CE INSTITUTE LLC BLOG

Linens and clothing—sheets, blankets, towels, robes and slippers—are items that can be used to separate members from nonmembers.

Luxurious, expensive sheets and robes represent a premium value for members. Your businesses could balance your cost for such luxury items by using ordinary sheets for nonmembers. Provide luxurious robes and slippers for members to change into prior to service, while offering plainer (or no) clothing options to nonmembers.

Sell premium robes and slippers in a retail area, which can help prevent theft. To avoid theft of high-end loaned linens, record a member’s membership number (remember that laminated membership card?) and safely holding a nonmember’s physical ID, such as a driver’s license, when checking out robes and slippers. This provides another point of differentiation between members and nonmembers.

Treatment Space Rewards

Some establishments, such as massage franchises, are custom-built to have similar-sized treatment rooms for all; however, if you find yourself in a unique space, consider which treatment rooms are most desirable.

Desirability might be based on room size, windows and views, lighting, temperature, noise level, decor, flooring and any other perceived benefit. Charge nonmembers more to upgrade to your most desirable room or make their use exclusive to members.

One successful massage-establishment owner started off in an old office building that rented individual offices. She began with one office as a treatment room, then continually added more treatment rooms as her business grew and she hired new staff. Eventually, she grew from one office to occupying two entire floors of offices in a three-story office building.

Because the office building was an old and extremely large Victorian-style building, some rooms were larger and considered nicer than others, some had windows that provided views, and some had proximity to the audible reception area or to a bathroom. The business owner charged nonmembers more for treatments booked in the best rooms while making their use a free benefit to members.

Your best rooms might be those that contain a couch to relax on before a treatment, an electronic massage chair, a mini-bar with flavored waters, or a foot-soak tub, You can provide members with 10 minutes of time in a premium room to relax before their treatment as another benefit of membership.

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/

Food and beverages present another opportunity to rewards VIPs or grow a membership program within your own business.

As the world becomes busier and people have less time than ever, it is important to have snacks available for your customers. (On a side note, jellybeans, sugary soda and fruit juice are always good to have on hand, in the event of a diabetic customer developing low blood sugar. Being prepared for these clients shows that you’re aware and care about their complete well-being.)

Snacks could be complimentary for members and part of a retail sales business for nonmembers. All customers might have access to a vending machine filled with healthy options, while members are provided with fresh food items.

You do not want to deprive non-member customers of bare essentials to try to sell memberships or premium services; instead, you should provide something extra, and tangible, for members.

Sparkling water with a slice of lemon might be available to all customers, while members are offered specialty coffees, teas, juices or flavored mineral water in bottles labeled with your business branding.

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/

Mini services are a very effective way to offer members-only benefits.

For example, a spa or massage establishment may have a sauna, whirlpool, shower area or other hydrotherapies that cost extra with service, but that members could access free of charge pre- or post-appointment. 

Hot towels are inexpensive to provide yet are regularly valued as a premium service. Massage or body treatments could begin or end with a hot towel to the face, back or feet.

Mini hands-on services that do not require you to spend much money yet provide a pampering, health-supporting benefit to members, such as a foot scrub or paraffin treatment, could be included as complimentary add-on service for members.

When adding such mini services as a complimentary foot scrub to an appointment, practitioners do not need to extend the appointment treatment time to provide the extra service. The foot scrub could be provided during the regular appointment time; however, the extra work, product supplies and linen expense are what the member receives as a complimentary benefit.

If your establishment is a foot-spa or reflexology practice, provide premium chairs or loungers for your members. Some practices might offer 3D goggles with visual experiences during a foot or reflexology service. Providing this visual experience as a paid add-on for nonmembers and for free or at a discounted price for members is another way to incentivize repeat customers to join a membership program.

Providing a monthly special service exclusive to members is also an effective business tactic, especially if your business provides body-treatment services above and beyond regular massage. Body-care products, such as those used in body scrubs or wraps, have an expiration date, especially when the products contain active ingredients. If you have expensive products that are about to expire, think about offering a half-priced members-only service to both avoid product waste and offer members a valuable experience they might enjoy enough to repeat at full price.

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: 

Providing MLD services to a client can be different, depending on the client's needs.  Are you attempting to performing a full detoxification, reduce unilateral extremity lymphedema or did the client show up for a full body massage with a severely swollen knee sprain?

Because there are so many different situations that can be treated with MLD, we recommend breaking MLD treatments down into 3 different categories:

1. LOCAL MLD: Only work on the affected area of swelling. This appointment could be as short as 10-minutes or as long 30-minutes or more. Practitioners can work as long as agreed and as long as you do no harm.

2. HYBRID MLD: Provide regular services (i.e., full body massage), and then provide MLD to only the affected area of swelling while the rest of the body receives its normal course of treatment. In full body massage, if the therapist spends 10-minutes massaging one leg, then the therapist would spend 10-minutes on the opposite leg with MLD.  The goal is to keep the appointment session fluid and even between the swollen and normal areas of the bodywork.

3. FULL BODY MLD: Full Body Lymphatic Drainage (i.e., detox treatment). Full body sessions on average take 90-minutes, but like almost any other bodywork, practitioners can modify the session to make it shorter or longer time.

To learn more about manual lymphatic drainage applications, please register for quality, affordable, professional training at: https://ceinstitute.com/