So...how do I let people know I exist?

[cupcake41]

Seems pretty basic, but we didnt talk about this in massage school. So I've been graduated for a few months now, I'm working PT at another very unglamorous job (With the intention that MT would just JUMP into overdrive)...except..no one in the world knows I exist. I would love specific examples of how you all announced yourself to the world and let your prescence be known.. I could use some tips!

Thank you again
Brooke

 

[trai]

I am still in school too, but I have a lot of ideas on this. First off, write a intro letter to gyms, Dr. chiro, ND you get the idea. Just basic who you are, you're accepting new clients, blah, blah blah. I can recommend a couple good books on how to word things like that. Hands Heal & How to Say it. Another good one Gorrila Marketing. Join your chamber of commerce. Make a newletter and send out to all your practice clients that you worked on while in school. So what if its your aunt Sally. Act like a pro and expect to be taken seriously. Maybe she won't pay you for a massage but maybe her neighbor will. Get a shirt made with your business name on it. Get a to go coffee cup that you can slide a photo in and put something massage related in there. People will comment if its cool enough and you can talk about "you" caz they opened the door. And lastly, tell people what you do. Don't be pushy but do value yourself and know you have a great set of skills to offer.If you just hate this kinda thing, then consider doing a trade with a marketing professional. Its endless and I can't wait to hear what others say about this.

Good luck

 

[The Joker]

Thank you so much for those fabulous ideas! You really are quite a resource and I plan on putting them into action immediately! I'm really rather surprised by myself when it comes to the marketing aspect.. I thought I would be all into it but instead I find myself shrinking away... I feel like I'm in high school again! I obviously have some things I need to work on besides the business. Oh well, lifes a journey!!

Thank you for the ideas! I'll be keeping an eye on this one!
Brooke

 

[Emma]

I am pretty shy by nature, but have had to overcome it in so many areas already, that I just kind of forced myself to get out there. I love some of Seattlesunshine's ideas, and the t-shirt really works! I designed my name & logo and put it on the back of several t-shirts and on a jacket, and always wear those for work - it's my uniform. But I also stop at Walmart or the grocery store or the post office, wherever I need to go, while on my way to or from work, wearing my business info on my back! It has started a lot of conversations, and I can always hand someone a business card or brochure then.

Do you feel like you could work with the elderly? That is a very much forgotten market, and I go into two senior apartment complexes on a regular basis. I just walked in and offered to do a free demonstration and question and answer meeting with the residents, introduced myself to the seniors, spent some time explaining what I do (and dispelling their very real view of MT based on what the industry was when THEY were my age!) and it's going great. They are my most loyal, appreciative and fun clients!

But I do need a proverbial kick in the pants to go out and meet some more!

 

[candisaur]

Getting the word out

Well, I just completed a direct mailing of some post cards and am also doing other things... got a webdecal.com 'clingy' sign for my car's back window, hand out biz cards to anyone who asks what I do for a living, got into 2 salons in my area and they have allowed me to leave cards and have had some good response from that avenue, joined ABMP and emailed a PDF of one of the client newsletters you can create for free (Must be a member, though), good response from that too... Joined Chamber of Commerce in my area, and put up a flyer with biz cards on my local grocer's bulleting board.. got good response from that.. all in all... just try to experiment with different ideas as you can afford them... like someone else somewhere on this board said, 'word of mouth is best.... though you may be the ONLY mouth talking!' LOVED that comment, it is SO TRUE! Just get out there and believe in what you are doing and the passion you have for your work will come through! Good luck!

 

[Kemo]

All great ideas so far. Also go to area businesses where you feel people who might want/need or can afford massage will be and ask to put out your info.

Give away free massage to people who come in contact with lots of people all day. If they like you, they can recommend you. Ask some area businesses if you can put out some fishbowls for business cards and have a free drawing. It will give you a list of names, addresses and possibly e-mails that you can contact them with advertising. They might need to see your name and hear from you several times before they actually call you.

Donate massages to anybody having a raffle.

People will begin to see your name over and over again and will start calling.

Don't expect to get a FLOOD of calls from one particular thing. It will be a few from here and few from there. That is why you need to be doing several things at once.

Always be sure to ask you clients to rebook. Set up a referral reward program and let your clients know about it. Tell them they will get $xxx off their next massage for each client they refer. Heck, at first you may want to make it really wild. Tell them that since you are just starting out and relying on word of mouth, that you special is that if they refer a client to you in the next month (make it seem they need to act immediately) then they will get a 1/2 price massage!

I ran a one week special once. The first person paid full rate and their friend would be FREE. The friend had to be new to my practice. Late cancellations or no-shows would not be rebooked at the free rate. I was very busy that week. Was seeing NEW clients. Some of them I've never seen again, but for the ones that did come back, rebooked again and again and referred, it was WELL worth it. Gave my practice quite the boost that it needed at the time.

 

[203]

check out when the local triathlons and running races are. bring your table, cards, maybe a tip jar and give free 10-15 min post race massages. athletes are very loyal once they've found someone who can fix them. all but two of my clients are athletes and they keep me very busy. :wink:

 

[horseloverNwhisperer]

When I started I was fresh out of school and had no idea where to start - I opened in a smallish town, I made a flyer about being open, and stapled a business card to it. I started at one end of town and worked my way to the other - stopping by each and every business, with a huge smile on my face and dressed nicely I introduced myself as a new business in town and asked if they would mind leaving my flyer in their breakroom. It took an entire day but I had people calling for gift certificates and appointments by the following day, and was invited to join several groups - chamber of commerce, main street advertising co-ops, retail commitees etc.

If you are in a larger city you could do this within the neighborhood of your office, the business' around you and whatnot.

Also enlist your friends and family - they are an excellent resource for referrals!!! Give your information to them and see what they can turn up for you.

Good luck!

 

[Stump Bumper]

When I was just starting out I asked one of my MT friends who had been in the business for ten years which advertising paid off the most. (not counting word of mouth, of course) She told be that she put an ad in the yellow pages in the SBC phone book. Now, I don't know if this would work for everyone, because the MT section in our phone book was not crammed with a thousand therapists, so I was able to afford a nice size ad, and I got a lot of calls. I now have the largest ad, and it is only about $142./ mo. Which I know isn't something you can pay for when you are just starting out, but if you have another income then it is definitly worth it.

Also, I donated a lot of GC.

And when you go to introduce yourself to other professionals like D.C.s and P.T.s offer a free massage. Offer it to their spouses too, because a lot of times the doctor is too busy, but I was able to get the wives in of two doctors, and then they immediatley started referring to me.

One other thing I did, was I started trading massage a lot more often. And knowing your fellow MT in the area totally pays off, because they will refer to you when they get too busy, or go on vacation, and you can do the same. Also, I was lucky enough to have a great friend that decreased her hours so she could go into another line of business, and she referred a lot of clients to me.

I just thought of something else...go to local real estate agents and offer a free massage. This is great, because when someone relocates to your area the only person they will know is their real estate agent, and most likely will go to them for names of doctors, dentists, and hopefully MT. One of my real estate clients actually has a link to my website on her site.

I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this. As soon as I started insurance billing my practice doubled. For reasons I completely understand not a lot of MT want to take on the headache of insurance billing. So, I was in high demand with the PT and DC offices when they found out I did billing.

ok, sorry so long.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Massage Marketing Workshops

I own SOLO Marketing Group which serves the massage therapy and bodywork community in business set up and marketing endeavors. I'm having a series of massage marketing workshops in New England (I'm in Connecticut). If you'd like more information about these workshops, you can contact me directly at [email protected] Just indicate in the subject line something that will jar my memory that it's you, so I don't delete your email.

Take care.