Marketing such a business requires a different approach from the usual marketing techniques.

Marketing your practice means marketing yourself.

Know your strengths and weaknesses, building on you strengths and improving upon your weaknesses fosters self improvement which is a bonus for the Massage Therapist.
Learn to describe yourself in a brief, firm knowledgeable way. Time can be a prized commodity in marketing.
Let others market you as well.  Word of mouth is heard better with a business card.  Anything you can do to set yourself apart will only benefit you.

Your business name can make a big difference in the success of your practice.  It is the first impression most of your potential clients will have of you. Your business name should convey as much information as possible.  This should include information service type, which could be anything from  Massage Therapy Practice to Deep Tissue/ Sports Therapy Massage Center. In both cases the message of massage therapy is prominent.  Once you have conveyed what service you offer, you can then focus on the target market of this practice.

The Massage Therapy Practice will have a wider range of marketable clients whereas the Deep Tissue/Sports Therapy Massage Center is more specific but gives the Therapist a more defined target market.

Creating your own web site is more important than ever before.  There are choices ranging from applications for the DIYers of the group to Web developers who will design, create and manage your site for you.  What ever you choose, be sure you have your presence online.  How we, as consumers,  look for services has come a long way.  Ten years ago we would let our fingers do the walking through the yellow pages, which can aide in building clients, but now our fingers walk across the keyboard as we search for both goods and services online.

Marketing your practice with other businesses can be a benefit to you both, working with gym owners, Athletic Organizations, Chiropractors,  or nursing homes can open doors to your practice that would other wise be closed.  Offering your services to larger groups at  moderate discounts benefits everyone.

The larger groups benefit from the discounts and pass that benefit onto the group, members, team and patients.  Your practice benefits from the new volume of clients with the great potential for more. This applies to the individual out call therapist as well, only on a smaller scale. Maintaining a wide selection of massage modalities through continuing education and staying informed on the latest research in our field will also help set you apart as a Therapist who goes the extra mile for his/her clients.

Out of all of the marketing tips I could give you I believe this is the best tip of them all, always remember this is a business.  This is important for the Massage Therapist to remember because we are in a sympathetic field in a world full of people who need the healing power of touch.  You can volunteer your services to a worthy cause but it should remain there. What ever the cost of your services, you are worth it because you are a well trained, licensed individual with a gift of service to others. Maintain a thought process that allows you to remember to take care of yourself.  You are your most valuable tool and that deserves great care.

Author
Punkie Spelts is a Massage Therapist living in Southern California. She is also a Web Publisher and writes extensively for multiple web sites like HealthPositive!, cureyourbody.com and many other research sites including her own massage therapy site at www.punkiespelts.com.

Despite the nearly universal fear of public speaking, it is one of the easiest, most effective and most natural ways of marketing holistic health care. Why?

Making presentations lets you present yourself to the community with the same skills and attitude you use every day with your clients. By giving a presentation, you meet potential clients face-to-face. You make a special effort to offer information that can make an improvement in their lives, and invite them to take a positive step forward.

Making presentations can help you and your business by:

• Adding to your mix of marketing strategies that help you reach new people.
• Increasing your comfort and ability to connect with potential clients.
• Improving your skills in educating people about the work and benefits of treatment.
• Clarifying your own understanding of your approach and philosophy.
• Increasing your visibility and credibility with referring health care practitioners.

When you feel ready to take the next step toward making a presentation, consider these tips.

* Target your audiences to the kind of clients you would like.

Who do you want to work with? Seniors? Athletes? Pregnant women and young mothers? People with injuries? It would be well worth your while to hone a presentation which focuses on the benefits of the work with your chosen target group.

* Giving a hands-on demonstration during a presentation can be your best selling point.

Make sure you make time for it, and have a way to solicit a volunteer. If you build in enough extra time, you could offer free 5-minute massages for any participants who are willing to stay after the main presentation.

* Always be prepared to send participants home with business cards, brochures and other marketing materials.

Even if getting up in front of a group seems intimidating, the connections you’ll gain can be worth the effort.

To help massage therapists give the best presentations possible, we offer what we call a “tool kit for making compelling and stress-free presentations to general and medical audiences.”

Click here to read more about Therapeutic Massage: How it Helps and Why it Works!

Presentation Planning Kit.http://www.naturaltouchmarketing.com/Presentation-Kits.php

We also offer a presentation kit for chair massage and one for stress management.

Natural Touch Marketing offers the most complete and varied set of professional tools to reach out to clients and community—by building relationships and showing that you care.

Visit www.naturaltouchmarketing.com to read other articles and to find many more resources for marketing your massage business.