga, Kristen teaches popular pre-natal yoga and new parent yoga classes. She is a well-known doula. She emails her regular clients with class updates. She offers discounts for bringing a friend and takes flyers to playgroups. As far as I can tell, Kristen has the absolute best pool of potential clients ever and is doing everything she is should to promote this service.

Why aren’t the moms coming to my favorite class? They should be flocking to it.

At the end of every class (when we have class), Kristen asks students what she can do to make the class more accessible. A different day of the week? Different time? She gently talks about the importance of moms taking time to recharge themselves. About giving dads or partners the chance to be parents on their own without “supervision.”

Kristen gets different answers each time she asks. They all sound logical — weekends are the only time our family can be together, too tired in the evenings, classes are during the baby’s “needy” time.

Because Kristen is a smartypants, she didn’t react to all these suggestions. She considered them. Kristen didn’t feel like she was getting The Real Answer.

I was fairly twitching with impatience and biting my tongue firmly. I wanted to get schedules changed and new fliers made up and to rewrite her class description and, and, and! I wanted the class to happen now.

This week, Kristen got her Answer.

A mom said she wasn’t able to come to classes sooner because her baby was nursing every two to three hours. The class is two hours long. Most new moms who come to the class are nursing. The class plus travel means new moms will be at least 2.5 hours away from their babies.

Ah.

That would be The Real Answer.

So. Good for Kristen for continuing to ask her clients what they needed, for looking for the real reason for sparse attendance. Now she knows that she needs to adjust the length of the class.

I learned that it’s a good idea to keep asking until you get an answer that resonates with you and your practice.

If you are convinced that there is a market for your work with a specialized group — police/dog trainers/welders — keep asking until you figure out exactly what they need. Special hours? Longer sessions? Shorter sessions? Clearly stated bodywork benefits relating to their particular needs?

There is an answer. You’ll know it when you hear it.

All my best,
Eileen

If you’re interested in reading more about writing ad/flyer copy, Diana has a good article on targeting your clients’ real concerns.

Eileen is the marketing coordinator for Natural Touch Marketing.

This is the time of year where the rains ease up and my gas bills quadruple. Festival season, oh, yes!

For the bodyworker in the right frame of mind, a festival or fair can be an excellent place for you to meet the clients you would like to add to your practice. At the very least, it’s a nice break from the norm.

Local vs. Regional:
A regional festival, like Bumbershoot or the Oregon Country Fair, is more likely to be a working vacation than a perfect spot to reinvigorate your practice. It might be a good opportunity to reinvigorate you. These sorts of events are generally full of people looking to have a positive experience and you can’t stand in the middle of so much fun energy without catching it yourself. Also, it’s a place where you can be inspired by what other vendors (not necessarily bodyworkers) are doing to attract clients.

Local festivals are the places to look for clients to add to your practice. Not only do you get your dose of good energy but you have exposure to people who live and work around you. This is a chance for people to meet you in a “neutral” space. It’s a chance to become familiar with your face and your personality and, hopefully, your work.

Focus on Who You Want to Serve:
If you are trying to add clients to your practice, you will be most efficient when you know who you want to attract. Some are obvious: local races or matches for sports massage, farm fairs or farmers’ markets for green-focused practices, 4H events for families.

Also consider the neighborhood where your practice is located. Introduce yourself. Be neighborly. Perhaps the office next door has an employee lunchtime BBQ every spring. Can you do neck/shoulder/arm work while they’re waiting for their bratwursts to grill?

If the Tae Kwon Do school across the way has a big meet every year, go see how you can get your practice involved. Wouldn’t it be useful to help local competitors gain an edge over the competition by being focused and warmed up before they step into the ring? And, while we’re thinking about it, wouldn’t it be useful to parents dropping off their kids to have an appointment with you while their child is in class?

I have seen the same therapist next to her chair shaking hands and handing out cards at both the Capital Food and Wine Festival and at SLURP this year. I’d say she’s after gastronomes who like a little luxury and are willing to spend their money on quality. A lot of the attendees go to both events so she’s gaining recognition and becoming comfortably familiar. And the sign by her chair saying, “Will work for wine,” probably doesn’t hurt.

Be Ready:
Have some sort of signage where people can clearly see your offer and rates from more than 10 feet away. A piece of notebook paper taped to the sunshade support isn’t going to do it.

Business cards, business cards, business cards. Geez louise, if I see one more MT with a stack of torn up — neatly, I’ll grant you — slips of paper with their name and number, I shall bite through the radiator. You’re going to need a gazillion of them because you’re going to hand two to every person you talk to. They’re not that expensive. If you’re really together, make up some specific for the event. They need to look professional and they need text that explains the benefits of your work. People need a reason to keep the card. Give them one.

If you have a brochure or flyer that explains the work you do, so much the better. Someone may be interested but still unsure or doesn’t have enough time (or your festival schedule was packed! ) Be sure any information you give them has your contact information on it. There is also a greater impact if you are able to address their needs as specifically as possible. An example: At an airshow, have one flyer for men, another for elder men and another for stressed out, Tums-popping men.

Festival-goers are great but don’t forget the vendors, coaches, bands, volunteers, staff, etc. I recommend walking around the festival location during set-up and introducing yourself. Bring your daily schedule. Get people signed up. “You know, at lunch time and the end of the day my schedule gets packed. Those seem like times that would be best for you. Do you want to sign up now so you have a space saved before the crowds get here?” Don’t discount the benefits of trades, either. Wouldn’t it be nice to trade a 15 minute session for help taking down and loading your stuff? Or for two flats of bedding plants?

There’s nothing wrong with being memorable. The therapist with the sign reading, “Will work for wine” got more people talking to her than she would have otherwise. They wanted to know what kind of wine she was after. If there was a low price limit. If they got a special award for finding the best tasting wine. The conversation was opened. People could approach her about something other than her work initially. Also, she had the same sign at both events so people were inclined to remember her.

Festivals are a time to celebrate. Celebrate your practice and celebrate the work you have put into making our world a little better.

All my best,
Eileen

Related article: Dipping in Your Oar: Notes on marketing massage at local events

 This week I got a serious request for some input. It reads:

“I have just recently moved from Chicago to Cape Cod, MA, and accepted a job at a spa/gym. The space and business is new to the owners of the spa. They have two other locations on the cape. I have been hired to be the massage therapist/marketing person.

We have tried numerous marketing ideas. Some examples:
Spring stimulus package for $99.00 (includes-hair cut,facial, massage),
Beauty bucks-$20.00 off a purchase of $80.00 or more,
Referral program for the trainers- refer 2 people get half-off a service.
We have even attended a ladies community night in which over 500 women get together at a local venue, to see the local businesses and what services they have to offer. Not one has called or come by.

What are we not seeing? I have learned not to discount your services or give them away for free.

The web-site for the gym is www.fitness500club.com and we are under the link Beyond Beauty. We also have our own link for the salon/spas, www.beyondbeautycapecod.com.

Please help. I do not want to give up on this venture.”

Usually I do three or four backing and forthing emails with people who ask for insight into their situation. Then I write a blog entry with their background and my suggestions. I find I ask the same kinds of questions most of the time. This time I’m going to ask the questions as part of the entry so you all can see one way to start examining how you market your massage therapy / bodywork practice. And so you can give your insights, too. Jump in!

Also, I have no idea what this person’s name is so I’m calling him/her “Sam.” I like “Sam.”

Dear Sam—

I don’t want you to give up either. Let me go through some basic questions and we’ll see if we can’t figure out what’s going on here.

Just to be clear, are you the massage therapy/marketing person for Beyond Beauty, right? Not all three locations. And when you say “massage therapy person” does that mean you are managing the massage therapy side of the business or that you are the massage therapy chief-cook-bottle-washer-and marketer?

Who are your clients? Who do you want your clients to be? Year ’round residents? Summer residents? Visitors, women, men, gym members, CPAs? Who are you focusing on here?

Is massage a recently added service with this company? Are there plenty of MTs in town (in other words, is the town educated about the benefits of bodywork)?

How is the gym side of the business?

I see that Beyond Beauty is an Aveda Spa. How does that affect your marketing, if at all?

How are you getting your marketing ideas (stimulus package, beauty bucks, etc.) out there? Web only? Newspaper? Fliers? Brochures in B&Bs? Mailings? How are you trying to get the attention of your targeted clients … other than the ladies’ community night?

Ladies’ community night: What was that like? A booth? A chance to speak in front of an audience? Chair massage demos? How did you try to attract clients? Why do you think no one responded?

Sam, the answers and insights you give to these questions will help us focus on what you should think about doing next. Let’s get cracking!

All my best,
Eileen

Okay, gang. What did I forget to ask? I usually remember some essential question after I push the send button. Which I’m doing … now …