*New Feature* Recurring Appointments

Bodywork Buddy has always had recurring/repeating general events, but now we also have the ability to create recurring confirmed appointments!

When creating a confirmed appointment via clicking within the calendar (dashboard > calendar > main > click into date on calendar > confirmed appointment), there is now the option to make the appointment recurring/repeating.

Fill in the client, service, and time details like when normally creating a confirmed appointment, and then select the repeating type from the dropdown box.

Once choosing the type of repeat, you'll have options to customize it more with how often it repeats, and until forever or a set date, certain days of the week, etc. 

Click Schedule Appointment.

Clients will receive a confirmation email with the first date in the series for the repeating appointment, and then receive their email reminders prior to their appointment as specified in your settings.

This latest update also includes the ability to delete just one in a series or the entire series of a recurring general event. (Up until now there was only the option to delete the entire series).

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.