a community of practitioners

Gift certificates & gift cards: What's working for you?

Do you sell gift certificates and/or gift cards? What has been working for you? Do you sell them in person, through your website, both? What tips do you have for your peers? Have you been able to convert gift recipients into return clients? How?

See the article on page 20 of the July/August issue: http://massagebodywork.idigitaledition.com/issues/13/20.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gary Mitchell on June 23, 2010 at 8:19am

Hi, my name is Gary Mitchell and I am a massage therapist currently working in a chiropractor's office. I do sell gift certificates and I also sell chair massage punch cards in person, but not on my website. The gift certificates aren't really a big mover for me unless it's around a holiday, and I think that would probably be a general consensus among most massage therapists. I believe that, to a certain point, many people still think of massage as a "special" luxury that is only justifiable as a gift for the holidays and not an important piece of health and wellness. Because I work in a chiropractor's office and we're technically separate businesses, I also sell chair massage punch cards. My clients or the chiropractor's patients can buy a punch card for say 15 minutes, split into 5 minutes increments, and then they don't have to worry about bringing cash or check with them. The price isn't discounted at all but it does add some convenience to the patients, who typically have some bodywork done before or after their adjustment. Overall, with the gift certificates, I've noticed that you really have to sell it after the massage to get return clientele. I've always been of the mind that your work should speak for itself, and that's just not always the case. Sometimes you really do have to sell yourself to get that client to come back, which I can say I'm still working on myself. I would like to hear some other opinions and ideas that could get people coming back.

Gary Mitchell