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Chair Massage at the local Market: Lesson Learned.

I have been trying to think of ways that would allow me to promote the opening of my new Clinic, as well as allow people to sample my services by giving some 10 minute chair massages.
There is a local Farmers market/Flea Market in the town where my clinic will be located, so thought this would be a great opportunity for some work and promotion.
My step-dad sells their regularly so he offered me some space on his stall to set up, and I brought with my a big pile of business cards, some printed fliers outlining my services and costs, and my trusty massage chair.

Saturday was the worst day we could have possibly chosen to do this.

I was up at 530am with the car all packed and ready to go, it looked a little gloomy outside but nothing too severe.
Got to the market, got the perfect spot at the end of an aisle and I set up my table and chair, just in time for the heavens to open up. Thankfully our spot was under cover, so we didn't get too wet, but it meant that the attendance at the market was miserable.
For the first few hours, most of the people who stopped by were other stall holders, but I did get a chance to practice my elevator speech, as well try to catch the men out on thinking about buying gift certificates for birthdays/anniversaries/christmas.

I managed to hand out about half my business card stash during my time there, but no real biters for some massage on my chair.
The one thing that did suck though, was after around 3 hours of plying my wares, the market manager stopped by.
He asked "Liability Insurance?" Oh yes, I said, one moment. And I reached into my bag to grab my insurance paperwork. "No, Sorry, that's not how it works. You have to apply for additional liability insurance with my company. Your chair will have to go!"
And with that, he walked off.

Boo.

Oh well, I got about 4 hours worth of "advertising" done, I just hope it's enough for people to keep me in mind.

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Comment by Katie Armitage on July 19, 2010 at 2:51pm: Sally

Good luck with your seated massage marketing at the local farmer's market. Many of our members have had success with obtaining new clients for their regular massage practice in just this way. As to your insurance needs: you should be able to add the farmer's market to your insurance policy by requesting your insurance provider name the market as an Additional Insured Endorsement (AIE). Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals can do this for you almost immediately and there is no additional charge to do so. You should check with the market manager to see what their requirements are and whether simply adding them to your liability policy will meet with their needs. If so, the farmer's market is a great place to reach potential clients. Tell them about what you do, obtain contact information (especially email addresses). This will allow you to send them emails marketing your services and any specials you might be offering or even your own customizable newsletter from ABMP's marketing materials. Good luck!

Best,
Katie Armitage

Comment by Jim Spears on July 13, 2010 at 4:35am: These events take some practice to get good at but when you have mastered how to do it properly it can be very rewarding. First of all offering freebies is essential to attract some interest, and I would suggest offering a Free Stress Test and a free 15 - 20 minute massage.

The stress test starts by simply asking them how stress affects their lives and what symptoms they get when they are stressed. The key is to get them talking about their stress and the way it gives them headaches, back pain, etc. After they start talking about how stress affects their lives, let them know that massage can be helpful and you would be happy to offer them a free 15-20 minute massage. As part of the stress test or to attract additional attention you can also offer free blood pressure readings, this attracts extra attention, and you can easily do this with the automated blood pressure machines that only cost about $30.

If they want the free massage it is essential for them to first fill out a Stress Survey with contact info, and a list of the symptoms they have or what benefits they want to receive from the massage. This is vitally important because it allows you to collect their contact info for future marketing. DONT give the free massages without first collecting their contact info and getting them to talk about their stress.

When doing this event it is much more important to collect their contact info than handing out business cards. They rarely call you, but if you have their information you can send them promotional material on a regular basis. It takes practice but dont give up.

Warmly,
Jim Spears
The Integrative Healing Society

For information about our tours to China and Thailand for massage therapists to learn acupressure, tuina, and Thai massage visit my our website at www.ihsociety.com