The Power of Real Reviews

Displaying testimonials or reviews on your website or in other marketing can be very persuasive to prospective clients looking to schedule an appointment with you. They build trust, aren't "sales-y", and help clients overcome skepticism.
When a potential client sees a whole page full of quotes and testimonials from existing clients, it
further cements the idea that you’re someone they want to do business with.

So, how do you go about collecting reviews for your business? While there are many review sites available to list our businesses on, there's also great testimonials all around us if we are listening. When a client comments about how great they feel after their treatment, ask them if you can quote them on that.

Many online scheduling softwares include automated emails that ask your clients to leave a testimonial or review. This is not only a great way to collect testimonials for your marketing, but a wonderful source of feedback to improve where needed. 

Some tips for collecting testimonials:

• Ask for a review within a day or two of your service when it's still fresh in your client's mind.
• Ask for their permission to use it and their name in your marketing.
• Have an easy form for clients to fill out that simply asks them questions like "How do you feel before your massage? How do you feel after your massage? What do you like most about our services?".
• Use an online system that automates the process for you. (Shameless plug: Bodywork Buddy.)
• LinkedIn can be another easy source for testimonials. If you're connected with clients on LinkedIn, you can easily send a request for them to leave you recommendations. 
• Facebook business pages includes the option to rate and review.

When using testimonials in your marketing, choose testimonials that are:

• Filled with benefits.
• Substantiates your claims.
• From someone your clients can relate to.
• Compares your services to others.
• Credible - use real words from real people. Don't create fake reviews.

Keep mediocre reviews. This is your opportunity to make your business shine with great customer service. It also makes your testimonials more believable if there are some 3 and 4 star reviews in with your 5 star ratings.

Member Spotlight: David Kuhn

Today's member spotlight is David Kuhn of Muscle Therapy Pro in Columbus, Ohio.

Q: What inspired you to be a massage therapist?

A:   My inspiration for becoming a massage therapist came out of a loss of a job which I turned into a positive rather than a negative.  I was at a good paying job but at the end of the day I was not happy.  My desire is to change lives for the better and I was not spending 12 hours a day doing this.  I was at a crossroads, recently divorced then the loss of my job all in a 6 month period and I was narrowing in on 40.  I decided I was going back to school and this was my one shot to do what I wanted for the rest of my life.  I would never give somebody else the power to tell me when my job was over and change not only my life but my children’s life as well.  It has not been easy buy I have never taken my eyes off of my goal.



Q: How long have you been doing massage?

A:   I have been doing massage for almost two years now.




Q: What is your favorite thing about being an MT?

A:  Wow, there are so many good things to say about being a massage therapist!  I guess my favorite would have to be making people feel good and changing their lives at the same time.  My favorite type of client is the one that comes in for headaches and has been taking over-the-counter meds on a regular basis for their condition.  I love explaining to them what the meds may be doing to their stomach and what I can do for them so they no longer need the meds and at the same time they no longer have the headaches.



Q: What do you feel is the most challenging issue for massage therapists?

A: I feel the most challenging issue for massage therapist is to educate the public. This is a profession that has been around for many years. In fact it was the first type of medical care. Unfortunately down the line it has received a bad name because of some much less than professional individuals in the business. Most people view massage as a pure luxury and not for the numerous medical/health benefits as well as emotional benefits.  Think about it, where else can you go for things like plugged up sinuses, constipation, headaches, muscle tension and emotional healing, be treated for all during a 90 minute session then sent on your way feeling like a new person for a fraction of the cost at a doctor’s office and no meds prescribed!



Q: What advice would you give to other MT’s to help build their business?


A:  The advice I would give to other massage therapist to help build their businesses would be knowledge, market, have a vision and stay the course while continuing to be flexible.

Cool Tool: Hubspot's Blog Topic Generator

Are you blogging for your massage business? (You should be! More on why later...)
Here's a cool tool from Hubspot.com to help you come up with some topics. The Blog Topic Generator is simple: enter a few nouns of subjects you would like to blog about, and the generator comes up with some ideas for you.

I entered:

• massage
• health
• stress

The generator came up with these topics to blog about:

You might need to tweak some of the results to work for topics for your blog, but this could definitely help get the creative juices flowing.

What other ways do you use to think of topics to blog about for your massage business?

New Facebook Call-to-Action Button

Facebook recently added a new feature to their business pages: a call-to-action button. This handy new feature allows you to add your online scheduler right into the top of your page and encourage clients to schedule an appointment with you.

From your business page, click the "Create Call-to-Action" button.

A pop-up window will appear with a drop down box to select a button for your call-to-action.

Select "book now" from the drop down menu.

Add your online scheduling site URL in the field for website.

Choose destinations for iOS and Android. Select "website" if you use Bodywork Buddy for online scheduling. 

Your call-to-action button is ready!

You can even view your results and see how often clients click on your "book now" button from your Facebook page.

Bodywork Buddy already had a "schedule online" app to connect to your Facebook page (see the "schedule online" tab below) but now with this new feature from Facebook your online scheduler can be even more prominent for your clients to schedule from Facebook.

Member Spotlight: Laura Holt

Today's member spotlight is Laura Holt from Skowhegan, Maine. She owns Laurel Tree Massage.

Q: What inspired you to be a massage therapist?

A: I was inspired to become a massage therapist as a result of everyone at my CNA job loving their shoulder "rub and foot rubs" on our night shift as CNA, even the nurse would be at the head of the line. She would send someone upstairs to get my peppermint oil so I didn't have to smell sweaty feet.

Q: How long have you been doing massage?

A: I have been a massage therapist for 5 years, all of those working for myself right out of college.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being an MT?

A: I love meeting new clients and seeing all the results as they become regulars, watching improvements.

Q: What do you feel is the most challenging issue for massage therapists?

A: Finding the right software that can be the best thing for your business, that makes all these tasks easier to do for us, but ultimately making it easy to track stuff to reward clients, remember details of their sessions easier and allows them to schedule online so we don't play phone tag, best too is those awesome reminders! 

Laura with her portable bars for
practicing Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy.

Q: What advice would you give to other MT’s to help build their business?

A: Get Bodywork Buddy now!!! The only other advice I would give is a program that no longer exists for helping with all the other business stuff. But really opening your heart to be there for the clients vs worrying about the financial part of business, worry about money and it becomes the focus, worry about the clients it builds them knowing you truly care about them... OR WAIT NO!!! GO take ASHIATSU and save your bodies now!!!! BEST THING EVER!!!

*New Feature* Overdue Appointments Box Collapsible

Have a lot of "overdue appointments" on your dashboard that you haven't quite gotten to completing into session records yet? Now you can easily collapse the overdue appointments box so it doesn't take up your whole dashboard.

Just click the little arrow on the right of the Overdue Appointments box.

Voila! They are hidden and your dashboard is more open. 

The Integrated Stretching Harness (ISH)

http://www.ish-stretch.com/

I first met David Henre several years ago at the AMTA National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. It was in 2008, to be exact... wow 7 years ago!

He stopped by the Bodywork Buddy booth at the 2014 AMTA National Convention this past Fall in Denver, Colorado and brought us a bag of goodies - the Integrated Stretching Harness (ISH). David's timing was perfect as it was day 2 of the convention, Berin and I were really feeling the effects of standing on the convention floor all day in combination with spending our free time in Denver walking everywhere. My calves were screaming at me and the thought of standing in our booth for another 2 days was pretty daunting.

I put the ISH on my calf and let it work it's magic while I stood in our booth and talked to massage therapists about Bodywork Buddy. The difference it made in my legs was amazing. I felt so much better and had no problem standing on the convention floor all day. I wore it most of the day and alternated between each calf. I don't doubt that my body would have been much worse for the wear after that 2nd day were it not for David's ISH.

David explains that it works by pinning 2 points of pressure on a limb above or below the joint, changing the shape of the tissue. This allows the soft tissue being pinned to stretch while you go about your day.






The Integrated Stretching Harness is available for a variety of areas including:

What massage therapist couldn't use THIS? mmmm....

• Hand/Foot
• Forearm/Upper Arm/Lower Leg
• Upper Leg
• Shoulder
• Hip/Glutes

A little bit about David:

Growing up in Colorado running cross country, climbing, bouldering, road and mountain biking, and alpine and telemark skiing (doing just about everything The Rockies provide access to!) helped fuel David's appreciation for what gives him the ability to enjoy outdoor activities: strength and health.

In 1991, David cracked vertebrae and compressed and broke a disc in his back. The threat that he may be paralyzed and his lengthy healing process after surgery sparked his interest in fitness and alternative medicine.

"Nobody needs to live in pain. I feel very strongly about this. It's why I got into fitness in the first place," David says.

In 1995, David achieved Personal Training Certification through the National Federation of Professional Trainers.

The ISH is a winner in our book. Many thanks to David for helping us out at the convention by bringing us several!
Learn more about ISH and order one at www.ish-stretch.com or visit their Facebook page.

*New Feature* Highlighted Business Hours in the Calendar

We've just made some updates that will now show your open business hours highlighted in light green in the calendar from the week and day views.

*New Feature* Services Report

Happy New Year! We're hard at work here at Bodywork Buddy to make 2015 the smoothest year yet for your bookkeeping needs for your massage practice.

We've added a new report option in Bodywork Buddy. You can now generate a yearly summary filtered by service type.

To access this report: Dashboard > Reports > Service Report >
Simply choose the year, and then select which service from the drop down menu to pull up a report of how much income you made that year from that specific service.
Please note this report is for service totals and tips from those services only.

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.

• 
  

  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?

Post-Convention Post!

We had a great time in Denver at the AMTA National Convention. Thank you so much to those of you who came out, it was great to meet you!

Bailee Cavos won our drawing for a free year of Bodywork Buddy - congrats, Bailee!

We were so busy that we didn't even get many photos, but what a great experience.

Many thanks to AMTA for the convention, the Colorado AMTA for helping us all prep for Denver beforehand, and to everyone who participated this year.

Top right: Bodywork Buddy cofounder Cindy with fellow Ashiatsu DeepFeet instructors 

Jeni Spring of Texas, Nancy Delong of Oregon, and Pilar Hook of Florida.

Middle right: Bodywork Buddy cofounder Berin after setting up our booth.

Bottom right: Sharon Bryant of the Alabama chapter AMTA.

We also launched our new site design on the first day of convention. To kick off Summer, we had implemented a complete overhaul to our member area to our new mobile responsive design. (The feedback from our members has been amazing!) So this new design for the front end now matches the awesome insides of Bodywork Buddy.
If you've been thinking of checking out our free 15 day trial, now's a great time to signup!

AMTA Convention 2014

Are you going to the AMTA convention next week in Denver?

If so, we'd love to meet you! Stop by our booth #428 and say hi! Charge your devices and connect to our free wifi while you chat with us.

Register for a free trial of Bodywork Buddy while you're there and enter a chance to win a 1 year membership! (value $300)

If you haven't already, download this app from AMTA so you can easily access the schedule and map of the convention center along with other handy info. In Google Play / iTunes.

We can't wait to meet you!

Sincerely,

Berin & Cindy Iwlew

Founders

*NEW* Mobile-Friendly Bodywork Buddy

Last month, we implemented our new completely mobile-friendly user interface for Bodywork Buddy. The upgrade made it possible for our members to run their practice smoothly from a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer. Registration is now open, signup and try it for free!

This upgrade includes many improvements from the previous mobile versions and is optimized and built specifically to run smoothly across all devices. The system is fully functional on mobile devices, allowing members to access all areas of their account - not just certain areas optimized for mobile - but the entire system.

Our member microsites underwent a mobile upgrade last Fall which enabled clients to be able to schedule with Bodywork Buddy members from their phones or tablets. Now with this latest upgrade to the member area, the system is fully functional on mobile devices.

No apps to download, Bodywork Buddy is accessible on your mobile device by opening your internet browser and going directly to www.BodyworkBuddy.com. Simple and quick!

We were thrilled to release it to our members and even more thrilled with their feedback!

According to studies, mobile use has now surpassed desktop use for internet access. Here at Bodywork Buddy, we're excited to be able to offer this awesome mobile functionality to our members.

• 2014: Mobile Internet users exceed desktop Internet users – see below (Morgan Stanley).

http://www.avoka.com/blog/2013/03/the-high-performance-digital-front-office/