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Networking and Marketing

I have had to open my private practice sooner than expected.

I was working for a franchise that hired me knowing I had a private mobile practice and 1 1/2 yrs later after I signed a lease for a permanent home for my practice I was presented with a non-compete agreement that prohibited me from practicing within the region of my new office...needless to say I did not sign and had to walk away from a situation of which I was therapist of the month 4X;s within 7months and built clientele with a wait list within 5 months.

Now I am in need of inexpensive fast marketing tools to start back to rebuilding my practice.

I currently have a website, e-newsletter, fb page, online scheduling, and have hit the pavement with info to the local companies that would allow me to provide our company information.

Any other ideas would be wonderful

The local news magazine and chamber of commerce are out of our budget for now.

What is your thoughts on the online "deals" like Living Social, Groupon, etc?

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Permalink Reply by Libby Peterson on November 16, 2011 at 11:17pm

Hi Julie!

First up, what's your URL? I would love to visit your site and check it out!

I'd be happy to give you my 2 cents worth with regards to online deals. My philosophy is don't. Instead of lowering the cost of your service, why not increase the perceived value of your service? How do we do this? By including some added "extras", like, for example a foot soak and scrub, hot stones, aromatherapy, paraffin wax etc.

Once you've determined what those "extras" are, the next step is to drive home the value of the offer. That’s why it is important to display both the total amount of the package, which is, say $100 and the amount that the client is going to pay, say $60. This then gives your potential client the opportunity to compare the two prices and quickly calculate not only their savings, but the add-ons they are going to receive!

It's just approaching it from a different angle. Instead of appealing to someone's motivation to save money, we are honing in on another people "mover", which is to receive "value for money".

So, at the end of the day, not only does the client have a sense of satisfaction, but it also protects the therapists financial well-being in the process! A girl's got to make a living!! ;)

I hope that helped a wee bit :)

Libby

www.massagenewbie.com

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Permalink Reply by Litahni on November 20, 2011 at 10:20am

My best advice to be VISIBLE. Create some signage and some handouts and contact the local SLEEP NUMBER STORE or something like it. They will often allow a therapist to set up a chair and do free 3-5min chair massages and hand out information. I find that a few "FREE SAMPLES" of my work brings in clients.

I love Libby's suggestion of added value! Thanks Libby.

Litahni

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Permalink Reply by Joyce on November 26, 2011 at 2:17pm

ABMP has a great connection to Vista Print for business cards--beautiful template choices and fast service. Got 250 for free--just paid shipping charge. I think you have to go through ABMP website.

Have you considered doing chair massage for local companies who will let you come to them for a day--give 10 minute massages to employees at $1 per minute (employer pays)--gives you the opportunity to give out your business card and hopefully gain more table clients. You can also do chair massage gigs at local health food markets who often have regular shifts for massage therapists, or find festivals and other functions where there are a lot of people.