By 
There is only one of you and hopefully many of them. If you are a massage therapist with your own practice, you probably need new ways to streamline your business administrative processes. It is better to spend your time in the session, working out knots and relieving tension, not sitting behind a desk staring at a computer screen. Unfortunately, you can’t just ignore phone work, appointment setting, marketing, and customer follow-up. These are necessary tasks for the success of your business. However, for most small massage parlors, outsourcing the work or hiring an assistant is cost prohibitive. The solution? Harness the power of technology to automate your massage business as much as possible by doing the following:
- Create and maintain an informative and well-designed website -In today’s market, having a website is not an option. It’s a must. Customers assume that a “successful” business will have a web presence, and of course you don’t want to disappoint them. Your website must provide an accurate overview of your services. Whether or not you include a price list is a matter of preference. Most spas and therapists do. Keep in mind that many clients will make the decision to schedule an appointment with you based on the types of services you offer and at what cost. Include available appointment times and instructions on how to schedule a session. An FAQ section with the most common questions (i.e. what to bring to a session? Are credit cards accepted? What to expect during the first session? Etc.) will allow you to easily address customer concerns and effective.
- Online Appointment Schedulers – Sometimes booking a first-time appointment with a new client can take thirty to forty-five minutes. New customers often have questions. Of course, you want to take the time to answer their questions and make your customers feel comfortable. Whether it’s through your website’s FAQs or if it’s a specific medical condition, when it comes to addressing customer concerns it’s a must. The interactions you want to avoid are customers sharing with you the details of their busy schedules and the explanation of why they want to come on Saturday at 2:00 PM instead of Saturday at 11:00 AM. With an online appointment scheduler, clients can examine their availability and schedule their appointment accordingly. If they need to reschedule, they can easily do it online without the embarrassment and stress of having them call to speak with you. Online appointment schedulers not only help you automate your massage business, they also train your clients.
- Virtual phones – Nobody wants to sit in an office and wait for a phone to ring. Chances are, if you’re in your office, you’re in session, and if you’re not in session, you’re out on marketing, running errands, or minding personal business. With standard business phones, your best option is to forward your number to your cell phone. If you run your business from your cell phone, you are forced to have two cell phones, one for business and one for personal use, or you run the risk of mixing business calls with personal calls, which is not a good thing. The best solution is to use a virtual phone. For just $ 4.88 a month you can use phone.com’s virtual phone service and project a professional image to your clients. Your calls can follow you anywhere. You have the option of an automated attendant, unlimited voicemail boxes, call screening, call transfers, after-hours greetings, and more.
- Email marketing (using autoresponders) – Following up on customers after a first session couldn’t be easier if you use an autoresponder. Autoresponders allow you to pre-write messages for customers, save them to your account, and then schedule a time to send them. The software does the rest. For example, you can configure a Bell which automatically sends a welcome email to all new clients, then sends an email of what to expect two days before the scheduled appointment and a follow-up email the day after a session. Are you organizing a special event or do you want to wish your clients a happy holiday? You can send a mass email (using a pre-designed graphic template) to your entire customer list. It’s easy to stay in touch and follow up with customers when it’s done the right way.
- Text messaging services – Lastly, staying in touch with an ever-mobile customer base is essential to automating your massage business. Customers must stay informed and connected. What better way than your cell phones? (Most people won’t leave home without them) With emails, websites, virtual phones, and online schedulers, you trust the customer to take steps to receive your communication. They must check their email, surf the Internet, or call a number. With texting, you can bring them into communication directly. No additional steps are required. Do you need to remind a client of an appointment? Send them a text message. Do you want to inform them of your referral program? Send them a text message. Do you need to announce your Valentine’s Day special? You got it … text them. With free texting services like textmarks.com, you can spread the word to hundreds of clients at once and focus more of your energies on providing the best possible massage experience, not on chasing clients.