non-sexual massage marketing madness.

July 9, 2007 3:44 PM

[AdvertisingFilter] I am looking for the most effective way to advertise for a massage therapist living in the DFW area.

My mother is a very good massage therapist, but advertising her business has proven to be very difficult over the years. She works out of a building with a bunch of rooms. The massage therapists that work there rent out the rooms from the owner of the building. It does provide advertising (at a cost) but it has proven to be ineffective.

Methods she has already tried include the obvious word-of-mouth, the Ft. Worth Star Telegram newspaper, and other small periodicals.

We are looking for a solution(s) that will provide more business, and not only be cost effective, but help ward off unwanted "perverts" looking for happy endings. She does the standard swedish, as well as deep tissue work and trigger point.

Are there any Mefites that can offer any advice on the best way to advertise for this type of business?

posted by sindas to work & money (11 comments total)

How much are you looking to spend? I have a friend who dropped $5K on AM radio advertising, and literally had business coming out of his ears within days. He actually only needed one run of this and has been doing well off existing customers and referrals ever since.

You could also advertise in the yellow pages, but you obviously won't get immediate business as you'll have to wait for it to get published.
posted by fusinski at 4:06 PM on July 9, 2007

Market more to women. My (somewhat ignorant) impression is that massage can be sold to women as part of that whole self-indulgent "pampering" thing. Along those lines, one idea would be to do cheap targeted advertising (pamphlets, discounts?) in places where pampering is already taking place (some kind of salon?).
posted by grobstein at 4:30 PM on July 9, 2007

I know a lot of massage therapists who bring those stand-up massage chairs to farmer markets and fairs and charge $10 for a 5 minute massage or something like that. Obviously, you price it to match the buying power of the people there and use it as a way to drum up interest. Must be successful, because nearly everyone seems to do it.
posted by Deathalicious at 4:32 PM on July 9, 2007

When I'm looking for a local business I do a business search with google maps first. If I cant find a suitable business, I then do a google search with my city (ie: dallas massage therapy).

I suggest a website as well.
posted by Sufi at 4:32 PM on July 9, 2007

On the rare occasions when I've gotten a massage, I've relied totally on word-of-mouth recommendations. So maybe one approach would be for her to tell each and every one of her current clients (via mail, or just when they come in) that she will give them a free (or half-priced, or whatever discount seems attractive) massage for every new paying client they refer. She should have cards or brochures (and a website) that make her business look good.

A twist on this, that might help her turn her current clients into more profitable clients would be for her to offer the referrer a free or discounted massage that is not the kind they are already paying for. So the current customer who gets a swedish massage every three weeks, and who refers a friend, will then receive a free or discounted deep tissue massage, or facial, or whatever she offers. Hopefully, that person will then become a client to gets the regular swedish massage, plus the new service, on a regular basis.

Similarly, are there other people who can start referring clients to her? I'm thinking of small bed and breakfasts (big hotels probably already have in-house spa services), the front desk person at the local tattoo and piercing shop, and so on -- people who interact with a lot of people, and who have some credibility when they say to try her massage services.
posted by Forktine at 5:14 PM on July 9, 2007

She should try to network and cross-market with other similar but different services. Like a local yoga teacher, a local gym, chiropractors, etc. She might even try stuff like posting a flyer on the billboard at the front of a local Whole Foods. If she really wants to get new clients quick, she could offer a free session to her existing clients if they bring her a new client.
posted by lubujackson at 5:55 PM on July 9, 2007

A massage therapist friend got a one-day-a-week job in a chiropractic office, and has gotten a few steady clients to her regular practice as a result.

And she offers discounts to referrers, so I talk her up every chance I get.
posted by Bradley at 7:42 PM on July 9, 2007

Google. You'll be surprised how effective it can be for a local business.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:56 PM on July 9, 2007

2nding forktine.

My Dad rented a hot tub for a party, and while talking with the owner, found out that the owner had recently made a list of all of the hairsylist-shops in town, and was marketing directly to the stylists.

The hairstylists have a captive audience all day in their chairs, and see dozens of people a week.
posted by Wild_Eep at 6:04 AM on July 10, 2007

It generally takes 2.5+ years to establish a massage practice that you can easily live off. Mine took 12 months to get to where i wanted it, and that was after 3 years subcontracting for other people, and then rather than start from scratch with a new premises, etc. I bought an existing practice. I'm the 3rd owner, business has been there for about 6-7 years - and I do still have clients that have seen all 3 owners.

When I took over, I sent out a letter introducing myself to anyone who had their details on file (over 500) offering them 20% off their first session with me as new owner. A few letters got returned address unknown, most were unanswered, but i did get a lot of goodwill from the current clients, and reactivated many old clients that hadn't been in for a year or more that came in for the discount & decided they like me and now come in regularly.
Without this - I'd try a letterbox drop of the surrounding area. You ought to get about a 10% response from mailbox advertising, offering a nice discount.

This year, my quiet weeks are like last years busy weeks.
Things that kept me going: established yellow pages ad - brings in 1 - 6 new clients a month. I'm currently reviewing my YP advertising. It is expensive, I'm not sure if it pays for itself. The best advertising is word of mouth, but you need to get that word starting somewhere. I do get many people that have found my via YP that come in once & never again, or a couple of times a year. I do have a few people that have found me via the YP, and now come in every week & send in their friends & relatives too.

I offer a 20% off voucher to clients that refer. I don't make a big deal of it, i just send them the voucher after I've seen the referral. Make this more proactie, - you send out cards (i've seen people do this and it works) send out $20 off cards to all your clients for each referral for them & the person the refer. get nice cards printed up, number the back so you know which clients got which numbers for tracking.

I rent my space from a chiro, I'm allowed to borrow his receptionist. But we are absolutely independant of each other. We do refer clients to each other if we think it will benefit the individual.
NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK. A client referred his girlfriend to me, she is a trainer, and I jokingly say she has been better than the yellow pages! I also know a a few local beauty therapists. I give them a small regular discount and they also mention me if anyone, esp when someone says "I JUST CANT FIND A DECENT MASSAGE THERAPIST!" Try fitness ppl - trainers, yoga, pilates people, chiros, osteos, naturopaths, chinese medicine people, doulas, nurses, physios, GPs, surgeons, anything. Hypnotherapists, hairdressers, counsellors, priests, teachers, pharmacists....if you know them, make sure they know what you do and what you can do to help them and people they know.

Get involved with the community - schools, local charities, etc. Just circulate and get yourself known. Hand out cards to every single person you meet.

There are many massage marketing campaigns which may or may not work - like offering ppl free 30 sessions with a nominal charge to upgrade to an hour. I'm a bit dubious about some of these though, I think it depends on where you live. There are at least 2 web based marketing courses
that will inundate you with informercial type marketing material to make $$$ma$$$age$$$!!!

Just be comfortable with what you offer. Never sell yourself short. While you may happy to discount your work to advertise yourself and get yourself established, make sure it feels worth it to you. Set boundaries and don't let the "bargain hunter" corner of the market take advantage or get you down. There will be people that will try to bargain down your prices, or will miss appointments, ask for credit or otherwise waste your time.
If someone asks you for say - half price work now, will you still be happy giving them half price work in 5 years when you're booked up solid 2 weeks in advance?

Never apologise for or feel like you need to justify your prices. You are a qualified professional providing a service at a reasonable cost.

my email is in profile - there is one particular email list i can recommend has a huge archive of ideas & is very active.
posted by goshling at 8:12 AM on July 10, 2007

Oh, and it may not even need saying, but avoid that Craigslist thing. I often read posts on massage forums from people astounded that they are attracting pervies due to Craigslists posts even though "I specified it was TOTALLY NON-SEXUAL!!"
posted by goshling at 8:34 AM on July 10, 2007