Everybody needs a massage; they just don’t all know it yet. As a licensed and trained massage therapist you know the healing benefits that your skilled touch can bring to people who lead busy, stressful, hectic lives. And who doesn’t fall into one of those categories these days? Reducing stress alone will positively impact your clients’ health in many ways, allowing them to sleep better, maintain a healthy weight, get sick less often, recovering at a quicker rate when they do, and also just be in an overall better mood. A seated chair massage can be the best way to bring these healing effects to more people, and introducing a portable massage chair to your practice can really boost your bottom line.
Choosing the Right Massage Chair for your Business
Whether you are just starting out or you are simply looking to add another service and diversify your practice, a portable massage chair can be a game changer. But beware, all chairs are not created equal, and there are more than a few things you will want to consider before making this investment in your massage equipment. While the positioning of your client in the massage therapy chair isn’t exactly natural, they can and should still be quite comfortable. You will want to find a chair with plenty of padding; the better chairs on the market will use memory foam to ensure that the chair’s cushion will retain its shape for a longer period of time. Your chair’s face cradle should also be equipped with sufficient padding so as not to irritate your client’s face, and should also allow them to see clearly through the other side.
Arm and leg rests are also important components that help promote your client’s comfort. While seated in your chair your clients will be in a kneeling position so well-padded leg rests are a must. Most of the best massage chairs will come equipped with armrests, but there are still a few which do not. Your future clients will thank you for paying attention to that detail when shopping for your portable chair, so their arms aren’t left dangling throughout the treatment.
Aside from the features that will provide comfort for your client, you will also want to pay attention to the portability of your chair. It should fold and set up fairly easily, while being very stable in each position. Your chair should also be as lightweight as possible. Remember you are going to have to load and unload it in your vehicle, and you shouldn’t need a massage yourself after unloading and setting up your chair.
Marketing your Chair Massage Service
There are many ways to add portable chair massage to your practice. One of the most effective ways is to market to local businesses and offer to do a massage event for their employees. The typical chair massage lasts between 5 and 30 minutes so you will meet a lot of new potential long-term clients as you “ease their pain” and take their minds away from work for a moment. When you market to local businesses you will need to focus on how scheduling a chair massage session will positively affect their business and consequently their bottom line. Demonstrate how it will improve employee morale, decrease the odds of workplace injury, reduce stress, and even cut down on the number of sick days. Basically, show them how you can increase their team’s productivity. Sure, there is a cost to it…but show them the benefit!
As a busy massage therapist you probably also won’t have the time to go from business to business trying to sell your service, so you will want to make sure that your website is optimized for the right keywords for local search. Obviously, you want people to find you when they search for chair massage for a corporate function. And of course, using social media as a marketing platform is effective for any budget and will allow you to multiply your messaging efforts. The key in marketing your service will always be in the follow through. Find ways to stay connected to past corporate clients. As managers move from one department or company to another it opens up the door to more opportunity for you to get in front of more potential new clients.
In Conclusion
If you are looking for a fairly simple way to diversify your business, consider adding portable massage chair services. You can still concentrate on building those long-term client relationships with your table business, but by incorporating the best portable massage chair to your practice you have the opportunity to make a whole lot of people feel great in a relatively short period of time. And isn’t that why you got into massage therapy in the first place? And once the client gets that quick attitude adjustment in the chair, you have a pretty good chance of converting them to a long-term client. It’s truly a win-win.
