July Specials

[Sukai__<3]

I am trying to come up wtih some July specials, I have been running monthly specials since I started and am out of ideas in only 2 months! The first month I had a certificate discount if you bought 2 or more, no takers. I also ran a $10 a massage for any new client, which went really well. Then this month I ran the certificates again hoping for some father's day gifts to be bought, no takers and I ran a special where if you bought a massage package anytime the month of June you would receive an additional massage at no extra charge - once again no takers. Should I stick with that one for another month? or does anyone have any other creative ideas? Thanks!

 

[Barbiee?]

One thing I found in the beginning was that if I changed my 'specials' too often, people were waiting to see what the next special was in case it was better. My suggestion is to find one that works for you and that you are happy with and stick with it for a while and track results.

I am trying to come up wtih some July specials, I have been running monthly specials since I started and am out of ideas in only 2 months!

Are you a new therapist or are the specials new to your practice?

What is your goal for running specials? (new clients? quick cash?)

 

[Stealth Redhead]

I am a new therapist as of May. I guess I really don't have a goal, just would like to offer some sort of savings to clients old or new to I guess boost sales and/or clients? I have a referral program so there is a saving offered there but just something extra you know?

 

[Babby22]

I have specials once in a while but I don't go crazy. During cold months I do a hot stone or paraffin dip add on: book a 1 hr massage and get a mini hot stone treatment for free. And/or: add a paraffin dip for only $5 (reg. $10). I sometimes do extra 15 min of hot stones. Cannot be used with already issued GC's but can be used to purchase a GC.
Mondays have been slow for me so I am doing Monday Madness: book between noon and 5 pm and get the mini HS treatment for free or a $5 dip. For those, they can use them with GC's but can't add when purchasing the GC. The idea is to get people receive massages during that time.
I don't do discounts or packages.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Although I'm new to seeing private clients and haven't really done anything special (advertising, etc.) to promote myself, I do a smallish banner on my sight for a $10 off for June. Next year, I will also do the same thing for April addressed to volunteers (National Volunteer Month) (I think volunteering is very important and this is a way of 'thanking' people). I agree with Brian. Deciding what your goal for offering specials/discounts goes a long way to figure out how to do it. Hope this helps.

 

[Lilgoldfish]

Did those people who came in for the $10 massage come in again or did they just want the $10 massage?

Keep doing what works.

Julie

 

[Jazmine]

My guess is that the ten dollar people for the most part didn't come back in. Not because the massage wasn't good but because all they were willing to pay was ten dollars.

Rule of thumb: You dont turn discount clients into full paying clients. I heard that from a hairstylist friend of mine. He was talking about people who go to hair schools to get discount work. Very rarely will a client follow a student out into the real world after they get their license, even if they like their work.

They just go back to the school for the discount.


Jason

 

[Pompal 09.]

When I first started out, I thought it would be a good idea to have a different special each month. none of them got a grand response. But, I didn't think it was so bad because I thought that maybe people were only responding to the special that spoke to them....little by little, I figured that I'd catch them.

Eventually, I realized that some people might just be waiting for a special before coming in. I changed my thinking and decided not to always have something discounted because it wouldn't seem as "special". I also decided that I should have a goal in mind for these specials. I needed to know if I was trying to bring in new clients, spark more interest in a certain modality, fill up a certain day of the week, inspire missing clients to start coming in again. the special needs to be customized to help you meet the goal. If the goal is to fill up your appt. book on Mondays, running a special on hot stone massage for that day isn't going to appeal to as many people as offering a discount on any massage that day or giving extra time on Mondays or whatever you want to do.

If you are going to discount to bring people in, you can't just stop the work there. in addition to giving a great massage, you also need to do the necessary work to get them to return again. That might be spending extra time with them talking to them about what you found in their muscles while giving them a massage. Give them 'homework' to do so they know you care about what happens after they leave the office....that sort of thing.

Everything always works better when you have a goal in mind and also a plan. Good luck

 

[Pompal 09.]

My summer has been so slow that I did the unthinkable -- 50% off a relaxation massage on Sundays throughout the summer. I've been very busy with the same people rebooking for the following Sundays. I had to change my way of thinking. 50% of something was better than 100% of nothing.

 

[The Heckler]

My summer has been so slow that I did the unthinkable -- 50% off a relaxation massage on Sundays throughout the summer. I've been very busy with the same people rebooking for the following Sundays. I had to change my way of thinking. 50% of something was better than 100% of nothing.

What do you charge for your relaxation massage without a discount? I couldn't imagine going 50% off - but it has been paying off for you? I totally give you props for doing that though, especially if it's working!

 

[kayclarkey]

My regular price is $60, so I charge $30 on Sundays and usually get a $10 tip so it's not so bad. I've gotten clients in that wouldn't have gone for a massage at all if they had to pay $60. So it works for both of us. It's a pretty easy massage so I can do more that day than on regularly priced massages because I always throw in a therapeutic /relaxation combo for the $60 and for $30, it's purely relaxation.

 

[KEVO]

You know, for people who mainly do deep work, that's an interesting concept. I've never been much on deep discounts, but a true swedish can be quite easy for me to do, and I rarely have a client who is interested in those. I just may consider doing something similar someday. Thanks for the suggestion.

A tweak on the idea would be to offer 50 mins. instead of a full hour on the table.

In my case, since I charge $75, a tweak on that would be to charge $50 or $60. I don't have people giving tips.

General thoughts to keep people thinking.


It could be called "Swedish Sundays".

 

[ksbcrocks]

I also think that people react better to a massage called relaxation rather than Swedish.