Remember when we were kids, and when we were playing kickball or badminton, or tag, or whatever lame games we used to play when we were little, someone would inevitably stop the game (with a “time out”) and demand a “do over?”

Well, recently, the lovely Linda Roisum of ProsperousMassagePractice.com asked me to think about what I might do if I were granted a “do over” for my massage career.  She’s been featuring guest blog posts from various folks in our industry as part of a series titled, “If I Could Start Over,” and so when it was my turn to contribute, I was forced to really think about what I wish I’d known, what I wish I’d done, and what I wish I hadn’t done in the early days of my current incarnation.

It’s an interesting thing to ponder, really.  While I’m generally not keen to lament the so-called mistakes of the past, I am always game for insightful reflection.  And I’m certainly always up for pulling my tarnished trophies  from up on the shelf, lovingly polishing them up, and presenting them to new “contestants” in this game in the form of well-intentioned advice.  (Mind you, however, that upon examining the engraving very carefully, the recipients will realize that many of those trophies read “Booby Prize.”)

If you’re interested in what I came up with as I contemplated this “do over,” follow this link to Linda’s blog, and take your pick from the top shelf.

http://prosperousmassagepractice.com/2011/10/start-over-susan-epperly/

***Shameless Plug Alert***  This blog post promotes a product that I have created and am selling.  Obviously, I think it’s a really groovy product from which my readers can benefit, and I am not trying to fool anyone into thinking that this is an “unbiased product recommendation.”

Fellow MTs, if you spend anywhere near as much time as I do on social networking sites, then you’ve likely found yourself embroiled in (or at least, witnessing) discussion threads (that sometimes more closely resemble knock-down, drag-out verbal slobber-knockers) involving other MTs debating whether offering a “daily deal” via one of the numerous, ever-so-popular social buying sites symbolizes God-sent salvation or Hellish doom & damnation for small business owners.

The most vocal participants in these discussions often seem to be the therapists who have, somewhere along the way, picked up a boatload of pre-determined, unsubstantiated assumptions to which they hold on tightly and present as fact (i.e., “You will only attract cheap ass clients this way,” “None of these clients will ever come back,” “These social buying sites are suckering small businesses into paying way too much and not offering anything in return,” “You’re giving your money away unnecessarily,” and so on and so forth, and scooby-dooby-doo….).

Generally, these folks have no personal experience with this type of marketing platform, mind you.  They have just decided (evidently based on hearsay, various random anecdotes, and rumors) that this type of marketing is a mistake.  For everyone.  Always.  Period.  They’ve dismissed the possibilities before having thoroughly evaluated the potential opportunities that these platforms present, and they’re quick to dissuade others from exploring those possibilities as well.  I call them “The Neigh Sayers,” “The Negative Nellies,” or the “The Neganators.”

Some of these same therapists jump on the opportunity that these threads present to brag about the fact that they’re already so busy servicing their abundant, elite, full price-paying clients that they would never dream of offering such a discount.  “Good for you,” I find myself thinking.  “However, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and some of us are living in empires that are still ‘under construction.’”

And yet other participants in these discussions position themselves up on a high horse and admonish any “self-respecting health care providers” who would dare “demean themselves” by partaking in such discount-based marketing endeavors.   “Whatever, ‘Judge Judy,” I think to myself upon reading these preachy condemnations.  I don’t imagine that the countless chiropractors, dentists, dermatologists, acupuncturists, and other health care practitioners who employ these marketing strategies are losing any sleep over losing “cred” with their colleagues for being (*gasp*) savvy business people.

Then there are the people who have actually used such marketing platforms unsuccessfully, gotten mediocre – or even disastrous – results, and find it necessary to sour others on the experience by sharing their “horror stories”  (which, upon further examination, often turn out to involve poor execution, a lack of planning, and / or unrealistic expectations on the business owner’s part).  I call them the “Chicken Little” types.   When reading these folks’ dire warnings, I find myself thinking, “You get out of it what you put into it, folks.  These sites provide a business tool, which can be misused just like any other.”

Then there are the clueless folks who seem to think that flippantly signing up to be featured on one of these sites is as simple as “running an ad,” and that doing so will instantly transform their practice and provide them with effortless overnight success.  They’ve  put all their faith into what they see as their business’ salvation and aren’t looking back. I tend to think of this crew as “The Doe-Eyed Innocents.”

When I see these types of furious debates raging on the social networking sites, if I have time, I usually try to interject my own personal experience with these types of marketing platforms, which has largely been good, productive, and  beneficial, but certainly not without a fair dose of hard work, carefully-crafted strategy, and, well, more hard work.  My husband and business partner, Shane Epperly, and I have employed this type of marketing strategy to successfully build our now thriving massage therapy practice, but it most certainly hasn’t been easy.

“The Neigh Sayers,” “The Negative Nellies,” “The Neganators,” “The Judge Judys,” “The Chicken Littles,” and the “Doe-Eyed Innocents.”   With all of these folks throwing their two cents into the mix, it’s no wonder why MTs are confused.

Back around the first of this year, Laura Allen contributed a nifty little article to the January / February 2011 edition of Massage & Bodywork Magazine titled, “Successful Promotions without Breaking the Bank.” Laura had approached me to share a little bit about Shane’s and my experience with using discount social buying platforms to market our practice, and I was happy to tell her about how it had all worked for us.

After Laura quoted me in her article, I started fielding inquiries from other MTs via social network sites and e-mail on an almost daily basis.  These therapists were wondering whether they should employ this kind of “daily deal” marketing format, and they were curious about learning more about Shane’s and my experience.  After having written dozens of e-mails and posts, it started to dawn on me how much of a need there is in our industry for practical, reliable, substantiated information regarding this marketing phenomenon.  Since I was in a position to be able to provide a first-hand account of how this marketing method had worked for us, I decided to document our experience and lay out all the pros and cons that we have encountered in the form of an article, which quickly morphed into a 45 page e-book, which then evolved into an audio book.  (…Yeah, that’s kind of how things go around here.)

The result of all this is a 2 ½ hour long MP3 recording titled, “Using Online Social Buying Platforms to Promote Your Business: A Massage Therapist’s Success Story from the Trenches.”

My hope is that it will cut through all the crap (the prejudice, the condemnation, and the fear-mongering, as well as any naïve optimism or unreasonable confidence that some may put into such marketing strategies) and make a valuable, well-informed contribution to this ongoing discussion.

This is not a manic, naïve encouragement to just go for it, no matter what.  But rather, I have tried to provide a rational account of our own experience; a run-down of the pros and cons that we’ve encountered; some criteria to help others determine whether this kind of platform might work for them; and for those who do decide to pursue it, some practical tips and strategies that I think will help maximize the experience.

Like most business owners, we had feared that our discount voucher clients would just show up for “the deal” and then mosey on into the sunset in search of the next great bargain.  However, by implementing some key strategies and following a few “golden rules,” we’ve seen more than 60% of our discount voucher clients return at least once, and have gained a tremendous number of weekly clients from this experience (many of whom have also sent us numerous referrals).

Like most things, we’ve found that “it works if you work it.”  These performance marketing platforms are not for everyone, but they can work exceptionally well if merchants optimize the opportunity that they present.  Our practice is proof of that.   And I hope that this audio book will help many others have the same experience.

If you’re considering jumping onto the “daily deal” bandwagon, and you’re fed up with the hype, the disinformation, and the rumors, then check out this piece by going to: http://www.tigerlilystudios.com/groupon_audio_book.php.

And be sure to sign up for Tiger Lily Studios’ mailing list:  http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001dbhkIZY57-CxNj0gUL24yhs3WpqsCBRb to be notified of new products and specials.

The following article is the seventh installment of our “Knead Some Answers?” series. You can read other installments of “Knead Some Answers?” by visiting the “Newsletters” page of our website, www.tigerlilystudios.com.

Q: I love getting massages, but I never really feel like I can afford to, and I have a hard time justifying spending the money on myself. Do you have any suggestions for helping me make massages a priority?

A: During January, we’re all thinking about breaking bad habits and picking up some good ones. While massage may seem like an unaffordable luxury, this season of resolutions may provide the perfect opportunity to put things in perspective.

If for example, you would like to try to quit a habit such as smoking, drinking soda, daily coffee shop lattes, or fast food lunches, it might be helpful to stop yourself every time you’re tempted to spend money on these items, and instead, add it to a massage fund.

As we all know, these habits drain our pocketbooks slowly over the course of the month, so we are often able to ignore their impact on our budget. But once we start collecting those few dollars that we’d like to spend on a pack of cigarettes, a 32 ounce soda, a tall caramel macchiato; or a super value meal, we see it start adding up, and the next thing we know, not only can we afford to get that great massage, but we’ve also broken ourselves out of that unhealthy habit (which is, of course, costly in more ways than one).

This strategy may provide you with an opportunity to replace some of those “guilty pleasures” in life with an absolutely “guilt-free” pleasure. After all, as attributed to Robert Brault, “Massage is the only form of physical pleasure to which nature forgot to attach consequences.”

And when we take a look at how these unhealthy habits can shave years off our lives (by making us succeptable to diseases including lung cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity), and how massage can actually improve our health & well being (by reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, improving circulation, reducing aches & pains, increasing our flexibility, and so much more), we realize that it’s really a “no brainer.”

After all, maintaining our health will, of course, save us money in the long run. Fewer sick days, doctor visits, aches, pains, headaches and prescriptions mean higher productivity and fewer healthcare expenses.

Many of us have a hard time justifying spending money on ourselves, and especially on things that we perceive as “luxuries.” We’ve already discussed the idea that, far from being a “luxury,” massage actually has an important role to play in one’s healthcare regimin.

But it’s also important for many of us to realize that we can’t properly take care of those who depend on us if we fail to take proper care of ourselves. Those who rely on you – and your being healthy and happy – are among some of the very best reasons to take
time for yourself and invest in your health & well being.

Another way to ensure that you are able to enjoy massage, even when you may feel that you can’t really afford it, is to take advantage of one of our periodic “Send Three, Get One Free” offers. During these periodic specials, for every three new clients that you refer to us, you will earn a free one hour massage! So, spreading the word about our services and the benefits that you have received from them can not only help your friends and family discover the benefits of massage, but can help you stay committed to your own health & wellness plan – even when times may be tight.

Our health is our wealth. When we keep this in mind, it’s not hard for us to justify investing in our own healthy future!

To view our archived newsletters, visit the “Newsletters” page of our website,
www.tigerlilystudios.com.

Copyright 2010, Susan Epperly, B.A., L.M.T.I., C.M.T. www.tigerlilystudios.com