Developing Client Profiles

By Nicolay Kreidler

The most effective way to communicate with your clients is to speak a language they understand and the best way to have a successful business is to fulfill their needs. These two prerequisites require that you:

a.) Define the group of clients that you really understand and can relate to (or that you are willing to learn how to understand) and

b.) Learn everything you can about them, their needs and desires.

Defining the group(s) of clients you want to work with will make your marketing efficient, effective and deliver the best results for your investment of time and money.

Developing the services that address the specific needs of your clients will uniquely position you to be their first choice. Letting them know that you are providing these services in a way that they can understand will get them in the door.

For example if you want to work with mothers of young children, consider cooperating with an in-house babysitter. If you work with the elderly, maybe a taxi service would be helpful. If you work with business people coming into town for business, your willingness to work late in the evening or early in the morning might be an advantage and so on.

Of course the groups of clients you work with have to be determined by your own personal preferences and your education. Ask yourself where you have the most experience. Who do you understand the most? If you know which challenges are typical for this group you will most likely be able to formulate a solution. Find verbiage that describes the solution in a language that your client will understand.

Just to give you a start here are some client categories you can think about:

Seniors
Older citizens who are in nursing homes or assisted living homes are also finding benefits from massage, such as increased energy levels and reduced health problems. They often have more disposable income available and certainly have more time. Demand for massage therapy is predicted to grow among older age groups because they increasingly enjoy longer, more active lives and people age 55 and older will be the most rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population over the next decade.

Health Care Industry
The health care industry is using massage therapy more often as a supplement to conventional medical techniques for ailments such as muscle problems, some sicknesses and diseases, and stress-related health problems. Massage therapy's growing acceptance as a medical tool, particularly by medical providers and insurances will continue to send more clients our way.

Corporate Setting
Massage is an increasingly popular technique for relaxation and reduction of stress. As workplaces try to distinguish themselves as employee-friendly, providing professional in-office, chair massages for employees is becoming a popular on-the-job benefit.

Lohas            
Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, describes a $228.9 billion U.S. marketplace for goods and services focused on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living. The consumers attracted to this market have been collectively referred to as "Cultural Creatives" and represent a sizable group in this country. Approximately 30 percent of the adults in the U.S., or 50 million people, are currently considered LOHAS Consumers. Research shows that one in four adult Americans is part of this group - nearly 50 million people.

There are of course many more. A good starting point is to look at the clients you already have. What do they have in common? For some reason they are attracted to your services. What is unique about your service that makes them come to you. Once you have established those commonalities there are surely more clients out there with similar profiles.

Establishing client profiles is very useful on a psychological level, as well as on a practical level. The more you are attuned to the needs of individual groups the better you will be able to communicate with them.

Knowing your clientele will give you a very good foundation for being creative in developing services that solve their problems better than anyone else.

I'd like to give you an example:

A very large vegetarian restaurant was looking for ways to improve their slow afternoon business. They noticed that the main traffic in the pedestrian area where they were located consisted of mothers with strollers and small children. They also noticed that when mothers did enter a store or cafe, they had a hard time enjoying their visit with their hands full of shopping bags and children. They figured if they could find a way to address this problem they would gain a whole new group of guests.

To address this issue they dedicated an area in the restaurant to stroller parking and hired a student in the afternoon to offer free childcare while the parents could get something to eat, have coffee and socialize with other parents. Needless to say that very soon this became and institution with no advertising necessary as the word traveled fast among this targeted market.

I gave an example from another business type because I have found that one can find many good ideas and trends in observing what other service related industries do to attract and maintain clients. Especially the hotel and restaurant business, but also upscale clothing stores and anyone who is in a very competitive setting and is in the business of providing customer service can serve as an inspiration.

Nicolay Kreidler is a licensed massage therapist and massage instructor at Touching from the Heart and a facilitator at Spa College. He is an active consultant to the spa industry.

You can also reach Nicolay at nicolay@learn-massage,com