Massage & Bodywork

September/October 2013

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visit abmp.com "Relate to your clients I can use a simple statistic to help illustrate this—more than half of our members renew their membership online, and more than 90 percent have an email address. In the general American public, one in five don't even use the Internet (Pew Research Center, April 2012), so I don't buy this narrative that has been perpetuated over the years that massage professionals are anti-technology. and prospective One thing I say often is that professionals must meet their clients where they live—and that doesn't just mean geographically. It means emotionally, intellectually, and perhaps most importantly, technologically. Relate to your clients and prospective clients on common ground—where you can comfortably President make yourself fit into their default setting. The responsibility to adapt is yours, not theirs. If I live in a largely vegan community, but decide to open a steakhouse, I'm probably not going to succeed, and it's not the community's fault. It's mine for not understanding the culture of my target market. So, let's proceed under the assumption that therapists are not afraid of embracing their inner geek, and that their target clients are like the typical American today—wired (or wireless!). Based on this, we'll show three relatively easy solutions (for less than $100/month) that will enable you to better attract and retain clients, and we'll be back with more next issue. clients on common ground—where you can comfortably make yourself fit into their default setting. The responsibility to adapt is yours, not theirs." Les Sweeney, ABMP KC: Right! I think the truth is that as a group we're just coming a little late to the party; maybe because therapists don't sit at a computer all day. Really, most of our workday is spent intentionally not sitting at a computer. We don't need technology to excel at the hands-on portion of our work. But to do the marketing and business management portion of running a business, yes, we need to use technology, and many therapists and bodyworkers do. With a little knowledge and encouragement, I think more of us will start. When used correctly, technology can simplify our lives and our clients' lives. It can be pretty fun to use, too. (No, I'm not kidding!) LS: You make a very good distinction, Kristin. There's a difference between being against something and not having great experience and confidence. That's where we can come in. Let's think about some resources therapists should adopt to help them better manage their lives and build their practices to boot. www.abmp.com. See what benefits await you. 29

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