massage and bodywork professionals
Marketing and Practice Building
The purpose of this group is to offer massage therapists an opportunity to network regarding successfully marketing massage and practice building.
What's Your Client Return Rate and Why?
I'm a solo massage practitioner in Oakland, CA, and I recently ran some stats on my 4 years in business for myself. I found to my surprise that I have only a 28% client return rate! Before I ran the numbers, my impression of the situation was much more
positive than reality. Most clients express to me after their sessions that they
loved the work and plan to return. For clients that DO return a 2nd time, their average number of visits jumps to 5 sessions. My overall business has expanded at least 50% from the previous year, every year. My practice is about 60% full, and tho I'm ok with that, I'd love to fill in just a little bit more.
I'd like to find out if others in a similar situation have similar client return rate, and basically, if this is normal?!
A little more about my situation: I've got online booking via Genbook, and I'm the first to admit that I am bad about offering to rebook clients directly after their sessions. (Most people express a preference to rebook later because they don't have their calendars with them, rather do it online, or whatever.) Almost no one calls to schedule their appointments, since my online booking is available 24-7, so it's not a problem of missed or unreturned phone calls. I email every client after their first session to check in, and nearly all of them respond that things are going well post-massage, and that they will definitely be back. The majority of my clients come from Yelp, and some from referral from associated practitioners like chiropractors, or are friends of current clients.
I can see a couple of theories that I plan to explore:
- People are displeased with some aspect of the services I provide (the massage, the space, or anything) and don't feel comfortable letting me know that in person for whatever reason. I plan to create an anonymous post-session survey on Constant Contact to see if I can get more feedback. And obviously, I plan to continue my massage education pretty much forever.
- Maybe I'm paying dramatically for my lack of "rebooking request" at the end of the sessions and need to start making the request.
- If these 2 things fail to make a difference, I'm thinking of offering a discount on a 2nd session, if the client hasn't been back in a certain length of time.
Thoughts and opinions are welcome, thanks.
--Andrea
positive than reality. Most clients express to me after their sessions that they
loved the work and plan to return. For clients that DO return a 2nd time, their average number of visits jumps to 5 sessions. My overall business has expanded at least 50% from the previous year, every year. My practice is about 60% full, and tho I'm ok with that, I'd love to fill in just a little bit more.
I'd like to find out if others in a similar situation have similar client return rate, and basically, if this is normal?!
A little more about my situation: I've got online booking via Genbook, and I'm the first to admit that I am bad about offering to rebook clients directly after their sessions. (Most people express a preference to rebook later because they don't have their calendars with them, rather do it online, or whatever.) Almost no one calls to schedule their appointments, since my online booking is available 24-7, so it's not a problem of missed or unreturned phone calls. I email every client after their first session to check in, and nearly all of them respond that things are going well post-massage, and that they will definitely be back. The majority of my clients come from Yelp, and some from referral from associated practitioners like chiropractors, or are friends of current clients.
I can see a couple of theories that I plan to explore:
- People are displeased with some aspect of the services I provide (the massage, the space, or anything) and don't feel comfortable letting me know that in person for whatever reason. I plan to create an anonymous post-session survey on Constant Contact to see if I can get more feedback. And obviously, I plan to continue my massage education pretty much forever.
- Maybe I'm paying dramatically for my lack of "rebooking request" at the end of the sessions and need to start making the request.
- If these 2 things fail to make a difference, I'm thinking of offering a discount on a 2nd session, if the client hasn't been back in a certain length of time.
Thoughts and opinions are welcome, thanks.
--Andrea
Sabrina Collins
Jul 29, 2010
Sabrina Collins
Jul 29, 2010
Diana Moore
We hear great things about referral programs from massage therapists. Here's an article with some tips from some MTs who are using referral programs successfully. Hope it helps!
http://www.naturaltouchmarketing.com/NTM-Article-Archives/4/Referra...
Aug 23, 2010