Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72343
TEN FOR TODAY Create a Business Page on Facebook, and invite your clients to "like" you. Those who do can receive regularly updated information about specials, as well as newsletter articles and other items. You can even use your Facebook page as a platform for online scheduling. Full Slate, for example, has a Facebook app that lets clients who check out your Facebook page also book an appointment with just a few clicks, without ever leaving Facebook. 7. HAVE AN OPEN HOUSE Not every effort at staying in touch has to be high-tech. There is a lot to be said for old-fashioned hospitality— especially if it includes food. Author and business coach Cherie Sohnen-Moe (www.sohnen-moe. com) advocates for quarterly open houses for massage therapists whose salon or studio space permits it. "It's a great way to have your current clients bring in other people who might be interested," she says. "It's casual, relaxed. It's a way to connect with clients that isn't just them on the table." She suggests scheduling some meet-the-therapist time, as well as a short presentation on some aspect of massage therapy. As an added bonus, see if a local health food store might be willing to supply you with free refreshments in exchange for putting out coupons advertising their business. GREETING CARD Birthday wishes—along with a gift certifi cate for a discount—are a nice touch. Or consider an anniversary card. Not a client's wedding anniversary, mind you, but the anniversary of their fi rst appointment with you. 8. SEND AN UNEXPECTED "I always recommend at least once a year doing something that actually gets into people's hands—a postcard or a greeting card," Sohnen-Moe says. 9. SAY IT WITH CHOCOLATE With the holidays approaching, consider rewarding your clients— especially the regular ones—with a token of your appreciation for their business. Few things in life express gratitude the way a gift of chocolate does, and a high-quality chocolate packed with antiaging antioxidants and blood pressure- reducing fl avonoids is even better. "It's a gift that really shows someone you're thinking about them and you not only want them to have a moment of indulgence, but you want it to be a healthy indulgence," says Whitney Sinclair, spokeswoman for Chocolove (www.chocolove.com), a Colorado-based company that sells premium chocolate and offers wholesale prices to massage therapists. Consider putting your own business stickers on the candy bars, and they become a sweet advertisement, as well as a token of appreciation. 10. all the information customers need: your location, your hours of operation, the assurance that their business is important, and a promise to return their call as soon as possible. Then be prompt in doing so. But don't limit yourself just to returning phone calls. If you haven't seen a client for a while, maybe it's time to forsake email reminders and electronic coupons. Maybe it's time to pick up the phone and call to say you've missed them and see how they're doing. That human connection can be the best business-building tool of all. based freelance writer. Contact her at killarneyrose@comcast.net. Rebecca Jones is a Denver- REMEMBER, PHONES WORK BOTH WAYS In your rush to embrace online communications, don't forget about telephones. Make sure your voice- mail message for incoming callers is both welcoming and useful. Supply tune in to your practice at ABMPtv 85