MARKETING TIP: BUILDING YOUR CLIENT BASE

FROM: eTouch Newsletter, April 2004 | Vol. 5, No. 4

By Amy Roberts

It's what we all want as massage therapists: lots of clients. But what we want at the next stage is to have those clients refer to us more clients. And those clients refer clients...and so on.

To tell you the truth, word-of-mouth, is the best form of advertising, simply because it is the most “real” form of advertising there is. Why - because it's a first-hand experience from someone else. It's the best proof there is that a service is useful, effective, worthwhile and good value for money. Another reason why it's so good is because it doesn't cost you anything. And, someone else is doing the advertising for you.

So just how can you increase your word-of-mouth success rate?

Step 1. Everyone wants to be valued and appreciated.

Suggestion: Mail a letter to each customer, addressing the client by his or her first name. Tell these clients how much you value them and their loyalty, and that you would love to have more clients like them in your business. Then offer them a special deal for them, if they refer people to you.

Tip: If you are stuck with what to offer as a special deal, think of what you would like to receive from a massage therapist who is trying to obtain your business.

I know what you are thinking...10 percent off the first massage. But I'll be perfectly honest with you—10 percent off my first treatment isn’t going to rock my world as your potential client. It still doesn't tell me if you're good or not, or why I should use your service.

Before I go any further, I'm going to give you a dose of what my good friend calls, "tough love." If you want people to come to you, then you have to give them what they want. You can't project what you think they should have onto them. It never works. Trust me I've spent hundreds of dollars, even thousands, learning this mistake, and I don't want you to do this.

So listen up. When a potential client gets your brochure/letter/offer through someone else, you want them to be impressed and start thinking about your service. In fact, you want them to want your massage on the spot. You want them to sit there and think with longing: "I really need that. And I need it now. Where's that credit card again?"