10 ways to grow your mobile massage therapy business

When your job is selling relaxation, the last thing you want is to be stressed about growing your therapeutic massage business. Luckily, there are many small but effective steps you can take to gain new clients – and keep them coming back.

Rewards and referral programs

Incentives work! Offer a discounted massage session to clients who send you new clients, and a discount to those who’ve been referred too. This gives your existing clients a reason to talk about you (if they’re not already extolling the virtues of your magic hands!), and it gives hesitant first-timers extra encouragement to book.

Reward programs are also a great way to keep clients coming back. Print up rewards cards, or better yet, book in bulk with frequency discounts! Our Real-Time Pricing & Booking Software allows you to offer discounts depending on a clients’ frequency of massages. Not only will your clients appreciate your generosity, but with SMS and email reminders they’ll also notice you going that extra mile to send them a personal reminder in case they forget about their booking.

The perfect gift

What do you get the person who has everything? Let’s face it, for most people, shopping for gifts is as painful as a trip to the dentist. Will it fit? Does she like this colour? Does he already have this? Luckily for you, massages are a one-size-fits-all gift, just about everyone likes them, and you can never have too many.

November is a great time to send out email blasts to your clients offering promotions on gift certificates. Have a partner? Offer in-home romantic couples massages for Valentine’s Day. The bonus is that the session is prepaid, so whether or not the recipient redeems it does not affect your bottom line.

Go local

We all dream of going viral, but what good will it do for a business that offers in-home services locally? You want to target potential clients that live near you, not only to save costly travel time but also to avoid having to answer enquiries from people who are outside your operating area.

We can take care of that for you, with Zip/Postal Code Filtering for Massage Therapists Software. Just plug in the area codes you want to service, and shoppers will be automatically notified if they don’t fall within those lines. This leaves you with more time to grab your sheets and hit the streets!

One of the best ways to attract massage clients in your community is to get involved! Make a list of upcoming events near you (farmers’ markets, street fairs) and find out how you can participate. Set up a makeshift massage room using clothing racks and colourful throws, and offer a-buck-a-minute massages, or free 5-minute massages in exchange for an Instagram follow. You can be creative with what you offer; the point is to get yourself out there.

Network, network, network!

Booking a spot at a street fair might be intimidating, especially if your business consists of just you. One way to mitigate this is to get others involved. Approach other professionals who offer services that complement massage therapy, such as physiotherapists, personal trainers, or acupuncturists. If you have experience with prenatal massage, for instance, connect with some OB/GYNs. Networking is a valuable tool beyond the scope of community events, and it can bring you referrals! 

Moreover, and perhaps this is counterintuitive, but you should network with your competition. Talk to other massage therapists, join forums, follow the social media accounts of therapists who inspire you, and engage with them.

Not only could you forge friendships and even partnerships this way, but the massage therapist community also has an immense cache of knowledge. Find a therapist near you who has a consistently full schedule, and offer to give them a massage in exchange for feedback. Ta-da! You’ve improved your skills, and you’ve opened yourself up to referrals if they’re overbooked.

Take your mobile massage to the office

From large corporations to start-ups, businesses are starting to recognize the value of wellness as an important part of office culture, and its benefits for boosting both morale and productivity. Offering 10-20 minute massages to their employees is a great way for employers to show they care. Maintain a professional image by creating a comprehensive corporate massage proposal (you can find plenty of examples online) that offers flexible treatment and payment options.

You can give employers the option of paying for the treatment completely, sharing the costs with employees, or having employees be reimbursed by their insurance companies. Don’t forget business cards! Many office workers have massage therapy as part of their benefits, but don’t take advantage. This is the perfect opportunity to remind them while giving them a taste of what they’ve been missing!

Small details, big results

Clients like to know that you care. This – and your amazing healing hands – is what will keep them coming back. Your client is extra sensitive to scents? Bring scent-free oils to your next appointment. Maybe another client loves lavender? Bring lavender-scented oils and maybe a few sprigs of dried lavender for them to keep.

Keeping notes on clients is certainly useful, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep all your notes on each client neatly organized and easily accessible with us. Add notes on the spot, right on your phone! Never forget a single detail. You can even set automated reminders to send emails to clients offering them a personalized promo for their birthday! Your thoughtfulness will not go unnoticed. 

 Personalize your content

An active social media presence for your massage therapy business is crucial. However, it’s becoming evident that people don’t want content that is irrelevant to them clogging up their feed. This is where stories come in handy. A feature of both Facebook and Instagram, stories allow you to post content that is available to them without forcing it on them.

They are a great way to show the behind-the-scenes action of the mobile massage therapist’s world, or to let them know you’re giving free massages at the local farmers’ market right now. It’s a good tool to allow your clients/potential clients to get to know you personally. 

Now that you’ve created content that is personal to you, we can shift the focus to your clients! A Youtube channel or a blog is a great way to address clients’ specific and personal issues and get them engaging with you on social media.

If a client presents with sciatic nerve pain, for example, you can create a short video demonstrating a few stretching exercises to alleviate sciatic pain and upload it to your Youtube channel, or hammer out a quick blog post about it. Then email them the link with a short message letting them know you created the content just for them!  

Barter to better your content!

Don’t know the first thing about video editing? Don’t have the gift for gab? Don’t sweat it! Massage therapy is both a treatment and a treat, so finding someone who will share their videography expertise or writing skills in exchange for a relaxing therapeutic massage shouldn’t be too hard.

Most first impressions these days happen online, so it’s important to put your best foot (or hand, as the case may be) forward. Bartering is a good way to free up some cash for necessary-yet-worthy investments, like a top-notch website. 

Don’t miss the 3 a.m. scroller

The days of brick-and-mortar and regular business hours are long gone. Customers want to buy online, whenever it strikes their fancy, and they want their purchases delivered right to their front door. You’ve got the second part down, so why not be a double threat? We offer completely customizable, beautifully designed, mobile-friendly websites that are made specifically for mobile massage therapy businesses.

Each site comes with the most advanced SSL certificate on the market, so your clients can be sure their transactions are secure. Help them book with ease using our Real-Time Pricing and Booking Page: let customers see your availabilities, pick a time slot, and book and pay immediately. Anytime, anywhere. 

From stories to sales

Social media is great, but it’s even better when it leads directly to sales! Allow your clients to skip heading to your homepage and navigating the menu to book. Capitalize on your inspiring Instagram content or Facebook flash sale by adding a ‘Book Now’ button to your posts, linking them directly to your Real-Time Pricing and Booking Page. Fewer clicks mean fewer obstacles between the customer and your massage table.