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| Best
Ways To Build A massage Practice? |
Question:
What are
some of the ways any of you have built
a successful massage
- therapy practice?
- Do any of these online courses help
at all, or are they just a waste?
Answer:
In the absence of other suggestions,
I think I'll jump right in here. First,
I am not a massage
therapist. Second, I HAVE started
and built up a service business
before (to $1M /yr if that is important
to you). With those two things
in mind (so you know whether you want
to take this with a grain of salt
<g-), I'd suggest:
1) I wouldn't waste my money on any
online course, BUT you do need to
figure out some things about marketing
or read them or talk to people or
take an in-person class (adult education
or a junior college will do) 2) THINK
about how YOU find providers of professional
services (doctors, dentists, lawyers,
etc). I believe MOST people
ask around hoping to hear about good
experiences others have had. Lesson
#1 -- word of mouth advertising will
get you more clients (or lose you
more clients) than anything else.
So, do your best to make your
clients happy be professional, talk
to them before and after the massage.
Even some perks for referring
new clients may be in order. Also,
realize that once you have built up
your business and it becomes harder
and harder for a client to book a
massage with you the referrals will
drop off and you will become a "carefully
guarded secret" -- don't despair,
you've just advanced to "precious
commodity" status. 3) When many
people look for professional referrals,
they often look first to other professional
providers that they use and are happy
with. So, don't overlook marketing
efforts to doctors, dentists, lawyers,
etc. Start with the ones you
are using personally first. Maybe
offer a "professional courtesy"
discount to them. Extend the
offer to their staffs (you'll probably
see them first anyway). 4) THINK about
who might appreciate a good massage.
Beyond stressful occupations
consider physically demanding occupations:
firefighters, construction workers,
fitness instructors and their classes,
etc. Stop in, talk to them,
ask if you can leave flyers (maybe
on a reciprocal basis) with some sort
of special offer (first time discount,
10% off Mondays, ???, be creative).
5) Invest the time to set up a database
of your clients (it is easier to keep
an existing client than it is to find
a new one) so you can keep them updated
on any changes in your practice. You
could even do your own version of
a "frequent flier" reward
program using a database. 6) DO advertise
but do so wisely. Obviously,
a large yellow pages ad won't do you
much good over a 1" or 2"
ad. Look at free publications
as they could be a good place to put
an ad as long as it doesn't put your
name in the middle of a bunch of questionable
providers. 7) Make business cards
and carry them. Wherever you
see a bulletin board, post one of
your cards. 8) Every person you know
should know that you are a massage
therapist. Tell them. 9) Produce
and distribute educational material
on massage it is an excellent way
to turn doubters into clients AND
to prescreen clients of dubious value
(those really looking for "other"
services). 10) Actually sit down and
write a business plan there is a lot
to be said for seeing where you want
to be and working backwards from it
to figure out how to get there.
Business Plans are crucial to the
success of any business. And
please do not skimp on the information,
especially the planning, marketing
segments, and financial planning.
Be realistic, and be prepared
to have make hard decisions. The
road towards success in any start-up
venture can be slow and painful especially
if you are not prepared and if you
haven't accepted the hardships and
level of commitment it is going to
take.
If you can start out with some help,
it makes life easier. Try looking
for a new DC in your area, one who
hasn't added massage
to his practice yet and who would
be willing to sub-let space to you.
Also, you might try to find
other therapists to go into a practice
with you, especially if working with
insurance related cases is not your
thing. Beauty Salons are another
nice avenue that will allow you to
start the biz with less overhead,
and immediate exposure.
Get involved with a local small business
group, and target the leaders. It
will help you learn how to network.
It also gives you a chance to
meet other people who have struggled
and succeeded, providing for some
mentoring or at least exposure to
a group of like-minded folks who understand
the rigors of starting a new business.
Once you get a chance to work
on a couple of those Alpha-types,
the social group leaders, they'll
start to nudge the others to try out
a massage or two.
Volunteer locally. Tiffany is
absolutely right!! Chair massage
is the easiest, cheapest, and most
effective form of marketing we have.
Just make sure it is an event
local to your business.
Working at a convention center
or on some bigger gathering will probably
only expose you to people who are
traveling through town
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