7 Ways To Attract New Customers To Your Wellness Business

Whether your target is a future or existing client, it can be difficult to find ways to stand out from the crowd of massage therapists. The keys to success are simple: provide your client with incentives to choose you, and remove any potential obstacles between your clinic and your client. But how?

1. Register yourself on Google Maps
For most small businesses, this is probably not the first thing that comes to mind… But for a client that’s trying to select a massage therapist from 3-4 options, it’s easy to rule out the one they can’t find on the map! You want to give your clients a smooth, effortless experience - and their experience starts before they step foot in your clinic. Also, by being on the map, you’re not only making yourself easy to find; you’re establishing a more professional and legitimate business.

2. Use a loyalty program
What’s a loyalty program? It’s pure magic. If you’re a Starbucks gold rewards member, you already know why. In short, a loyalty program is a means of rewarding your repeat customers. For example, many cafes use stamp cards - if you collect 9 stamps, your 10th drink is free! The same concept applies to massage therapy. The prize doesn’t have to be a free massage; it can be anything that works for both you and your clients - a 20% discount for every 5 or 10 massages or even 30 minutes of free massage.

Why does this help you? Essentially, the loyalty program gives your clients another reason to come back to you. This is especially beneficial if your performance is subpar - everyone has bad days. Let’s say your client has collected 8 stamps, but the 8th visit wasn’t great. Instead of giving up on you, your client will likely give you a second chance when incentivized by the rewarding 10th visit.

3. Be social and be present
If you don’t already have a Facebook page, make it a priority to create one. As of 2017, Facebook has been ranked the social media platform with the highest number of active users. Additionally, it has the most engaged audience - meaning that people not only read but they also react to what they see on their Facebook newsfeeds. Making a Facebook page is a simple initiative that helps you establish an online presence, thereby making you that much more connected to (literally) millions of people.

However, it’s important to market your Facebook page after you create it. After appointments, let your clients know that they can contact you through Facebook. Have the URL at the end of your email blasts and on your business card. The more channels through which your clients can find you, the more visibility your clinic gets.

4. Encourage sharing and referrals
Network is power. Today’s social media has drastically reduced the strain in attracting new clients - how? By making it so much easier to share your great services with their friends and family of course! What every massage therapist needs to know is that new clients are just one click away. People trust people they already know, and hearing about you through their friends or family has a lot more impact than hearing about you from you. We recommend that you share a simple poster through Facebook/email with one goal in mind: get people to share your service with their network. Providing an incentive is often very helpful when asking people to share content to their Facebook page – and example is by sharing they are entered into a contest for an additional free 30 minutes on their next treatment.

5. Remind your clients that you exist
Every quarter, review your client base and see which ones haven’t had a visit for a while. Tell customers you want to help by sending them a “Hello, it’s been a while! Life can get busy. We just wanted to send you a friendly reminder to take some time for yourself. Treat yourself with a 10% discount at our clinic!”. If that’s too obvious, use a special event like Mother’s Day as an excuse: “Being a mom is hard work, and you deserve a break. Treat yourself with a 10% discount!”

No upcoming calendar events? A “Fun Fact Friday” newsletter/email blast is a creative way to share a fun fact about how beneficial massage therapy is for everyday life - all the while reminding your clients that you exist!

6. Follow up
It’s one thing to be good at your job, but it’s another to go the extra mile. Following up with your customers with a phone call or personalized email after an appointment makes them feel special. Reaching out to them shows them that you care for their health and wellbeing. Simply ask your clients how things went and encourage them to write a review to help improve their future experiences.

7. Get reviews
Speaking of reviews, people like brands that they’ve heard about… or at least ones that everyone else has. When you look for a good restaurant to go to for dinner, you choose the one with a lot of great reviews. You can expect that your potential clients are doing the same when deciding between you and another massage therapist. Even if they haven’t heard of you, they’ll probably trust that 100+ people are painting an accurate picture of the quality of your service.