Practice Management Tips
May 8, 2023
When you’re building a business, every small effort counts. As a massage therapist, you have to manage your time, energy, and clients. All of those things are finite. Make the most of what you have by making little tweaks to the way you manage your business. Small changes add up to significant gains. Want to learn how? Continue reading for massage therapist tips and tricks for a successful and sustainable business.
Your hands, time and energy are your most precious resources. A sustainable massage career requires protecting those resources. Use these massage therapist tips and tricks to help ensure a long-lasting career.
Repetitive strain injuries are common in massage therapy, but they are avoidable. Muscling your way through massage is a recipe for disaster. Do this instead:
Use proper body mechanics to prevent injury. If you struggle with this, take a course or watch videos to improve your posture and technique.
Experiment with using different tools, as well as forearms and elbows, to supplement the massage you do with your hands.
Lower your table, so you can leverage your body weight to create pressure.
Study functional anatomy. If you learn to identify the true cause of an issue, it takes a lot less time and less pressure to treat the problem.
Self-care for massage therapists is perhaps the most essential ingredient in career longevity. When you take care of people for a living, it’s vital you take care of yourself. You can’t provide the best service if you’re not at your best.
Learning new things will keep you excited about your career as a massage therapist. Practicing a variety of modalities will decrease your likelihood of developing a repetitive strain injury. Plus, it’ll make you a better therapist and give you more services to offer to clients.
Full-time massage therapists generally see 20-30 clients a week. That’s less than the typical 40-hour work week IF you don’t count time spent running the business. And that time counts!
First, determine how many clients you have the energy to see every week, and respect that boundary. Then automate as many administrative tasks as you can using clinic management software. This will prevent you from working more than you want to.
Your clients continue to come back for the experience you provide them. If you provide a better experience than competitors, you’ll have their loyalty for years to come. Use these tips to take the massage therapy experience to the next level.
No one likes playing phone tag. Many independent massage therapists do not have a receptionist on staff. That means clients often have to leave a message or send a text requesting an appointment. That’s not a good customer experience. You’ll probably lose a few customers doing business like that.
Set up online scheduling, so people can schedule any time. This saves you the cost of a receptionist, and your customers will love it.
Often massage therapists are so pressed for time that there’s not much conversation before the client is on the table. Making time to sit down and talk to people before their massage enhances their experience. It also allows you to provide better treatment. It only takes a few minutes to connect before the session. Don’t skip this part.
Reach out to new clients and existing clients with a new issue a few days after their session. Check-in to see how they’re doing. This is an important step because it’s unlikely they will reach out to you. It shows you care, and it gives them a chance to ask questions or express concerns. Your follow-up can be a simple email, quick text or a phone call. The goal is to keep the lines of communication open.
The environment is a huge part of the massage experience. Create a relaxing massage room that gives clients a sense of calm upon entering the room. Odds are good, they don’t have a room like this at home. That’s part of the reason they come to see you. Your workspace is their retreat.
Want a successful and sustainable business? Eliminate as much busywork as possible, so you can focus on what matters most. Here are a few tips and tricks for productivity in a busy massage clinic.
What’s the biggest waste of time for a massage therapist? When clients don’t show up for their appointments. Use a scheduling system that can automatically send reminders to clients.
Recording treatment notes is part of the job. Use a SOAP Note template for charting your treatment. Creating a custom form for specific modalities can streamline your process. When you have a system for SOAP notes, keeping accurate records is quick and easy.
Printing, filing and waiting for someone to fill out paperwork eats up a lot of time. You can get this time back if you send digital intake forms before appointments. That way, you have everything you need before your client walks through the door. Plus, no need for a filing cabinet.
Instead of scheduling regular clients one appointment at a time, set up a standing appointment for them. Streamline your schedule by creating recurring appointments at the same time each week or month. Getting massage clients to rebook ensures clients come back when they need to. Plus, it eliminates the need to compare schedules all the time.
You can accept online payments when you allow people to book online. This saves time, and it also helps prevent no-shows. With their card on file, you can accept payment with a single click. That means your client can just float out the door after the massage instead of digging through their purse.
Remind people to make an appointment The easiest clients to market to are the ones you already have. If you haven’t seen someone in a while, reach out to them and invite them to come back. Often people intend to reschedule, but they don’t. Life gets in the way, and they forget. With ClinicSense, you can automatically send win-back campaigns to people who haven’t had an appointment recently.
Seeing regular massage therapy social media posts keeps your audience thinking about you. Create a month's worth of posts. Then schedule them to publish throughout the upcoming weeks. This simple strategy can keep you top of mind without investing any money.
Thank loyal customers often, and give them a special treat every once in a while. A simple way to do this is to acknowledge their birthdays. Send them a card or give them a special discount on their special day. Automate birthday emails, so you don’t forget anyone.
The best way to fill openings in your schedule is to advertise your availability. At the beginning of the week, send an availability campaign to your email subscribers. Clients in need will be happy to snatch up a last-minute appointment. Or read our recent article on massage therapy specials.
ClinicSense is a cloud-based practice management software designed specifically for massage therapists and other healthcare professionals. It provides a suite of tools to help massage therapists streamline their administrative tasks, improve their client experience, and grow their business. Here are some ways that ClinicSense can help your massage business succeed:
Overall, ClinicSense can help you save time, improve your client experience, and grow your business. It is a powerful tool for massage therapists who want to succeed in today’s competitive market. Sign up for a free trial to try it live!
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