In this economy, to have a successful massage business and earn repeat customers, you need to become a relationship builder.
According to Kat Mayers of Kavema Massage & Wellness in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, referrals have been the strength of her business. “Every massage therapist knows that referrals and repeat customers are the key,” stated Mayers. “With the average career in massage therapy being only five years, to be successful you have to quickly grow a referral network.”
To grow your massage therapy practice, here are five simple steps you should implement today:
1. Get more e-mail addresses now. In order to create an e-mail marketing campaign, you will need to have a list of customers to target. If you are just getting started, you can purchase a list of e-mails from companies like InfoUSA.com or Data.com. Then use e-mail marketing companies like iContact.com or Aweber.com to deliver the e-mails for you.
However, the most profitable list will be of current and past clients. To grow your e-mail list, run a simple contest or offer a special discount they only can receive if they register online.
2. Offer a high-value incentive. By offering an incentive such as $15 off your next massage, clients will want to refer you to someone they know. When these new customers schedule an appointment online, call the person who referred them and let her know you appreciate the referral. This will instantly strengthen the relationship with your massage clients.
3. Make frequently-asked-question videos. Create five 60-second videos demonstrating your techniques on a client. Then create five 30-second videos answering the questions you always get from new clients. Remember to explain what makes you different, and talk about your special offer.
Then upload one video every day on YouTube. Send the videos to your e-mail list and distribute them on Facebook.
4. Be present on Facebook. Seventy-five percent of businesses state that being on Facebook is critical (State of Inbound Marketing 2012). When clients come to your massage business, don’t just tell them to follow you on Facebook for future discounts; give them a flier discount that has the exact website address of your Facebook profile.
5. Upload more pictures of you with clients. According to a social media study done by HubSpot marketing automation, photos on Facebook Pages received 53-percent more “likes” than the average post. To stay ahead of your competition, make sure you provide visual proof that your current clientele enjoys seeing you. When your clients view their picture on Facebook, they will click the “Like” button. The image will then show up on their timeline for all their friends and family.
Here’s a bonus marketing tip: In the pictures and videos, make sure you wear a shirt that has your company phone number or website.
Connor Bringas is a marketing specialist at Appointment-Plus.com, a leader in online scheduling software for health-and-wellness companies. You can check out other great tips from Bringas on Twitter.