So far we have explored low cost ways to attract massage clients, which is particularly important when you are first starting out or operating on a low overhead basis. At some stage however, you may want to take your massage practice to the next level, or wish to attract additional clientele beyond these methods and may look to advertising to do this. Today we are going to explore the attributes of an effective advertisement so you know exactly what to include when planning your campaign.
The four elements of an effective advertisement are:
I.D.E.A.
INTEREST
The most important element in your advertisement is attracting attention. Your headline is the single most important element of your ad. Grabbing attention is best achieved by speaking your prospective client’s problem and using your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). When coming up with headlines, I’d suggest brainstorming a long list and then offering a sample to your target market to determine which they think would most likely attract them. If you haven’t yet come up with a USP, review our last blog about how to market your uniqueness before continuing. Attention can also be attracted using strategically placed artwork, or unusual artwork.
DESIRE
It is imperative that you build a desire in your potential prospect so that they actually want to use your service, or at least give you a call to find out more. After the headline, this is the second most important key to an advertisement that works. The desire element of your ad will stimulate an emotive response in your potential prospect and will offer a solution or ideal outcome that they will want to pursue. Always remember to talk about the client and what they will get from coming to you. Do not talk about all of the services you offer or how wonderful you are! They can find that out at their appointment! You need to get them there first.
ENTHUSIASM
The enthusiasm element is closely related to desire and will naturally lead them into reading the rest of your ad or find out more. If your ad does not build enthusiasm they aren’t likely to move the phase that you really want, and that is –
ACTION!
You have grabbed their interest, whetted the appetite and got them enthusiastic, so now is the time for them to act. You want the to pick up the phone RIGHT NOW and make an appointment. An irresistible offer with a limited time to ad a sense of urgency is highly recommended and will make a difference to the overall response. It is also crucial that it is easy to contact you. Where possible use a landline as well as your mobile and email address if you have one.
Checklist:
Does your ad talk about ‘What’s in it for the prospect’
Does your ad make it clear what they will get?
Are you easy to contact, do you have a landline in your ad?
Does your ad have a sense of urgency so they act now?
Do you talk about the benefits to your client?
Have you tested your ad on a sample of your target market?
Does it look professional and well laid out?
Other things to consider:
Be sure to gauge where your calls are coming from, especially if you are using different methods to attract clients. Ask every new prospect how they found out about you. Be careful that you choose the right mediums to attract clients. For example, it is not much use taking an ad out in the seniors magazine if you are typically targeting an active sportsperson. Once you have found a method that is working for you, stick with it and increase it as much as your budget will allow.
The I.D.E.A. formula can be used for all of your advertising methods including articles, your website and online directory listings, business cards and brochures.
Feel free to email us with your ideas and we will be happy to provide an input and suggestions. Send to: info@vitalityoptions.com.au
Our next blog will explore client retention. How to keep your clients once you get them!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Marketing Your Uniqueness to Attract More Massage Clients
Many massage therapists find the notion of marketing extremely daunting. But it needn’t be. Marketing is simply anything that helps to attract new clients or keep existing ones. It can include anything from how you answer your phone, how you greet your clients when they come to your practice and how you present yourself in advertisements and brochures. Today’s blog will focus on fine-tuning your uniqueness and how that can be used to attract more of the right type of clients to your business.
There are three common mistakes that massage therapists make when setting out to attract clients. The first is that they believe that targeting everyone for massage will get them more clients. They believe that if the pool of people they are reaching is larger, it will mean more bookings. This is in fact a mistake. By being a generalist, you are not differentiating yourself from other therapists in the marketplace, which means that it becomes more difficult for a potential prospect to choose you. The second common mistake made by therapists is that they spend a lot of time and money adding new modalities to their treatment repertoire, and then promote the many modalities that they offer because they believe this will bring more clients. I want to emphasise that this is not necessarily the case. If you are spending all of your professional development time on massage skills rather than learning to market yourself than you will not end up with a thriving practice. The only time when more massage modalities is important is when it means better results for the client problem. More often than not, potential clients will not even be sure what the benefits of these modalities are, so it may not even mean anything to them. Telling your clients all the techniques you can offer is most likely to confuse them and may not result in a massage booking. The third common error is emphasising your company name or logo first in any promotional material. Now, with this in mind, take a look at the massage ads in your local paper or phone book. Notice how many of them list types of massage offered and put the company logo at the top. This is not focusing on the clients problem - it is focusing on the Massage Therapist. Now, this may be good for your ego, but will not result in more clients for you. Whilst it is true that your professional image is important, the focus needs to be on your clients problem and how you can help them. It is vital that you promote yourself from your clients perspective, not your own. So, what we are really saying is that marketing your uniqueness is not so much about you, but it is about your client and what matters to them.
In summary you need to:
Specialise
Be specific
Speak from the clients point of view
Speak to the clients problem
Offer a solution the clients problem
Show them how they can get it
Emphasis how you are a better choice the average therapist
When considering this list, think about the people you are helping most now, or would like to help. Who is your ideal client. Are you effectively helping people beat migraine, manage chronic pain or deal with emotional issues? Think back to the feedback you most regularly get from your existing clients. Is it your caring and soothing nature, you ability to get to the root cause of the problem, or the way they leave free of back pain?
Now you need to come up with your USP – unique selling proposition. It should speak to the clients problem and offer a solution. For example:
My name is John Therapist and I help people with chronic back pain. I do this with a range of techniques that have proven to be effective in treating back pain. I can be contacted 7 days so you can ease your back pain anytime.
My name is Trudy Therapist and I help woman experiencing hormonal symptoms. I do this with soothing massage and the use of essential oils reputed to assist menopause and premenstrual tension. I can come to you in the privacy of your own home at a time to suit you.
My name is Darcy Therapist and I work with stressed out people in the workplace. I do this with on-site seated massage that leaves my clients revitalised, refreshed and free of muscular tension. I only need a small area set aside or can massage right at your desk from 3 to 20 minutes.
Now you may be thinking that this is narrowing your market too much. Not so. Niche marketing has been proven to be most effective in developing a loyal clients and achieving referrals. When you develop a reputation for being an expert in your field it opens all kinds of opportunities. You will be seen as the person to see for a particular problem. It allows you to charge more for your speciality. You can also promote yourself using editorials in local press and through speaking engagements to your target market. It allows you to choose the kind of client you wish to work with and the ones you can help the most. It gives your work meaning and purpose. In saying this, you will not be turning your back on other clients, and you will find that you continue to attract other people. However you will have differentiated your self from the average therapist and this is what is important.
Once you have developed your unique selling proposition you can incorporate it into your advertisements, networking introductions and brochures. You will find your self more focussed and clearer in your direction. Just for fun, check out this website http://www.15secondpitch.com/ which will show how to easily create and simple marketing message which you can edit and adjust as needed. (I’d love it if you email me your pitch to krishna@vitalityoptions.com.au )
In our next blog we will build on this and look at what makes a good advertisement.
There are three common mistakes that massage therapists make when setting out to attract clients. The first is that they believe that targeting everyone for massage will get them more clients. They believe that if the pool of people they are reaching is larger, it will mean more bookings. This is in fact a mistake. By being a generalist, you are not differentiating yourself from other therapists in the marketplace, which means that it becomes more difficult for a potential prospect to choose you. The second common mistake made by therapists is that they spend a lot of time and money adding new modalities to their treatment repertoire, and then promote the many modalities that they offer because they believe this will bring more clients. I want to emphasise that this is not necessarily the case. If you are spending all of your professional development time on massage skills rather than learning to market yourself than you will not end up with a thriving practice. The only time when more massage modalities is important is when it means better results for the client problem. More often than not, potential clients will not even be sure what the benefits of these modalities are, so it may not even mean anything to them. Telling your clients all the techniques you can offer is most likely to confuse them and may not result in a massage booking. The third common error is emphasising your company name or logo first in any promotional material. Now, with this in mind, take a look at the massage ads in your local paper or phone book. Notice how many of them list types of massage offered and put the company logo at the top. This is not focusing on the clients problem - it is focusing on the Massage Therapist. Now, this may be good for your ego, but will not result in more clients for you. Whilst it is true that your professional image is important, the focus needs to be on your clients problem and how you can help them. It is vital that you promote yourself from your clients perspective, not your own. So, what we are really saying is that marketing your uniqueness is not so much about you, but it is about your client and what matters to them.
In summary you need to:
Specialise
Be specific
Speak from the clients point of view
Speak to the clients problem
Offer a solution the clients problem
Show them how they can get it
Emphasis how you are a better choice the average therapist
When considering this list, think about the people you are helping most now, or would like to help. Who is your ideal client. Are you effectively helping people beat migraine, manage chronic pain or deal with emotional issues? Think back to the feedback you most regularly get from your existing clients. Is it your caring and soothing nature, you ability to get to the root cause of the problem, or the way they leave free of back pain?
Now you need to come up with your USP – unique selling proposition. It should speak to the clients problem and offer a solution. For example:
My name is John Therapist and I help people with chronic back pain. I do this with a range of techniques that have proven to be effective in treating back pain. I can be contacted 7 days so you can ease your back pain anytime.
My name is Trudy Therapist and I help woman experiencing hormonal symptoms. I do this with soothing massage and the use of essential oils reputed to assist menopause and premenstrual tension. I can come to you in the privacy of your own home at a time to suit you.
My name is Darcy Therapist and I work with stressed out people in the workplace. I do this with on-site seated massage that leaves my clients revitalised, refreshed and free of muscular tension. I only need a small area set aside or can massage right at your desk from 3 to 20 minutes.
Now you may be thinking that this is narrowing your market too much. Not so. Niche marketing has been proven to be most effective in developing a loyal clients and achieving referrals. When you develop a reputation for being an expert in your field it opens all kinds of opportunities. You will be seen as the person to see for a particular problem. It allows you to charge more for your speciality. You can also promote yourself using editorials in local press and through speaking engagements to your target market. It allows you to choose the kind of client you wish to work with and the ones you can help the most. It gives your work meaning and purpose. In saying this, you will not be turning your back on other clients, and you will find that you continue to attract other people. However you will have differentiated your self from the average therapist and this is what is important.
Once you have developed your unique selling proposition you can incorporate it into your advertisements, networking introductions and brochures. You will find your self more focussed and clearer in your direction. Just for fun, check out this website http://www.15secondpitch.com/ which will show how to easily create and simple marketing message which you can edit and adjust as needed. (I’d love it if you email me your pitch to krishna@vitalityoptions.com.au )
In our next blog we will build on this and look at what makes a good advertisement.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Low Cost Ways to Start Building Massage Clientele
Let’s face it, advertising is expensive! It is common for new therapists to put an ad in their local paper and wait by the phone to take all the bookings…..only to be disappointed. In later blogs we will consider how to write effective advertisements, but today we will focus on just a few inexpensive methods to attract clients and common pitfalls to avoid.
Build Win/Win Partnerships
When Vitality Options first began, we made a decision to partner with people who reached a similar target to us but were not a direct competitor. Keeping the W.I.I.F.M. principle in mind (that’s What’s In It For Me - from the partners point of view), we approached our local fitness club with an idea that would benefit both of us. Our first tactic was to suggest that they run a ‘member of the month promotion’ where we would give a full body massage to a member of their choice who had excelled in their training. They had not considered anything of this nature before and were just as excited by the concept. We did all of the ‘work’ for them including creating a poster announcing the winner and a certificate for the individual that had both ours and the clubs logo displayed. The second tactic we used was to offer the owners free massages so that they could experience our services first hand and recommend them to their members. This was extremely effective and was a fantastic springboard to getting our business up and running. These methods were instrumental in developing our client base and word of mouth referrals. Our statistics show that 50% of our clients come from personal referrals, and that these referrals are most likely to become valued repeat customers.
Use Your Business Card As A Tool
Your business card is arguably your most valuable marketing tool, so a little thought into its design goes a long way. Your card represents your business image so it should be clean, clear and present your massage practice in a way that instils trust and professionalism, but can also reflect a little of you too. You can include a testimonial on the back, invite action with a special limited offer, include a photo, or add a slogan that markets your uniqueness. Be sure to include your web and email address if you have one, and please, please use a landline number whenever possible, relying on a mobile number can reduce response. If you are looking for great designs that are free or very low cost, check out Vista Print for your business card needs.
Have an Irresistible Offer
A time limited offer can encourage prospects to take action today. We recommend value adding to your service, rather than cutting your price as this may attract only clients that want a discount massage. Vitality Options uses free detox sessions and extra massage time to promote ourselves. You can use your offer on your business card, in any correspondence or promotional activities.
The Give and You Shall Receive Principle
Although we don’t recommend price cutting, we do suggest offering freebies to qualified prospects who have a capacity to tell others or to generate community interest and encourage others to talk about you. You can also give free advice in the form of newsletters and email to qualified clients who have freely given their contact details to you.
Network, Network, Network
Reaching people face to face increases your exposure to potential prospects. Do not underestimate this. Your first course of action is to get to know them a little and allow them to get to know you. Be interested. You can then use your business card and irresistible offer to encourage action. Join your local business or health network or speak at your local community groups. We will explore how to talk about what you do in later blogs.
Free Articles
What reaches your local area, is credible and allows you to establish yourself as an expert? Answer – your local newspaper. Take a closer look at your local press and you will find it is full of articles submitted rather than written by their journalists. The key to using local press is not to talk about yourself but to speak directly to the reader and what they might be interested in. Don’t just speak about massage – your knowledge is broader than that. You could write about back pain, insomnia, stress and so on, there are any number of articles that could help to distinguish yourself as an expert in your field while including the benefits of massage and inviting readers to contact your for further advice. This approach can also apply to specialist health and trade magazines. You can also submit articles for free to online article directories. We will explore online marketing further in later blogs.
Ask For Referrals
The golden rule – if you don’t ask you don’t get. If you have been able to help your existing clients, then you are likely to be able to help their friends. 50% of our business comes from referrals, and most of these become repeat clients. It is perfectly acceptable to ask your established clients if they know anyone else who can use your services, and offer them your business card with a time sensitive offer on it. You could also hold competitions to promote referrals, or offer free massage after a certain number of referrals. We like to offer a gift voucher to clients as a thankyou for referring friends.
Markets
Community markets are generally inexpensive (as low as $20), and work in two ways. If you are set up for massage they allow you to generate income on the day, plus you are outreaching to the community and letting them know you exist. You could offer seated massage using a portable massage chair, or if you can screen your site effectively offer full body massage on a portable table. Be sure to have your business cards ready. Markets are also an opportunity to sell gift vouchers so be sure to have some prepared before hand.
I encourage you to implement some if not all of these methods and watch your client base steadily build. Please post your comments or questions below or email us directly at info@vitalityoptions.com.au
Our next blog will explore marketing your uniqueness.
Build Win/Win Partnerships
When Vitality Options first began, we made a decision to partner with people who reached a similar target to us but were not a direct competitor. Keeping the W.I.I.F.M. principle in mind (that’s What’s In It For Me - from the partners point of view), we approached our local fitness club with an idea that would benefit both of us. Our first tactic was to suggest that they run a ‘member of the month promotion’ where we would give a full body massage to a member of their choice who had excelled in their training. They had not considered anything of this nature before and were just as excited by the concept. We did all of the ‘work’ for them including creating a poster announcing the winner and a certificate for the individual that had both ours and the clubs logo displayed. The second tactic we used was to offer the owners free massages so that they could experience our services first hand and recommend them to their members. This was extremely effective and was a fantastic springboard to getting our business up and running. These methods were instrumental in developing our client base and word of mouth referrals. Our statistics show that 50% of our clients come from personal referrals, and that these referrals are most likely to become valued repeat customers.
Use Your Business Card As A Tool
Your business card is arguably your most valuable marketing tool, so a little thought into its design goes a long way. Your card represents your business image so it should be clean, clear and present your massage practice in a way that instils trust and professionalism, but can also reflect a little of you too. You can include a testimonial on the back, invite action with a special limited offer, include a photo, or add a slogan that markets your uniqueness. Be sure to include your web and email address if you have one, and please, please use a landline number whenever possible, relying on a mobile number can reduce response. If you are looking for great designs that are free or very low cost, check out Vista Print for your business card needs.
Have an Irresistible Offer
A time limited offer can encourage prospects to take action today. We recommend value adding to your service, rather than cutting your price as this may attract only clients that want a discount massage. Vitality Options uses free detox sessions and extra massage time to promote ourselves. You can use your offer on your business card, in any correspondence or promotional activities.
The Give and You Shall Receive Principle
Although we don’t recommend price cutting, we do suggest offering freebies to qualified prospects who have a capacity to tell others or to generate community interest and encourage others to talk about you. You can also give free advice in the form of newsletters and email to qualified clients who have freely given their contact details to you.
Network, Network, Network
Reaching people face to face increases your exposure to potential prospects. Do not underestimate this. Your first course of action is to get to know them a little and allow them to get to know you. Be interested. You can then use your business card and irresistible offer to encourage action. Join your local business or health network or speak at your local community groups. We will explore how to talk about what you do in later blogs.
Free Articles
What reaches your local area, is credible and allows you to establish yourself as an expert? Answer – your local newspaper. Take a closer look at your local press and you will find it is full of articles submitted rather than written by their journalists. The key to using local press is not to talk about yourself but to speak directly to the reader and what they might be interested in. Don’t just speak about massage – your knowledge is broader than that. You could write about back pain, insomnia, stress and so on, there are any number of articles that could help to distinguish yourself as an expert in your field while including the benefits of massage and inviting readers to contact your for further advice. This approach can also apply to specialist health and trade magazines. You can also submit articles for free to online article directories. We will explore online marketing further in later blogs.
Ask For Referrals
The golden rule – if you don’t ask you don’t get. If you have been able to help your existing clients, then you are likely to be able to help their friends. 50% of our business comes from referrals, and most of these become repeat clients. It is perfectly acceptable to ask your established clients if they know anyone else who can use your services, and offer them your business card with a time sensitive offer on it. You could also hold competitions to promote referrals, or offer free massage after a certain number of referrals. We like to offer a gift voucher to clients as a thankyou for referring friends.
Markets
Community markets are generally inexpensive (as low as $20), and work in two ways. If you are set up for massage they allow you to generate income on the day, plus you are outreaching to the community and letting them know you exist. You could offer seated massage using a portable massage chair, or if you can screen your site effectively offer full body massage on a portable table. Be sure to have your business cards ready. Markets are also an opportunity to sell gift vouchers so be sure to have some prepared before hand.
I encourage you to implement some if not all of these methods and watch your client base steadily build. Please post your comments or questions below or email us directly at info@vitalityoptions.com.au
Our next blog will explore marketing your uniqueness.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Self Employed or Employee – That Is The Question!
When first starting out, many massage therapists have grand dreams of running their own massage practice. Dreams! I encourage them! Often this turns to confusion as questions arise as to whether it would be more beneficial to work for someone else or to try and build your own clientele. Today’s blog considers pros and cons of the following three options:
1. Working for someone else
2. Working for yourself
3. A combination of the two
Working for someone else
Working in someone else’s clinic can have some great benefits. Although your hourly rate will probably halve when working for an employer, you will not need the initial outlay and ongoing running costs. If first starting out in your massage career it is an ideal way to develop additional skills you may not have learnt in your initial training and gives you an opportunity to master your massage skills before stepping out on your own. It is also an opportunity to develop your resume. However if you have chosen massage therapy as your second, third or even forth career, then it is probably time to harness your life experience and go for it on your own. There is one important question that must be answered before you consider venturing out on your own.
Working for yourself
The question you must ask is "are you prepared to market yourself?" Once you have completed your training, obtained the relevant insurance and professional recognition, and put an ‘open for business’ sign on your door, it is not simply a matter of waiting for the phone to ring! If you are going to run your own practice, you will need to actively market yourself. This does not simply mean ‘doing a brochure’. You will need to have a consistent plan to ensure that you are constantly reaching new people and building a relationship with existing clientele. We will be exploring marketing fundamentals in detail over the coming weeks. In addition, there is substantial cost involved in setting up your practice and in ongoing expenses. It is important to allow time to build up your practice and ensure you have access to saved funds or another source of income to carry you through until you build up your client base. Typically savings equivalent to at least six to twelve months expenses would be required if you are relying purely on massage income. You may need to have another part-time job for regular income while you establish yourself. It is common for a massage practice to take three to five years to become profitable.
A combination of the two
Doing a little of both will help you to focus on building a massage career which is most likely what you are aiming to do. Ideally your employer will be able to mentor you and help you to learn from their past experience. Be clear in your own mind on the number of hours you would like to spend on your own business and take shifts accordingly. I would not recommend taking any position that involves you manning a reception area, but only being paid if massages are booked. Believe me, this is surprisingly common.
Working as a contractor
As a contractor you may provide services for other businesses and invoice them for payment. You negotiate your fee for service. These services may be provided to other massage practices and day spas, or for business to business services such as on-site workplace massage or corporate event massage. In Australia you would need to provide an Australian Business Number (ABN) at the time of invoice or that business must legally withhold 48% of your fee which is payable to the Australian Taxation Office. (For more information regarding Australian business taxation, go to the ATO Business Portal: http://www.bp.ato.gov.au/ or speak with an accountant.)
We invite comments and questions to this blog or directly at info@vitalityoptions.com.au
Stay tuned for our next blog which looks at low-cost ways to start building your own clientele.
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