Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/97768
your best year ever October Client Appreciation Month In our quest to get new clients, we often neglect our existing ones and take them for granted. Don't let that happen to you. They are the ones paying your bills and supporting your family. This month, you are going to make plans for a "Client Appreciation Month" in November. Focus on giving clients more value instead of just offering a discount. Here's what you need to do: • Give clients who come in a little present, somewhere in the $5–$20 range. • Add a half hour to their first treatment in November at no charge. • Donate a percentage of their treatment fee to a charity in their name. • Offer them a substantial discount on gift certificates. November Big Gift Certificate Sales Winter holidays are the season of gift giving, and you want to be prepared. Start planning for what will be the biggest gift certificate sales period of the year. You can do a traditional promotion. Change your signage on the back of your treatment room doors and on your reception desk and send out an email notifying clients that gift certificates are available for the holiday season. If you've done your work in May and have networked with business owners, approach them individually and offer them a discount on gift certificates if they want to buy a large number for their staff or best customers. Alternatively, you can really ramp it up with an unconventional approach. Here's what you need to do: • Offer half-hour gift certificates for a ridiculously low price ($5–$10) to all current clients. • Put the following conditions on the sale: "For first-time clients only; one per client; no cash value; please redeem before January 31, 2014; can be upgraded to a full hour for just $30." Be very upfront about these conditions and print them right on the certificate. (Of course, make sure you can meet the demand for the certificates you sell.) 64 massage & bodywork january/february 2013