Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/465652
DIRECT MAIL MARKETING KC: How many potential clients in a 5-mile radius of your offi ce know your practice exists? How many drive by every day, totally unaware they're that close to greatness? One way to introduce your business to the neighborhood is through direct mail— sending marketing pieces by mail. Direct mail doesn't always get the highest response rate compared to other forms of marketing, but it does give you the opportunity to introduce your practice to potential clients in a specifi c geographic area. It's pretty easy to implement, too. First, choose your marketing message: introduce your services, gift certifi cate sales, new modality, new location, limited-time neighborhood discount, Kamehameha Day special, etc. Then, choose a provider to work with. Two organizations that offer user-friendly options are the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Vistaprint. USPS Every Door Direct Mail Use the online mapping tool to target your area and choose your mail route, then bring your marketing pieces (using the correct size and label specifi cations) to the post offi ce, and the postal carrier will deliver them for you. Visit www.usps.com/everydoordirectmail for information or to order a free kit with examples. BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (B2B) MARKETING KC: Businesses make great clients, too! B2B marketing is selling your product or service to another business instead of an individual. The other business may use this purchase as they wish: perhaps they award one of your gift certifi cates to their employee of the month or pay you to provide chair massage to customers or employees. A realtor may purchase gift certifi cates to give to new homeowners as a closing gift. A business may also purchase your service to enhance one of their own sales; for example, a local fi tness club may offer a gift certifi cate for your practice as a special offer for every new member who joins that month. In this case, the fi tness club purchases the gift certifi cates directly from you at an agreed-upon price and distributes them to qualifying members. The key is the other business is buying your product, not an individual. How do B2B marketing opportunities happen? You create them! Look at the businesses in your community, brainstorm ways those businesses can use your services, and initiate conversations with those business owners. This is one of those occasions where being a member of your local chamber of commerce or a networking group comes in handy. Why does B2B marketing work? You receive payment for your services from the business up front and then have the opportunity to introduce your work to a new set of clients. Win-win! SEASONAL MARKETING LS: Pretend a greeting card company has hired you to fi gure out how to sell more greeting cards. How can you make an impression? I just did some web research on holidays and found a page that listed every 2015 holiday. Do you know how many there are? Me neither! I stopped counting when I hit 70 by the end of April. Like the greeting card people, holidays can be good for your business, too. Use them as excuses to make a fuss over something. Here are three great marketing ideas, free of charge, that I just made up by looking at this never-ending holiday list: 1. Kamehameha Day is June 11. Kamehameha the Great was the king of Hawaii. Anyone who comes in wearing a Hawaiian shirt gets 20 percent off. 2. Daylight Savings starts March 8. Welcome back the sun! 15 percent off any 7:00 p.m. session for the month of March. Or 30 extra minutes for the price of 10, or something like that. 3. Parents' Day is July 26. If you are a parent, or you've had parents, book a session today and you'll get 20 percent off your next session if you come back before August 10. There it is. Just like that. You can market around unusual holidays, traditional holidays, or the seasons. Autumn. Tax Day. Summer. Halloween. Grandparents' Day. ABMP members, visit the "Discounts for Members" section of www.abmp.com to learn about special discount opportunities with Vistaprint.