In the last few weeks, I’ve been asked on several occasions how I define success.

It’s a great question, and the response I’ve given has been the same for the last 20 years.

It’s not a unique philosophy by any stretch, and Vince Lombardi has said it as succinctly as anyone:

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

The job at hand for our team at MassageBook has always been to help independent bodywork practices succeed by simplifying the day to day of managing a practice, and by promoting massage and bodywork to the public, thereby increasing the flow of clients going to independent practitioners (and increasing their income).

For those of you who have been with us for a few years, you’ve seen us roll out feature after feature and improvement after improvement as we get closer to realizing the full vision of MassageBook.

The hardest part for us?

Deciding how best to prioritize the long list of high-quality ideas to roll out.

We’ve learned that we can’t please everyone all the time, and it sucks to release something that we know is going to significantly help a large percentage of our members, but isn’t really all that meaningful to a number of other members.

To be specific - many of you have practices that are doing really well, and that don’t really need more clients. The priority for this group is to improve the efficiency of day to day tasks.

Then there’s the other group of folks who have newer practices and need lots of help getting clients on their tables.

We do our best to prioritize improvements for both groups, but sometimes we lean a little more in one direction.

In the recent past, we’ve definitely been leaning more towards helping those who need more clients; however now that the MassageBook Gift Certificates program is complete, we’ve shifted our emphasis back to helping practices run more smoothly day to day.

Many of the most requested features revolve around scheduling and text messaging on both desktop and the mobile app. The list of improvements is too long to share here, but things like supporting couples services and classes, membership program management, pre-populating client booking info from prior appointments, and improved multi-staff views on mobile have made the cut.

Before ending this rather long intro (sorry), let me just emphasize how important your feedback is in deciding what we prioritize. Unlike most, we really DO listen. I’m in the Community Feedback forum in MassageBook regularly, as many of you who get personal responses from me can attest to - so vote or add your suggestions!

We’re dedicated to helping you, the professional bodyworker, succeed.

The natural by product of this is an increased awareness and acceptance of massage and bodywork as a trusted alternative healthcare option which, I’m convinced, offers our community a bright and stable future.

With that being said, I wish you all much success. We’re honored to be a part of your journey.

－ Mark and the MassageBook Team

What’s New

New MassageBook Logo 2018

In the months to come, you’ll see many visual improvements across MassageBook. It’s part of a bigger effort to ensure that MassageBook is as easy to look at as it is to use.

Good design makes for a better experience and, if I’m honest, just “feels” better.

We started by re-designing our logo to be more consistent with who we are and what we do. The abstract design can be interpreted several ways and we like that.

Our interpretation: We think of the brown representing a bodyworker, who has healing energy passing between her hands. The exterior location pin shape gives a nod to the public facing side of MassageBook where people can find massage therapists and bodyworkers near them.

We hope you like the new look and will enjoy the design improvements being rolled out in the months to come!

Friendly Intake Form Language

Friendlier Intake Form Language

We love it when we get ideas to improve MassageBook from you. This is one example of a simple change that makes the intake form experience friendlier for your clients.

The suggestion was simply to change the titles within the customer intake form and use language that makes more sense to a typical client. (No confusing clinical terms that might confuse folks).

Easy to understand, relevant to bodywork, and we also removed the requirement for clients to provide a doctor’s name and contact info.

Import Contacts from Square into Massagebook

Import Contacts from Square into Massagebook

Have you been using Square to accept payments from your clients for ages and are looking for an easy way to add all these clients to MassageBook?

You’re in luck as now it’s really easy to do so.

All it takes is following a couple of simple steps, which you can find in a short knowledge base article here.

MassageBook Gift Cards

MassageBook Gift Cards - Update

One of MassageBook’s core missions is to champion the benefits of massage and bodywork to the public, thereby increasing the flow of new clients to skilled independent bodywork practices like yours.

We’re excited to share that this release marks the official introduction of MassageBook Gift Cards.

MassageBook gift cards (as opposed to the Gift Certificates you create and sell for your business) are available for purchase from MassageBook directly and may be redeemed at any practice that uses MassageBook across the United States. (You can opt-out of receiving clients who pay with a MassageBook Gift Card if you choose).

The setting to accept MassageBook Gift Cards is located in the Business Settings section. After checking out a client who pays with a MassageBook gift card, the total amount minus 17% will be sent directly to your bank account. No transaction fees are charged.

It’s just one more source of new clients that MassageBook can provide those practices that are looking to grow their client lists and generate more income.