Just like your own unique voice identifies you as an individual, the voice you choose to send out into the universe defines your massage therapy practice. What is the tone of your practice’s voice? Is it sophisticated, high-end, and exclusive? Is it conversational and friendly? Is it serious and professional? Is it witty and easygoing? For some customers seeking a massage therapy service, they may not appreciate sarcasm or your sense of humor and want a therapist who is strictly professional in his/her demeanor; for others, they might not feel comfortable (or welcomed) if you come across too stuffy and elitist. The words you choose to speak, write, or video regarding your massage therapy practice represent your brand’s voice. If you don’t like what you’re hearing and sending out, change it. Here are some tips not only to give your brand a voice, but also to create the best voice to best represent your practice:

Create your company’s character.

If you’ve thoughtfully designed a physical environment that is relaxing, stress-free, and welcoming, you want your character, how you handle things, and your voice to be right in sync with that. If you welcome walk-ins and don’t freak out if a client has to reschedule, you want your customers to feel that sense of ease when communicating with you. If your regular clients know they can bring in an out-of-town guest with them for a session, you’re sending a message that it’s easy to book an appointment, new clients don’t have to wait weeks to see you, and you’re flexible. If your practice’s voice is formal and makes it seem as if it’s a privilege to be able to book an appointment with you and that new clients should expect to wait weeks before their first appointment at your office, that’s a completely different voice you’re sending out. Neither one is right nor wrong; it all depends on how you want your practice’s character to come across. You can create a combination of both extremes. You can only exclusively accept new clients through referrals of established clients, but you can be open and flexible to see those new, referred clients straight away!

Create an authentic you.

Without sharing the details with a client of the disagreement you had the night before with your spouse, the authentic you is the real, human, individual you. Perhaps there was a stressful time in your life where massage therapy helped you ~ you can share that story. Maybe you’ve recently lost a loved one in your life, sharing that real loss and those real emotions with some of your clients makes them feel closer to the authentic you. While you certainly want to be professional with the services that you provide, you’re not a robot and you’re not just any massage therapist. Since your profession demands in-person, physical-touch services, you need to be genuine and authentic all the more! All of your life experiences have made you who you are today ~ and your clients would appreciate getting to know, respect, and love that authentic you.

Use the same language as the clients you want to attract.

If you are only reaching out to the medical community for potential new clients, then your voice should reflect that same level of professional and technical expertise. You should market your services based on how they will affect the body physically vs. focusing on how they can alleviate stress. If you are wanting to attract residents and business owners from your local community, you’ll want to use conversational language vs. medical jargon. Whether it’s highly technical, medical, or conversational, you’ll want every piece of marketing material that you create to be informative, error-free, and engaging. It’s better to have two thoughtfully-worded blogs posted each week than posting blogs every day filled with mistakes and trite content. If three different blogs were printed from three different massage therapy websites, your audience ought to be able to easily distinguish your blog from the others because of your distinct voice.

Can you hear me now?

A great way to discover if you’re being heard is to always request some feedback, a call to action, or a response. If you mail out 50 cool champagne-shaped bottles with a message and 45 local business owners come in to have their bottles topped with “something sparkling”, you’ll know your voice was heard loud and clear. If you send an email with a call to action regarding learning more about your promotion and you discover via your website analytics that no one has come to your landing page for that promotion, you’ll know the voice in those emails wasn’t effective.

You’ve got one life to live. Make it beautiful, awesome, and authentic. Create the voice you want your clients to embrace, to hear, and to gravitate toward.

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