supporting you in your massage career – every step of the way
Massage Therapy Marketing Skills
Most massage therapists HATE marketing...
Mention marketing to most therapists and the usual reactions is a groan
and a frown....we all know we have to do it, but boy do we hate it!
However, the good news is that we don't actually have to spend lots of
time and money on marketing activities. If we have some key skills, we
can actually let who we are, and how we practice, do a huge amount of
marketing for us.
Do you:
- Experience "feast or famine" with your client numbers?
- Frantically do some marketing when business is quiet, then stop when it's busy again?
- Feel embarrassed about promoting yourself?
- Think that marketing means being pushy and aggressive?
If so, then it's probably time to brush up on your Marketing Skills.
Marketing needs to be done ... but it doesn't need to be expensive
We can't get away from the fact that we do have to get out there and let the world know Some key skills for successfully marketing your massage practice are:
about us. But again, if we go about that the right way, we can get maximum results for
the time and money we invest - and many great marketing strategies are very low cost.
"Intrinsic" marketing attributes: many therapists forget that we are actually our own best
adverts - we are marketing ourselves every minute of every day. Everything about ourselves
and how we practice (appearance, speech, behaviour, professionalism, customer service,
hands-on skills) is the best way to let clients, and prospective clients, know why they should
choose us and continue to choose us. Excellence in all aspects of our practice results in
many repeat bookings and numerous word of mouth referrals, and minimises the need for
external marketing activities.
It's all about the client: a common refrain amongst therapists is "I feel really embarrassed
promoting myself". Well, the good news is that you don't have to; in fact, that is the last thing
you should be doing. The client doesn't want to know lots of details about you, your qualifications,
or the history of massage - they want to know what you can do for them. Effective marketing is
"benefit led", i.e. it tells the clients what you can do to solve their problems. So make sure your
card, leaflet, website etc is predominantly about what massage can do to solve people's problems,
and not just about you.
Define your client: they say that "if everybody is your client, nobody
is your client". Effective marketing is targetted marketing. What kind of
massage work do you enjoy doing the most? Who is your dream client?
Male? Female? What age? Where do they live? Work? Shop?
Go out to dinner? What do they do in their spare time? What are their
hobbies and interests? Once you have a good idea of who your ideal
client is, you can target your marketing efforts to where you know they
are - not where you hope they are.
Consistent marketing action: many therapists tend to forget all about marketing when business
is good, then as soon as client numbers drop they have a (brief, reluctant) flurry of marketing activity,
which tends not to be particularly successful. Successful marketing is a process, not a one-off activity
to do when business is slow. "Little and often" is the secret here; this kind of "keep in touch marketing"
is one of the keys to a steady flow of clients. Your client list of current and past clients is one of the
most valuable marketing tools you have. These are people who already know and value your work, and
keeping in touch with them on a regular basis will pay huge dividends. How do you keep in touch with
your clients?
Would you like to improve your skills for success?
Book your mentoring session today!