Technology and software surround us, and they are sending us flying forward through the 21st century with endless possibilities and opportunities.
Massage therapists can take advantage of the growth in use of popular technology to find new clients, retain old ones, and increase their business revenue.
But let’s be frank: technology and software are scary words. They can mean almost anything, from the small free apps on your smart phone to incredibly detailed and extensive video games to massive servers storing all of our personal information to large, expensive editing programs that take up the entire storage of your hard drive.
Technology can define just about any type of digital media algorithm that you use daily—with comfortable ease or with complications.
Consumers Use Technology
In the last 10 years alone, technology and software acceptance and availability have grown exponentially. Nearly half of the world’s population is using the Internet. Just look down at your own hand. Are you holding a smart phone or have one nearby? What about a tablet or laptop?
Inside that small, compact device resides a plethora of technology. It’s a giant computer that fits in your pocket or your backpack, when only 60 years ago computers were the size of a living room. We take advantage of these super computers every day yet use barely 5 percent of their functions.
Why not put technology to use and help your business grow?
Every year, us in the tech world anxiously await The Meeker Report, an extensive review of Internet usage, trends and how technology is being used. Released by Mary Meeker, former venture capitalist of Kleiner Perkins investment firm, the report recounts in detailed fashion how consumers used technological advancements, including internet usage and technology buying trends, in the past year.
The report, last released in May 2018, found that in 2017, while there was not an increase in new users online, there was an increase in time spent online with current users. U.S. adults spent 5.9 hours per day on digital media and 3.3 of those hours were spent on mobile.
Another important, yet somewhat obvious, trend is that most consumers are more readily using social media platforms to find services and goods, including massage therapy. Through a consumer survey of those that use social media, these platforms are driving product and service discovery.
“Facebook leads the way with 78 percent of survey respondents saying they have discovered products and services on the platform, followed by Instagram and Pinterest with 59 percent, Twitter with 34 percent and Snapchat with 22 percent,” wrote Lisa Lacy in “20 Takeaways From Mary Meeker’s 2018 Internet Trends Report.”
All of this brings us to one question: How can these trends help your business?
3 Ways to Make Technology Work for You
1. Make Friends with Technology. To begin, you should never be afraid of incorporating technology into your business. It can be daunting and, with so many options in the marketplace, overwhelming. But you need not worry: Technology is your friend and can make your life incredibly easy.
We know consumers are spending more time on their mobile devices as well as on social media—but when was the last time you spent a solid hour online researching your competitors or publications, using advertising on Facebook or Instagram to attract new clients, finding someone to help build you a high-quality website to showcase your services, or even using online booking to get all of your appointments filled up for the week?
Some of these options do take some investment while others are incredibly affordable, but how can you put a price on making your business successful?
Utilize the tools that are available to you and your business will reap the benefits.
2. Do your research. If you find an app or company that claims to do 50 million things, stop before you buy. Give them a call and talk to their service reps or customer service. Look them up on sites like Capterra and find reviews. Ask yourself, “Will this make a positive difference in my life and in my clients’ lives?”
If iPhones were not user friendly, no one would use them—so why should you use a type of software that is incredibly complicated and costly? When you look into your business expenses, if these programs come with a heavy price tag but won’t give you the ability to run your studio with ease and comfort, are they worth it?
3. Use technology for good. Technology should be making your life, and the lives of your clients, easier. Why would you use an app that says it can get you new clients but in reality only drives them away?
Technology should be solution-based, not problem-creating. If it’s not simple, and you can’t figure it out, then what’s the point? The most important thing for you, as a massage therapist, is to have a full book with consistent clients. Technology can help you get there.
As our world is ever changing with technological advancements, there is no reason to not incorporate technology into your business. It already surrounds your everyday life, so why not utilize it to benefit your business?
About the Author:
Jerry Nettuno is the founder and creator of Schedulicity, a free online booking software developed to help small business owners become successful entrepreneurs. Through his extensive experience in the tech industry, Nettuno has seen how far technology has come and how we should as consumers and business owners utilize it to our benefit. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.