It’s a pretty scary thing to open for business, especially if you’re a massage therapist, because unlike a traditional business, massage is all about a service. People tend to judge a massage therapist a bit more harshly than a traditional business because massage is more intimate generally.

But with a few successful and proven strategies you can have a great experience. The first thing to do is not panic. Panicking will inhibit your ability to be creative and stop you from seeing any potential ideas that may come your way.

Secondly, write a break down of the types of clients you’ve seen in the past. In other words create a client profile. Work out how you can capture that ‘kind of person’ in your new premises again. Creating a client profile is simply writing down a list of your target market then think about where those types of people are so you can do some advertising to those groups of people.

To help with your client profile ask yourself these questions;
What types of people were they?
Where they old?
Young?
Male?
Female?
What types of things did they come to see you for?

Next, remember to be proactive. Don’t wait for clients to come to you. Get out there and get them! Call people who may have your type of client in their own businesses and talk to them. People you may want to contact are Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Dance Studios, Sporting clubs etc. The list is endless. (Before embarking on this exercise, you must know first who your target market is or is going to be in order to contact the appropriate sources.) Introduce yourself to them via phone or even stop by if they are free for a few minutes.

To summarise, marketing your practice must be done regularly. To achieve and experience a high level of success you must market your practice often. How often is up to you, but it is important to understand that it’s not just a once-off. You may decide that in order to experience success, marketing is needed at least once a month.
Always keep proactive in your marketing and keep your marketing specific to who you are targeting and you can’t go wrong!

Good luck!

Contributed by Amy Roberts, LMT

Amy Roberts (www.MassageTherapySuccess.com)