what to say in a welcome-to-my-practice letter?

[secretagentbill]

Hi all,

Many of you know I'm not really great at wording lol... I'd like to develop a nice "welcome-to-my-practice" letter/email (depending on the client's preferred method of contact) for welcoming new clients into the practice. Thing is, I'm not exactly sure what to bring up? Short and sweet is good, but I'm afraid it might get TOO short and sweet, and I might miss out on some opportunities...

Opportunities such as:
--A soft-sell of the full menu of the services we (my hubby & I) offer (which can be found here: http://www.4thconsciousness.com/html/modalities.html)
--Introducing and promoting my hubby as my LMT practice partner so that he can get business too, and informing clients that it's perfectly OK to see only one of us or to go back and forth depending on client need vs our specialties, and our availability.
--Recommending certain self-care instructions to promote their wellbeing between sessions (the importance of water, stretching, mild-moderate exercise/movement) etc.
--Any upcoming specials or a calendar of events (though I'm not quite sure what those would be other than the usual seasonal things like for example, couples' massage during the month of Feb to celebrate Valentine's Day, or even to celebrate wedding anniversaries or whatever)

So, obviously there's a lot I'd like to say and obviously I really love what I do (don't we all? ) but I'm afraid to bombard ppl with too much at once...sometimes I forget that while massage feels good, it's not the life-driving passion of the entire world.

How would y'all go about this?

And, for those of you who do this (I know some of you have a nice system down pat, complete with a whole welcome/new-client packet), how well has it worked for you? Do you think your rapport/relationship with your clients has been improved because of this? If so, does it help make your session work more effective and facilitate better healing due to the healthier relationship? Do your clients tend to schedule more often or refer others more often? For those of you who implemented a welcome wagon a while after you opened your practice, have you noticed a difference?

I know, so many questions! Sorry...

Thanks very much in advance!
Hugs,
~Jyoti

 

[sirrobbie]

Hi.

Here is one thread that has to do with "Welcome Packages" and another with just some nifty info in it.

new client package?
How to Build a New Business

I still think there is one other "welcome packet" thread out there, but I can't locate it. It was a long list of stuff and it said something about the person also using the Welcome Packet to promote chair massage, in case a client wanted to have them come to their business.

I really wish I could find it, as it was quite informative, but I can't. Maybe someone else has better searching skills than I.

I have to get to work to get you a sample of what our says. But I think it is way too short for what you are wanting to do.

 

[JuJuB]

Do you want all of that info in a Welcome letter? Just as a thought, you could put the basics in (What to expect, benefits, etc.) and save some of the other stuff for newsletters (self-care, upcoming specials). This way, you keep yourself in the thoughts of your clients on a somewhat regular basis.

I would offer you a sample, but I am still working on mine, as well. If I finish it up soon I will PM a copy to you if you like.

 

[A D]

While searching for birthday cards and found this thread with some welcome information in it.

Providing a Reminder Notice to Scheduled Clients
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1268&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=birthday

 

[Morey000]

i don't know if i like the idea of a welcome "packet". i think a nice short letter or postcard thanking them for their recent visit and any other small note would be great. sometimes i think we can turn some people off with too much info. i know if i were to go out and get a massage from someone new, i think a thank you would be really nice. if i get a whole packet of info i'll do 2 things with it. one is that i probably won't read it all if i look through it at all. 2 is that i'll hope i'm not going to get bombarded with a huge packet mail from them on a regular basis. of course this is just my opinion and i'm sure others would love to receive a huge packet. i just wonder how many people actually read and/or remember any of it.

i think you could keep it simple. if you'd like to give them self-care, that's something that can/should be done in person so if they have any questions, you'll be there to answer them...and you can show them simple things on the spot in front of them. i think some of the other things you mentioned would be perfect for a seasonal newsletter. menu of services, hubby info, specials, reminders for self-care etc.

i just think it's so nice to hand write a "thank you for coming in" note. it's thoughtful & it's quick and easy to read. it allows your guest/client to know that you are thinking of them and that you appreciate them coming in to see you.

 

[Kaori]

Thanks, everyone, for your input! Thank you terab, also, for the alternate viewpoint! I LOVE hearing both sides of the issue and the reasons why & such.

You were right about doing the follow-up thank-you thing. Story: I had a new client a couple days ago (the rib-head guy ) and I sent him an email the next evening asking how he was & letting him know that I enjoyed meeting him and working with him and that I hoped he was feeling better. Well, the next morning I woke up to a favorable reply and then he started asking me about the lymphatic drainage technique we offer that we'd touched briefly on when he was here Monday. Looks like we might schedule a lymphatic session for Friday already! Whereas, who knows when I would've heard from him next had I NOT followed up? Too cool.

I think I might tread case-by-case on the welcome packets. If they're just there for relaxation, they don't need to know too much about NMT or whatever. THey're just there to float away for a while, and that's cool. I'm thinking of just doing something similar to what a friend of mine does...a thank-you welcome-to-our-practice letter, a service menu of what we offer, our current newsletter, 1-2 pamphlets on things we do in every session like Hot Stone treatment (ks that way they understand the extent of the possible benefits of said treatment), a copy of the policies they signed so they have it at their disposal without even needing to visit our site for it, and a couple coupons for friends or family they'd like to refer. But like I said, I might not give that out to every client. Like if it's a GC and the recipient really doesn't value massage much, they might just get the thank-you-&-welcome letter and not everything else. Or whatever. I'm babbling now

Thanks, everyone!
Hugs,
~Jyoti