The Massage Profession
An Exclusive Report
By Jeff Wasserman
Founder Of Life Coach Marketing
January
5th, 2005
Dear
professional massage therapist,
I am
writing this report today to inform you on what is happening to our
profession. I know the two major massage organizations have conducted
periodic surveys and presented their results on their web sites.
Most therapist don't seem to look at the profession as a whole, instead
focusing on their own practice or job.
I have
a background in retail, food service and hospitality. I have watched
over the years multiple locations sprout up, soon becoming chains
or franchises and eventually controlling the industry. Over the past
40 years I have witnessed major changes in the service industry.
Today
in every field their is one or two well known brand names which come
to mind when you consider a specific field. Just take a minute and
think about this, in less than 20 years, the following has changed.
Small
independent hardware stores, now Home Depot and Lowes.
Neighborhood
barber shops and beauty salons, now Great Clips, Fantastic Sam's
and others.
Neighborhood
pet shops, now PetSmart and Petco.
Independent
electronic stores, now Best Buys and Circuit City.
Small,
independent retail discount stores, today Costco, Sam's Club, BJ's
Wholesale Club and of course, Wal-Mart and Target.
Local
Office Supply Stores, now Staples and Office Depot.
And the
list goes on and on.
Ok, so
you must be saying, what does this have to do with massage therapy
and life coaching. The answer is, there is a new chain of massage
therapy centers opening across the country, called Massage
Envy,
which remind me of the "category killers" like Office Depot, PetSmart
and others.
I am
in no way speaking negatively about Massage
Envy, there is a place
for all, competition is good. The problem is that unless you change,
unless you work together to compete and market your services, you
will find yourself out of business. If you don't believe me, just
look at how many small Office Supply stores have went out of business
after a Staples or Office Depot opens in their area. Want more proof,
watch the local print shops close when Kinko's opens in their area.
I am
not trying to cause panic in the profession, what I am trying to
do is tell each and every one of you to start today to position yourself
for a tidal wave of competition that will be coming your way.
I am
a life and business coach, I coach small and medium size businesses
across the country. When a small business owner contacts me and says
that a "big box" or "category killer" is moving in, I tell them to
reposition themselves right away, don't wait till it is too late.
If you
are saying to yourself, sure retail and foodservice is competitive,
but how can you compare a personal service like massage to a chain
store concept. Just think about hair care, today Great Clips, Fantastic
Sam's and others are on every corner. You can usually just walk in
with no appointment necessary, the prices are very reasonable, the
locations are large and they have national advertising behind them.
What is so different with hair care then massage therapy?
Now just
for the record, I am not saying you receive the same level of service
at a chain or franchise hair care location that you do at your local
hairdresser, but what I am saying is that these chain locations keep
the prices reasonable for hair care and take a large share of the
market.
So what
are the real facts, well I took an unscientific poll, again this
was my personal research, not a scientific poll. Here are my results.
I asked
almost 60 massage therapist and here is what they had to say:
How difficult
is it to build up a clientele in a new practice?
5% Easy,
7% Difficult, 35% Very Difficult, 49% Almost Impossible
How well
does your advertising work as a single location?
12% Works
Well, 25% Acceptable, 52% Does Not Work, 10% A Waste Of Money
How competitive
is the massage profession?
27% Not
Competitive, 44% Competitive, 25% Extremely Competitive
So what
does this prove? Simply that the profession is very competitive,
most adverting does not pay and most of all, it is almost impossible
to build up your own practice.
Add to
those statistics that this new massage franchise concept is spreading
across america, offering $39 massages with a monthly membership that
brings the cost of a massage down to $29.95 So what is the answer
for the sole practitioner or small therapist office.
This
is my concept and solution. Again no matter if you agree with me
or not, please accept what I tell you, either change your concept,
improve your marketing, improve your customer service or start thinking
about a new career.
I am
devoting 2005 to creating a nationwide network of massage therapist.
The concept is called Motivational Massage and will include life
coach training as well as ongoing marketing and support throughout
the year.
Compared
to a $39,000 franchise fee others charge, the $495 fee we charge
is very reasonable.
To learn
more about the Motivational Massage Marketing Program, please
click here.
To learn
more about why you should consider joining a nationwide marketing
program, click here.
With
the Motivational Massage program, you can join on two levels:
Affiliate
Motivational Massage Location
If
you already have your own massage practice, with an established
location, you can join as an Affiliate, which means you will hang
up our sign
in your window and receive all the same marketing programs and
national advertising as Motivational Massage centers. You must complete
life
coach training in order to join.
Motivational
Massage Center
If you
are a professional massage therapist, maybe working part time or
at a day spa, but always dreamed of owning your own office or center,
here is best concept you will ever find. Life Coach Marketing will
license you to open your own location using our name and concept.
We will provide support, training and marketing. This is not a franchise,
not a multi level marketing program, this is being part of a nationwide
marketing network.
You must
complete life coach training, complete an application for a location,
pay a $495 fee and join our ongoing marketing program.
We are
offering special incentives to the first 20 therapist who are willing
to take a chance and join a winning team.
If you
would like to find out more, please call Jeff Wasserman at 1-800-841-8776
or e mail Jeff at Jeff@LifeCoachCollege.com.
This
program is one method you will be able to reinvent the massage profession.
Motivational Massage provides 6,7 10 & 12 week programs, national
advertising, state advertising and regional advertising. You will
be provided with Massage literature to give you client, potential
clients and strategic marketing partners.
This
is the most exciting massage marketing programs ever offered. I look
forward to talking to you about this new concept as well as the effects
chain massage locations will have on the profession as a whole.
Sincerely,
Jeff
Wasserman