A Massage Therapy Business Plan for a Successful Massage Therapy Practice  

By Arthur Bakeright

In this article we’ll discuss key concepts to incorporate into your massage therapy business plan to ensure growing success and profitability in your massage therapy practice. 

Monetise Your Massage Therapy Practice in Multiple Ways 

Monetise your massage business to provide multiple streams of income.  Obviously as a newly qualified massage therapist, the very first service you have at your disposal is your massage skills.  Many massage therapists simply leave it at that and miss out on so much potential income they could generate from offering alternative massage related products and services. 

Even as a new masseur, you can offer a range of products to your customers, including: 

·         books and videos 

·         relaxation CD’s 

·         aromatherapy and massage oils 

·         portable electric massagers 

·         and even novelty items. 

When you get more experienced you can also begin to run your own evening or weekend courses for a variety of massages for home use.  These can bring in substantial extra income as well as be an additional source of promotion for your business. 

Market Yourself In Multiple Ways 

Don’t just hang a sign outside your window and put an ad in the local paper.  These are the minimum you should be doing.  There are so many methods you can incorporate in your massage therapy business plan to market your massage business that are cheap or free. 

·         Leaflet drops in the neighbourhood of your massage business 

·         Signage 

·         Press releases 

·         Create a website for your business using free tools like Word Press 

Use Creative Marketing Techniques 

·         Set up a loyalty program, for example a card that your clients bring to record each massage.  After 9 massages, the 10^th is free 

·         Set up a Referral program.  Give your clients a brochure with a unique code and explanation of the program. For example, for each new customer they refer to you, they get 10% off their next massage. 

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Master Your Communication Skills 

An old standard truth that has been taught in sales training for decades is the importance of having your customers ‘like you’, because they will not buy from someone they don’t like.  It doesn’t matter how outstanding your product knowledge is, if they don’t like you, they will NOT buy from you. 

As the owner of your own massage therapy business, master the art of likeability.  There are key skills that anyone can learn to become more ‘likeable’, that can be used both on the phone and face to face.  A good place to start is putting the phrase “how to build rapport” into Google and you’ll be amazed at the list of great free tips at your disposal. 

Create Something Unique About Your Massage Business 

To set your massage therapy business apart from the rest in your area, find something you can incorporate that no one else does.  People who are seeking a regular massage will often try out a number of massage therapy practices in an area to find the one they like the most. 

If you are able, actually go and have a massage at your competitors in your area and take great mental notes of everything that’s good and bad about their practice.  Then simply incorporate all of the good and none of the bad into yours.   

On top of that, find something unique that none of the others have.  It could be something to do with your physical environment, the massage techniques you use, the products you use, or even the music you play.  Create something that makes them think of you first when ever they want a massage. 

Conclusion 

It’s not rocket science.  To have a successful and profitable massage therapy practice, you need a massage therapy business plan that put’s the odds in your favour.  There are really only three things you need: 

·         clients and customers 

·         products and services to them 

·         systems and strategies to ensure they return to you 

·         systems and strategies to have them refer others to you 

Create a massage therapy business plan that covers these points and your business will thrive. I hope the ideas shared in this article help to set you off in the right direction in your massage therapy practice. 

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 NOTE:  You will need massage business training to give you the greatest chance for growing success in your career.  The best I have found that is specifically tailored to the massage industry is 'Massage Therapy Success'.

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