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Advertising

Advertising is the biggest issue I’ve run across in my short experience in Massage. We have tried the local newspaper, phonebooks, Fliers, gift certificates and various signs. I know word of mouth is the Best of all but how do you get to that point? Any advice ?

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Permalink Reply by Julie Onofrio on March 14, 2010 at 2:11am

Advertising really doesn't work in this profession in my experience and from what I have heard from others.
Figure out who your ideal client is so that you can start targeting your marketing efforts to them. Have a website that is optimized for the search engines so people find you when they search for 'massage, your city'. Have your website full of pages (30 or more) on massage, what it does, how it works - everything you tell people anyway when you see them. When people hit a site that is full of info like that it starts building trust from the start. People also feel more confident when they find you online as compared to you going after people with advertising.

Talk to doctors, sports teams/groups, other health care providers. Talk to near by businesses and neighbors at home. Talk to people in the grocery store. Talk to people at delis and cafes. Have an open house and offer chair massage or foot massage and get everyone's names and email addresses. Every client you do get turn into a weekly client by educating them and get them to send in all their friends and family members. Join your chamber of commerce or BBB or other networking groups. Find business in you area to network with.

http://www.massage-career-guides.com/marketing-massage-therapy.html

Julie

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Permalink Reply by Laura Allen on March 14, 2010 at 8:35am

You nailed it, Irene. People do not want to hear all about YOU. They want to hear about how what you do is going to benefit THEM.

For the first 5 years I was in business, I kept a tracking sheet on my desk and asked every client how they heard about us. 92% word of mouth, the other 8% was our website and the Yellow Pages. I have never gotten diddly from print ads in the newspaper. I don't place one very often unless it is to announce a new staff member or new service. Instead, I send out press releases...they're free, and people actually read the business section of the paper.

Irene Diamond, RT said:

There are so many effective ways to market yourself- but first you need to be able to let folks know what you do. Not "I'm a massage therapist"... nooooo, too boring. How about, "I get people out of pain!" or "I help women with their pregnancy through massage", or "I provide stressed-our office workers a way to relax and get rid of their arm and shoulder pain with seated massage i their office"... Create what I call, your "Target Market Commercial".

Once you have this rolling off your tongue, you'll have a much easier time when you are speaking with people and shaking hands turning them into clients.

Good luck!
~ Irene ~
www.MassageSuccess.org

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Permalink Reply by Richard G Romine on March 14, 2010 at 2:14pm

Great responses to my question! Face to Face, Word of Mouth and let your Special Skills be known.
Honesty, integrity and giving meaningful service to the client is the best thing we can do. Word will get around.
Thank you for the advice.