Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You cut your prices in half.
You essentially decide to compete with the massage center on its own terms.
You contact lost clients and acquire new ones by word of mouth and advertising.
Soon, you find yourself running ragged.
Although you're able to make a go of it for a while, you eventually find
the center offering other benefits that you can't, such as late evening and
Sunday appointments.
But even worse is the fact that the quality of your massages has suffered.
Rushed as you are to cram more appointments into each day, you can't give
each client the attention they need.
You lose even more clients to the center. You know you've made the wrong
decision when you can't remember why you used to love being in the massage
therapy business.
Claude Gagnon is a past-president of the American Association of Massage
Therapists Council of Schools. He says there are a couple of things that massage
therapists can do to keep clients loyal.
First of all, maintain a good relationship with each client by identifying
their needs with each visit. "It's involving the client in the process so
that you're helping them to develop a certain level of responsibility, so
that you're actually empowering the client," he says.
As well, make sure you show genuine interest in your clients, no matter
how long you've been treating them. "Show an ongoing commitment," Gagnon advises.
"If you're seeing someone over and over again, it could be easy to fall into
a bit of a rut, where you're not as thrilled or excited or enthusiastic."