At MassageBook, our #1 priority is your success. Sometimes getting closer to your goals requires an awareness of what you shouldn’t do as much as what you should. Some bodywork professionals open their practices without understanding the commitment to ongoing improvement required. To help guide you towards achieving you closer to your practice goals, here are five reasons massage therapy businesses often fail:

 

1. Not listening to your customer

The number one reason for failing to have a successful massage therapy practice. Your business should be devoted to your customers. By listening, you will be able to improve your technique, your policies and your service. Understanding how your clients really feel will often lead to changes that directly improve your business’s growth. Take the time to ask for constructive criticism and then follow through with changes based on their feedback.

 

2. Not keeping a clean and inviting office

Your place of work should be clean and inviting. The last thing anyone wants to see when they lay down on a massage table is a pile of towels in the corner, dirty bathroom tile, cobwebs or dust. If you hate to clean, hire professional help. A clean, professional looking office will go a long way with your clients. Reinvesting income to improve the experience your customers have will always pay off.

 

3. Not marketing

You don’t have to take out a huge billboard. There are lots of cost and time effective marketing initiatives that will yield great results. You can sign up for a MassageBook account, which generates a free website for your business and allows you to monitor your social media presence, your online visibility and even automate email marketing that brings clients back more regularly.

 

4. Not rewarding

Businesses that fail often fail to reward their loyal clients. As a part of your client focused practice, you should set up an incentive program. Perhaps it is simply generating an email that offers coupons to those who sign up. Perhaps it is rewarding clients who refer new people. Showing your appreciation is imperative for building recurring business.

 

5. Not continuing your education

The best businesses thrive because the boss never stops challenging themselves to learn and refine their knowledge and skills. And so it should be for you. As a bodywork professional, there are always new techniques to learn. Keeping up to date with new market trends and business practices will generate great ideas you can use to continue improving. Set aside time in your busy schedule to stay abreast of what happens in your industry with a resource like ABMP. Educating yourself allows you to better educate and serve your clients.

 

Building a loyal clientele is the most important factor to succeeding in the massage therapy industry. In order to do so, you should always listen to your customer, keep your office clean and inviting, use marketing/advertising to grow your business and continue challenging yourself to become ever more knowledgeable.

 

Follow these practical tips to start building a clientele and creating a successful business, but ignore them at your own peril. Do you have more tips on what to avoid? Share them with us on the MassageBook Facebook page.