CE INSTITUTE LLC BLOG

It is important to help a customer feel they are receiving something special in exchange for payment, especially in a membership program or as a VIP client. This is where branding— through public recognition, private labels, signage, marketing and more—comes in.

One of the goals would be to help nonmembers and potential customers recognize or become curious about the benefits of membership, or becoming a VIP, so that they want to do the same to help grow your profit margin. Publicly recognizing those with exclusive benefits is one way to do this.

Provide VIPs or members a sticker or bracelet to wear to show they’re in a special membership class and should receive prioritized service when collecting towels, drinks, lockers or anything else where there could be a line or wait.

Create a private relaxation area for VIPs and members, even in a small space. A few minutes of silence or peace in a private relaxation area might be the best moment of the week for a busy customer. This special area can contain comfortable furniture, complimentary snacks and beverages, an electronic massage chair, and relaxing music and lighting.

You can also provide VIPs and members a tag to put on their dashboard or hang from the rearview mirror to use for parking. If the business has valet parking, clients might pay for premium memberships if they’re moved to the front of the line. If the business has a parking area, consider providing members’ parking closest to the establishment’s entrance.

There are a number of different ways a Health Care, Spa or Massage Establishment can help a client feel important, these are just a few!

To learn more, please register for live business training at our school where you share in questions and answers with a live instructor at:  https://ceinstitute.com/

If a member needs to be reached in case of urgency or emergency, you can provide them with dedicated communication channels, while encouraging members to leave their smartphones in their lockers.

Adding a separate phone line for VIP members could be inexpensive or even free to your business. There are online website phone services that provide a free, dedicated phone number. A separate phone line for members should be constantly maintained, answered first and provided the fastest administrative service.

A specialized email address can also be provided to members only. These emails are delivered to a dedicated address and instantaneously pop up to administrative staff for the fastest response times possible.

If your facility has limited parking, think about marking some parking spaces, or a valet section for VIP members. There are lots of various methods that can be used to prioritize access for VIPs at your establishment, and with a little creativity, you can develop more with your unique space too.

A low-cost-to-your-business benefit is allowing members exclusive access to peak times. Customers may be willing to join a membership program just so that they can book the appointments they want when they need them. 

Consider those clients who want extra-early or extra-late appointments outside of your normal operating hours. A premium membership service could offer the extra times a client wants, and a practitioner could earn extra income for this premium service. A way to phrase this in your marketing materials is “members enjoy access to all appointment times, including before- and after-hours appointments.”

Now, consider peak service times at your business. If the business is always booked or sold out from 10 to 2 every Saturday, reserve those appointment times for members. This could be phrased in your marketing materials as, “The following premium appointment times are available only to Members of our Premium Serenity Club.” If not all appointments are booked in advance by your deadline, release those appointments to nonmembers.

Holidays and special events, such as Valentine’s Day, the week around college graduation, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, are also opportunities to promote your membership program—again, by reserving premium appointment times for members.

Simply put, members of your program receive early access to highly coveted peak-time and holiday appointment bookings.

To learn more, please register for live business training at our school where you share in questions and answers with a live instructor at:  https://ceinstitute.com

When a customer buys into a membership program, they should receive some type of initial gesture as recognition of their investment. This could be an immediate discount or some type of small take-home gift.

Any gift you provide a member should reflect the high quality of your establishment and also be branded with a bespoke label to promote your business. Aromatherapy oils, analgesics, candles, handheld massage tools, soaps, pens, mugs and notepads are all memorable, personalized gifts.

When you give a gift of a body-care product used in special treatments, such as an aromatherapy oil or lubricant, include a card that describes the treatment at your establishment and offers special member pricing, such as a small discount on the usual cost.  Or, leftover product can be deposited into a small container and gifted to the client as well.

For physical or occupational therapy, think about providing TheraBands for precise exercises, or any other inexpensive object that can be taken home and used by the client.  Small gestures that help a client remember their a sentimental guest experience are priceless investments to your business.

Adding retail to an establishment is a another great way to increase revenue, as long as you have a space that is climate-controlled and secure. Your service providers should offer retail products at the end of every session, and gift certificates should be available for purchase in each session room and in your dedicated retail area.

A new membership program can offer a store-wide retail discount for members only. This can be promoted as a way to save money on a regular basis, because the regular purchase of a high-end body-care product might result in ongoing savings to a customer who uses that product regularly—and so makes joining the membership program make financial sense.

Here is how that works: If a membership costs $50 per month and the member will save $5 per month on their favorite product when they buy it from you, then their membership is paid for in just 10 months—and they still receive any additional monthly member benefits you offer.

To learn more, please register for live business training at our school where you share in questions and answers with a live instructor at:  https://ceinstitute.com/

It is important to help a customer feel they are receiving something special in exchange for payment, especially in a membership program. This is where branding— through public recognition, private labels, signage, marketing and more—comes in.

One of the goals of a membership program is to help nonmembers and potential customers recognize or become curious about the benefits of membership so that they become members and grow your profit margin. Publicly recognizing members with exclusive benefits is one way to do this.

The name of your membership program should reflect your business brand. If your business name is Serenity Healing, for example, you might name your membership program Premium Serenity Club. The more you can identify and customize your membership to your personality, the harder it will be for your competitors to copy or profit from your business model. You will be seen as unique, and your customers will be able to get that special membership experience only from you.

Members could be acknowledged with their membership category at check-in. Examples of membership titles are Elite Member, Priority Customer, Special Guest, VIP, or Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Medallion or Emerald Class.

Provide each member with a laminated, credit-card-size membership card that features the name of your membership program, company logo, member’s name, membership class and membership number. If you have just two tiers of membership, one card can be silver and the other card gold and you can dismiss the idea of membership category names altogether.

Establish a members-only line with shorter wait times for check-in (members will show their scannable membership card at the desk), provide members with branded gifts, offer special members-only pricing and experiences—and make all of these offerings clear to members, nonmembers and potential customers.

Brand your membership name anywhere and everywhere to customize the special experience. When adding a chocolate candy to the treatment table prior to service, place it on a special doily or napkin with the membership name printed on it. Drinking glasses, protein bars, towels, robes, water bottles, and almost anything else you can think of can be custom-ordered with a label that brands the product with your business name, logo and membership program name, and thereby reflects a special membership status.

To learn more, please register for live business training at our school where you share in questions and answers with a live instructor at:  https://ceinstitute.com/

In this article published at Massage Magazine, CE Institute LLC Instructors Selena Belisle and Wendy Langen help others understand what a medical error is with some real-life examples of massage industry errors: 

Every client must be able to provide informed consent for each service they request or receive. Informed consent includes telling the client of any possible consequences for the service, including known risks and benefits. The client can only provide consent for the service once this information is understood/shared.

A person who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs is not of legal capacity to provide informed consent, therefore their service would be  contraindicated and inappropriate to provide. This person may exhibit slurred speech, could be off-balance or is unable to make sense of their surroundings, etc.  They are not of “sound mind” to provide consent.

As bodyworkers, we are not able to make medical diagnoses.  Unfortunately, a person exhibiting imbalance, slurred speech, etc., may be having an acute medical episode that requires immediate medical attention.  Regardless of the situation of why a client might exhibit unsteadiness, service can only be provided when an individual can provide informed consent and is competent enough to provide it.

Bodywork, massage, etc. should not be provided to an individual who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs that reduces the client’s capability to provide informed consent. Not obtaining informed consent for a service appointment for any reason would be considered unethical in most to all cases.

To learn more, please register for training at https://ceinstitute.com/

#massage #massagetherapy #massageprecautions #massagecontraindications

Corporate chair and onsite massage has moved to new types of offices, including poker tables for poker professionals and other gaming amateurs and experts in a casino. Enter massage.

Spending long hours at a casino table or slot machine can be "bad for the back". Luckily, massage therapists can now work in many casinos, and provide massage therapy services to casino patrons and staff.

In this chair massage training video, licensed massage therapist Kelley Stead of Winning Hands will share the basics of casino chair massage is offered in professional setting:

To learn more, please attend and complete CE Institute LLC's regular chair massage training at: https://ceinstitute.com/collections/chair-massage-event-work

#casinomasasge #casino #pokermassage #chairmassage #onsitemassage #corporatemassage #painrelief #backmassage #massagetherapy #lmt #mt #massage #massagetherapist

A massage stone heater is also known as a stone bath unit. Hot stone massage therapists are known to use turkey roasters, crock pots, kitchen griddles, hot towel cabins, kettles, heating pads and other types of heating devices, in addition to professional stone massage bath units, to heat their stones. For best practices during hot stone massage, all stones must be fully immersed in water within a heating unit prior to use. This is known as the "bath". Most stone bath units that have a built-in temperature gauge within a hot stone bath operating range are preferred. 

Heating sources such as a hot towel cabi or kitchen griddle that do not include a total water immersion can create uneven stone surface temperatures. Unevenly heated stones are not reliable or safe to use, especially when working near maximum operating temperatures for hot stone massage.

Stone bath units must also have an adjustable temperature control. Practitioners must continually adjust the bath temperature as needed, especially if cooler stones are returned to the bath, to maintain a proper operating temperature.

For complete hot stone massage training, please register for class at: https://ceinstitute.com/collections/hot-stone

In this short instructional video, we'll explain what should be used for heating massage stones, and more importantly, what should not be used:

 #hotstone #hotstonemassage #bodywork #massage #massagetherapist #lmt #massagetherapy #stonemassage #bodywork #bodyworker #thermaltherapy #thermotherapy #thermotherapies #HEAT #MASSAGEtherapy #MASSAGEtherapists #SKINcare #BURNS #scalds #PATIENT-centeredcare  #PATIENTsafety #hotstonebath #stoneheater #stonemassgeheater #hotstoneheater #health