Acting the Part
I was driving through the mall parking lot the other day and I noticed that some drivers would hang back at the end of the isle waiting for an opening to magically appear, while others would edge out slowly making it all too obvious their intent. The drivers who clearly set out their intention to get into the flow of traffic created an opening easier and faster than those who hung back.
I got to thinking that this is very similar to getting customers for a business. Those who make it obvious that they are serious about what they do, attract far more customers than those who fail to put out those signals.
What is the signal you are sending your customers?
We have all come across someone who is running a small business from home, they have home printed cards complete with perforated edges, photocopied brochures that are low quality print and slightly off set. I don’t know about you, but I react to those the way I would react to being approached by a sales person wearing a hoodie and pants half hanging off.
In my experience, individuals and business that invest time and money in well thought out marketing material do 2-10 times better than those who do it all on the cheap (that which looks and feels cheap).
Now, this does not mean that you need to rush out and spend thousands of dollars on flashy marketing material and professionally designed graphics. If you work on your own, then at the very least a clean professional looking business card and a simple brochure that looks like it was done with care and pride can go a long way. On the other hand if you are looking to open a clinic with other therapists and perhaps sell some products then you will want to go the extra mile and get a logo, professionally done brochures, matching cards and some clothing with your logo.
If you work from home, then your marketing material should not scream that out to prospective clients. They still want to know that you take your work seriously, and your marketing material is your representative.
With the significant drop in printing costs over the last few years, I am amazed to still find therapists who are too cheap to spend the money on something that looks good. It really screams cheap.
Once you have the client in your office, what impression are they left with? Does your table look and feel sturdy? Do your sheets look and smell clean? Do the furnishings look like you picked them up at yard sales?
You do not have to spend a fortune to have a professional office, but do keep your client’s critical eye in mind when you are setting up or fixing up. While some clients will overlook the decor, it does play a role in the majority of client’s choices for returning or not.
If you are selling products, are they displayed in a manner that is pleasing to the eye? Are they free of dust? Are the prices clearly marked?
Your return will be in proportion to how serious you take your business and its image. Take time to honestly evaluate your marketing material and environment, does it send the message that you want? If not, then it is not too late to make some changes. You may be surprised at the results.
Biography: Dana Pharant is the owner of Whole Body Healing - Therapy Supplies. She has been a registered massage therapist since 1992 and running a therapy supply store since 1999. Her store rocks out at both its geographical locations at: 68 Hooper Rd Barrie, ON and on the internet at: www.wholebodyhealing.com
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Is There Too Much Competition?
Are There Too Many Massage Therapists?
You have heard it before; “the market is saturated”, “there are too many massage therapist in my area” and other such comments.
Is it true?
Why do therapists seem to think it is?
On the outside it may seem like there are too many therapists, however I had a really good reality check the other day when my Dentist came in to see me. We often get talking about business and what is going on with each other’s respective businesses, and this day was no different. She began to tell me about how she was involved with the local association of Dentists and that they had a meeting set for that evening. I got curious and asked how many dentists were in town and how many they would typically get out to a meeting. Boy was I shocked.
First they typically get about 50 members out to a meeting and second that there were 181 dentists in my city. In a city in which we have a population of about 150,000 people and in which there are about 175 massage therapists. I would not have guessed that there were more dentists in this town than there were massage therapists.
So what is so astounding about these numbers? Let me share with you my thought process on hearing these numbers and why I got so excited for every massage therapist and massage student in my area. The similarity between massage therapists and dentists is that we both rely on insurance coverage (at least here and in most areas) for our customers to be able to afford to come in on a regular basis. When looking at the per visit coverage instead of the total dollar amount paid out, the number of visits is often the same or better for massage therapy than for dentistry.
If we are both dealing with the same (or close to) segment of the population; being those who have jobs with benefits or are willing to pay out of pocket for health care, then it could be safe to assume that we have approximately the same number of people to market to. Now, here is the exciting part; according to my client a dentist would typically have 2,000-6,000 clients for a full practice. If we have 181 dentists in this town who are all busy (which according to the association meetings they all seem to be fairly busy), then we have a HUGE untapped market for massage therapy. I am not sure about you but if I have 200 active clients I am really busy. Compare this to the 2,000-6000 for dentists and you can start to see the potential for many more therapists. In fact, about 10 time more therapists. Even if we say this is too optimistic and cut it in half or even by three quarters that would still leave 3-5 times the growth in the number of clients for massage.
You could choose to make up all kinds of stories as to why this theory would not work, or you could choose to use the numbers and information to shift your perspective to one of abundance and that there truly is lots available for everyone.
Biography: Dana Pharant is the owner of Whole Body Healing - Therapy Supplies. She has been a registered massage therapist since 1992 and running a therapy supply store since 1999. Her store rocks out at both its geographical locations at: 68 Hooper Rd Barrie, ON and on the internet at: http://www.wholebodyhealing.com.
Biography: Dana Pharant is the owner of Whole Body Healing - Therapy Supplies. Her store rocks out at both its geographical location at: 68 Hooper Rd Barrie, ON and on the internet: www.wholebodyhealing.com.
You have heard it before; “the market is saturated”, “there are too many massage therapist in my area” and other such comments.
Is it true?
Why do therapists seem to think it is?
On the outside it may seem like there are too many therapists, however I had a really good reality check the other day when my Dentist came in to see me. We often get talking about business and what is going on with each other’s respective businesses, and this day was no different. She began to tell me about how she was involved with the local association of Dentists and that they had a meeting set for that evening. I got curious and asked how many dentists were in town and how many they would typically get out to a meeting. Boy was I shocked.
First they typically get about 50 members out to a meeting and second that there were 181 dentists in my city. In a city in which we have a population of about 150,000 people and in which there are about 175 massage therapists. I would not have guessed that there were more dentists in this town than there were massage therapists.
So what is so astounding about these numbers? Let me share with you my thought process on hearing these numbers and why I got so excited for every massage therapist and massage student in my area. The similarity between massage therapists and dentists is that we both rely on insurance coverage (at least here and in most areas) for our customers to be able to afford to come in on a regular basis. When looking at the per visit coverage instead of the total dollar amount paid out, the number of visits is often the same or better for massage therapy than for dentistry.
If we are both dealing with the same (or close to) segment of the population; being those who have jobs with benefits or are willing to pay out of pocket for health care, then it could be safe to assume that we have approximately the same number of people to market to. Now, here is the exciting part; according to my client a dentist would typically have 2,000-6,000 clients for a full practice. If we have 181 dentists in this town who are all busy (which according to the association meetings they all seem to be fairly busy), then we have a HUGE untapped market for massage therapy. I am not sure about you but if I have 200 active clients I am really busy. Compare this to the 2,000-6000 for dentists and you can start to see the potential for many more therapists. In fact, about 10 time more therapists. Even if we say this is too optimistic and cut it in half or even by three quarters that would still leave 3-5 times the growth in the number of clients for massage.
You could choose to make up all kinds of stories as to why this theory would not work, or you could choose to use the numbers and information to shift your perspective to one of abundance and that there truly is lots available for everyone.
Biography: Dana Pharant is the owner of Whole Body Healing - Therapy Supplies. She has been a registered massage therapist since 1992 and running a therapy supply store since 1999. Her store rocks out at both its geographical locations at: 68 Hooper Rd Barrie, ON and on the internet at: http://www.wholebodyhealing.com.
Biography: Dana Pharant is the owner of Whole Body Healing - Therapy Supplies. Her store rocks out at both its geographical location at: 68 Hooper Rd Barrie, ON and on the internet: www.wholebodyhealing.com.
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