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?