Six Ways to Market Your Massage Practice

Massage clients won’t find you by walking by on the street. Help them find you with these tips for marketing your massage therapy practice. 

Boost Your Visibility, Expand Your Clientele

1. keep plenty of business cards on hand..

Business cards are a necessary part of any business and an easy way to connect with potential clients. Keep some on hand when you’re out and about, and make sure referring medical professionals have plenty to share with patients.  

You can design and order business cards from  Vistaprint  or  ODP Business Solutions . AMTA members receive discounts at each store.

2. Put some thought into the design.

When planning your marketing materials, at the minimum include your name, plus your preferred email and phone number. If you have a website, be sure to include that as well.

Some therapists also like to list their hours, services or rates on the back of their business cards. If your hours or appointment procedures are in flux as you reopen consider using your website or social media links with a reminder to check for the latest hours and updates.

Demonstrate your professionalism by including the AMTA member logo on your card.  Members can download it from the AMTA website .

The design is important, too! If you don’t have graphic design skills, that is okay! Vistaprint has free template design options for you to choose from.

Pick a design that feels like “you,” but make sure your text is legible. Script fonts can be difficult to read, especially in smaller sizes, so keep those as the headlines. Numbers and emails are easiest to read in a sans-serif font like Arial or Calibri. 

Don’t forget to proofread, and then proofread again. Avoid wasting your money by printing materials with typos or incorrect contact information.

3. Get creative with your referrals.

Referrals are an excellent source of business. If you can, reward your clients for their referrals with credit toward products or their next massage.

You can print referral postcards or use the reverse of your business card. Make sure you leave room for your client to put their name so they can receive credit.

4. Educate your clients on the health and wellness benefits of massage.

Brochures and postcards are both excellent ways to list your menu of services. You can also use them to educate your clients and potential clients about the benefits of massage!

As an AMTA member, you have access to a growing body of research that supports the use of massage therapy for health and wellness. Include information in your marketing materials from research reports or articles about massage for health conditions . Print resources and education for clients at  Office Depot OfficeMax  or  UPS  – AMTA members save with both. 

5. Connect with clients through email.

Email is a great way to keep clients up to date on hours and appointment processes, share special offers and deals and take the opportunity to educate them on the role and importance of massage.

Remind clients that you offer gift certificates, and share details on your referral program.

AMTA members have access to special discounted rates for  Constant Contact .

6. See the signs!

Don’t forget about signage for your practice! You can save on banners, posters and more. 

How else can you market your massage therapy practice? These are just a few options.  AMTA offers  50+ benefits of membership , including several discounts on products and services to help your massage practice thrive.

Save on marketing design and materials with member discounts

Join AMTA to Start Saving

Additional Resources

Massage and health.

Massage therapy can be an important part of an integrative approach to health and wellness. 

Set Up Your Free Website

Build your massage therapy business and boost your credibility with your free website from AMTA partner BodyworkSites.

AMTA Member Discounts

AMTA members enjoy significant savings on a variety of products and services.

SharpSheets

Sales & Marketing Plan for a Massage Therapy Business

Avatar photo

  • December 29, 2023
  • Business Plan , Sales & Marketing Strategy

marketing strategy for a massage business

Starting and managing a successful massage therapy business demands more than just expertise in therapeutic techniques; it necessitates a strategic approach to marketing and sales.

This guide serves as a blueprint to assist in devising an effective sales and marketing plan tailored for your massage therapy business.

It is structured to guide you through analyzing your market, establishing a robust brand, utilizing various marketing channels, and implementing sales strategies to attract and retain clients.

By the end of this article, you will have a comprehensive roadmap to draw in more clients to your massage therapy practice and maintain their loyalty.

the marketing plan slide of a Massage Therapy business plan

Massage Therapy Business Plan

Download an expert-built 30+ slides Powerpoint business plan template

Market Analysis

Before delving into specific sales and marketing strategies, a profound understanding of your market is crucial to positioning your massage therapy business effectively within the competitive landscape.

Competitive Analysis

  • Identify Key Competitors : Research other massage therapy businesses in your area. Analyze their services, pricing, customer reviews, and marketing approaches to identify gaps or opportunities.
  • SWOT Analysis: Conduct a SWOT analysis to understand your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Leverage strengths and address weaknesses to stay competitive.

Target Audience Profiling

Understanding your potential clients is essential for crafting effective marketing messages and service offerings.

  • Demographic and Psychographic Details: Define the demographics (age, gender, income) and psychographics (lifestyles, wellness preferences, pain points) of your ideal clients.
  • Customer Needs and Expectations: Understand what potential clients value most in a massage therapy experience – whether it’s relaxation, pain relief, stress reduction, or specific therapeutic techniques.

Branding and Positioning

Establishing a strong brand presence forms the core of your massage therapy business’s success.

Brand Identity Development

  • Crafting Your Brand Story and Values: Share the story behind your practice. Highlight your mission, passion for wellness, and the unique perspectives or values that set your massage therapy practice apart.
  • Visual Elements: Develop a cohesive visual identity with a logo, color scheme, and ambiance that reflect tranquility and resonate with your target audience.

Market Positioning Strategy

Clearly defining what makes your massage therapy business unique is crucial in a competitive landscape.

  • Define Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Clearly articulate what differentiates your massage therapy practice. Whether it’s specialized techniques, personalized care, or a serene environment, emphasize what sets you apart.
  • Positioning Statement: Create a concise and impactful statement that communicates your practice’s essence and resonates with your client’s wellness goals.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Marketing Channels

Selecting appropriate marketing channels is crucial to communicating your brand and services to potential clients.

Digital Marketing

  • Social Media Presence: Utilize platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube to share wellness tips, client testimonials, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of your practice. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages promptly.
  • Email Marketing: Build an email list by offering wellness newsletters, exclusive promotions, and self-care tips. Segment your emails based on client interests for targeted communication.
  • Website and SEO: Develop an informative website showcasing your services, therapist profiles, testimonials, and online booking. Optimize it for local SEO to attract clients seeking massage therapy in your area.

Local Advertising

Connecting with your local community can be highly effective:

  • Flyers and Local Print: Design visually appealing flyers and brochures to distribute in health food stores, gyms, or wellness centers. Advertise in local health publications or community newsletters.
  • Community Engagement: Participate in local health fairs, wellness events, or charity initiatives. Offer free chair massages or workshops to showcase your expertise.
  • Collaborations: Partner with gyms, wellness centers, or chiropractors for cross-promotions or referrals. Join local business alliances to expand your reach.
  • Health and Wellness Collaborations: Network with health practitioners like chiropractors, physiotherapists, or yoga studios for joint events or client referrals.
  • Corporate Wellness Programs: Approach local businesses to offer workplace massage sessions as part of their employee wellness initiatives.

Promotional Activities

Attract and engage potential clients through compelling offers and loyalty programs.

  • Introductory Offers: Launch introductory packages or discounted sessions for first-time clients to encourage trial.
  • Loyalty Programs: Implement loyalty cards rewarding clients after a certain number of sessions with a complimentary massage session or an add-on service.
  • Referral Programs: Encourage existing clients to refer new clients by offering incentives such as discounted sessions or wellness products.

Sales Channels

Sales channels are crucial for maximizing revenue and ensuring customer satisfaction. Implement effective sales strategies to enhance revenue and client satisfaction.

Upselling and Service Packages

Maximize revenue with each customer visit:

  • Additional Services : Offer upgrades like aromatherapy, hot stone massages, or extended sessions for a personalized experience.
  • Retail Products: Sell wellness products like essential oils, massage tools, or relaxation aids to complement your services.
  • Package Deals: Bundle services into packages like ‘Couples Relaxation Sessions’ or ‘Wellness Membership Packages’ at discounted rates.

Online Booking and Sales

Leverage technology to streamline sales:

  • User-Friendly Booking Systems: Simplify the booking process with an intuitive online booking system integrated into your website and social media platforms. Offer incentives for online bookings, such as complimentary add-ons or discounts.
  • E-commerce Integration: Sell wellness products or gift cards online. Create limited-edition wellness kits or exclusive product bundles for online purchase.
  • Virtual Consultations: Offer online consultations for personalized massage therapy advice, leading to tailored service bookings and product recommendations.

Membership and Loyalty Programs

Encourage repeat clients:

  • Membership Options: Offer subscription-based membership plans that include regular sessions at discounted rates or exclusive access to premium services.
  • Loyalty Rewards: Develop a digital loyalty program where clients earn points for each session attended or for referrals, redeemable for discounted sessions or exclusive wellness workshops.

Privacy Overview

Marketing360Blog

Local Advertising

10 Excellent Massage Therapy Marketing Ideas, Tips, and Strategies To Grow Your Business

January 5, 2023

marketing strategy for a massage business

Does your massage therapy business need a big boost of new clients? Is your online marketing delivering slightly more than zero leads? Here are some massage therapy marketing ideas that will get you noticed online and keep your hands busy with a steady flow of new clients.

#1.  Build an awesome massage therapy website

The first thing you’ll need is a website that communicates the professionalism and value of your services.

Getting a professional design that loads quickly and is mobile friendly is no problem with today’s template designs.

At Marketing 360®, our business website templates can be customized to your business quickly and easily. These are clean designs that make it easy to convey your message fast and persuade people to act. Here is an example mock-up:

marketing strategy for a massage business

Your website is your first impression, and its content will often determine if someone schedules an appointment. Make sure your website looks modern, professional and trustworthy.

Pro tip:  Go for clarity

When you design a website for your business, it’s easy to get caught up in the bells and whistles. If you do, you’ll end up with a website that you think is really cool but probably won’t convert effectively.

Before you fret over images, fonts and color schemes, remember to build essentials, like your contact info, services and location into your design.

Clear website content orients people so they know they’re in the right place and understand what action to take. If you don’t have the basics down, a fancy design won’t do much for you.

#2.  Develop a unique value proposition

While design and functionality of a website are now straightforward, communicating a persuasive message that gives someone a clear reason they should choose your massage therapy services is not.

Many small business websites suffer from messaging problems. In fact, they often fail to clearly convey where the business is, how to contact them or even exactly what they do.

The most important thing you need to do for your massage therapy marketing is to develop a crisp value proposition .

This is a statement that keys in on what you do to solve your clients’ problems, how you’re unique,and why someone should choose you instead of another massage therapist. For example:

marketing strategy for a massage business

This simple statement states what the offer is, how it can solve my pain problems as an athlete and that this massage therapist specializes in sports massage.

Don’t assume people will understand what you do or why they should choose you. State those things implicitly at the top of your homepage.

A dialed-in value proposition will be central to all your marketing material. Test this content and hone in on what gets the most response from people. A strong unique value proposition is what separates successful marketing from the also-rans.

#3.  Develop a social media management strategy

At this point, you can safely assume that a vast majority of your target audience spends a lot of their online time on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat.

By developing an effective social media management strategy, you can create brand awareness, drive traffic to your website and build a strong reputation for your business.

To get started with content ideas, think about why you got into massage therapy (as opposed to what you do or how you do it).

Social media is all about connecting with people on a personal level, and the best way to do that is to tell a kind of story. The theme of that story is why you got into massage in the first place.

Here is an example of this from a Facebook post:

marketing strategy for a massage business

This post does many things you want to see from social media. It’s customer-generated content that tells a story that goes beyond just getting a massage. It shows why; it shows the result. It’s interesting, real and non-promotional — the type of content that gets shared.

Use this as a theme that runs through your social media posts. Give advice, share useful articles, show videos that help people stay fit.

Social media is also the perfect place to network with businesses that have similar interests and cross-promote. Also, encourage your clients to tag you in posts, share their experience and leave you reviews (on Facebook).

Here are more social media tips to help you get started with content creation, scheduling and tracking.

Pro tip:  use Facebook Messenger

If someone visits your Facebook business page , there is a good chance they’re looking to schedule an appointment. Many massage therapists have success getting people to ask for availability directly through Facebook Messenger .

For this to be effective, you’ll need to be responsive — within an hour is best.

#4.  Use paid social media marketing

Marketers today are acknowledging that organic reach on social media is increasingly difficult. Business content often fails to get the necessary engagement needed to boost ranking and exposure to targeted audiences.

The solution is to use the paid platforms that are designed for advertising campaigns. Facebook and Twitter, for example, have robust software that lets you target demographics, life events and interests with amazing accuracy.

For example, say you offered a special postpartum massage for new moms. You can go on Facebook and specifically target women who are expecting a child in the next six months — it’s that accurate!

You can also target health problems, injuries, people who have an interest in related topics. like chiropractic, or anything that might be a precursor to needing a massage.

Then retarget people with social ads. For example, I visited a personal trainer website, and this post appeared in my News Feed soon after:

marketing strategy for a massage business

When you see a “sponsored” post, it’s an interest-based or retargeting ad from a business.

To get the most out of your social media, try some paid ads to well-targeted audiences.

Read our Facebook Ads guide .

#5.  Master search engines

To drive traffic to your website, you’ll want to show up for massage therapy related searches in your area on Google and Bing. There are three ways to dominate search results.

The first is  pay-per-click advertising . These ads are run through auction-based systems, like Google Adwords and Bing Ads.

The main advantage here is that you show in the top positions (reserved for paid ads) and that you can control the ad copy and landing page.

For example, you might want to run an advertisement for your postpartum massage. Your ad and the page it goes to on your website can match that offer.

Next, you need to set-up and rank for  Google My Business . This is the maps listing and review platform Google uses for geo-targeted searches. It’s a free listing you can optimize with your descriptions, and you can increase your visibility by getting customer reviews.

Then you have organic website listings. These are also free clicks, with ranking gained by optimizing your website for keywords, gaining links, getting social media traffic and adding content to your blog.

If you do it right, you can show up in three spots on page one:

marketing strategy for a massage business

Pro tip: In many markets, no massage therapists are using PPC advertising. This gives you a golden opportunity to appear at the top of the search results page with nobody competing on bids. PPC is particularly vital on mobile searches. Take advantage of it.

Pro tip: Yelp and other review platforms dominate organic results for massage in many markets. Work hard on your website optimization, social media and blog to try and outrank them in your area.

#6.  Manage your reputation

Word of mouth referrals are essential for massage therapy marketing. But today, many of those types of referrals are happening online.

You will get reviews online from clients. They’ll appear on Yelp, Top Rated Local, Google Places, Facebook etc., and they influence the decision making of new clients.

Go the extra mile to really please your clients, then make a concerted effort to ask them for positive online reviews . You can do this in person at your office, or via an email follow-up.

Keep in mind just how powerful review content is today — it can make or break a business. Monitor what’s said about you online, including on social media, and do what you can to get customers to generate positive comments.

If you get saddled with a lot of negative reviews, think about hiring a reputation management firm to clean it up for you.

Reviews are here to stay because consumers like and trust them. Work hard to get this content working in your favor.

#7.  Use video

Video is an underused marketing tactic in the massage industry. It’s also the perfect way to introduce your massage therapists and facility to prospective clients.

Optimize your video for YouTube search, and add other self-help videos to your channel. You can share this content on social media as well.

Make sure your value proposition is clear in your video script. You can get more information across in a shorter time with video than any other medium. It’s great for online marketing.

#8.  Retain your best clients

If you want to control your marketing costs, the best thing you can do is retain your existing clients. It’s far cheaper to retain clients than it is to constantly earn new ones.

Be aware that even your best clients are not as loyal as you think they are. You have to remind them that you care about their business, keep them informed with health tips and offer them occasional specials.

Use an email newsletter , your social media and CRM software to keep in contact with clients. Keep your name in front of them, and update them on new massage techniques and other salon offerings.

Keep in mind that there is always some new competition just around the corner, ready to advertise aggressively and tempt your clients with special offers and discount prices. Stay a step ahead or you’ll find loyal clients jumping to the competition.

#9.  Consider your massage marketing options

Hey, let’s face it. The message in your massage marketing can get confusing:

As you take into account the tactics listed in this post, you need to make a choice.

You can try to handle all these marketing tactics yourself. That can be difficult without time, training and experience.

Or you can hire a series of freelancers to handle each tactic for you. That can be confusing and costly.

A cheaper, more effective option is to use a solution, like Marketing 360® that offers everything you need to manage and grow your massage therapy business from a singular platform.

This is a robust solution that evolves with the constant changes in online marketing. Best of all, it’s backed by a team of marketing professionals that you can turn to any time to help you get it right, and that you can utilize as much or as little as you need!

See our plans and pricing.

Originally published on 7/14/19

Get Plans and Pricing Below

marketing strategy for a massage business

The Top Advertising Trends for 2024

marketing strategy for a massage business

Leveraging the Power of Local Spa Listings with LSA

marketing strategy for a massage business

Blog , Local Advertising

How to Make the Most of Your Ad Budget for Your Flooring Company

marketing strategy for a massage business

How Google Business Profile Can Boost a Plumber’s Visibility

marketing strategy for a massage business

Demystifying Digital Advertising for Small Businesses

marketing strategy for a massage business

How to Use Geo-Targeted Advertising to Reach Your Ideal Leads

Get the know-how to get ahead.

Get business, marketing and sales tips written by experienced industry practitioners. 100% free. Cancel anytime.

  • Email address *

Bookeo Appointments

Bookeo classes & courses, bookeo tours & activities.

  • Bookeo News
  • Small Business

Massage Business Marketing Ideas: 7 Tips to Get and Retain Clients

Massage Business Marketing Ideas: 7 Tips to Get and Retain Clients

Thinking of starting your own massage therapy business but don’t know how to get and retain clients? Or probably you’ve already got an established massage business but are looking for new ways to grow it.

You’ve come to the right place.

As we know, marketing a massage business can be challenging. Just because you’ve built the perfect massage clinic at the perfect location, doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get clients as soon as you’ve set up this clinic.

Not to mention, retaining clients is another challenge. Maintaining a healthy customer retention rate can be more profitable than acquiring new customers, and yet, keeping existing customers happy so they keep coming back can be a serious issue.

With that being said, in this guide, we’ll discuss actionable marketing ideas you can use for your massage business, including top tips you can use to get and retain clients.

By the end of this guide, you’d have learned about:

  • Important principles to know for marketing a massage business
  • How to perform market research and competitive analysis
  • Key areas to focus on when planning massage business marketing strategy
  • Actionable tips you can use to market your massage business

Let us begin from the basics.

Massage Business Marketing: Key Principles

While there are many different marketing principles available today with various different interpretations, they are all based on the classic 7Ps of marketing: product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence .

Here is how the 7Ps are implemented in a massage business:

In the case of a massage business, this refers to the massage services you are offering (as well as items you are also selling).

marketing strategy for a massage business

The first and arguably the most important principle in marketing your massage business is to make sure the products and services you are offering can address the expectations, wants, and needs of your prospective clients.

If you don’t have a strong enough product or service that is perceived as valuable by your clients, no amount of marketing effort can help. So, having a strong product/service lineup should be the foundation of your whole marketing strategy.

Even if your service and product are already relevant and valuable, clients won’t purchase it if it’s still too expensive for them (as compared to the service’s perceived value). However, pricing your services too low, and you may risk your business’s profitability.

So, it’s crucial to plan your pricing strategy carefully so you can find the sweet spot.

You can set up your massage business in three different types: traditional (where you set up a massage clinic), mobile (in which you are the one visiting your client), and home-based.

Regardless of your business model, it’s crucial to make sure your prospective clients can reach your business easily and/or you can deliver your product/service to your clients in an optimal way. A key aspect of your marketing strategy should be about optimizing how your offering is delivered and sold to your clients.

4. Promotion

Quite often the main focus of many people when discussing “marketing”.

Promotion here refers to how you promote the massage business and will encompass tactics and strategies like advertising campaigns, hosting an event, sales promotion strategies, social media promotions, and other techniques you can use to attract prospective clients and to get your services and products in front of your clients.

“People” here refers to how your clients connect with real humans on your team as they interact with your business.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Specific to a massage business, this can refer to how your massage therapist interacts with your clients, how your receptionists (if any) facilitate the reservation process, and so on. Human interactions will ultimately contribute to your client’s overall experience.

Refers to how streamlined and smooth you deliver your massage services (or related products) to your clients from your start to finish. The whole marketing process begins from when a prospective client first discovers your brand to where they finally receive their service (or product).

Often overlooked, but optimizing the whole client experience from start to finish is actually a crucial aspect of any massage business marketing strategy. Consider different aspects of the business process: how are client service inquiries answered? How are orders fulfilled? And so on.

Document different processes, for example in the form of instruction manuals and official guidelines to ensure all your processes are consistent and optimal.

7. Physical Evidence

A massage business is mainly a service-based business, so delivering physical evidence might not be as straightforward as when you sell physical products.

marketing strategy for a massage business

However, we should also focus on optimizing the physical indicators of your massage business’s service offerings and overall branding: a well-designed and functional website, your massage clinic’s interior design and decoration, business cards, brochures, and so on.

Make sure all physical elements of your business:

  • Align well with your business’s overall brand image and marketing campaigns
  • Contributes to the overall client experience by catering to their needs and goals
  • Making sure client expectations are met, and that the promises made during the sales/promotion process are matched

Massage Business: Market Research and Competitive Analysis

To ensure success, marketing efforts must be directed to the right audience.

Many businesses make the mistake of targeting less-than-ideal audiences, or worse, targeting audiences that are not significant/large enough in quantities, or worse, targeting a market that doesn’t really exist.

This is why performing thorough market research is crucial before you start developing a marketing plan for your massage business.

The market research should focus on answering three key questions surrounding your business:

  • Is there a viable market with sufficient size for your massage business?
  • What is your ideal audience like? (gather as much information as you can about this target audience: behavior, needs, wants, demographics data, social media/online activities, and more)
  • Who are your direct and indirect competitors? How can you win against them?

For the best results, you can get professional help to determine the feasibility of your business. However, you can also perform basic market research by yourself, for example by doing a quick Google search for queries like “massage therapy near me” or similar ones.

marketing strategy for a massage business

The results of this search will show your potential competitors in the area, and then you can research these massage businesses further. If necessary, visit and try their services one by one and assess things like how busy they are at different times of the day, how they promote their services, their target clients (which can help in also understanding your ideal audience), and more.

Identifying Your Target Audience

To be effective, your marketing efforts should be targeted to the right audience .

The best approach to do this is to develop a buyer persona , a semi-fictional model of your ideal client where you should list the following details:

  • Their demographics data (age, gender, location, and so on)
  • What they do at the moment and their day-to-day activities
  • The type of content and/or information they prefer
  • Important considerations your clients may have when choosing a massage service and/or massage therapist
  • Potential obstacles they may have so they won’t choose your massage business

Your buyer persona should be as detailed, comprehensive, and accurate as possible. Remember that the better you understand your target audience, the better you can plan your marketing strategy.

Also, remember that this buyer persona shouldn’t be a static, one-off thing. Evaluate and update this buyer persona as needed. Your clients’ behaviors will also evolve according to shifts in trends and other factors, and your buyer persona should be regularly updated to reflect these changes.

Massage Business Marketing: Top Tips To Get and Retain Clients

Now that you’ve performed thorough market research and developed a buyer persona for your massage business, here are some actionable marketing tips you can use to get and retain clients for your massage business:

1. Service excellence as your foundation

Your massage business is, in essence, a service-based business.

Before planning and executing your marketing strategy, it’s important to remember that the foundation of your successful marketing should be your service quality , and there’s no shortcut around it.

No matter how much money and time you put into your marketing efforts, they won’t be effective if your service quality is unsatisfactory. Make sure to always provide service excellence so you can establish your business’s position as the best possible solution for their current problem: neck pain, back pain, and so on.

Maintaining service excellence will be especially important in retaining clients. Also, happy, satisfied clients may recommend your service to their friends, peers, and family members. Customer advocacy is key in ensuring sustainable growth for your massage business.

2. Strengthen your online presence

In today’s digital information age, especially in this post-COVID world, it’s very important to establish a strong online presence with a positive online reputation.

People now learn about new local businesses (including massage businesses) online, especially via search engines (i.e. Google) and social media.

This is why your massage business’s online presence is crucial in ensuring its success, and we should focus on establishing a strong online presence in four main areas: website, social media, Google Maps SEO, and online reservation function.

A professional and functional website

A well-designed and functional website can act as your business’s digital business card and storefront. Your potential clients will check your website: an attractive and informative website may encourage its visitors to book your massage service, and vice versa, a prospective client may be discouraged if your website is obsolete with thin content.

Today, setting up a well-designed website is fairly easy with platforms like Wix, Squarespace, or even WordPress, and gone are the days when you’ll need to hire an expensive website developer before you can have a professionally-designed website.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Meaning, there’s simply no excuse not to have a professionally-designed and functional website for your massage business. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and loads fast, and is integrated with online reservation functionality (more on this later).

Social media presence

It’s no secret that most of your prospective clients will be active on social media, so it’s quite obvious that you should market your business on relevant social media platforms.

Instagram and Facebook should be your primary focuses in promoting your massage business, but you can also diversify your efforts on Twitter, LinkedIn, and even YouTube, depending on your target clients.

marketing strategy for a massage business

The question is, with all the noises on social media, how can you get your business noticed?

Creativity is key, but you should also try to find the right balance between organic efforts (building your own followers and posting your content) and paid efforts (paid advertising, influencer marketing, etc.)

Organic efforts are affordable and even free when done right, but will take some time before you can generate results. Paid options, on the other hand, can guarantee quick results, but can be very expensive if you aren’t careful.

Being creative while finding the sweet spot between paid and organic efforts is key.

Online reservation functionality

In this post-COVID world, people simply expect a reliable and fast online booking experience. Also, consider the fact that 40% of bookings nowadays actually happen outside business hours.

Integrating online, 24/7 online reservation is simply a must, and a phone-based and the email-based appointment-taking process is simply no longer sufficient.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Make sure it’s as easy as possible for your clients to book your massage therapy sessions , and this is why you should integrate a reliable online appointment software into your website.

Local (Google Maps) SEO

More and more prospective clients nowadays learn about local businesses via Google search for queries like “massage clinic near me”, “massage therapy in New Orleans”, and so on.

What we need to know is that for these queries, Google will prioritize results from Google Maps and will place them on top of the organic results. This is why it’s important for massage businesses to ensure their businesses are listed on the Google Maps’ top results for the area, which we can achieve via local SEO or Google Maps SEO.

Although local SEO might seem daunting at first, actually we can perform it in just four simple steps:

  • Claiming and verifying Google Maps/ Google My Business listing
  • Optimizing your Google My Business Listing. Focus on providing accurate and complete information for your users.
  • Building local citations by listing your massage business on relevant online directories
  • Getting more reviews from existing clients, especially on Google Maps but also on relevant review sites/platforms

Do these four steps consistently, and your massage business’s listing will slowly but surely climb the Google Maps ranking.

3. Establish strong branding

It’s crucial to build a recognizable and credible brand as a foundation of your whole marketing strategy.

Strong branding is crucial to ensure your potential clients know where you are at, the services you provide, and why they should choose your service instead of your competitors.

While establishing a strong branding can be a pretty deep subject on its own, here are some actionable tips you can try to build a strong brand for your massage business:

  • Make sure to choose a brand name that is easy to pronounce and remember and aligns with your company’s value
  • The better you understand your audience, the better you can establish a brand that caters to them. Refer back to your buyer persona and identify how to build a brand that will appeal to this audience.
  • Maintain brand consistency throughout all your marketing efforts: website, social media handles, interior design, decoration, and so on. A very important factor in establishing a strong and memorable brand is to be consistent.

4. Produce high-quality visual assets

In today’s highly visual social media age, you definitely need high-quality photos and videos to get your massage business in front of your target clients.

If necessary, hire a professional photographer and/or videographer to develop high-quality visual assets for your massage business so you can upload these high-quality photos and videos on your website and social media. You should also include well-taken photos on your printed marketing materials like brochures and posters. Make sure to use a poster maker to create visually compelling and eye-catchy posters that grab your prospects’ attention.

Creatively use videos to showcase and promote your services, for example on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as on your email newsletter.

marketing strategy for a massage business

For instance, you can share a professionally-made video demonstration of your massage services or testimonials from satisfied clients. This type of content can be very effective in promoting your massage business, so consider reaching out to high-profile clients or influencers for this purpose. You can, for example, offer a free massage or other incentives while you get valuable video content showcasing your service.

5. Establish a strong customer loyalty program

As discussed, in growing your massage business, retaining existing clients can be just as, if not even more important, than acquiring new ones.

Repeat business is very important in ensuring your massage business stays profitable, so you’ll need a clear strategy on how to manage retention.

Here are a few tips:

  • Create a loyalty program

Everyone loves being recognized and everyone loves exclusive perks. Create a comprehensive loyalty program so you can offer exclusive loyalty discounts and other special promotions to encourage repeat businesses.

  • Email marketing

If you’ve already implemented an appropriate online reservation system, then the system should automatically collect your clients’ contact information, especially their email addresses.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Promoting your business via email remains very effective with very high ROI, especially when it comes to retaining clients. You can, for example, send an email to clients who haven’t booked your service in more than a month and offer a special discount. You can also greet them on their birthdays and offer special discounts, and so on. You can also use these emails to send useful general information (health and wellness tips, stretching exercises, etc.)

6. Building social proofs

Social proofs are a very valuable asset in today’s digital age, and one of your core marketing strategies should be to encourage advocacy and referrals from your satisfied clients.

You should:

  • Solicit positive reviews

Online reviews are today’s equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing. More than 95% of customers read online reviews when comparing different businesses, including massage services.

Make sure they can easily find positive reviews of your massage therapy business, and while the best way to do this is to consistently deliver high-quality services, you can use tactics like offering incentives to encourage your existing clients to leave their reviews.

For example, you can offer a 10% discount on their next visit if they can show their Google Maps review for your business.

  • Starting referral campaigns

You can start simple, for instance by offering a group discount promotion to encourage your clients to bring their spouse, friends, or family members.

To encourage growth, you can also run a referral campaign: offering commissions to existing clients for new clients who come to your massage business and mention the client’s name (or referral code).

7. Partner up with local businesses

Even in this digital age, you should still partner up with local non-competing businesses in your area and build a community.

You can build relationships and potentially partner up with local businesses that offer similar services and share similar values, such as:

  • Spa centers
  • Hairdressers/stylists
  • Makeup artists
  • Dietitians and nutritionist
  • Holistic medicine practitioners

Also worth noting is that businesses like gyms with large venues may be looking for massage therapists to diversify their services, so you can probably partner up with them and rent out a room to expand your clinic.

These businesses may share the same clientele as yours, so you can partner up and offer cross-promotion discounts. For example, you can offer a 20% discount for those who have visited a local hairdresser, while this hairdresser will also offer the same discount for your clients.

Also, don’t underestimate the importance of connecting with your local community and building meaningful relationships. For example, you can try to be involved in the local massage therapy associations in your area, the chamber of commerce, and so on. Being active in these local communities can also open up new opportunities to connect with potential clients and partners.

Wrapping Up

Above, we have discussed the key principles and best practices in marketing your massage business, as well as 7 powerful tips you can use to get and retain clients.

There are various tactics and strategies you can use to transform the way your massage business gets clients, but above anything else, marketing is about knowing your target audience’s needs and wants, and whether you can provide valuable solutions for these needs.

The better you understand your target clients, the better you can shape your massage business and grow your clientele.

Share This Post

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn

Related Posts

marketing strategy for a massage business

Tired of messy spreadsheets and complicated scheduling software?

Schedule clients, process bookings and payments, automate repetitive admin tasks, and market your business – with Bookeo’s all in one intuitive scheduling system.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Growthink logo white

Massage Therapy Business Plan Template

Massage therapy marketing plan.

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a Massage Therapy Business Plan , your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : in the product section you should reiterate the type of massage therapy that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to massage services, will you provide loyalty discounts, other spa services and/or products?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your massage therapy business. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your massage therapy business located near downtown office buildings, etc. Discuss how your location might provide a steady stream of customers.

Promotions : the final part of your massage therapy business’s marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

  • Advertising in local papers and magazines
  • Reaching out to local websites
  • Social media marketing
  • Local radio advertising

MASSAGE THERAPY BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE

  • Massage Therapy Business Plan Home
  • 1. Executive Summary
  • 2. Company Overview
  • 3. Industry Analysis
  • 4. Customer Analysis
  • 5. Competitive Analysis
  • 6. Marketing Plan
  • 7. Operations Plan
  • 8. Management Team
  • 9. Financial Plan
  • 10. Appendix
  • Massage Therapy Business Plan Summary

Start Your Massage Therapy Plan Here

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Use This Simple Business Plan Template

  • Contact Support
  • Website Design
  • Lead Conversion Tool
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Targeted Display Ads
  • Integrated Inbox
  • Integrated Calendar
  • Estimate Invoice and Billing
  • Cloud-Based CRM
  • Automated Email & SMS
  • Business Domains
  • Business Email Management
  • Merchant Services
  • Relationship Manager
  • Phone Support
  • Monthly Reporting
  • Tree Services
  • Landscaping
  • Home Remodeling
  • General Contracting
  • Legal Services
  • Food and Beverage
  • …and more!
  • Testimonials

Massage Therapy Marketing: Top 20 Massage Therapy Marketing Ideas To Get More Massage Therapy Leads

Top 20 Massage Therapy Marketing Ideas To Get More Massage Therapy Leads

It’s important to try a variety of things when it comes to massage therapy marketing. Why? Because every massage therapy needs massage therapy leads to survive—no matter your location or how long you’ve been serving your community. Without a good flow of new massage therapy leads, it becomes impossible to experience massage therapy growth.

But , if you create a system that attracts new customers and delivers new massage therapy leads to your business like clockwork, that’s a recipe for:

  • More high-paying massage therapy appointments
  • Increased revenue for you and your crew
  • A dependable way to deliver massage therapy growth

We know why massage therapy providers need to generate massage therapy leads, but how can you do it affordably and efficiently? The answer is: good massage therapy marketing with good massage therapy website design. If you’ve ever wondered how to get more massage therapy leads, follow the steps below—and consider working with a massage therapy marketing agency to experience massage therapy growth!

1. Get More Massage Therapy Leads Through Your Website

If you don’t yet have a website, one of the best things you can do for your business is to create one. A website acts as your business’s online storefront—it’s the cornerstone of your online presence and gives potential customers a place to:

  • Learn more about your massage therapy business
  • Read about the massage therapy services you provide
  • See your service area
  • Get in touch with you about massage therapy appointments
  • Become quality massage therapy leads for your business

Without a massage therapy website and professional massage therapy website design, how are your potential customers going to find your business on Google? How will they know where to contact you? They won’t.

Without a website, your business might as well not exist at all. A massage therapy marketing agency can help you get set up.

Fill out the form below to get a free quote on professional massage therapy website design.

Step 1 of 3

What is your zipcode, what is your business name.

  • Business name *

Last step. What is your business info?

  • Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

2. Use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

A good PPC and SEM campaign is one of the top massage therapy marketing ideas that’s been proven time and again to generate quality massage therapy leads and deliver massage therapy growth. So, if you’ve been wondering how to get more massage therapy leads, give this a shot!

While Google is the most popular search engine for these types of campaigns, thanks to its widespread popularity, don’t sleep on Bing. PPC and SEM are great ways to bring in massage therapy leads.

Still on the fence? Check out these stats:

  • For every $1 spent in Google Ads, businesses make an average of $2.
  • About 41% of clicks on a search results page go to one of the top 3 paid ads.
  • More than 85% of people use the internet to find local massage therapists.
  • Visitors who come to your website via PPC or SEM are 50% more likely to make a purchase.

Sounds good, right? Reach out to us to learn more about how we can help you create a powerful PPC and SEM campaign that will help you generate quality massage therapy leads. A massage therapy marketing agency can also set you up with a professional massage therapy website design and share other massage therapy marketing ideas.

3. Always Use Local SEO to Generate Massage Therapy Leads

Search engine optimization (SEO for massage therapists) is still king in the digital space for massage therapy marketing, which is why massage therapy SEO is so popular. Massage therapy SEO is what moves your business to the top of page 1 on Google and keeps it there. If your campaign is robust enough, massage therapy SEO alone can generate the majority of your massage therapy leads (but we still recommend reading the rest of these massage therapy marketing ideas)!

A good first step is setting up your Google My Business account. From there, you can advance to backlinking and content marketing.

It’s always a good idea to work with a massage therapy marketing agency and let an expert in massage therapy SEO get you up and running.

Fill out the form below to get a free quote on SEO for massage therapists!

4. Use Google’s Local Service Ads to Get More Massage Therapy Leads

Google’s Local Services ads are a type of pay-per-lead ad, and they appear at the top of the search results page. These ads get about 13.8% of clicks—that means if 50 people in your area search for massage therapists, at least 7 of them will click one of those ads and turn into a massage therapy lead.

How much more money would you make per month with 7 more massage therapy appointments? For an extra boost, consider investing in massage therapy digital marketing, then use massage therapy SEO and a professional massage therapy website design to hook your potential customers.

5. Get More Massage Therapy Leads Through Facebook + Instagram

Still wondering how to get more massage therapy leads? Massage therapy marketing on Facebook and Instagram can be a cost-effective method for massage therapy marketing, provided you put the right strategy in place and know how to navigate the ad builders on these platforms.

You can target your ideal massage therapy customers by their location and other pages they’ve liked—such as your competitors’ pages.

Displaying ads to this audience has the added benefit of creating and boosting awareness of your business. If people see your logo and your ads all over the place, they’re more likely to remember you when they need a massage therapist in the future. If you’ve been wanting to try massage therapy marketing on social media, this is definitely one of the massage therapy marketing ideas worth trying.

Paired with massage therapy SEO and professional massage therapy website design, this is a powerful way to facilitate massage therapy growth. A massage therapy marketing agency can get you set up.

6. Ad Retargeting Is a Fresh Massage Therapy Marketing Idea

Have you ever searched for a product online then noticed ads for it following you around the internet? That’s retargeting, and you can do it to help generate massage therapy growth.

Retargeting is a great way to keep your massage therapy business and massage therapy website in front of potential customers who have already shown interest by visiting your website. This is one massage therapy marketing idea well worth trying, especially if you’re already getting good traffic to your massage therapy website. Throw in some SEO for massage therapists for an extra visibility boost!

7. Create a Massage Therapy Facebook Group

Having a dedicated Facebook business page for your massage therapy business is a must, but creating a group page for your business is a good idea, too. Post helpful content (maybe something you wrote for content marketing!) and interact with group members to start building trust and brand awareness in your audience. Down the road, that trust could turn into massage therapy leads and help deliver massage therapy growth.

8. Content Marketing = Massage Therapy Advertising

Creating content for your ideal customers is a great way to get more massage therapy leads. Consider writing blog posts and articles that you can post on your massage therapy website, and make it easy for your audience to share that content on social media.

Here are some topic ideas:

  • 10 Health Benefits of Massages
  • Tips for Managing Stress
  • How To Get The Most Out Of Your Massage

As you write these articles, plug your massage therapy services. Suggest that readers visit a massage therapist they can trust to do the job correctly the first time, and—if you’re affiliated with any particular brands—talk them up!

9. Create Helpful YouTube Videos About Massage Therapy Services

YouTube is a popular platform, so why not use it to your advantage? Make an account (it’s free!) and start posting helpful massage therapy videos. The videos can document your day-to-day activities, product reviews or various health and wellness routines. These videos will build your credibility as a massage therapist and make it easier for viewers to see that you know what you’re doing and build trust.

In the video description, include your contact information and a link to your massage therapy website so they can learn more.

10. Email Marketing = Massage Therapy Advertising, Too!

Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of massage therapy marketing, and there’s a reason it’s stuck around so long: it works. For every dollar you spend on email marketing for your massage therapy business, you’ll make (on average) a $40 return on your investment.

Because most massage therapy businesses overlook the benefits of email marketing , it’s a great lead generation option for your business. For instance, businesses that stay in touch with their ideal customers via email generate 50% more sales-ready massage therapy leads and spend 33% less money on making sales.

11. How to Get More Massage Therapy Leads at Trade Shows

Attending trade shows should be high on your list of massage therapy marketing ideas. They not only provide plenty of solutions for how to get more massage therapy leads, but also let you observe your competition, create new business partnerships and boost brand awareness among potential customers.

To make the most of your trade show experience, make sure your booth provides something valuable to your audience, such as a freebie or another incentive, like coupons, giveaways, contests and more.

Finally, make sure you’re collecting information from visitors and following up to help generate massage therapy growth.

12. Get Massage Therapy Marketing Ideas From Your Chamber of Commerce

If you haven’t already joined your local chamber of commerce, attend their next meeting and start networking with other local business owners. In particular, try to connect with other medical practices —they’re likely to send more massage therapy leads your way!

13. Reputation Management Affects Your Massage Therapy Business

Did you know 85% of people search online to find local massage therapists? Those same people are also researching your reputation—what are your past customers saying about the quality of your work? Were your prices fair? Did you deliver on your promises?

Offline, you can use word-of-mouth to your advantage. Ask your satisfied customers if they can think of any neighbors, friends, family, or acquaintances who might need your massage therapy services. Give them plenty of business cards to pass around, and ask if you can put a temporary sign in their yard with your business name and phone number.

Online, list your massage therapy business on review websites and ask your happy customers to leave a review on Google. Doing so makes it more likely that you’ll get more massage therapy leads.

14. Make Your Massage Therapy Advertising Stand Out With a Unique Selling Point

If you want to stand out from your local competitors, your massage therapy marketing needs a unique selling point. That could be your level of service, your experience in the industry, your competitive prices, your reputation, your employees, your guarantees—anything that sets you apart. Once you’ve figured out your USP, use that selling point in your massage therapy marketing!

If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at how your competitors are generating massage therapy leads. What’s their USP, and how can you beat it? What would matter more to your customers and the community you serve? Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Eco-friendliness
  • Specialized services
  • Level of service

Can you think of something else that’s unique to your business? Maybe your origin story or how you got started? Use it!

15. Co-Market With a Relevant Business

Co-marketing means you’re teaming up with another business to share lead generation opportunities. For example, you might want to partner up with a complementary medical service provider and offer a discount to customers who use both of your services. In the end, this kind of combined marketing can help with massage therapy growth since you’re both working to generate new massage therapy leads.

16. Send Out Direct Mailers to Get More Massage Therapy Leads

Here’s another massage therapy marketing idea that’s stood the test of time: direct mailers. Compared to the chaos that is most email inboxes today, old-school mailboxes are seeing a lot less action, which means your letter or postcard is much more likely to be seen and read by potential customers.

According to the Direct Marketing Association, direct mail has an average cost per lead of $51.40 for a general mailing list and $54.10 for postcards. Compare that to what you’re paying on average for massage therapy leads from other sources to determine if this is a viable solution for you.

17. Canvass the Area to Generate Massage Therapy Leads

Canvassing an area to generate massage therapy leads might seem like an old-school marketing tactic, but it can still be effective in massage therapy advertising. After all, consumers are more likely to work with you when they can put a face to your business.

Follow these tips for the best results:

  • Always be polite and courteous, even if you don’t get the reaction you want.
  • Set a goal for each interaction: set an appointment, get their contact information, or make a sale.
  • Have a script ready, so you’re better prepared.
  • Follow up with potential customers after getting their info.

When you’re prepared for a constructive interaction, you’re much more likely to get a favorable result. In this case, that’s new massage therapy leads!

18. Increase Referrals to Get More Massage Therapy Leads

Referrals are a great way to capitalize on word-of-mouth marketing. Offer your existing customers an incentive to refer their friends, families and neighbors to your massage therapy business, and give them a discount in return. Since people are far more likely to use a business that a friend recommends to them, this is one of the massage therapy marketing ideas you shouldn’t pass up.

19. Take Pictures of Your Work

A picture can say a thousand words, so make sure you’re taking photos to document your various products and services in action. It’s a great way to show the quality of your work, and it gives you great content to post on your massage therapy website and social media.

20. Don’t Pay for Massage Therapy Leads If You Don’t Need To

We’ve talked about using HomeAdvisor , Angi , Thumbtack and CraftJack for leads before, and all of them should be treated with caution. While they might deliver a lot of leads to your massage therapy business, the quality of those leads often isn’t up to par. Whenever possible, you want to attract quality leads to your massage therapy website that will turn into paying customers. All too often, lead generation services like HomeAdvisor and Angi just don’t deliver on quality. You’re likely to spend your time chasing down bad leads instead of talking to good ones.

A better alternative for generating massage therapy growth is using massage therapy digital marketing. Combined, SEO for massage therapists and professional massage therapy website design can increase your online visibility and win you more massage therapy leads.

Sign Up With Townsquare Interactive to Maximize Your Massage Therapy Marketing Budget

Website design isn’t the only element of an effective massage therapy marketing campaign, but it is the most important. One of the best things you can do for your business is to make sure your website has everything it needs to continuously generate massage therapy leads using the steps above.

Adding other elements to your marketing campaign, such as SEO for massage therapists and reputation monitoring, can strengthen your massage therapy marketing campaign and help you to generate more massage therapy leads.

The team at Townsquare Interactive specializes in creating massage therapy marketing campaigns and massage therapy website designs that generate massage therapy leads across the country. All of our massage therapy website designs feature the elements mentioned above, and our dedicated marketing specialists and teams of experts can provide personalized suggestions for how to take your massage therapy marketing campaign to the next level.

Fill out the form below to learn more about our massage therapy marketing strategies and how to grow your massage therapy business.

  • Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • business tips
  • digital marketing
  • Google My Business
  • social media
  • website design

[custom-facebook-feed id=166844440043606]

Logo

21 Ways to Market Your Massage Therapy Business

21_ways_to.market_your_massage_therapy_business_seattle_wa

Here are 21 ways to market your massage therapy business for those that practice bodywork professionally. The massage therapy industry has grown excessively in the past decade and continues to be among the best in the wellness niche and human health matters. As such, there are many providers for this high demand service ranging from freelancers to large companies. As a result, the competition is always high as providers use the various tools at their disposal to get clients.

Advertising is the most powerful tool any business in any industry can use to get and stay ahead. If you are an existing company, advertising helps you grow by getting new clients and also helps you keep the ones you already have. Advertising is even more important for new companies looking to spread the word about their services to increase their revenue.

Below are the best 21 ways Massage therapy marketing can be done effectively:

  • Create a blog

Create a great blog website to share information related to massage therapy. Keeping all search engines in mind, you should focus and market on getting your site to rank high on Google, Bing , and Yahoo. Most people when searching for a professional service, start with the internet.

Whether it is on their phone or desktop, people are always browsing through blogs, social media, and news, among others, to help them decide on a service or product to purchase. Having a responsive, lead capturing massage therapy website for your business will help you tap into the hundreds of local searches monthly for your massage practice and create a great way to market your massage therapy business.

  • Use Google AdWords and Bing Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising

A great way to market your massage therapy business is using pay per click. In today’s local advertising sector, it has been proven that online PPC advertising is the quickest way to produce targeted leads for practically any type of local service or business. This type of advertising can be administered on a pay as you go to produce leads.

Also, Google owns YouTube which is becoming a great way to advertise your business via video. Both AdWords and YouTube adverts can be targeted to reach only the people and audience you want. For instance, if you only offer your massage therapy services in one city, you can target your ad campaign such that it is only displayed to people in that location. These adverts are usually affordable compared to traditional 21 ways to market your massage therapy business.

  • Network with therapists and other health professionals

Do not be afraid to talk to other experts in massage therapy and health professionals to market your therapy business. By networking with other medical professionals, you get to learn from their successes and failures while also getting your name out there. If you make friends with enough people, it gets easier to get ahead.

Plus, they might recommend you to clients when they are too busy or out of town and may you as a freelance massage therapist which can help you stay busy and bring money into your business.

  • Use Social Media to promote your business.

Ask anybody what they do mostly on their phone and the answer is most likely social media. Leading platforms like Facebook , Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn , YouTube and Instagram can be used put your name out and stay in contact with your audience through Social Media Marketing .

These social media sites offer advertising services similar to AdWords where they display your advert to the people who visit such sites. Like AdWords, you can also target your adverts to people based on their location, age, hobbies, as well as, other areas of interest. Regular informative posts made consistently on social media sites is one of the more important ways to market your massage therapy business.

  • Word of Mouth

Word of mouth is mostly for the small companies and massage therapists who are starting off and are on a small marketing budget. In this method, you tell your friends, family, neighbors, strangers, and everyone else you meet about your services. Have a well-designed professional business card to give to potential clients.

  • Contribute to massage therapy forums

There are plenty of forums on the internet that discuss various matters related to massage therapy. Such forums are usually followed by people who are genuinely interested in therapy, in addition to people educating themselves for the service. Most of them are people who get a massage on a regular basis or people interested in starting on a massage program.

Sharing your insights on such sites and adding a link from that forum to your website and Facebook page will build your reputation as a qualified massage therapist and expert in the field and possibly gain you a new client.

  • Referral Program

This is one of the best business tips for the massage therapists to try. In this method, you use your existing clients to spread the word about your massage therapy business by offering them an incentive to do so. For instance, you can offer a discount or even a free session for every new client a client brings. In addition to helping you grow fast, this method also helps you build a great relationship with your existing clients.

  • Youtube Channel

This is one of the newer marketing strategies that is proven to be effective. You can upload videos on YouTube for free talking about your massage therapy business, what makes you special, and even have videos showing how you work on clients.

YouTube helps you build credibility with clients as they are able to see what they are getting before hiring you which is a powerful decision making tool if they had a few options to choose from. It is free to start a channel and is a great way to explain your business through video.

  • Search Engine Optimization

This is one of the powerful tools that came with internet marketing. It is one of the most cost efficient ways to drive traffic to your massage therapy business. SEO, as it is commonly known, helps you appear in the top results when a client searches for a keyword or words that relate to the topic or business they are looking to find.

By providing good content on your website and social sites, you can rank higher organically on the search engines for free, or if desired, you can hire a SEO company to help you achieve rankings quicker.

  • Flyers, brochures, and business cards

This is one of the oldest tricks in the book. It is impossible for anyone to ignore a flyer under their windshield wiper. A lot of people will tear it up on sight, but many more will keep it and maybe give you a call for their next massage therapy session.

Also, a professional brochure promoting your business is a given for the licensed therapist. And remember one of the most important 21 ways to market your massage business is to always have a business card on hand to give to someone that ask you what you do for a living.

  • Seminars/Webinars

Seminars help you reach various audiences and offer your knowledge about massage therapy. You can hold seminars in schools, offices, parks, churches, among other places where people are gathered. Webinars are like seminars, but held online. Seminars and webinars help you show potential clients you know your craft which might persuade them to hire you.

  • Email Marketing

One of the best ways to market your massage business and keep in touch with prospects and customers is through email marketing. Building an email list and sending out on a regular basis is a great way to market your massage business. There are many autoresponder companies that can be used to design, mail, and respond to those people you market on a regular basis.

  • Offer a free first or discounted session for new clients

Even though you have to give up some potential income, this one method of marketing for massage therapist is one of the best ways to convince new clients since they have nothing to lose. The key to this 21 method of marketing for massage therapists is that you can perhaps sign up a weekly, biweekly, or monthly client. Think of it as free samples but for massage therapy. If you are good, most of the clients will keep coming back and using your service for years to come.

  • Use Your Car

Did you know that you can use your car not only for movement but also as a moving billboard? Well, you can. Wrap your car in advertising material for your massage therapy business or add a magnetic sign describing your services and a contact number. This helps you spread the word about your business everywhere you go without even opening your mouth.

  • Google Plus, Google My Business

Setting up and posting regularly to a Google + page is free and one of the best ways to rank your business possibly on the first page of Google or in the Google 3 pack. Getting a place on the first page of Google is the best exposure for marketing your massage business to your local community. Go here to learn how to set up your Google + profile.

  • Local massage marketing sites, franchises, and jobs

There are many online local marketing sites that are free and paid and show up first page in the search engines for freelance and company massage businesses.

Some good online sites for professionally presenting yourself or company is Thumbtack, Massage Envy , Sooth.com , and Massagebook .  You can market yourself part-time or as a full-time licensed massage therapist to stay employed either as a freelancer or an employee.

  • Register and market your massage business through review sites

Many of these sites are popular online review sites and are available worldwide and similar to the links here pertaining to Seattle, Washington like Yelp , Thumbtack , Expertise , Indeed, Simply Hired , Glassdoor , ZipRecruiter , Groupon , and Monster .com.

  • Subscribe and join organizations and online directories for massage therapists

MassageTherapy.com , American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) , Healthgrades , Zeel , Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (abmp) , Massage Finder , NCBTMB , and Massagetique are one of the few directories that can be used to build local citations for your business and excel your marketing.

  • Massage Schools Job Boards

And do not forget to look at massage school websites for full-time and part-time job opportunities. Almost every massage school reaches out to their students and graduates and have job boards that offer a place to post resumes, as well as, have plenty of job postings that are available to anyone looking to find more marketing potential for their massage therapy business.

  • Press Releases

Another great way to market yourself is through the writing and distribution of a press release on something interesting about your business. You can write about a new location, a special rate you are offering for first time customers, offering a new massage specialty, etc.

There are many services and outsourcers that offer press release marketing. Your press release will be distributed to news organizations and publications which will in turn provide more exposure for your services and one of the 21 ways to market your massage therapy business.

  • Outsource your marketing

One of the best ways to get marketing done for less and by someone who does small business marketing for flyers, websites, content, and more, is to go to freelancer sites Fiverr and Upwork.com . Outsourcing will allow you to operate and market as a large company and let you do what you do best; massage therapy.

In conclusion, these are just some of the 21 ways to market your massage therapy business. With the right mindset and ingenuity you can always be inspired and motivated to keep competitively marketing your business.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Professions

Testimonials, how to create a massage therapy marketing plan on a budget.

Budget for a massage marketing plan

How to Create a Massage Therapy Marketing Plan On A Budget

You have the touch, and your clients love you. That’s sure to get you some word of mouth advertising. However, that alone may not be enough to grow your business to the size you want it to be. If you want to reach a broader audience, you need a plan. Read on to learn how to create a marketing plan and budget for massage therapists.

Budget

Once you have all the massage therapy equipment and skills you need to start your business, the next step is to get the word out. Regardless of how long you’ve been in business, you’re going to need to consistently market yourself to continue to grow.

The best way to remain consistent is to create a massage marketing plan. Marketing requires a regular investment of time and money. So, you’ll need to create a budget for your marketing plan too. Once you have all that in place, you can choose a handful of massage marketing strategies to implement.

Let’s get started!

Start By Creating A Budget

Before you create a marketing plan, you first need to create a marketing budget. Marketing your massage therapy business takes time and money. So, first you need to figure out how much of each you can spend each month.

A lot of massage therapists don’t have a huge budget to spend on marketing, and that’s ok. There are a lot of free forms of marketing. Free forms of marketing are great options for massage therapists who have more time than money. That said, marketing strategies that don’t cost much often require a bigger time investment.

If you’re doing well and money isn’t an issue, there are several services you can buy to save you time. High priced advertising and marketing strategies are usually best suited for bigger or well established clinics.

Create A Budget Buy

  • Write down how much time you can spend each week on marketing. Then multiply that by 4 for a monthly time allowance.
  • Write down how much money you can spend each month on marketing.

For example: I can spend 7 hours and $80 a month on marketing my massage business.

Massage marketing plan

Create A Marketing Plan With These Strategies ‍

Now you’re ready to choose a few strategies to implement in your massage marketing plan. There are no rules on how many strategies you include. The main thing to consider is what you can realistically do consistently. 

  Here are some options to consider.

  • Website - The initial set up can take a few hours, but after that, there’s little to no time investment required. When it comes to building a massage therapy website , you have everything from free options (like a facebook page) to a custom built website. 
  • Monthly time investment: 0
  • Monthly cost: ~$20
  • Email marketing - There are a variety of platforms you can use to send out email marketing campaigns. Price will be dictated by how much automation and custom templates you get.
  • Monthly time investment:  2-3 hours
  • Monthly cost:   $0-$100
  • Social media - Participating on social media is free, but you’ll need to post a few times a week for it to be worth your effort.
  • Monthly time investment:  5-10 hours
  • Monthly cost:  $0
  • Networking - Getting involved in your community and regularly participating in local events can take some time. This strategy is often free and rewarding.
  • Monthly time investment: 4-8 hours
  • Blogging - Creating content for your blog requires a significant time investment, but it’s a free way to grow your audience.
  • Monthly time investment: 4-6 hours
  • Paid Advertising - You can buy your way onto google searches or show up on people's news feed if you want to save time.
  • Monthly time investment: 30-60 minutes
  • Monthly cost:  $250+
  • Referrals - Connecting with other healthcare providers or creating a referral rewards program for your clients doesn’t require much time or money. 
  • Monthly time investment: 1 hour
  • Monthly cost: $0

Sample Marketing Plan & Budget For Massage Therapists

In this example, the massage therapist has a little money to spend on the essentials. She knows it’s essential to have a website to showcase her services and a way to keep in touch with clients.  

She already has a website that she pays an annual fee for. Almost all her new clients visit her website. She only updates it once a quarter, so there’s not much she has to do to maintain it. 

Email marketing is a big part of her marketing plan because she read on hubspot that email is one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness . 

She uses ClinicSense to manage her practice, and that includes email marketing campaigns. All her online scheduling and client contact info is in the same place; so it’s easy to send out weekly availability email campaigns. 

She creates a monthly newsletter to keep her clients updated on new services, trends and sales. In her newsletter, she always reminds people of her referral rewards program. She also makes sure to mention the rewards program at the end of each massage session.

Client referrals are the best, but she’d like to also get referrals from other wellness professionals. So, she makes a point to keep in touch with the chiropractor down the street. Plus she joined a meetup group for local business owners. She meets with them once a month.

Social media is the most time consuming thing in her marketing plan, but she’s streamlined her process. She posts on Facebook and Instagram 3 times a week. She creates all her posts on Monday, and schedules them to post on Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Every day, she spends 15 minutes of her lunch break responding to comments and getting involved in Facebook groups.

Her total investment is 7 hours and $80 each month.

Marketing StrategyTime in hoursCost   Referral rewards program 0 $0   Networking 1 $0   Website 0 $20   Email marketing 2 $60   Social media 4 $0   Total7$80

Your Marketing Plan

Your own massage marketing plan may have a different budget. Choose a combination that works for you, your budget and your abilities. 

You may have to experiment a little to figure out the best strategy. Stick with your chosen plan for at least three months, and monitor the results. At the end of that time period, if something is under performing, adjust your strategy.

Much like massage, the effects of marketing are often cumulative. That means you may not see a big increase in sales right away, but over time, the results of your efforts will be compounded.

download no show prevention

Table of contents

Explore by topic, relevant articles, ready to get started.

  • How It Works

OutboundEngine

Massage Therapy

Relax 5 marketing ideas for massage therapists.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Taylor Landis

marketing ideas for massage therapists

There are few things more relaxing than getting a good massage. As people seem to be more stressed than ever, services such as massage therapy are needed more than ever. However, coming up with marketing ideas for massage therapists can be quite challenging. It can be tough to think creatively to make sure your business stands out from your competitors.

Odds are that if you don’t have a regular stream of clients coming in your door, you’re not feeling too relaxed yourself. Lucky for you, we have 5 marketing ideas to improve your visibility and keep your calendar booked.

1. Share Helpful Information

Whether through social media, email, or even direct mail, providing your clients with helpful information will keep them coming back for more.

Most business owners make the mistake of promoting themselves and their services too frequently, not realizing that customers are excellent at tuning out advertisements. Rather than bombard your potential clients with constant sales pitches,  share content that entertains and interests them, or provokes an intended emotion.

Consider articles about fun or alternative workouts, techniques to help relieve stress or even recipes for homemade candles and lotions. Monitor what your audience engages with most, and give them more of what they want. Here are a few examples of wellness topics you can post about on your social networks:

marketing ideas for massage therapists

As you’re sharing the right information , your clients will enjoy seeing your content and they’ll be more likely to remember your business when they need you. This strategy of helping, not selling through content is called content marketing , and it’s what we specialize in at OutboundEngine.

2. Create Great Content

While sharing links, photos and stories from third-party sources is a great way to stay top-of-mind, you can’t rely on them alone. You need to establish yourself as an expert.

Consider starting an email newsletter as a way to create and share original content. Writing might sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be a difficult task. Start by thinking about the types of tips your audience would find helpful and run with them.

This could be ways to relieve lower back pain, massage tips that are specific to athletics, or stretches that help with everyday tightness. Come up with topics by thinking about your business and asking yourself a few questions:

  • Does your massage business specialize in anything?
  • Are you passionate about a particular topic?
  • What practices or services set you apart?

Those answers are a great start to your topic list.

Below is an example of a campaign we sent out for our massage therapist clients.

marketing ideas for massage therapists

Once you begin creating original work, be sure to share your thoughts across all of your social networks. Let people know who you are, what you’re good at, and how you can be an authentic resource.

Remember, people want to work with experts. Stay on top of regular communication and you’re well on your way to being recognized as one.

3. Build Your Personal Brand

If you want to stand out from other massage therapists , show your personality and you’ll strengthen relationships with your clients. Remember: the goal should be to connect, not to collect. Try a friendly and professional tone that transforms you from just another business into one that cares about its clients.

While it’s vital to establish yourself on standard social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, you also need to dive into more photo-centric sites like Instagram. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Images can make an impression more powerful and lasting than only sending emails.

Connect real-time events, stunning visuals, and topical humor to stay relevant and timely.

For example, this was was a funny post from the holiday season:

            View this post on Instagram                     Massage Heights Retreats all over the country are getting in the holiday spirit! 🎁🎄How do you celebrate the season?✨ A post shared by Massage Heights (@massageheights) on Dec 17, 2019 at 1:33pm PST

Another spa also shared a holiday adjacent post, but focused more on the gift-giving aspect of the season:

            View this post on Instagram                     Presents are always fun to unwrap, but studies show experiences make people happier. And who doesn’t love a spa day? ⁣ ⁣ Give the gift of wellness with the biggest holiday savings of the year on our gift certificates and day spa packages. No gift-wrapping required. Tap the link in bio to purchase 🎁 A post shared by Lake Austin Spa Resort (@lakeaustinspa) on Dec 21, 2019 at 2:14pm PST

4. Offer Exclusive Incentives

By now you’ve gotten your clients’ attention. If all has gone well, you’ve engaged with them in some way. Now is a perfect time to remind them that building a relationship with you comes with great benefits.

Try offering exclusive deals or Facebook offers to customers who like your Facebook page. Consider launching a raffle on Twitter, where everyone who retweets you is entered for the chance at a discounted massage. Many massage therapists even offer free aromatherapy or other treats for first-time visitors.

Get creative and remember that adding incentives to your marketing campaigns can boost your reach exponentially. People want to feel special, and if you help them feel that way, they’re more likely to become repeat customers and recommend you to their friends and family.

5. Ask for Something in Return

Successful relationships mean all parties involved as happy, so make sure you’re getting something back from your clients. More specifically, their contact information and referrals.

Collecting your clients’ contact information and email addresses will allow you to stay in touch and maintain the relationships you’ve worked so hard to nurture. Once you’ve added them to your contact list, all of the other marketing strategies you’ve learned will start to become more effective. Your emails will reach larger audiences, and you can auto-import contacts on social media.

Referrals are crucial to a business’s long-term success. In fact, 91% of customers say they’re willing to refer friends , but only 11% of businesses actually ask them to do so. What does that mean? Don’t be afraid to ask! Referrals are a huge opportunity to increase your client base and book more appointments. In can be as easy as these two sentences:

marketing ideas for massage therapists

If you’ve earned your clients’ trust and have given them great service, they’ll be happy to recommend you to friends. All you have to do is give them the nudge they need .

Keep Growing Your Client Base

No matter what industry you’re in, attracting new business always needs to be top of mind. Fortunately for you, massage therapy lends itself to a variety of creative marketing strategies. Try the techniques listed above and you’re sure to see more clients booking appointments.

And as always, if you need a little extra help, OutboundEngine can do all the marketing work for you.

Social Media Field Guide

5 Easy Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses in 2023

by Amanda Johnson | Jan 9, 2023 | Business Strategy , Sales

What are you doing differently in 2023 to make it an even better year for your business than 2022? The world has changed a lot in a few short years; the businesses that succeed through change are the ones that adapt and innovate....

Better Email Etiquette Equals Better Marketing Results [16 Rules]

Better Email Etiquette Equals Better Marketing Results [16 Rules]

by Erin Myers | Jan 3, 2023 | Criminal Defense , Email Marketing , Financial Advisors , Home Services , Insurance , Massage Therapy , Mortgage , Promotional Products , Real Estate , Wellness

In an age where a first impression may be made without meeting someone first, it's crucial you're aware of email marketing etiquette. If you want to make the most of your efforts, you need to be sure you're not committing a faux pas that could have you end up in the...

2023 Email Marketing Roadmap for Business Owners

2023 Email Marketing Roadmap for Business Owners

by Amanda Johnson | Dec 30, 2022 | Learn Marketing

The 2023 Email Marketing Roadmap for Small Business Here at OutboundEngine, we sent more than 114 million emails in 2021. So you know we're speaking from experience when we say: email marketing works, but only when you know what you're doing. We believe every business...

We write great emails

Sign up for our newsletter and get the best of our blog, tailored for you.

marketing strategy for a massage business

How To Get Massage Clients And Market Your Business

Growing a new massage practice is exciting, but it can also be a frustrating experience when your massage client list is growing slower than expected. Especially if you depend on this income to pay your bills! For most new therapists, it takes a while to fill up their appointment book. Fortunately there are some things that you can do to speed up the process.

When it comes to marketing a massage business and trying to find clients, many therapists aren’t sure where to begin. In fact, one of the most common questions that therapists have when starting their massage business is:

How do I get new massage clients to build my practice? Massage therapists can get clients and build their business by first creating a marketing strategy and plan. Then it’s a matter of putting that plan into action, measuring your results, improving and refining your plan based on your results, and continuing this process until you reach your goals.

This comprehensive Massage Marketing Guide was created to help massage therapists who want to build a massage business and learn how to attract new clients, keep them coming back and earn more massage referrals. This information is for you if:

  • You are just getting started right out of massage school
  • You’re a massage employee but want to start getting your own clients
  • You’ve started your massage business but are having trouble getting enough clients
  • You haven’t finished massage school yet but want to hit the ground running when you graduate, pass the MBLEx and get your massage license

Every massage therapist will find something useful in this marketing guide. It was written primarily for new massage therapists with the following assumptions in mind:

  • You want clients so you can create a massage business that makes money to provide for your financial needs (so you’re not doing this as a hobby)
  • You have a tight budget, and may not have an office yet

What is marketing

What marketing is and why you need to market your massage business

Marketing is the process of getting people interested in your product or service. It’s also communicating with people who are already interested about why your massage therapy business offers the best value and is able to solve their problem. Marketing is what gets your phone to ring. It is what gets the appointment times in your schedule book to fill up.

Marketing is the bridge that connects your services to your future clients.

Many small business owners, including massage therapists, start their business thinking that clients will start lining up as soon as they hang a sign that says “Open For Business”. Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. The reality is that it takes hard, consistent work, for an extended period of time to build a massage clientele and thriving business.

There are many types of marketing that can attract clients for a massage business. Here are just a few:

  • Word of mouth marketing
  • Relationship marketing
  • Print marketing
  • Internet marketing
  • Email marketing
  • Direct marketing
  • Social media marketing

There is a difference between marketing and selling . Marketing is a broad concept that includes planning, researching, implementing a marketing strategy, and promoting. Selling is just one component of marketing. It is delivering your services and products to your customers.

Marketing asks the question, “Who is interested in massage therapy?” Selling asks the question, “Would you like a massage?”

Marketing is what gets your phone to ring, and gets the appointment times in your schedule book to fill up.

Massage Marketing 4 P's of marketing strategy

Almost every explanation of marketing includes a description of the Four Ps of Marketing . So I’ll outline them here using a massage business as the example.

This is the produce or service that your business provides to the market. For a massage business, this primarily refers to the therapeutic massage service, but it can also include any products that you sell.

When marketing your massage business, it is important to communicate how your product or service stands out from your competitors, and whatever substitute products and services are on the market. These substitutes are your competition.

Competition for massage therapy is not just other massage therapists. Other massage therapists are direct competition and other substitutes are indirect competition . For example, if you are offering massage as pain solution, your customer could instead choose to go to a chiropractor, physical therapist, MD/pharmacist, acupuncturist, or buy an OTC product like a cold pack or Tylenol. These are your indirect competitors.

If you offer relaxation massage, your indirect competition is any alternative that the customer could use to solve their stress problem. This could include: exercise, taking a hot bath, meditation, music, socializing with friends, alcohol or other drugs, vacation, or a hundred other options.

Some of these alternatives are healthier than others, but they are still a viable option to massage that your client may consider. You must show how and why massage is better than these alternatives. The massage product or service that you offer the entire client experience that you provide, including:

  • How easy it is to schedule an appointment
  • How the massage client is greeted
  • Any client assessment that you do
  • The setting, ambiance, and equipment you use
  • The massage itself, and how you address their needs
  • How the clients feel when they leave

The second “P” of marketing is how you price your massage therapy services. There are a lot of things to consider when setting your prices. One consideration is how much it costs you to give the massage.

You will have some fixed costs , referred to as overhead. This includes things like office rental, phone, insurance, utilities and equipment. And you will have some variable costs for each massage such as: laundry, oil and supplies.

Competing services will also affect your prices. If everyone in your community is charging $50 per 1 hour massage, it will be hard for you to attract customers if you charge $75 per hour. You can do it, but you will have to communicate to your potential customers why your massage service is more valuable.

Place refers how your service or product is distributed. For a massage business, this could be at your office, your home, or the client’s home if you offer mobile massage. Or it could be at onsite events if you offer corporate chair massage.

Convenience is a big consideration for most massage clients. The customer’s demand for convenience will increase as they have more options. A customer is not likely to drive 30 minutes to see a massage therapist if there are five other massage therapy businesses located less than 10 minutes away.

It is important to consider this when you are marketing your services to prospective clients. For example, if you participate in promotional events or campaigns, stick to those events that are very close to where you offer your services, ideally within 5 miles.

The fourth “P” of marketing is Promotion . This is how you communicate your offer to your prospective customers. Massage business promotion can include activities such as local in-person promoting, or print marketing.

These marketing tactics include participating in promotional events like onsite chair massage. Local direct mail campaigns can also attract clients. If you have an office, you will want an attractive storefront, doorway and sign, even if you are appointment only. These are the first things a new massage client sees (after your website), and can help or hurt their first impression of your business.

Internet marketing and social media marketing are an important marketing strategy for promoting a massage business. Having a strong online presence will increase the likelihood that your target market finds out about you and contacts you.

If you’re not yet a massage therapist but are thinking about it, be sure to check out our post 16 Reasons Why Massage Therapy is a Great Career .

Market research for massage business

Market research

Market research is an important component of marketing. This is how businesses find out who wants their products and services, and what products and services they really want. Market research is an ongoing process that should begin before you even start your massage business.

For example, before starting a business at a certain location, an entrepreneur would typically do market research to determine the need (or demand ) for their products or services at that location. They would also research the local competition and determine if this location would be ideal based on their target market. This is all to decide if this is the best location to enable success of the business.

Market research continues throughout the life of the business. It can answer questions like, “Are my massage services meeting my target market’s needs?” Or, “Is my pricing fair and competitive?”

Massage businesses can gather market research through:

  • Client interviews
  • Surveys and comment cards
  • Questionnaires
  • Observation

Why marketing is important for a massage business

Marketing is an essential component of massage business success . Failing to create and implement an effective marketing plan is a common reason why many small businesses fail, including massage therapy practices. The reality is that people won’t automatically line up to be your client, no matter how awesome of a massage therapist you are. 

Marketing is a skill . And like any skill, it’s learnable . This is one of those skills where you will learn by doing . Start with learning a few marketing skills and then go put them into action. See what results you get. Then make some improvements and try to do better the next time. Study what makes some massage businesses fail and what makes others succeed. Then just do the same things that the successful therapists do and avoid doing the things that don’t work. The only way to truly fail is to give up!

Do the hard work up front. Eventually your massage business will get traction and reach a tipping point . When you get to this point, you will only need to spend a little time each week marketing because word of mouth and referrals will bring in new clients.

There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen. Jim Lovell

Massage marketing plan and strategy to get clients

How to develop an effective marketing strategy and plan

Before you go out and promote your massage business, you need to first determine your outcome.

It is important to have a long-term vision of what you want your massage practice to look like in 5 years. Develop clear goals for yourself and your business.

What do you really want? What are your massage business goals?

You must first establish your massage business goals before you can develop your marketing strategy and plan. Take some time to answer the following questions. It’s best to write this down so you can refer back to it later and see your progress.

  • What’s my vision for my massage business?
  • What are my priorities?
  • How many clients do I want to see per week?
  • How much income do I need to make every month?
  • How much time per week am I willing to commit to building my massage business? (not client treatment time, but marketing and promoting the business)
  • What obstacles or challenges might I face in the next 12 months?
  • What trends can I use to grow my business faster?

A marketing strategy is a set of high-level rules you create for yourself, that guide your marketing decisions in order to achieve your business goals with available resources. It includes your decision about your marketing message, timing and method of communication. A comprehensive marketing strategy will help you:

  • Identify your target market
  • Determine who your ideal customers are
  • Clearly define your brand
  • Identify your value proposition and make the most of your strengths
  • Identify and assess your competition with market research
  • Develop your major long-term marketing goals
  • Design an effective marketing plan to achieve these marketing goals

Your marketing strategy can change over time. As your massage business grows and you start to build your massage clientele, you will discover which marketing tactics work best for you, and which you can stop.

A marketing strategy can help you identify your value proposition . This is the promise of value that you will give your clients. It is primary reason that a client should choose your massage business. Your value proposition explains to your target market in an easy-to-understand way, how you can solve their problem and are distinctly better than the alternatives. They are sometimes shortened and used as tagline or slogans.

A value proposition should include the following elements:

  • Target market
  • Primary benefit
  • What makes it unique?

An example of a value proposition for a massage business that focuses on offering sports massage to runners:

Train harder. Recover faster. Then hit the road. RoadRunner Massage

Ok, so that may not be the best written value proposition, but you get the idea. This is the kind of thing that you want to dwell on for a while and write a lot of them until you find one that really nails it. You can learn more about creating a great value proposition here .

Be sure to track and measure what marketing strategies you use. You need to know which strategies worked best for you so that you only repeat the ones that were the most effective. 

Your competitive advantage is something that helps you stand out among the competition in a way that interests your target market. It could be that you are the only massage therapist in your community that is also a personal trainer or specialist in lymphedema massage. Or it could be that you are a NCBTMB board certified massage therapist or have other advanced training. Or maybe you can offer a more personalized client experience than the local massage chain can.

A marketing plan is how you will achieve your marketing goals. It is the implementation of your marketing strategy.

Massage brand

How to brand your massage business

Another thing to consider is your massage business brand. Your brand is what differentiates you from your competition. A brand is not just your massage business name or logo. It is the core values that you exhibit through your business. As a massage entrepreneur, you are your brand. Not only who you are now, but who you strive to be.

Your brand is your promise to you clients. All of your massage therapy client interactions should reflect your brand. Strive for consistency, genuineness and transparency in your brand. This consistency builds trust, which is a key component of building a thriving business.

When building your massage business brand, consider the following:

  • What is the personality of your practice?
  • How would you describe your style?
  • What’s the tone in your communications with your clients?

Why should clients choose you?

Of course your family and friends think you’re special. But why should a client? What is it about what your business that makes you stand out? What makes you  different and better than your competition? Be sure that your professional massage bio reflects the answers to these questions.

Think about it. Most massage chains offer convenient scheduling, low cost, clean and aesthetically appealing treatment rooms, and a consistently good customer experience. Their customers would only switch to your practice if they see that you can offer something better.

You may not like massage chains because they don’t pay the therapists well, or for some other reason. But that isn’t a big enough concern for most customers to affect their decision on where to go.

Write a list of what makes your massage business different and better. Be sure to think about this from the client’s perspective. Then figure out how to communicate these to your prospective clients. Consider writing a couple massage case studies or success stories that demonstrate how your services have helped previous clients.

How to clearly identify your target market and niche

Before you start marketing your massage practice and trying to get clients, it is important to clearly identify who your clients are. Not everybody is a good client for your business. Narrowing your focus will help you to come up with the most effective marketing tactics to attract your people.

It may seem counterintuitive at first to reduce the number of potential clients that you promote your business to. But it makes perfect sense if you think about it. You can only hit your target after you clearly identify it.

Massage client target market

Your target market is the group of potential customers that you focus your marketing efforts towards. This is the people that you want your business to serve. A target market is usually based on a demographic (age, location, occupation, etc.) or psychographic (lifestyles, hobbies, values, etc.).

It could be runners, geriatrics, office workers, factory workers, people in your neighborhood, etc. The more focused it is, the easier it will be to create a brand and marketing tactics that appeal to them. But don’t make your target market so specific that it is too small to support your business.

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself. Peter F. Drucker

You should also choose a target market that makes sense. The thing that differentiates them from other groups should be significant and meaningful when it comes to massage.

For example, you may love photography and like being around other photographers and people in the arts. But are their needs really that different from other people when it comes to massage therapy? Probably not. This doesn’t mean you can’t make this work though. But it might be confusing to potential customers as to why you only want to work with this group.

Contrast this to the specific needs that golfers have, or runners, or mothers-to-be. They share specific and common physical demands, stresses and injuries. These groups of clients would benefit from going to a massage therapist who understands their needs and specializes in treating them.

Find out these things about your target market:

  • Where do they live? (general area)
  • How do they search for a massage therapist?
  • What similar activities are they involved in?
  • What influences them to choose one massage therapist over another?

Where are your members of your target market already going? I don’t mean what other massage establishment are they going to. But what other business are they going to? What activities are they involved with? If you are interested in marketing your services to athletes, then they probably go to health food stores or sporting good stores, gyms, etc. They probably compete at local sporting competitions. Volunteering at a race would be a great way to meet some of these potential clients.

What if your target market is new moms? Or how about other small business owners? Think about where these people assemble and how you could promote yourself to them. It helps if you’re part of your target market. People like people like themselves. It will be easier for you to appeal to a target market of people who are into yoga if you also practice yoga. Plus you will encounter them in your daily activities anyway, as you go to yoga classes or shop for new Lulu Lemon clothes.

You will speak with the same language and share common interests. They will feel understood if you are one of them. They will think “this is my kind of therapist”. If your target market is runners, your clients will know that you understand their pain if you are a runner too. There is another concept that I want to briefly mention, and that is niche . Sometimes target market and niche are used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Your target market is the group of people you serve. Your niche is the service that you specialize in offering to your target market.

For example, two massage therapists may focus on the target market of geriatrics. One therapist may have the niche of providing a relaxing, stress-relieving massage. Another therapist might specialize in corrective techniques that address age-related problems such as postural changes or recovery after hip or knee replacement. Specializing or “niching down” is a way do differentiate yourself from your competition.

*The target market and niche you decide on will effect your marketing strategy and plan. It could also effect your business name, website domain (URL), and what marketing channels you use.

Focus on attracting clients that you want to keep for a long time

Do yourself a favor and don’t try to appeal to the client who just wants the cheapest massage out there. These tend to be the clients that always want more and complain the most. They will also leave you when someone else cheaper shows up. They may refer their friends to you, but those people will also want the cheapest massage in town. When you decide that it is time to raise your rates, these clients will bolt.

Plus, you will be spending many hours every day with your clients. You will be much happier working with clients that you really like. The more you enjoy serving your target market, the better your work will be and the better your testimonials will be too. So if you love working with athletes, or moms, or weekend warriors, or desk jockeys, or whoever, then include these people in your target market (you can have more than 1 target market).

Having a target market doesn’t mean you should turn away potential clients from outside this group. Just focus your effort on attracting the clients you want most. 

Define your ideal client

An ideal client profile is a personification of the qualities of a client in your target market who would most likely value your massage business. These clients would feel like your brand, value proposition, and marketing messages are designed for them. Ideal clients become raving fans and bring repeat business and referrals to your massage business.

What are the characteristics of your ideal client? These could be things like:

  • They show for their appointments on time and never no-show or cancel at the last minute
  • They really seem to appreciate the service you provide
  • They can afford your service
  • They tell their friends, family and coworkers about your business

Once you have an idea about some characteristics of an ideal client for your business, it’s time to create a client persona.

A client persona is a written description of a fictitious ideal client. It is sometimes called an ideal customer avatar. Check out this article to learn more about creating an ideal massage client persona for your massage therapy business.

Pro tip : leave your business name and website URL a little broad so that you don’t box yourself in if you want to expand your target market in the future. For example, If you live in a big city with lots of runners and want to specialize in offering massage therapy for runners, you may want to choose a name and URL for sports or athletes. You may want to add cyclists to your TM later. It is a bad idea to change the name of your practice or website name once it is established. It is easy to change a logo though. You could have a logo of a runner now, then add a cyclist later if you want. Changing your logo won’t confuse your customers or cause you to lose business. 

Before you start promoting your massage business

Before you rush off to start promoting your massage business, make sure you have the right mindset that ensures success. Your mindset is your attitude or outlook, and it will affect how you interpret and respond to situations.

Mindset is a huge factor of success. There will inevitably be setbacks and challenges. So preparing yourself will help you get through them without having them derail your dream.

A full discussion of the “success mindset” is beyond the scope of this article, but I did want to mention the concept and encourage anyone starting their own business to do some research on the topic.

I think anything is possible if you have the mindset and the will and desire to do it and put in the time. Robert Clemens

Questions to ask yourself before starting a massage business:

  • Do I believe in myself and my business?
  • Am I committed to creating a thriving massage therapy business?
  • Am I willing to keep learning and growing as a therapist and as a small business owner?
  • Can I learn to be more resourceful, creative and resilient?
  • Am I willing to take some risks?
  • Can I get over rejection and keep moving forward?
  • Can I learn from my mistakes?
  • Can I learn from the successes and mistakes of others?
  • Can I learn to see setbacks not as failure, but a learning experience?
  • Do I have a few supportive friends that will support and encourage me?
  • Can I be flexible and adapt to challenges?
  • Can I plan ahead?
  • Do I have any negatives beliefs that hold me back?

Get massage clients

How to promote your massage business

When people ask about how to promote themselves and get clients for their massage practice, what they are really asking about is  marketing tactics .

Marketing tactics are the specific actions aimed at promoting a business’ goods or services. These are the practical actions that you take to get new clients, retain clients and encourage referrals. Examples of marketing tactics for a massage therapy business include:

  • Send out monthly promotional emails with a new massage specials that members of your target market would be interested in
  • Do onsite chair massage at local businesses that are relevant to your target market
  • Give fliers out in your neighborhood to increase awareness, and also have a call-to-action such as offer for an introductory massage
  • Speak at a local chamber of commerce meeting, focusing on how other business owners can can benefit from your corporate massage program
  • Teach a massage class in the community. Promote this class to members of your target market
  • Host a meet and greet event with related local businesses
  • Get listed in local directories , both print and online
  • Write a weekly or monthly wellness article for your local newspaper or website
  • Join local meetup groups where your target market is active
  • Use social media marketing and join local networks
  • Advertise locally in print, radio, or using local Google paid ads (PPC)
  • Build up your profile on LinkedIn or review sites like Yelp!
  • Ask for testimonials from your biggest fans, then display these on your website
  • Sponsor a local event that people in your target market participate in
  • Use Google My Business to attract potential customers searching online
  • Optimize your website to show up in local search results, and voice search
  • Content marketing using a blog that ranks in local searches and appeals to your target market
  • Promote a free service like a consultation or ergonomics assessment
  • Partner with another business
  • Direct mail marketing

As you can see from this list, all of your marketing tactics should appeal to your target market and align with your marketing plan and strategy.

Promoting your massage business and selling your services takes some practice. When you are just starting your massage business and building your massage client base from scratch, feel free to try as many marketing tactics as you want. Use a variety of tactics on a small scale to see which ones work best for your business and your target market.

Once you figure out what works, you don’t need to continue using all these different tactics. Pick the 2-5 most effective ones and put all of your marketing energy into those. Focusing on these will make you even better at them. You need to be able to track and measure how effective each tactic is so that you can improve your approach, or stop doing things that don’t work for your business. One way to do this is to ask each massage therapy client what brought them in to see you.

Tips for promoting your massage business

Sell to people who already value massage therapy.

You can try to convince people who don’t receive massages of the benefits of massage. Or you can market to people who already understand the value of massage. It’s much easier and faster to grow a business when the customer already believes in the value of what you offer.

Understand that clients care about how you make them feel

Generally, clients don’t care what fancy techniques you are using, the theory behind your treatment, or even why a particular treatment might be helping. They just want their problem solved, whether it is to relax, decrease pain, or whatever it may be.

Master you elevator pitch

An elevator pitch is a brief and compelling description of what you do or what your business offers. The name comes from the idea that you could give your elevator pitch to someone in the length of time it takes to ride an elevator, and finish before you get to your floor. It’s not a sales pitch. It is just how you would answer the question, “What do you do?”

Learn how to build rapport quickly

Customers don’t necessarily choose the best service provider. They choose the one that they connect with and who they think can solve their problem. Learning how to build rapport quickly will make people more likely to try your massage business.

Focus on making a customer, not a one-time sale

This idea goes back to a concept I mentioned earlier that not everyone is the right customer for your business. It is much easier to focus on attracting clients that you want to keep than it is to work at getting just any client. Without repeat business, the hard work of marketing will never slow down.

5 star massage client experience

Why and how to create an amazing client experience

The marketing process doesn’t end once the new client walks in the door. In fact it never ends. But by creating an amazing client experience that earns you repeat business and referrals, your marketing will be much easier .

Listen to the client

Give the client what they want, not what you think they need. 

Treat each client like an individual

Even if you only do a quick intake and client assessment, at least ask them about trouble spots and preferred pressure levels. Pay attention to the client’s level of desired conversation. Let them lead any conversation. If they want to just quiet then don’t be a chatterbox.

Keep the conversation on them and not you. Not only do people love talking about themselves and their life, but you will learn more about the client (needs, preferences, problems) i.e. things that you can help you taylor your services to the individual. 

Don’t be a diva

Make it easy for clients to work with you. This includes being flexible with scheduling times. Make it easy for clients to find you, make an appointment with you and pay you.

Make each client experience remarkable

That is, make the experience worthy of them remarking about it to their friends. Tools such as online booking apps and massage practice management software can help you create a seamless and professional experience that clients love.

Optimize the client’s experience for all of their senses

  • Touch: comfortable massage table , soft sheets, warm room, etc.
  • Sight: clean and calming room, safe, warm colors
  • Smell: clean, candle or essential oil of client’s choice
  • Taste: tea or refreshment after the treatment
  • Sound: relaxing music of the client’s choice, dampen outside noises

Massage client retention

How to get repeat business with a client retention strategy

When you do start building up your massage clientele, you need to know how to  keep clients  and  earn referrals . I’ve grouped keeping clients and getting referrals together in this section because you achieve both of these goals the same way.

It’s been said that it is six to seven times more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to keep an existing one. Also, your probability of selling to an existing customer is much greater than selling to a new customer. So it makes sense that a business owner should work as hard to keep a customer as they do to find a new one.

Pro tip : Market to your best clients first.

Your ability to market and promote yourself can get clients in the door. But to get repeat business and referrals from your massage clients, you’ve got to be the best massage therapist around. This is where your ability to deliver an outstanding massage and client experience really matter.

Your marketing strategy should include your client retention strategy . It is MUCH easier to grow a massage business by encouraging repeat business than it is to continuously have to keep getting new clients.

It is six to seven times more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to keep an existing one.

Getting repeat clients and referrals basically comes down to creating not only a happy customer, but a raving fan . A raving fan is a loyal client who has no interest in taking their business elsewhere, even if the competition offered it for a lower price or has fancy massage equipment that you don’t have.

One way to create a raving fan is to solve their problem . When I was in massage school I naively asked my instructor, “Once we fix the client’s problem, won’t they leave us because they don’t need us any more?” His response was:

“If you solve someone’s problem, they will not only come back when they need you, but they will tell all their friends about you.”

What a great answer! It seems obvious now, but at the time I had no idea.

Something else my massage instructor said that stuck with me over the years:

I think it’s interesting when people tell me, “I have the best chiropractor, I’ve been going to him for my back pain every month for10 years.” To that I say, “Have you ever thought about getting better?”

This brings me to another point. While massage can be a great component of a health maintenance program, if someone keeps coming to you for the same problem and your treatments are only providing a short-term relief, then you should consider referring the client to someone else.

I may be getting off-topic here a little, but I think referring out when needed shows that you put the client’s interests above your own. It doesn’t mean that you will lose the client, but a different healthcare provider may be able to solve that particular problem. This is also a good way to build relationships with other providers in your community.

4 marketing strategies to get repeat clients

  • Create a loyalty program
  • Create a treatment series
  • Stay “top of mind” with a newsletter
  • Remind clients of their progress

If you are working with a client on a specific problem and they are making progress, point it out. Look back over your treatment notes to see where they are now compared to where they started. Maybe their pain level is much lower, they report sleeping better, or their ROM has increased. When improvement happens slowly it can be hard to notice.

Also, you are more likely to get repeat business from clients that are in your target market . Let’s say that your TM is athletes and you design your practice around this. Everything from your brand, the ambiance of your office, your treatment style, etc. If you get a new client that comes in expecting a relaxing spa experience that is usually offered at a luxury day spa and is welcomed by a treatment room with posters of Olympic athletes on the wall, can hear weight plates clanging in the gym, and a faint smell of gym socks, they are not likely to return. Your practice just doesn’t appeal to that person. On the other hand, a weekend warrior who works out at that gym and wants a sports massage may feel right at home getting a massage there. 

Get massage referrals

Marketing tips to earn more massage client referrals

One of the benefits of specializing in a niche and focusing your marketing on a target market is that you are more likely to receive better massage referrals . Since people tend to associate with people that are similar to them (you know, “birds of a feather flock together”), they are more likely to refer people who are also in your target market. 

1. Offer a client experience worthy of a referral

Referrals are something that must be earned . You can do this by creating a remarkable massage experience. That is, one that a client feels compelled to remark about to their friends. People don’t give referrals for an average experience. You’ll never hear someone say, “You should go to Joe the massage therapist, he’s completely average.” Go the extra mile to solve the client’s problem. Be present and attentive.

2. Create a referral campaign

Have an ongoing referral campaign that you display at your front desk or massage room so that your referral program stays “top of mind”. Think of a risk-free offer that motivates your clients to tell their friends about you. For example, you could offer your current clients a free massage, or 30-minute extension for every new client that they refer to you. Also, make it easy for customers to refer to you.

3. Ask your favorite clients for referrals

Chances are you have already built great rapport with your favorite clients. They are most likely your biggest fans and would be happy to refer people to you. Since people tend to associate with others like themselves, it makes sense to ask these clients for referrals. Plan out who and when you will ask for a referral, and how you can incentivize them and their friends.

massage client testimonials

Getting feedback and testimonials from massage clients

Positive client reviews and testimonials will help your massage business grow faster. They give potential clients confidence that you provide a good service. Massage testimonials also reduce a potential customer’s perceived risk.

Try to collect testimonials whenever you can. If you know that a client is happy with the service you provided, then ask for a review. Make it easy for them by having a system in place. This could be just filling out a comment card, completing a form on your website, or asking them to fill out a review on Yelp. People love to be asked about their opinion. 

Sometimes it is hard to see things from and outside perspective. We may think that we are presenting ourselves in a certain way, but the client may have a different opinion about us. Find clients willing to give objective feedback of your practice and the customer experience that you provide.

Get client feedback from clients in your target market whenever possible. Feedback from people outside your target market won’t be as useful because the customer experience (room, approach, communication style)  that you have created wasn’t designed to appeal to them.

Feedback from a friend or family member may be helpful, but it won’t be objective. These people sometimes won’t tell us the truth if they think it may hurt our feelings.

Give your clients a way to provide feedback anonymously, so that they won’t feel like they have to be kind to save your feelings. It can be eye-opening to see that the experience we have created isn’t as amazing as we thought. But this is how we make it better! You may get some new ideas on how to improve your business that never occurred to you.

Collect feedback from your target market about their experiences at other massage businesses too. Ask what stood out to them. What did they like or not like about a particular place. This can inspire ideas about how you can improve your client experience.

Some of these ideas you could implement easily, while others may be more of a challenge. For example, if a client liked the window at another spa that overlooked the ocean, and you live in Colorado, you can’t replicate that.

Wait until you get a lot of feedback before you start making any big changes. Focus on implementing improvements that appeal to the majority of your target market rather than just one client. Also focus on improvements that are the easiest to make, and will bring the highest return on investment ( ROI ).

You may get ideas like:

  • “I loved the big windows at one massage office that let in a lot of natural light.”
  • “One spa I went had acoustic panels on the wall which made the room quiet and got rid of the echo. I felt more relaxed in there.”
  • “I went to a day spa that offered me some fresh orange slices and let me select what kind of tea after the massage.”
  • “I like when they have a shower so I can wash off the oil if I get a mid-day massage and need to go back to work.”
  • “One place I used to go would give me a cold eye mask after I flipped over, which felt great after having my face in the face cradle.”
  • “My last massage therapist would give me the remote to the stereo, and I could change the music and volume whenever I wanted.”
  • I love heated table covers because I get cold during a massage, and I don’t want to ask the therapist to turn up the temperature because I know they get hot. And I like the wool table covers. They are very soft and warm.”

Why massage therapists have a hard time getting new clients

There are many reasons why a massage therapist may have difficulty getting new clients. If you aren’t getting as many new clients as you need, don’t panic. You can improve your success rate by identifying your weaknesses, and stepping up your marketing game.

Client retention is as important, if not more important than bringing in new clients. However, even repeat clients may eventually leave. So you do still need some new massage clients every month. Plus, it can get boring working on all the same clients month after month and year after year.

Here are a few common reasons new massage therapists have difficulty getting new clients, and marketing tips to solve these problems.

massage entrepreneur

1. Not thinking like an entrepreneur

Think like an entrepreneur and treat your massage practice like a business, not a hobby. According to research reports, small business owners work on average 52 hours per week. That number is probably even higher in the early stages of building a business.

It’s no secret that building a thriving business requires hard work for an sustained period of time . But it can be a labor of love if you enjoy it. There’s no reason to expect a massage therapy business to grow with less work than it takes other businesses. You can find links to multiple research reports about small business on the SCORE website.

Massage therapy is a career where you can potentially earn $50,000 – $75,000 per year, with relatively little invested time and money in training. So there must be a catch right? Well there is…

To earn this level of income you must have your own business, have great clinical skills,  and great business & marketing skills. This is the income for therapists who treat themselves as a professional . These people continuously work at improving themselves. Clients are attracted to therapists who love their work and are professional. So commit to learning new marketing and business skills. Work on mastering the most important skills that you need for your business.

Since building a massage business can be challenging and stressful, it is important to also keep a positive mindset and take steps to avoid burnout. Find ways to celebrate each client and each little success.

2. Just waiting for the phone to ring

Some massage therapists wonder why they aren’t getting any clients when they haven’t gone out and promoted their business.

Learn the marketing and selling skills you need to promote your business. You can learn all that you need in a relatively short time. Then go out and put these skills to use. Keep working on improving and refining your marketing skills as you go.

3. Afraid to promote themselves

Massage therapists sometimes have a hard time promoting themselves to potential clients because they are afraid to. Some small business owners think marketing is just a way to manipulate and coerce people into buying things they don’t need. They are afraid of feeling like they are being pushy, or being like the annoying salesperson that they can’t stand.

There are many reasons why someone might be afraid to promote themself. One common reason is a phenomenon called imposter syndrome . This is when people feel like they are a fraud and not good enough. For other people, the fear could come from a traumatic experience in the past, or a fear of rejection . If you have a fear of promoting your massage business, try meditating on this to see what’s holding you back so you can overcome it.

Feel the fear and do it anyway. Susan Jeffers

When you promote your massage services, you’re not trying to convince anyone of anything. You’re not trying to sell snow to an eskimo. Remember: market your service to people who already value massage and are interested in it.

Marketing is just a way of letting your target market know you exist and that you may be able to help them when they need it. Just remember that you are promoting some thing that you believe in (massage therapy), some one you believe in (yourself), to a person you care about (your future client). The more you promote your business, the better you will get at it, and the easier it will be for you.

4. Not spending enough time face to face with potential clients

As mentioned previously, small business owners spend on average 52 hours per week working on their business. So in the beginning, when you’re not working with a client, you need to be out promoting your business and meeting potential customers. Using good time management strategies can help you become more productive with your time.

local marketing strategy for massage clients

5. Difficulty building an online presence

While you DO need a website and Internet presence, this is not the best use of your time in the very beginning. Many small business owners spend a lot of time and money building their website, and in the long run it will pay off. But the problem is that it takes time for a new website to move up the ranking in the search engine results.

Build your website in the evenings or off hours. During normal business hours you need to be either working with clients or out promoting your business. When you’re just starting out, focus on local marketing strategies. The only people who see your website at first are people that you send to it, and your friends.

My suggestion is that once you decide on the name of your massage practice, buy the domain name (URL), get hosting and spend no more than 2 days setting this up. Use a template and keep it simple. You can make it fancy and add all the bells and whistles later. So, while having a website that ranks on the first page of Google for local searches is a great marketing strategy for long-term success, you need to spend most of your time in the beginning in front of potential clients.

Along with this is spending too much time on social media. Don’t try to use every channel. If you think social media marketing is a good idea for your massage business, then pick one platform to focus on. Avoid spreading yourself too thin.

Choose which social media platform you use based on what your target market uses, not based on which one you like best. For example, if your target market is mainly 20-30 year old females, Pinterest may be a good place to interact with them. However, if you focus on geriatrics, they are more likely to find you on Facebook (or the Yellow pages).

Frequently asked questions about massage marketing building a massage practice

How do i start working with my own massage clients if i don’t have an office.

Many massage therapists begin their business before they get an office space by providing massage therapy at their home or the client’s home. You also have the option of sharing an office space with other therapists. You could focus your business at first on providing onsite seated massage.

If you’re on a tight budget, start with what you have available. Then build up to something more long-term. Once you have the massage clientele and the income to justify it, you can get your own space. Waiting to get your own office space makes financial sense, and it will give you more time to find an ideal space that is convenient for your target market, at lease terms that suit you. 

Can I just build a website for my massage business on AMTA or ABMP?

I strongly recommend that you have your own website. You can certainly create a profile page on AMTA and ABMP , Facebook, or one of the online booking websites. But those are someone else’s platforms which you have little control over. They can change the rules whenever they want. Plus the web page designs on AMTA and ABMP are kind of dated.

Instead, I would recommend building a website using WordPress.org, get hosting and a theme you like.  Keep it simple ! There are thousands of free themes to choose from, and shared hosting is very inexpensive. There are plenty of resources online about building a WP website.

A new website will take time to rank on Google, even if you post new content frequently. So even though having a website is important, the fastest way to grow a new massage business and get clients is through in-person, local marketing.

How can I market my massage business when I have to work another job?

I had the same struggles and question starting out. This is especially tough if you have to work long hours at your job. If you have other commitments that require your time such as a job, be prepared for it to take a little longer to build up your massage business. Make sure you have sufficient and consistent income from your massage business before you quit your day job!

Try to arrange your work schedule so that you have at least 1 full weekday to focus exclusively on your massage business. This day will be when you schedule your clients and do any marketing and onsite promotional gigs. Building a business takes commitment and perseverance. Be realistic with your expectations and time frame. Definitely do  not take out a loan to start a massage business .  

How much should I charge for massage?

There are several different pricing strategies. When figuring out how much you should charge, consider things like:

  • Your costs to provide the service
  • The value that you give to the customer
  • Your competitors’ price prices
  • Your local economy and cost of living
  • What profit margin you need to make per massage

It may seem kind of ironic, but sometimes people prefer things with a higher price. People tend to associate price and value. If the price is higher, they perceive the value to be greater. For example, would you rather have eye surgery done by a doctor who charges $199 per eye, or by a doctor who charges $1,000 per eye?

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get. Warren Buffett

Should I get a separate phone number for my massage business?

You don’t need to, as long as your outgoing message is professional and represents your brand. Be sure to answer every call from unknown numbers as if it were a potential client. If you do want a separate phone number for your business, you can look into a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service provider like Grasshopper, Spoke Phone, RingCentral, 8×8, or Google Voice.

Do I need business cards?

Yes. Some people say that business cards are dead, but they are not. Business cards are cheap. They are fast and simple to use when promoting your business. And they don’t rely on phone compatibility or getting cell phone reception. You can get 500 at Vistaprint starting at around $10. You can get help on Fiverr designing it, or check out Canva to design it yourself for free.

People often forget the name of the person they are talking to, or their business name, before the conversation even ends. And people don’t want to seem rude by asking again what your name is. Forgetting something like someone’s name as soon as you walk through the doorway is a common phenomenon called the doorway effect . A business card will at least let them remember you until they can get home. They may keep your card for months before calling you.

Many people still ask for a business card. It is better to have one to give them than to say, “No but you can go to my website…” and expect them to remember it. A business card adds to the level of credibility and legitimacy of your practice.

Your need for a business card may depend on your target market too. If you market your service to retired golfers, then you definitely should have business cards. These customers are used to using business cards. If you target young techies, they may not care if you have a business card. Then again, if you give this prospective client a physical business card, it may be the only card he has received in the past month. Today more than ever, having a physical business card to give to a prospective client will stand out in this digital world.  

How many massage clients do I need?

This depends on several factors, but the number is probably fewer than you think. It depends on these variables:

How much income do you need to make? If you live a modest lifestyle and are good about living within your means, then you can be successful with fewer clients. If you want to earn more to set aside money or invest for your future, or have other family to support, you will need more clients. 

How much do you charge? How much you can charge depends on how much value your clients receive. What do similar practices in your area charge?

How often do you expect each client to come back? Can you realistically expect your clientele to be back once per month? Once every 2 months? Twice per year? 

How long do you expect to keep each client? Are you working with clients with neck pain after car accidents and expect that they will quit coming after their pain is gone or insurance stops paying? Or are you working with clients who value massage enough to be willing to pay for it themselves, and include it as part of their long-term health maintenance plan?

(100 clients) x (6 times per year) x ($60) = $36,000/year (60 clients) x (1 time per month) x ($65) = $46,800/year (25 clients per week) x ($60 per visit) x (52 weeks per year) = $78,000/year

What are some low cost marketing ideas to build my massage practice?

This marketing guide has focused on low cost low cost marketing strategies. When people are in the early stages of starting a business, then usually have more time and less money. These resources will reverse as your business grows. So when you are just starting to build your massage practice, you need to get out there . Be face to face with potential clients. The more you can meet new potential clients in your target market and get your hands on them (onsite seated massage) the faster your business will grow. 

Should I give out free massages to get clients?

Many therapists use this strategy. There is a psychology principle called  reciprocity that refers to the human desire to return the favor if a gift was given. This is why some groups will give out flowers at the airport then ask for donations. Or give out a street performance and ask for donations.

The problem with using this strategy for a real business is that it can attract clients who are only looking for free stuff. Also, it can be a big waste of time to offer a free 1-hour massage. This could be a good strategy if used correctly though.

You can use demo massages to build reciprocity and  know ,  like and  trust (KLT). And they will decrease the prospective client’s perceived risk . I recommend that you limit these demo massages to 5-10 minutes (per person) seated massages, for a maximum of 1 hour when trying to win a corporate massage gig for example. This will only take about 1 hour of your time and let you connect with 6 or more potential clients.

Does it matter what I name my massage business?

Yes, it does matter, at least from a marketing perspective. Your business name is part of your brand. A good massage business name should have the following characteristics:

  • Appeals to your target market, aligns with your brand, and is positive
  • Short, easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember
  • Unique. Stands out among other local massage businesses
  • Reflects your values
  • Won’t get mistaken for another business name
  • It isn’t so specific that it limits your growth
  • The URL (website domain name) is available
  • No dashes or underscore in your business or domain name
  • Doesn’t infringe on someone else’s copyright or trademark
  • Not offensive or bad words in other languages

Plan on promoting your business by using the full name, not its initials. So if your business name is Boise Massage, don’t promote your business as “BM”. People won’t recognize this and they will likely never refer to your business by the initials. That only works for huge companies like UPS, IMB, and AT&T.

That brings me to another word of caution. Make sure your business initials don’t misrepresent your business. Using the previous example, you wouldn’t want people to associate your business with BM (commonly refers to bowel movement)!

Make sure your massage business name still works if the words are compressed together without spaces, as they will be in your website URL (domain name / address).

For example, there was a pen store named Pen Island. Their business name was inappropriate as a website address. Some other funny business names that failed as a domain name include: Therapist Finder, IT Scrap, Who Represents, Experts Exchange, & Speed of Art.

One more thought on massage business names. There are already too many (IMHO) that use puns like Back _______, or Kneaded _______.

Is offering discounts a good way to get massage clients?

Offering discounts for your massage therapy services can attract more new clients and speed up business growth initially . This is a pricing strategy called penetration pricing . But there are some problems with using this marketing strategy long-term. Here are a few problems that I can think of:

  • Discounting your prices attracts clients who just want the cheapest massage in town. These clients may leave you when a cheaper option comes along or if you ever raise your rates.
  • It can lead to a price war with your competition. This essentially becomes a race to the bottom , which makes it hard for any therapist in your community to make a living.
  • You will have to do more massages and get even more clients to make the same income.
  • Working for less than what you think your services are worth could leave you feeling underappreciated.

Instead of discounting your prices to get clients, a better way is to increase the perceived value of your services. Help clients to understand why you offer more value to your massage clients than your competition.

Need a MBLEx

Study Plan?

Start preparing for the MBLEx the easy way with this comprehensive and organized study plan. It's a great way to get started, and it's free ! 

Get Your MBLEx

Download our free  MBLEx Study Plan (PDF) to help organize and guide your study sessions.

Your Study Plan Is On The Way!

Please check your email for your study plan.

  • Natural Therapy Pages
  • Practitioner Resources

How to Market Your Massage Therapy Business

How to Market Your Massage Therapy Business

Congratulations! You've finally realised your longtime dream of setting up your own massage therapy business. Don't you just love the beauty of your new massage tables, potpourri set, aromatherapy oil collection, scented candles, cove lighting design and the thought of how all these will bring delight and satisfaction to your customers? Then your speech bubble bursts as you wonder how in the world will you get customers into your massage haven?

Now sit down, relax and read. This article takes you through 5 steps to successfully market your massage therapy business in Australia.

1. Offer Something That Addresses a Need

With so many massage salons and day spas in your neighbourhood, the first thing you want to do is to provide your potential clients with something they couldn't find elsewhere. To find out what this something is, take the time to visit other massage establishments and check out their offerings just like any normal customer.

If the competition's list of services shows massage therapy techniques that are similar to if not exactly like yours, that's an opportunity in disguise — a chance to put your creativity to work to upgrade whatever you currently have back in headquarters. You can pair up your lymphatic drainage massage , for instance, with a facial treatment or combine a Swedish massage with the shiatsu  technique.

2. Get it out on Social Media

After your trip to other massage salons, and slightly eavesdropping on what their customers are looking for, it's time to put your service on a digital platform and share it across different social media channels like Facebook and Twitter . You can create a blog post or a vlog, whichever works for you.

In addition to the features and benefits of your massage therapy business, you want to introduce yourself, share your qualifications and professional affiliations, and what you are passionate about outside of work. Try to keep your content light and friendly to elicit the interest of your audience.

3. Join Networking Events

As a qualified massage therapist and an accredited member of the Association of Massage Therapists or other peak bodies in the industry, it pays to keep abreast of professional events you can join to expand your network. Be in constant communication with former trainers, professors and classmates so that they can notify you of upcoming events.

Have your business cards and brochures, which details your massage techniques and conditions you can treat, ready to give out once you're in a networking event .

4. Showcase Your Skills

Organising a health fair at the community health centre with your fellow health professionals or proposing one to a private company is a great avenue for demonstrating your services. This is the part where you get to showcase your expertise in a 10- or 15-minute massage demonstration. Connecting with people is key to building your business, but customer retention is what's going to keep it standing. So, put your healing hands to work and see to it that nobody forgets them.

5. Host a Soft Opening

You can get amazing results from hosting a soft opening of your massage business if you focus on inviting the right people rather than on the fanfare. Apart from your family members and close friends, consider sending invites to people whom you can potentially work with. They could be those who dropped nice comments on your blog post in step #2, the ones present at the health fair you organised, and those you met in several networking events.

Fill small gift bags with bottles of essential oils , scented candles, and a gift certificate for one of your massage therapies, and then hand one to each of your guests. This is a simple way to make sure that they will remember your event and how you treated them. You can try several other marketing strategies , but word-of-mouth advertising remains to be the best and most inexpensive strategy to drive clients to your massage therapy business.

6. Get listed on Natural Therapy Pages

You need to be able to create the best exposure for your massage therapy business. And to do that, you have to create a listing or practitioner profile on Natural Therapy Pages , Australia’s #1 natural health and wellness site. This website hosts over thousands of natural health specialists, including massage therapists who offer all types of massage therapies. So no matter what type of service you offer, there is definitely a place for you here.

Learn more about Corporate/Workplace Massage here. Or find best practitioners of Corporate/Workplace Massage near you.

  • ACT Canberra
  • NSW Campbelltown
  • NSW Byron Bay
  • NSW Coffs Harbour
  • QLD Brisbane
  • SA Adelaide
  • SA Campbelltown
  • VIC Bendigo
  • VIC Campbelltown
  • VIC Geelong

FAQs About Marketing a Massage Therapy Business

How can i promote my massage business, how do you attract massage clients, how much should a massage therapist charge, related topics, related services, related articles, 5 ways to advertise your reiki services to attract clients, 7 ways to effectively advertise your massage business, what is therapeutic communication, natural therapy business fitout: setting up your clinic, featured businesses.

The Healing Touch Wellbeing Centre

The Healing Touch Wellbeing Centre

Body Moves Massage Therapy Pty Ltd

Body Moves Massage Therapy Pty Ltd

Softouch therapeutic services.

Total Balance - Osteopathy and Natural Therapies

Total Balance - Osteopathy and Natural Therapies

Integrated Health Sydney

Integrated Health Sydney

Karen mudie - reiki, breath coach & energy healer.

Total Health 'From Inside Out' Pty Ltd

Total Health 'From Inside Out' Pty Ltd

Absolutely Corporate

Absolutely Corporate

BodyWise Health

BodyWise Health

Wise Health Education

Wise Health Education

Stay connected.

Get endless health and wellness articles, healthy and easy to make recipes, latest health trends and useful tips delivered right to your inbox!

  • Start Free Trial
  • Write for Us

Appointy Blog

10 Effective Spa Marketing Ideas to Boost Business Revenue in 2023

A client resting on a massage bed

A well-outlined spa marketing strategy is crucial for your business to stand out in the crowd. And if you’re looking to get started, the beginning of the year can be the best time to put some marketing ideas for spas into action. 

To help you gear up with the latest marketing tactics, we bring to you 10 simple spa marketing ideas for the year 2022, that are also easy to implement. Discuss them with your team and get set to implement them in your spa promotions.

So let’s dive in!

Spa marketing ideas to grow your business in 202 3

Before we come to how to market your spa effectively, there are three fundamental things that you should definitely pay attention to:

  • Staff attitude and professionalism
  • Spa decor and ambience 
  • Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The first two reflect your brand and constitute the most crucial factors in building your spa brand and a good image in the market. They’ll not only help you attract new customers but retain the existing ones as well!  

Next, don’t forget about your USP!  Whatever you choose to do, always identify and keep your USP at the crux of your spa marketing plan. This is what makes your spa different from the others, and the reason why your customers choose you! So making it the theme of all your messaging will help you increase the effectiveness of your spa marketing tactics. 

Now that we’re clear with the basics, let’s get to the spa promotion ideas to revamp your marketing strategy for this year:

1. Create an exceptional first impression

As the famous saying goes, the first impression is the last impression . 

And especially in an industry like yours, where experiences matter the most, making sure that every new customer has an exceptional first visit counts among the best marketing strategies for spas. It’ll help you attract more customers to your spa and turn new customers into returning customers. 

Focus on delivering unforgettable experiences at every step of the way. 

Ensure that they feel welcomed. Check them in quickly and seamlessly. Pay attention to their wants and needs, understand their preferences, and incorporate them during the service delivery. Guide them amicably towards the changing rooms, assigned massage or service room, and make them feel comfortable. 

A small incentive on the first visit can be a good idea too. It can help you attract more customers to your spa. It could be a freebie, discounted products or services, or free add-on services. For example, you could give $20 off on their first service, a free manicure, or 15% off when they first purchase a product off your retail shelves. 

These incentives will go a long way in removing objections, especially for customers who are on the fence about making an appointment with you . You never know, it might just be that little push they need to click that Book button! 

Tip: While we’re on the topic of offering attractive deals, don’t forget to promote your spa offers during special occasions and holidays. You can offer limited-period discounts, freebies, service packages, and anything that you think your customers will love! This way you’ll be able to make the most of each event like Valentine’s Day , Easter, Thanksgiving , Christmas , etc. 

2. Strengthen your spa’s online presence  

A strong online presence is necessary in today’s world. Your spa should have a presence on each and every channel where your potential customers might look for you or would like to find you. And they should be able to do it easily!

Here are a few channels which can help you build a strong online presence: 

Professional website

If you don’t already have a spa website, it’s high time you get one! You can get it developed by a professional or use website builders with ready-made templates to customize your own website. 

Since most people today use the Internet to get more information on businesses, it will be the first place where most prospective customers might land. Consider it a digital version of your receptionist’s office!

So make sure that your website is functional, provides all the information visitors might need, answers all of their questions, accepts appointments , and reflects the look and feel of your spa brand. 

For your website to keep bringing in actual leads, it should be updated regularly, load quickly, be mobile responsive, and should look professional. 

You can optimize your website content to rank higher on search engines and hence get better leads . Include relevant keywords in your titles, meta descriptions, content, URL, image alt-texts, etc. Focus on long-tail keywords specific to your location and USP to target more relevant audiences. 

Also, don’t forget to make your website guest-friendly . Ensure that anyone who visits your website for the first time is easily able to find what they are looking for – services and products you offer, pricing, contact details, address or location link, customer testimonials, reviews, etc. 

Want to drive more conversions from your website? Enable that with Appointy’s free website booking integration !

Take the example of Reflexion Spa as shown. Their website follows their theme throughout, which matches their brand logo very well. They’ve covered everything a visitor would like to know about their spa in the navigation menu right on the top of the page. They’ve very carefully crafted a headline and a subheadline about their spa, along with the keywords ‘Chicago’ and ‘Hinsdale’, which will certainly help in their search engine rankings. They’ve also provided clear CTA buttons on – Book and Call buttons for both their locations.   

Professional spa website example

Google My Business listing

Handling over 90% of all search queries worldwide, Google dominates the search engine market. This is why it becomes increasingly important for your spa business to be present on this platform for higher visibility. 

When people in the nearby areas look for a spa, you would want them to choose you, wouldn’t you? For that to happen, they need to be able to 1) find you, 2) get relevant information and, 3) be able to book you! A listing on Google My Business does exactly that!

Given below is an example of the Google search results for ‘spa in Manhattan’. Notice that the first few organic results are Google My Business listings of relevant spas, along with their addresses, contact information, open hours, and reviews. 

Anyone looking to book a spa service can simply choose one of these options and book an appointment, right from Google! 

Spa Reserve with Google results on SERP

Social media 

One of the most important and powerful channels to improve online visibility today is social media. Different types of social media platforms cater to different types of audiences and hence are relevant for different types of businesses. 

Businesses in the spa industry can try out the following social media platforms to establish an online presence:

A) Facebook

Facebook is a huge online community today. And most businesses own a Facebook business page. If you don’t have one already, create a profile or page for your spa business. Add pictures and videos of your spa in action, post customer reviews, and testimonials promote any new products, services, or seasonal offers, and more! 

B) Instagram

This platform has also grown quite popular in the past few years. More than half the global active users of Instagram are 34 years or younger. To target this relatively young customer base, it is a good idea to create an Instagram business account! Instagram is all about photos and videos, so make sure that your feed is a visual treat to visitors and matches the vibe of your brand! 

D) Pinterest  

Pinterest is again, all about pictures and videos. Posts here are called ‘pins’ and they’re shown on relevant searches on search engines and on Pinterest. Use it to your advantage by posting eye-catching photos of your spa, its services and products. Remember to showcase the elements that would entice visitors and help increase your traffic for business growth. 

Online spa directories 

Being present on online directories like Yelp and spa-specific directories like SpaFinder , SpaIndexMedia , etc. is not a choice, but a necessity these days. 

Most people conduct an online search before stepping into your spa. Not being present where clients expect to see you would put you at a disadvantage. 

Therefore it is best for you to get listed on these directories, at least the more popular ones. Also, don’t forget to request your happy clients to leave a review there to build your positive image. Because people take online reviews very seriously ! 

3. Partner with local businesses 

Leverage the clientele of other local businesses to boost your revenue. The refreshing and rejuvenating services you offer are loved by people from all walks of life. Forming exclusive partnerships with local businesses can help in cross-promotion and benefit both parties involved. 

Reach out to local businesses that might be interested in swapping promotional materials. You can collaborate with local hair salons, tourist destinations, hotels, gyms, wedding vendors, yoga studios, health clubs, restaurants, etc. 

It will help you increase your clientele and save some money by advertising together. You can create well-crafted business referral programs wherein the two businesses involved refer each other to their clients. You can even introduce some offers and discounts to boost the initial promotions. 

4. Promote your spa business on social media

We’ve already talked about how it is important to be present on social media. But that’s not enough! You need to promote your business on social media to get more customers. 

This is one of the most affordable and low-cost ways to market your spa. It requires consistency and commitment for the long term. Here are a few points to consider to boost your social media traffic and engagement, and get more customers: 

  • Post regularly: As I already mentioned, consistency is a must when it comes to social media. So make sure that you don’t just post content on your various social media profiles only when you feel like it or only when you’re free. Create a posting schedule for your social channels so that you never miss out. Consider the best days and times to post content while doing so. 
  • Use relevant hashtags: Hashtags are crucial to your reach on social media. Whenever you post something, ensure that you add hashtags that go with that specific post content, and then include the most popular industry hashtags. Don’t put too many or too few hashtags. The optimum number of hashtags for Twitter is about two, for Instagram about 11, and about 6 for Facebook. 
  • User-generated content is the key: People relate more with your customers than with you. Encourage guests to share their photos post-visit and tag you on their own social media handles. You can then repost their content in order to promote it and build an emotional connection with your followers. 
  • Run contests and giveaways: Who doesn’t like the excitement of a free reward? Social media contests and giving away freebies can help boost your reach and engagement on social channels. You can take up these, especially around special occasions and holiday seasons. The rewards can be a freebie or an exclusive discount, whatever you feel is best. 

Tip : Adding a booking call to action on your social media handles will make it easier for customers to book an appointment with you, and hence lead to increased bookings for your spa. A spa scheduling software such as Appointy will help you add Book Now buttons to Instagram and Facebook , and your booking link on your other business channels.  Want to try it for yourself? Sign up now !

Below is an example from the Facebook page of Spa Mobile . Note how their profile and cover images match with each other and also showcase their brand. They’ve added their location on Maps and short and concise information about their spa and its services right below it.

Don’t forget to take note of the Book Now button that can fuel more bookings from their FB followers. 

Spa Facebook website with Book Now button

Also, take a look at their Instagram page. They’ve given a short and professional bio and a link to their website. Their whole page follows a color scheme that is the same as their brand logo which definitely builds a better connection with their brand. They’ve also added Instagram action buttons to their profile – Message , Book Now , and Contact which will definitely help them get more customers from their spa Instagram. 

Spa Instagram profile with Book Now button

5. Promote customer testimonials to build credibility 

What customers say about you has an emotional angle, and that’s why most of the potential customers will be interested in the same. It will help build credibility for your spa and instill trust in people’s minds about your brand. 

Request and encourage your happy customers to review you online on your website, online directories, and social media accounts. If you’re an Appointy customer, you can automatically request customers to review your services, post an appointment, and showcase them on your booking page. This will encourage potential customers to book an appointment with you. 

You can showcase testimonials from your loyal customers on your website (mandatory), social media, and promotional material. A picture of your happy customers would make it even better and more credible.  

6. Embrace video marketing for your spa

Over 70% of marketers say that video content has better conversion rates than any other format. And using video on your web pages can increase conversions by about 86% . Videos of your spa in action on your website, social media pages, and other marketing efforts for your spa services can give customers the feel of your space before they actually pay a visit.  

You can even have a YouTube channel for your spa. You can post how-to videos, DIY tutorials, skincare tips, a glimpse of your most famous services and products, a spa tour, a little chit-chat with your happy customers, etc. If YouTube seems like a lot, to begin with, you can do the same kinds of videos on your Facebook and Instagram profiles. 

Whatever you do, your videos should be authentic and real. They should show your spa in action. Utilize videos in the marketing strategy for your spa business to put some life and soul into your brand! 

7. Create and run customer loyalty programs

Making your customers feel valued and special is the key to customer loyalty and retention. In an industry like yours, loyalty goes a long way, and retaining customers is also less expensive than gaining new ones. 

Here are a few ideas to get you started on loyalty programs in your spa, if you haven’t started already:

Birthday programs

Each and every one of us likes to feel special on our birthdays. If you do it for your clients, it’d go a long way! And it’s pretty simple too. 

Just register each of your clients’ birthdays on their first visit (you could use an intake form for the same). Then offer them a treat on their birthday or for their whole birthday month. It could be a free add-on service or product, or a few dollars or a small percentage off on their favorite service!

Spa birthday program

Referral programs

Your existing customers are well aware of your services and the whole experience you deliver at your spa. Who can market your business better than them? 

Introduce referral programs at your spa and tell your customers about them. Offer incentives to encourage more and more customers to refer your services to a friend or family member, and hence increase your clientele.

The incentives would work best if they’re offered to both customers – the one who referred and the new one. It could be anything, a free session, or an attractive discount, or an irresistible package deal! 

Spa loyalty cards or memberships 

Make your clients feel special with spa memberships at a certain price or punch cards. The membership would entitle them to exclusive discounts and offers. Probably slightly higher off during the holidays or seasonal spa promotional discounts. 

A spa loyalty card will motivate your customers to return or upsell by offering loyalty discounts or a free service after your client completes a certain number of appointments with you.

Here’s how it works. They bring their punch card at each visit, punch or mark it, and once a certain number of punches is reached, they become eligible for the discounts or rewards you promised! 

8. Offer attractive spa service bundles  

Selling service packages to customers at discounted prices is an excellent spa advertising idea. Packaging your services into bundles will help you sell more services in each appointment, and it’ll also encourage your customers to return for more. Create packages of the services that usually go hand-in-hand with a little discount. 

These discounts would make your customers feel like they are getting more value for a lesser amount of money, and that they’re getting an amazing deal. You could package a manicure, pedicure, and waxing in a bundle, or a full body massage with a facial.

You could even incorporate your retail products like skincare items, scented candles, essential oils, or your own product line. 

marketing strategy for a massage business

9. Sell and promote spa gift cards/ certificates

Gift cards are a great way to sell your products and services and gain new customers. And as a bonus, they’re pretty common as a gift alternative, especially on special occasions or holidays. 

The gift cards do not have to be expensive or like real cards. You can just use free spa gift certificate templates and print the one you like. It won’t cost you a lot of money. And you can sell it to your customers, who will give it to their loved ones, getting you more new customers. 

You can even create special gift certificates for specific occasions like birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving , Christmas , New Year, etc. They can come in handy during these special times of the year. 

Some scheduling software like Appointy let you create spa gift certificates from ready-to-use templates that are ready for you to use. Users can redeem those gift cards at the time of booking.  

10. Fuel your spa bookings with an online scheduler 

Manual bookings through calls and emails are a thing of the past. They involve a lot of back and forth scheduling, consume a lot of your time and effort, are not very convenient for you and your customers, and can cause double bookings, wrong bookings, and no-shows! 

Simplify the whole process of appointment booking for your spa with the help of a spa booking software to automate the scheduling process. It empowers your customers to book appointments even outside your business hours by themselves at their own convenience. You never have to deal with the hassles of manual scheduling. And you’ll get more time to focus on growing your spa business. 

The right scheduling software such as Appointy will help you do more than just automate the scheduling process. It will help you achieve your goals better with features that act as spa marketing tools. 

  • It allows you to share your booking link via multiple channels and get more bookings from your website, Google, Facebook, Instagram, brochures, promotional emails, online directories, review sites, and more! 
  • Automated email and text reminders along with online prepayments help reduce no-shows and casual bookings . Rescheduling and cancellations are very easy and can be done by simple drag and drop, or just a click! 
  • With features like gift certificates, discount coupons, intake forms, digital SOAP notes, online reputation management, waiver forms, etc. you can deliver a more personalized spa experience for the guests. 
  • Manage your spa better with resource management, staff management, and a mobile app to keep track of your schedule and bookings on the go!
  • Optimize your marketing efforts with reporting and analytics features to keep track of your crucial metrics like the number of appointments, sales, customer satisfaction, staff productivity, etc. to make well-informed decisions. 

Conclusion 

We hope that these spa marketing ideas turn out to be useful for you and that they help you plan your 2023 promotion strategy better. 

Apart from this, keep yourself updated with the latest industry trends and apply those to your spa. Learn and introduce even new services or massage techniques and provide them to your customers. 

Best of luck! 🙂

About Appointy We at Appointy, help business owners grow and run their businesses with our online scheduling software. This blog was a part of our ‘Manage your Business’ category, where we provide expert tips, and resources, or simply talk about the challenges that small and medium businesses face every day.  If you have any thoughts on this blog or would like to chat about your business struggles and achievements, let us know in the comments below.  We love a good talk!

' src=

Good Blog There are a good list of effective spa marketing ideas, follow this idea then you can boost your business and generate good revenue with this ideas. keep sharing

' src=

I just discovered your website and read some blogs and I can’t stop myself from contacting you and giving you a big Thumbs Up for the quality work that you’ve been doing.

I am also writing about (PHYSIOTHERAPY) these days and I’ve written an article on the topics

I’ll be very honoured If you post my article on your blog. Please let me know what you think, I can send the article today.

Best Regards, Bella

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Learn how to grow and manage your spa business like a pro!

Subscribe now and get valuable insights from credible sources - delivered straight to your inbox!

We promise to never spam you :) 

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Effective Marketing Strategies for Spas and Massage Therapy Business

Effective Marketing Strategies for Spas and Massage Therapy Business

Congratulations on setting up your massage therapy business in the UK! Now, the next crucial step is to effectively market it and build a strong client base. Marketing is an ongoing process that requires dedication and strategic thinking. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore various strategies to help you promote your massage therapy business successfully.

While massage therapy is a sought-after wellness service in the UK, clients often have unique needs and preferences when it comes to the type of massage they seek. By offering a variety of massage services, you can tap into the diverse interests of potential clients, setting your business apart and expanding your client base.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Finding Your Massage Niche and Speciality to Kickstart Your Massage Services

As a massage therapist, it's crucial to identify your niche and specialty within the field. This specialization not only allows you to stand out in a crowded market but also positions you as an expert in a particular type of massage. For instance, you might choose to specialize in Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, aromatherapy, sports massage, or even niche modalities like trigger point therapy.

Catering to Different Client Preferences and Popularity of Massages in the UK

The UK boasts a diverse clientele with varying needs and preferences when it comes to massage. Some clients may seek relaxation and stress relief through Swedish or aromatherapy massages, while others might require more focused therapies like deep tissue or sports massages to address specific issues. By offering a range of massage services, you can effectively cater to these diverse preferences and attract a wider clientele.

The popularity of different massage techniques can also vary, and being able to provide sought-after services adds to your business's appeal. For example, Swedish massage is widely appreciated for its relaxation benefits, while deep tissue massage is sought after for its ability to target stubborn muscle knots. Aromatherapy, which combines the benefits of massage with the soothing scents of essential oils, is gaining popularity for its holistic approach to well-being.

By diversifying your services, you not only meet the varied demands of your clients but also set yourself apart as a versatile and skilled massage therapist. Your ability to offer a wide range of massage techniques positions you as a one-stop destination for wellness, which can be a significant draw for those seeking comprehensive massage therapy experiences. This strategic approach allows you to tap into the full spectrum of clientele in the UK's thriving wellness industry.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Building Your Massage or Spa’s Brand Identity

In the competitive world of massage therapy and wellness services, establishing a strong brand identity is paramount. Your brand identity goes beyond just a logo; it encompasses the entire visual and emotional image you project to your clients. By creating a compelling brand identity, you can effectively set yourself apart in a crowded market, leaving a lasting impression on potential clients.

Elements of a Strong Brand Identity

A robust brand identity consists of various elements, each working harmoniously to convey your unique message and the essence of your massage therapy business or spa. These elements often include:

Logo Design: Your logo is a visual representation of your business and is typically the first thing clients see. A well-designed logo should be simple, memorable, and reflective of your business's values. For massage therapists and spas, it may include elements like serene symbols, soft colour palettes, or soothing imagery to evoke relaxation.

Colour Schemes: Colours play a significant role in how clients perceive your brand. In the wellness industry, calming and natural colours like blues, greens, and soft neutrals are commonly used to convey a sense of tranquillity and balance. Consistency in colour schemes across all your marketing materials and space design can help reinforce your brand identity.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Setting Yourself Apart in a Crowded Market

In a crowded market where massage therapists and spas abound, a compelling brand identity serves as your unique selling proposition. It differentiates you from the competition and makes you memorable to potential clients. Here's how it can set you apart:

  • Brand Recognition: A well-crafted brand identity makes you easily recognizable. When potential clients see your logo or branding, they should immediately associate it with your services, creating a sense of trust and reliability.
  • Emotional Connection: Your brand identity can evoke emotions. Whether it's a sense of tranquillity, rejuvenation, or relief from stress, your branding should resonate with clients on an emotional level. This connection can be a strong motivator for clients to choose your services over others.
  • Professionalism: A strong brand identity conveys professionalism. It indicates that you've invested in your business and take your clients' well-being seriously. In a field where trust and expertise are crucial, this professionalism can be a powerful asset.
  • Consistency: Consistency in your brand identity is key. When clients see the same colours, logos, and messaging across your website, social media, marketing materials, and your physical space, it reinforces your identity and builds trust.

In conclusion, building a strong brand identity for your massage therapy business or spa is not just about aesthetics; it's about creating a compelling image and emotional connection with your clients. This identity helps you stand out in a competitive market and reinforces your commitment to providing exceptional wellness services. By carefully crafting your brand identity, you can leave a lasting impression and attract clients seeking the unique experience you offer.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Creating an Online Presence

In the digital age, establishing a robust online presence is a critical step for any massage therapist or spa looking to attract and retain clients. Your online presence not only enhances your credibility but also makes it convenient for clients to find you and book your services. Here, we'll detail the essential steps to create a professional website for your massage business or spa and discuss the significance of user-friendliness, mobile optimization, and SEO. Additionally, we'll explore how platforms like Massages Me can complement your online presence.

Establishing a Professional Website

  • Domain and Hosting: Begin by choosing a domain name that reflects your brand. This is your web address, so it should be easy to remember and relevant to your business. Select a reliable hosting provider to ensure your website is accessible at all times.
  • Website Design: Invest in a professional website design that aligns with your brand identity. Ensure it's visually appealing, easy to navigate, and evokes a sense of tranquillity and well-being, in line with your massage services.
  • Content: Create informative and engaging content that describes your services, qualifications, and the benefits of massage therapy. Use high-quality images to showcase your space, equipment, and, most importantly, yourself.
  • User-Friendliness: Make sure your website is user-friendly, with clear navigation menus and easy-to-find contact information. Clients should have a seamless booking experience.
  • Mobile Optimization: With a significant number of people browsing on mobile devices, it's crucial to optimize your website for mobile users. This ensures that your site is responsive and functional on various screen sizes.
  • SEO: Incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) techniques into your website content to improve its visibility on search engines like Google. This involves using relevant keywords, optimizing images, and providing valuable content that appeals to both users and search engines.
  • Contact Information: Your contact details, including an email address and phone number, should be prominently displayed on your website. Encourage potential clients to get in touch with any questions or to book an appointment.

Significance of a User-Friendly Website

A user-friendly website is crucial for your massage business or spa. It enhances the client's experience, making it easy for them to find the information they need, view your services, and ultimately book an appointment. Additionally, a mobile-optimized site ensures that clients can access your information on the go, increasing your reach.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Leveraging Massages Me for Online Presence

Platforms like Massages Me offer a valuable addition to your online presence. Massages Me provides a professional online directory for massage therapists and spas, allowing you to create a business profile that showcases your services and helps build brand awareness. By joining Massages Me, you can benefit from a platform that already attracts users seeking massage services, expanding your reach within the UK's wellness market.

Moreover, Massages Me emphasizes the importance of your personal brand identity. Professional massage therapists can include an image of themselves in their profiles. This is a critical factor in building recognition and initial trust with clients. Clients often want to know who will be providing the massage services before booking, whether they prefer a male or female therapist or have preferences for spa or clinic visits.

In conclusion, creating an online presence for your massage therapy business or spa is a strategic move to attract and retain clients. A professional, user-friendly website combined with platforms like Massages Me can help you reach a wider audience and build a strong digital footprint, ultimately contributing to the success of your massage business in the UK.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Leveraging Social Media

In today's digital landscape, the power of social media platforms cannot be underestimated when it comes to marketing your massage therapy business in the UK. With millions of users actively engaging on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, these platforms offer a vast and diverse audience to showcase your services. Here, we'll explore the significant role of social media in your business promotion and provide tips on how to effectively utilize these platforms. Additionally, we'll emphasize the importance of integrating your Massages Me profile into your social media strategy to enhance your online presence.

The Role of Social Media in Business Marketing

Audience Reach: Social media platforms provide access to a massive user base, allowing you to reach a broad audience of potential clients. These platforms cater to diverse demographics, enabling you to tailor your content to specific target groups.

Engagement: Social media encourages engagement with your audience. By posting informative and engaging content, you can interact with followers, answer their questions, and build a sense of community around your brand.

Brand Visibility: Regular activity on social media keeps your brand visible and memorable. Consistent posting and interaction can help maintain a strong online presence.

Ads and Promotions: Social media platforms offer advertising options, allowing you to run targeted ads to reach users with specific interests, demographics, and locations. This can be a powerful tool to attract local clients.

Creating Engaging Content

Visual Content: Use high-quality images and videos to showcase your massage therapy services. Visual content is particularly effective on platforms like Instagram.

Educational Content: Share informative posts about the benefits of different massage techniques, self-care tips, and wellness advice. This positions you as an expert in your field.

Client Testimonials: Encourage satisfied clients to leave testimonials and reviews on your social media pages. Positive feedback builds trust and credibility.

Promotions and Special Offers: Announce special promotions or discounts on your social media pages to attract new clients and reward loyal ones.

Behind-the-Scenes: Give followers a glimpse into your daily routine and workspace. Showing the human side of your business can create a stronger connection with your audience.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Building a Social Media Community

Engage with Followers: Respond to comments and messages promptly. Engaging with your audience makes them feel valued and encourages more interaction.

Consistency: Maintain a consistent posting schedule. Regular updates keep your audience interested and informed.

Use Hashtags: Utilize relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts. Research popular hashtags within the wellness and massage industry.

Interlink with Massages Me: To enhance your online presence, integrate your Massages Me profile into your social media strategy. Share a link to your Massages Me business or personal profile on your posts. Additionally, encourage clients to follow your profile on Massages Me to stay updated on your latest offers, pricing, working hours, and more.

Integrate with Your Website: If you have a professional website, link to your Massages Me profile from your website. This cross-linking strengthens your brand recognition and online presence.

In conclusion, social media platforms play a pivotal role in marketing your massage therapy business in the UK. These platforms offer a diverse and engaged audience, and when used effectively, can significantly boost your brand visibility and client engagement. By incorporating your Massages Me profile into your social media strategy and website, you create a seamless loop that enhances your online presence and brand recognition, ultimately driving the success of your massage business.

Networking and Partnerships in the Wellness Industry

In the wellness industry, networking and forming partnerships can be instrumental in the success of your massage therapy business in the UK. These collaborative efforts allow you to tap into new client bases, provide holistic services, and enhance your credibility. Let's delve into the benefits of networking with other professionals in the industry and discuss strategies for building collaborations with local businesses, therapists, and wellness centres.

Strategies for Building Collaborations

Co-Marketing Efforts: Collaborate on marketing efforts. Share each other's content on social media, websites, and email newsletters. This cross-promotion can help you reach a wider audience.

Join Local Business Groups: Many cities have local business groups or chambers of commerce. Joining these organizations can help you connect with other local entrepreneurs and professionals in various industries.

Leverage Massages Me: Maximize the potential of Massages Me by connecting with fellow massage therapists, wellness practitioners, and wellness centres on the platform. Massages Me serves as a hub for professionals in the wellness and massage therapy industry, making it an ideal place to form partnerships and collaborate.

In summary, networking and forming partnerships within the wellness industry can open up new avenues of growth and success for your massage therapy business. The benefits of client referrals, increased credibility, and expanded service offerings make these collaborations a valuable asset.

By implementing the strategies outlined here and leveraging platforms like Massages Me, you can create meaningful partnerships that contribute to the overall well-being of your clients and the success of your business in the UK.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Paid Advertising and Promotions for Your Massage Business

Paid advertising and promotions are powerful tools to boost the visibility of your massage therapy business in the UK. In this section, we'll explore the options available, including Google Ads and social media advertising. We'll also emphasize the importance of tracking campaign performance and making necessary adjustments to maximize the return on investment.

Options for Paid Advertising

Google Ads: Google Ads is a versatile platform that allows you to create targeted ads that appear when users search for keywords related to your services. It's essential to conduct thorough keyword research to ensure your ads reach the right audience. With Google Ads, you can set a budget, select specific locations, and track the performance of your campaigns.

Social Media Advertising: Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer robust advertising options. These social media platforms allow you to create highly targeted ads based on demographics, interests, and behaviours. You can choose from various ad formats, including image and video ads, carousel ads, and more. Social media advertising can be a cost-effective way to reach potential clients in your area.

Massages Me Promoted Listings: Massages Me offers an excellent way to promote your massage business within the platform. By opting for Promoted Listings, you can significantly increase your online visibility, attract more views, and potentially secure additional bookings. This feature provides a direct avenue to reach potential clients actively seeking massage services in the UK

Importance of Tracking and Adjusting

Budget Optimization: Keep a close eye on your ad budget. Adjust your spending based on the performance of your campaigns. Allocate more budget to the ads that generate the most conversions and adjust or pause underperforming ads.

Audience Insights: Social media platforms offer valuable audience insights. Use these data to refine your targeting. For example, if you find that a specific age group engages more with your ads, adjust your targeting to focus on that demographic.

Geo-Targeting: For a local business like a massage therapy practice, geo-targeting is essential. Ensure your ads are displayed to users in your service area. Geo-targeting helps you reach potential clients in proximity to your location.

In conclusion, paid advertising and promotions are valuable tools to enhance your massage therapy business's visibility in the UK. Platforms like Google Ads, social media advertising, and Massages Me Promoted Listings offer effective ways to reach your target audience. However, success in paid advertising hinges on tracking campaign performance and making informed adjustments.

By continuously optimizing your campaigns, you can achieve a higher return on investment and attract more clients to your massage business. Don't overlook the power of promoting your listing on Massages Me, as it can be a significant asset in your advertising strategy, boosting your online visibility and ultimately driving more bookings.

marketing strategy for a massage business

Conclusion: Navigating the Marketing Journey as Freelance Massage Therapists in the UK

In this comprehensive guide, we've delved into the intricacies of marketing a massage therapy business or spa in the UK. The key takeaways from our discussion underscore the significance of a well-rounded marketing strategy and its potential to transform your business into a thriving venture.

  • Diversification and Specialization: To stand out in a competitive market, it's crucial to diversify your services. Offering a range of massage techniques can cater to diverse client preferences and expand your client base. Specializing in specific niches within massage therapy not only boosts your earning potential but also draws in clients seeking expertise in those areas.
  • Building a Strong Brand Identity: Crafting a compelling brand identity sets you apart in a crowded market. Elements such as logos, colour schemes, and messaging should reflect the essence of your massage business. A memorable brand identity fosters trust and recognition among clients.
  • Creating an Online Presence: Establishing a professional website is essential for showcasing your services and connecting with potential clients. A user-friendly website, optimized for mobile and search engines, is a powerful tool in reaching your audience. Joining online directories like Massages Me offers additional exposure and the potential to grow your client base while creating brand awareness.
  • Leveraging Social Media: Social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, play a pivotal role in promoting your massage business. Engaging content, targeted ads, and building a community of clients can boost your online presence. Integrating your Massages Me profile with your social media strategy creates a seamless loop for brand recognition.
  • Paid Advertising and Promotions: Paid advertising, such as Google Ads, social media ads, and Massages Me Promoted Listings, can significantly enhance your business's visibility. Monitoring campaign performance and making adjustments based on data are critical for a high return on investment.

A comprehensive marketing strategy is the cornerstone of success for massage therapists and spa owners in the UK. Effective marketing can help you reach a broader clientele, enhance your business's reputation, and ultimately lead to increased bookings and revenue.

We encourage all massage therapists and spa owners to take proactive steps to grow their businesses through these marketing strategies. Invest in your online presence, harness the power of social media, and consider the benefits of online directories like Massages Me.

By following these steps, you can build a thriving practice that not only benefits your clients but also fulfils your passion for holistic wellness. In a competitive market, effective marketing can be the key to achieving the success and recognition your massage business deserves.

Search Massage Therapists Near You.

More from our blog.

How To Choose A Good Massage Therapy School

How To Choose A Good Massage Therapy School

Before enrolling in a massage course or college in the United Kingdom, there are several important factors to consider. These considerations will help ensure that you choose a reputable institution...

What Is A Thai Massage? How Exactly does it Work?

What Is A Thai Massage? How Exactly does it Work?

Thai massage is a traditional therapy combining acupressure and assisted yoga postures where practitioners use their hands, thumbs, elbows, forearms, and feet to reduce tension in your muscles. Thai Massage...

What Is A Holistic Massage? Learn about the Health Benefits

What Is A Holistic Massage? Learn about the Health Benefits

Holistic massage is a therapeutic approach that focuses on treating the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Holistic means whole (totality) so we see the body as a unity, as a...

What Is a Shiatsu Massage? How Does it Benefit You?

What Is a Shiatsu Massage? How Does it Benefit You?

Shiatsu massage is a Japanese bodywork technique that draws upon the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, specifically the utilization of qi meridians. By applying acupressure, Shiatsu massage aims to alleviate...

Keep in the loop with everything happening on Massages Me.

Latest Blogs

How To Set Up, Run and Promote a Successful Massage Therapy Business in the UK

Guide: How to Find Best Mobile Massage Therapists - Before & After Massage

The Ultimate Guide How to Start Your Own Massage Therapy Businesses

6 Exceptional Home Massage Service Providers In London & The UK

9 Cheap & Recommended Massage Places In London

5 Reasons Not to Advertise on Gumtree for Massage in London & Alternatives!

The Most Popular Massages in London & The UK

Welcome To The Massages Me UK. Our Mission to You.

How To Create A Perfect Profile - Ad On Massages Me UK

Advertise with Massages Me and Grow Your Business!

We are the leading directory of independently working massage therapists in London and now expanding across the UK covering all of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our aim is to promote individual therapists and venues in the UK, and help professional and casual body workers providing therapeutic and relaxing massages to expand their businesses and build desirable client base.

We provide a friendly and reliable online advertising platform for qualified Masseuses, students, and salons to connect with potential clients looking for relaxing and therapeutic massages - onsite and offsite mobile services across the UK.

Are you looking to meet more customers? Get your profile listed and start getting bookings today!

Massages Me

Get listed & receive more clients today!

BookingPress Plugin

8 Steps to Write a Successful Massage Therapy Business Plan

linkedin

Got a passion for healing with massage therapy? That can surely convert into building your own massage therapy business. 

But before you trade in lotion bottles for building permits, there’s one crucial step: the business plan. This roadmap to your future spa idea lays out your vision, strategy, and – most importantly – financials. Yes, it’s a boring and meticulous yet very needed job!

Decide what type of salon business you want to run

Salon Business

Before you grab your pen (or laptop), think about the foundation of your plan: what kind of business do you envision? Cozy home studio (where you are a boss) or a multi-therapist salon ?

Your decision impacts your legal structure: think sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation in the US, or sole trader, partnership, or limited company in Europe. The thing is that each comes with different tax implications and liability protections, so you have to make up your mind first, do your research, and pick the one that suits your idea.

Choose your business plan writing path

Business plan

The first thing to understand: you should not necessarily write that plan yourself!

Now, about writing the actual plan, we know about three main paths anyone can start with:

Using a business plan template

Online templates offer a structured approach for budget-conscious people.

Pros: affordability, easy-to-follow formats, and helpful prompts.

Cons: limited customization, potential information gaps, and the risk of a generic plan lacking your context, plus, your possible inability to assess those gaps.

Connecting a private consultant

Expert guidance can be the only way for some fresh business owners, because of the lack of time or even fear of making a mistake. A paid consultant can tailor a plan to your specific needs, offering industry insights and market analysis. Just pick up their brain!

Pros: personalized approach, valuable expertise, and potential time-saving benefits.

Cons: significant cost, relying on the consultant’s understanding of your vision, and potentially limited ownership over the final plan.

Consulting organizations

Many government agencies and business development centers offer free or low-cost resources, including workshops and even plan-writing guidance. Some examples include the SBA, SCORE , MBDA, and some others (search your local area).

Pros: affordability, access to local market information, and potential networking opportunities.

Cons: standardized advice, less hands-on support, and the time commitment of attending workshops.

Which path is right for you? To answer that question, rely on your budget, comfort level, and need for personalized guidance. You can always update your plan, even if it was written by someone else. 

Create your business concept and vision (‘executive summary’)

Business vision

Every business plan starts with a so-called ‘executive summary’, which is like ‘objectives’ in a lesson plan if we use the school terminology . 

It might seem like a thing you’d want to skip, but we encourage you to do this ‘homework’ because understanding goals helps you achieve them. The difference between an executive summary and the actual company description is that the first is rather brief.

So what should an executive summary of a business plan include?

1. The goals of your massage business.

Here are a few questions to help you shape them:

  • What motivates you to become a massage therapist?
  • What unique skills or experiences do you have that differentiate you from other massage therapists?
  • What type of massage business do you envision?
  • Who is your ideal client? 
  • What services will you offer?
  • What pricing strategy will you implement?
  • What are your long-term business goals?
  • What are your startup costs?
  • What is your desired income level?
  • What financial tools and resources will you need?

2. Name your target market (for example, wellness enthusiasts, specific conditions, athletes, pregnant women, etc.)

3. Outline basic costs and financial details you are aware of. 

Write a detailed company description

Company description

This should help you better understand the business concept you want to target. This can be a long piece, but here are some things to help you stay focused:

  • Outline your core values.
  • Describe your ideal client.
  • Map out your service mix.
  • Sketch your operational vision.

Get into detail where possible; be honest, and specific, and don’t forget to describe action steps.

Describe your market

Market area

You should understand really well the client you are going to serve; that can’t be done without a market analysis. 

This includes researching the massage therapy industry, especially in your area, and analyzing its growth potential, trends, and regulatory environment. 

As for your target market, try to identify their demographics, needs, motivations, and preferred massage modalities. Of course, don’t forget to study competitors – check out their services, pricing, strengths, and weaknesses.

Add such a section to your business plan as market trends – like wellness preferences, technology integration , and sustainability practices. Ask yourself – will they keep your offerings relevant and future-proof? This all is needed to cater to the right clients, identify exceptional service, and find your unique proposition.

Describe your management

Therapy business management

Starting a massage salon, the organizational structure will initially be lean yet adaptable. You will need to describe the management team and their capabilities. 

Are you going to wear multiple hats, handling client services, marketing, administrative tasks, and financial management? Or do you want to hire experts? Write all these visions down. 

Think about where you can outsource: collaborate with a freelance accountant for bookkeeping or outsourcing marketing initiatives.

Your massage therapy business plan should contain details about how you can grow. For example, you can write things like “As my client base grows, I may expand by hiring additional therapists”, or shape it to your vision better.

Define and describe the skills and certifications you are looking for in your staff, then establish a clear structure outlining their roles and responsibilities, including massage modalities offered, scheduling appointments , maintaining client records, and more.

Read also: 10 Best Scheduling Software for Small Business

Outline your marketing plan

Marketing Plan

Marketing your massage salon services is a long story, but you can start with outlining the basics, such as:

  • Digital marketing: Your massage therapy website (booking, information), social media email marketing (offers, newsletters ), online directories (listings).
  • Content marketing: Blog posts (expertise, tips), social media content (engaging, informative), collaborations with influencers.
  • Promotional activities: Special offers, discounts for referrals, loyalty programs , and partnerships with local businesses.
  • Pricing strategy: Outline your pricing structure for different massage types and packages.
  • Appointment scheduling: Describe your salon booking system , cancellation policy , and any incentives for booking in advance.
  • Client retention: How will you encourage repeat business ?

Describe financial details

Financial goals

In this section, you need to try to create a data-driven roadmap for your finances, showcasing viability and attracting potential investors. Here are 3 key elements you can concentrate on in your massage therapy business plan:

Revenue projections

Consider the average massage cost, client frequency, and expected market competition. 

Also, differentiate between individual massages, package sales, additional services like aromatherapy, and product sales. Include projections for peak and off-seasons to understand cash flow variations.

Operational expenses

Start with operational costs that usually include rent, utilities, equipment, supplies, insurance, marketing, professional development, and employee salaries. Fixed costs remain constant (rent), while variable costs fluctuate with revenue (supplies). Account for the wear and tear of assets like massage tables and equipment over their useful life.

Profitability

Aim for a sustainable margin that covers costs and allows for reinvestment. Project your cash flow, including operational expenses, debt payments, and potential emergencies.

Bonus Checklist for a Massage Therapy Business Plan

Additionally, here is a quick checklist of things you need to write a business plan for your massage therapy or salon business:

  • Industry reports and market analysis.
  • Competitor analysis.
  • Demographic data for your target market.
  • Laptop or desktop computer.
  • Word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or similar).
  • Spreadsheet software (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets) for financial projections and budgeting.
  • Business plan templates or guides.
  • SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).
  • Licenses and permits.
  • Certifications for you and your staff.
  • Lease agreements or property documents.
  • Insurance policies.
  • Resumes of key personnel.

Related articles: 

  • 10 Best Psychologist Scheduling Software for Therapists & Counselors

How to Open a Yoga Studio: 6 Key Steps

  • How to Set up Booking System for Hair Salon on WordPress

facebook icon

Brian is a WordPress expert with a decade of developing experience & technical-writing. He enjoys blogging, movies & hiking.

Recent Posts

15+ Best WordPress Themes for Cleaning Companies

10+ Best WordPress Themes for Hair Salon 2024 (Including Free)

BookingPress Plugin

Follow Us On:

Other ventures.

Cart

  • SUGGESTED TOPICS
  • The Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Managing Yourself
  • Managing Teams
  • Work-life Balance
  • The Big Idea
  • Data & Visuals
  • Reading Lists
  • Case Selections
  • HBR Learning
  • Topic Feeds
  • Account Settings
  • Email Preferences

How to Market Sustainable Products

  • Frédéric Dalsace
  • Goutam Challagalla

marketing strategy for a massage business

Many companies overestimate customers’ appetite for sustainable products, flooding the market with offerings that don’t sell. The reality is, social and environmental benefits have less impact on purchasing decisions than basic product attributes do. Consumers buy products to get specific jobs done, and only after they find something that will do that will they look for a product that provides some social or environmental advantage.

Of course, that’s only if they value sustainability. Not everyone does, and marketers need to recognize that. Some customers (greens) place a premium on it, some (blues) value it only moderately, and some (grays) don’t care about it and view it skeptically. The three segments cannot all be approached in the same way. How sustainable product benefits interact with traditional benefits is also critical: They can have no impact on a product’s performance (independence), diminish it (dissonance), or enhance it (resonance). Marketers need to follow different playbooks for independent, dissonant, and resonant products, tailoring their approaches to green, blue, and gray customers with each.

Three paths to success

Idea in Brief

The problem.

Many companies overestimate consumers’ appetite for sustainable products, flooding the market with offerings that don’t sell well.

The Opportunity

By understanding how sustainability features interact with a product’s core benefits, companies can devise effective marketing strategies for different consumer segments.

The Solution

Assess whether your sustainable offering’s performance is equivalent, inferior, or superior to that of conventional alternatives. Tailor marketing messages to customers according to how they value sustainability versus traditional attributes.

When companies market the sustainability features of their offerings, they often overlook a fundamental truth: Social and environmental benefits have less impact on customers’ decisions than basic product attributes do. With any purchase, consumers are first trying to get a specific job done. Only after they find something that will help them do that job—and only if sustainability is important to them—will they look for a product that in addition confers a social or environmental advantage. No one decides to buy a chocolate bar to, say, improve the working conditions of farmers on the Ivory Coast. People buy chocolate, first and foremost, because they want to indulge in a small pleasure. No one decides to buy an electric car to prevent climate change. People buy cars because they need transportation; reducing their carbon footprint is an ancillary benefit.

  • FD Frédéric Dalsace is a professor of strategy and marketing at IMD.
  • GC Goutam Challagalla is a professor of strategy and marketing at IMD.

Partner Center

IMAGES

  1. Massage Business Plan Template Free Elegant 25 Best Ideas About Massage

    marketing strategy for a massage business

  2. 10 Proven Massage Marketing Content Strategies for 2023

    marketing strategy for a massage business

  3. 10 Excellent Massage Therapy Marketing Ideas, Tips, and Strategies To

    marketing strategy for a massage business

  4. Create Your Marketing Strategy

    marketing strategy for a massage business

  5. 6 Ways To Market Your Massage Therapy Business

    marketing strategy for a massage business

  6. 10 Excellent Massage Therapy Marketing Ideas, Tips, and Strategies To

    marketing strategy for a massage business

COMMENTS

  1. Massage Marketing Plan Basics

    Objective: Budget $300 per quarter to purchase items like bolsters and heating pads. Strategies and Tactics A strategy describes your overall plan for reaching your massage business goals. A tactic describes the tools you will use to carry out your strategy. Both are driven by your marketing plan's goals and objectives. Develop Strategies

  2. 8 Effective Massage Therapy Marketing Ideas

    1. Your niche Attracting the right audience to your practice is extremely important, and finding your niche helps you market to the right audience. Identify and set your target market based on your area of expertise, interest, etc., and your prospective client's demographics, lifestyle needs, interests, habits, or a myriad of other factors.

  3. 6 Ways to Market Your Massage Practice

    1. Keep plenty of business cards on hand. Business cards are a necessary part of any business and an easy way to connect with potential clients. Keep some on hand when you're out and about, and make sure referring medical professionals have plenty to share with patients.

  4. How to Start a Massage Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

    1. Determine your business plan. The first step you need to take to start a massage business is to lay out your business plan. This will give you a concrete idea of what you want your business to look like and what you want to accomplish. In your business plan, you should: Establish goals and objectives.

  5. Essential Updates For Your 2022 Massage Marketing Plan

    Updated on March 4, 2022 in Marketing Want to up your marketing game in 2022? We have some ideas for you. Creating a massage marketing plan is essential to growing your practice. If what you're doing now is working, you can build on that and take it to the next level.

  6. A Guide to Massage Therapy Marketing

    Managing client reviews. ‌Word of mouth provides some of the best massage therapy marketing. The Internet makes it easier for people to share their experiences with a business, for better or for worse. Encourage clients to leave a review following their appointment, or send them a follow-up email a week or two after the appointment.

  7. Sales & Marketing Plan for a Massage Therapy Business

    Market Analysis Before delving into specific sales and marketing strategies, a profound understanding of your market is crucial to positioning your massage therapy business effectively within the competitive landscape. Competitive Analysis Identify Key Competitors: Research other massage therapy businesses in your area.

  8. 10 Excellent Massage Therapy Marketing Ideas, Tips, and Strategies To

    A cheaper, more effective option is to use a solution, like Marketing 360® that offers everything you need to manage and grow your massage therapy business from a singular platform. This is a robust solution that evolves with the constant changes in online marketing.

  9. Massage Marketing: 11 Tips To Promote Your Massage Therapy Business

    Massage Marketing Tips 1) Send Out Post Cards Whether you offer mobile massage or your customers come to you, proximity is key. If a client can stop in for a relaxing massage on the way home from work, that's ideal. The closer to home the better. Who wants to jump right back into rush hour traffic right after a relaxing massage?

  10. Massage Therapy Marketing: A Guide for All Skill Levels

    The Simplify Plan is just $24.99/month. Lastly, you can list your business on the MassageBook directory at no charge. MassageBook's Transition Plan, which helps you get started organizing and managing your massage practice and building an online presence, is FREE for a full year! Afterwards, it's only $9.99/month.

  11. Massage Business Marketing Ideas: 7 Tips to Get and Retain Clients

    The first and arguably the most important principle in marketing your massage business is to make sure the products and services you are offering can address the expectations, wants, and needs of your prospective clients.

  12. Massage Therapy Business Plan Marketing Plan

    Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P's: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a Massage Therapy Business Plan, your marketing plan should include the following: Product: in the product section you should reiterate the type of massage therapy that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products ...

  13. Townsquare Interactive

    8. Content Marketing = Massage Therapy Advertising. Creating content for your ideal customers is a great way to get more massage therapy leads. Consider writing blog posts and articles that you can post on your massage therapy website, and make it easy for your audience to share that content on social media.

  14. 5 Massage Therapy Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business

    Updated on August 5, 2021 in Marketing Your massage therapy marketing strategy is your key to getting clients in the door. Without the proper strategies in place, it can be difficult to attract new clients. In this blog, we'll cover five of the most effective ways to build your massage business. These include: Creating a website

  15. 21 Ways to Market Your Massage Therapy Business

    5 Here are 21 ways to market your massage therapy business for those that practice bodywork professionally. The massage therapy industry has grown excessively in the past decade and continues to be among the best in the wellness niche and human health matters.

  16. How To Create A Massage Marketing Plan On A Budget

    Before you create a marketing plan, you first need to create a marketing budget. Marketing your massage therapy business takes time and money. So, first you need to figure out how much of each you can spend each month. A lot of massage therapists don't have a huge budget to spend on marketing, and that's ok. There are a lot of free forms of ...

  17. Relax! 5 Marketing Ideas for Massage Therapists

    1. Share Helpful Information Whether through social media, email, or even direct mail, providing your clients with helpful information will keep them coming back for more. Most business owners make the mistake of promoting themselves and their services too frequently, not realizing that customers are excellent at tuning out advertisements.

  18. How To Get Massage Clients And Market Your Business

    Why marketing is important for a massage business. Marketing is an essential component of massage business success. Failing to create and implement an effective marketing plan is a common reason why many small businesses fail, including massage therapy practices.

  19. How to Market Your Massage Therapy Business

    1. Offer Something That Addresses a Need With so many massage salons and day spas in your neighbourhood, the first thing you want to do is to provide your potential clients with something they couldn't find elsewhere.

  20. 10 Effective Spa Marketing Ideas to Boost Business Revenue

    1. Create an exceptional first impression As the famous saying goes, the first impression is the last impression . And especially in an industry like yours, where experiences matter the most, making sure that every new customer has an exceptional first visit counts among the best marketing strategies for spas.

  21. Effective Marketing Strategies for Spas and Massage Therapy Business

    A comprehensive marketing strategy is the cornerstone of success for massage therapists and spa owners in the UK. Effective marketing can help you reach a broader clientele, enhance your business's reputation, and ultimately lead to increased bookings and revenue.

  22. 8 Steps to Write a Successful Massage Therapy Business Plan

    Bonus Checklist for a Massage Therapy Business Plan. Additionally, here is a quick checklist of things you need to write a business plan for your massage therapy or salon business: Industry reports and market analysis. Competitor analysis. Demographic data for your target market. Laptop or desktop computer.

  23. How To Become A Marketing Manager

    Marketing managers play a key role in the success of a business by leading a team and creating a marketing strategy that meets the organization's goals, either by maximizing profits or building ...

  24. 2024 Digital Marketing Strategy Guide

    A digital marketing strategy is the plan you have for your marketing campaign. It looks at demographics, product benefits and platforms to find success. The digital marketing campaign is the ...

  25. How to Market Sustainable Products

    A version of this article appeared in the March-April 2024 issue of Harvard Business Review. ... Goutam Challagalla is a professor of strategy and marketing at IMD. Post. Post. Share. Annotate ...

  26. The 48 Best Marketing Tools for Every Business (2024)

    48 best marketing tools for every business and budget. You might need tools from one or all of these categories—it really depends on what your goals are and what your overall digital marketing strategy is. For tools that don't have a free option, many offer seven- or 14-day free trials, where you can test out the marketing platform before ...

  27. E- Commerce Marketing In 2024: The Ultimate Guide

    Whether a business opts to fully embrace e-commerce marketing or integrate it into an existing traditional marketing strategy, understanding the importance of e-commerce marketing is essential.

  28. 30 Emerging Technologies That Will Guide Your Business Decisions

    This theme focuses on making the right business and ethical choices in the adoption of AI and using AI design principles that will benefit people and society.. Human-centered AI (HCAI) is a common AI design principle that calls for AI to continuously benefit from human input. Behavioral analytics refers to session-tracking capabilities that monitor user interactions with a protected service to ...