Massage & Bodywork

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2017

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C h e c k o u t A B M P 's l a t e s t n e w s a n d b l o g p o s t s . Av a i l a b l e a t w w w. a b m p . c o m . 21 offers from prospective buyers. Similarly, intending buyers compete to obtain good offers from suppliers. When a contract is concluded, the buyer and seller exchange property rights in a good, service, or asset. Everyone interacts voluntarily, motivated by self-interest." 2 This type of competition constantly occurs around us, as we are reminded on TV, the internet, and social media— Apple versus Samsung, Progressive versus Geico, DirecTV versus DISH, Chipotle versus Qdoba. We are constantly being pitched and sold in an effort for a company, product, or concept to "win" our attention (and business). It never stops. And it occurs in the peaceful, loving, holistic world of massage, too. WHAT? Sorry, we're afraid so. But that's OK—there are good sides to competition. A marketplace establishes value, and in most cases benefits the consumer, forcing the competitors (sellers) to improve their product/service to attract the buyer. This happens at schools, spas, franchises, ABMP, even right down to the little ol' independent practice. As a therapist, if you do not acknowledge there are competitors to your service, then the first step to is to freshen your perspective. There are two basic types of competition for massage and bodywork professionals: (1) massage and bodywork competitors, and (2) the rest of the places your clients can spend their money. Category #2 is quite broad. Let's start with actual competitors: who they are and what you can do to stand out in the field (hint: do not literally stand out in a field). YOUR ACTUAL COMPETITION There are 328,000-plus massage therapists in the United States. Not all of them are your competition, but Susie in the office building a half-mile down the road probably is. It's helpful to have an understanding of how your practice matches up against hers. A common exercise in business planning is called a SWOT analysis—SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Use this process to take a good honest look at your practice. You need to be able to accurately analyze your own strengths and weaknesses before you start looking at the competition. It's a fairly simple process—identify each of the following for your practice: • Strengths—internal advantages and unique talents. • Weaknesses—areas for improvement. • Opportunities—new opportunities in your practice and the profession, including continuing education and new client markets. • Threats—competition and other obstacles you face. Once you've completed your SWOT analysis, go through the discipline of identifying all possible competitors you can think of—this may require some research. After you do that, whittle down your list to who/what you feel are your key competitors. For each of these competitors, complete a Competitive Analysis Form. List their strengths and weaknesses in important areas—including services offered, pricing, office location, marketing, and training— and then compare your practice to theirs in each of these areas. Recognize that you might not know all of this information for all of your competition; just be sure to make a good-faith effort to gather what information you can. Your goal here is to identify opportunities for growth and improvement in your own practice. ABMP members, download Competitive Analysis Forms from your member account at www.abmp.com/ members/business-management/bizfit- resources. Let's return to our definition of competition and our commentary about competition making things better. Rather than thinking of competition as a negative force, we can—and should—use it as a positive motivating tool. If I get tired in kilometer three of that 5k and my buddy beats me, I shouldn't think about how to trip him up, but rather, how to increase my late- race strength and stamina. So take that data you've collected through your competitive analysis and think about what your strengths are versus the competition—what do they do better, and should you consider doing it? Or, maybe you should ignore what their strengths are and "zig" to their "zag"? Are they cheaper? Maybe add time to your session rather than cut your price? We at ABMP live in this world, too—just because something's cheaper doesn't mean it's better (hint: ABMP membership is the best deal around, hands down). HOW TO STAND OUT How do you stand out in the field? The best way to rise above the competition is to put your heart and soul into doing something you love. Figure out what type of massage and bodywork you really want to do, who you want to work with, how you want to work, etc. Then, focus on doing those

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