Top Tech Tools of 2014 for Massage Therapists

Top Tech Tools of 2014 for Massage Therapists

• Online Scheduling
  Many massage therapists report online scheduling being their single most important tech tool for their practice.
  Mary-Claire Fredette of Cincinnati just wrote a blog post of her own on the topic: Why Online Scheduling Works for Massage Therapists.
  Using an online scheduling system not only provides a convenience for your clients, but it also helps to cut down on no-shows with email and text reminders, helps to reinforce your cancelation policies, gives you more control over your schedule, can help fill last minute openings, eliminates phone tag, and increases your professionalism. (Just to name a few of the benefits!)
  
• Professional Website 
  Having a professional website for your massage business helps to build authority, builds a relationship with your clients (before they even walk in the door), improves credibility, and much more.
  Some things to consider when creating or redesigning your website:
  Make it easy to navigate.
  Update it regularly.
  No flash graphics or music.
  No "wall of text". Break it up visually with some pictures.
  For more guidelines on creating a winning website, check out our past post When good websites go bad.
  
• High Ranking Search Results / Search Engine Optimization
  Search friendly design, keywords, content, links... there's a lot to consider with SEO, but a few basics can get your website going in the right direction. Be cautious of guns for hire claiming to skyrocket your search engine rankings, this is an area that has a lot of scam artists online.
  We'll be writing more in 2015 on ways to improve your SEO, so stay tuned.
• Testimonials 
  Many MT's report the use of testimonials as a key influencer for new clients to book. Whether it be a review site like Yelp.com, or the use of your own collected testimonials, showcasing reviews for prospective clients can be very persuasive and help you build your business.
  Bodywork Buddy automatically collects client testimonials for you and displays them on your online scheduler.
  We also have a checklist you can signup to receive that details lots of great ways to use testimonials to boost your business.
  

Using Bodywork Buddy For 2 Different Locations

While Bodywork Buddy was really designed for a single location for online scheduling, we do have some members who use it for multiple locations.

There are a couple of different ways you can do this.

The first is to create your service groups of the types of services you offer, and then within those groups create different services for each location.

For example, a service group of "Hot Stone Massage" with the services of "60 minute hot stone massage @ location 1" and "60 minute hot stone massage @ location 2". This method seems to be the preferred style with our members.

Another way you could create different locations on your microsite is by creating different service groups for each location.

*While this workaround seems to be suitable for some members, please note that it is not possible to create only certain days in the calendar as "open" for each location. You could add in the text descriptions for the services which days are at which location, but clients scheduling online would still see all of your available openings in your calendar no matter which service or location they were scheduling for.

Member Spotlight: Sarah Littlejohn

http://www.westgamassage.com

• Today's Bodywork Buddy Member Spotlight is Sarah Littlejohn from Carrollton, Georgia of West Georgia Massage & Bodywork.

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  Q: What inspired you to become a massage therapist? A: When I was 15, my mom was in a car accident. She went to see a chiropractor who was also a neuromuscular therapist. I was so amazed at the progress my mom had from receiving manual therapy. Pretty soon, the chiropractor let me sit in on massage sessions (my mother’s) and explain what she was doing. It was like a whole new world was open to me. That same chiropractor soon opened a massage school. After going to college, I decided to follow my original dream and study NMT. I never looked back.

  Q: How long have you been a MT? A: I’ve been a massage therapist for almost 5 years now. I kick myself constantly for not doing it sooner.

  Q: What is your favorite thing about being a MT? A: When you an help someone who is in tremendous pain to walk out of your office virtually pain free, what better feeling is there? I’m incredibly lucky that I get to provide this service to people daily.

  Q: What is the most challenging issue you face as a MT? A: No job is without its challenges. At first everyone struggles to gain clients. It seriously just takes time. The biggest struggle for me though, has been my trying to be taken seriously by physicians. The key is to always be up on the latest massage research and to promote an evidence-based practice, which I do with pride.

  

  
  

  Q: What advice would you give to other massage therapists to help build their business? A: First, if you are a sole practitioner, subscribe to Bodywork Buddy. It will make your life so much easier. Second, the best piece of advice is to stay motivated. There have been times that I have been slow. This happens to everyone. It’s common to feel stagnant. Don’t let this get you down. Take advantage of slow times. Use your non hands-on office hours to study, take a class, work on marketing, or simply rest. Down time is a gift and is key to the building process of your business. Don’t give up! You will get there. Stay motivated.
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It's the End of the Year... Are You Organized?

As we approach the year's end, it's natural to start thinking about income reports for your massage business as well as goals in the new year to be more organized.

Bodywork Buddy can help. Our extensive reports features allow you to easily download everything you need.

Plus some awesome charts.
We love charts.

Yearly summary? We got that. Income statement? Yup.
Expense line item report? You got it. We could talk about reports all day long.... so really, let's just sum it up and say this will make tax time a breeze for your business.

Bodywork Buddy has a free 15 day trial, no credit card required. Zero risk to try it out. Decide it's not for you? No problem. The trial automatically expires after 15 days and no further action is needed.

Need help? We're here. 

*New Feature* Policies Now Appear in Emails as well as Microsite

Your company policies listed in your account settings (Dashboard > Account > Account Settings > Company Policies) have always been accessible on your scheduling Microsite via a link at the bottom.

Now they also appear on your appointment confirmation and reminder emails to clients.

Reinforcing your cancellation policy along with email and SMS reminders (features of Bodywork Buddy for no extra charge) can help to cut down on no-shows and last minute cancellations for your massage business.

Do you have a cancellation policy? What other ways do you find helpful to make sure clients are aware of your policies?

5 Tips to Boost Your Gift Certificate Sales This Holiday

5 tips to boost your sales of gift certificates this year:

1. Create packages or bundled services for an experience rather than just one service. Create more value with add-ons rather than discounting your services.
   
2. Have several gift options at different price points.
   
3. Email your list promoting your gift certificates. Be sure to write it from the angle of helping them with their gift giving rather than trying to sell something.
   Remember to use email etiquette. Not sure where to start? Check out our past post on email marketing.
   
4. Change your voicemail greeting to include info on gift certificates available.
   
5. Include a banner or image on the home page of your website about gift certificate promotions. 

Plantar Fascia Exercises Video

Here's a great video to share with clients suffering from plantar fasciitis.

Is Bodywork Buddy Right For Me?

Extensive reports available with Bodywork Buddy

There's a lot of different choices when it comes to online scheduling and practice management software. It's important to first consider what features are crucial for your needs. Not every system is going to be the right fit for you. (Much like with massage therapy where clients need to try out different therapists to find the right one for them.) Most online scheduling systems offer a free trial so you can do just this without any risk or commitment.

We find that most therapists can get a good feel for the system and if it's the right fit for them by signing up for the Bodywork Buddy free 15 day trial. But here's a list of some key features to see if it might be a good fit for your needs.


If you answer "Yes" to any of these, Bodywork Buddy may be right for you:

• I am a solo therapist with my own business 
• I only have 1 location
• I want clients to be able to schedule online from my website or Facebook page
• I want to track my income and expenses
• I want to automatically send email and text reminders to clients
• I want to automatically collect testimonials from clients
• I want to track sales and redemptions of gift certificates and packages
• I want to keep client files and notes including SOAP notes
• I want to sync my Bodywork Buddy calendar with my iCal and/or Google Calendar or other calendar
• I want to access my account from my smartphone or tablet as well as a desktop computer
• I want to easily see upcoming client birthdays, or what clients haven't been to me in X amount of time
• I want to have full customer support via live chat, email, 24/7 online help center, and phone at no extra charge

If you answer "Yes" to any of these, Bodywork Buddy is probably NOT the right fit for you:

• I want to process credit cards within my account, or require a credit card to make an appointment online
• I have multiple therapists
• I have multiple locations
• I want to schedule classes online with my scheduler
• I want to track sales and inventory of retail products
• I want a downloadable app on my mobile device to access when I don't have internet access

These are certainly not all of the features of Bodywork Buddy, but a few key things to think about when you're looking for an online scheduler and practice management system.

We strongly encourage you to signup for the free trial if you're interested in Bodywork Buddy to see if it's a good fit for your needs. There is no credit card required to signup, your 15 day trial will automatically expire if you choose not to continue with it. So there's no need to worry about remembering to cancel it, or worry that your card will get charged. 

While signing up for our trial will put you on our email list, you can unsubscribe from that at any time if you choose. 

We won't constantly call and harass you if you decide that Bodywork Buddy isn't right for you. 

We promise. ❤ 

And that's what we mean by risk-free. Your card won't get charged. We won't inundate you with unwanted phone calls and emails. 

We will, however, always be here if you have any questions or need any help.

Full Knowledge Base in Bodywork Buddy

We have a Help Center that is accessible 24/7 within your Bodywork Buddy account. Each section of the system has it's own category in the Help Center and is complete with video tutorials.

You can easily search for answers to your questions and lookup info at any time. Most articles include screenshots with step-by-step instructions to walk you through each area.

Still have questions or need some assistance? Our team is always here to help. Contact us on live chat, or send us a message (just click on the tab at the bottom right of the screen).

Apple Maps Connect

Apple quietly launched a new service called Apple Maps Connect earlier this week. Similar to Google My Business, it's a listings-based service that helps small businesses get found on Apple Maps.

If you'd like to add your business to Apple Maps Connect, it only takes a few minutes and is simple to do.

The blog Search Engine Land has a thorough post with screenshots walking you through the process. Check it out and add your massage business!

New Subscription Area Update

We've updated the subscription area within Bodywork Buddy!

The new updates include:

• Ability to keep more than one credit card on file (to avoid disruption in service if the first card transaction isn't approved)
• Transaction receipts automatically emailed each time your card is charged
• Easily change from one subscription plan to a different one at any time
• Other features that will enable us to add exciting new things in the future in the member area!

If you're a Bodywork Buddy member, you'll see a banner on your dashboard reminding you to update your billing information within the next seven days. Add a second card to your file to ensure there is no disruption of service in the future should the first card not be approved.

Have questions? Need assistance? Contact us! We're always here to help.

Thank you for being a member. We appreciate you so much!

Suite Spa

I was surprised when I came across this blog post by Massage Table Outlet highlighting a new trend in the spa industry taking place in my own backyard - Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The J.W. Marriott in Grand Rapids has started offering in-room spa services with the use of a newly designed cart to cater to this market.

If you often work with hotels in your massage business, maybe you've already heard of this.
While not all MT's work closely with that industry, the whole thing got me thinking:  how else can you create a niche or cater to a specific group for your massage business?

Get creative.  What area needs your services that aren't being targeted currently?  What groups interest you that you would like to work with more?