Monthly Marketing Tip

Sometimes it happens. You thought your client had an appointment at 2 p.m. and it was really at 1 p.m. Or you got stuck in traffic and were 20 minutes late for your client.

The client is fuming mad. What do you do? Do you:

Apologize and try to do the training session or massage without further comment?

Apologize and do nothing.

Apologize and give them a free session.

Most people would choose option A or B. They hate the idea of losing a sale.

But the busiest massage therapists and personal trainers will chose option C:

Apologize and give them a free session.

Studies have shown that the public’s opinion is that customer service is at an all-time low. There are more rude and uncaring salespeople than ever before. It is so bad that people have become accustomed and expect to be treated badly by businesses.

By admitting you made a mistake and delivering more than the expected half-hearted apology, you create the following positive benefits:

You blow the client out of the water by your customer service skills. They were only expecting a halfhearted apology like they would hear anywhere else.

You give them an opportunity to tell their friends and family how well you treated them. Yes, that means more referrals from them!

They do not always take you up on the free session but are touched by your gesture.

They will continue to schedule with you.

“How Losing $70 Saved Me $840 Per Year”

Here is a story of something that happened recently at Michael’s massage therapy center:

“We have a client (I will call her Jane to protect her identity) who has come in every month for an hour massage for the past three years. It is not always the same day each month, but every month, like clockwork, Jane will call us and schedule an appointment.

At $70 per hour, she pays us $840 every year for massage therapy.

Just last week, she booked an appointment for 2 p.m. instead of her preferred 3 p.m. slot.

Why? The therapist she wanted was not available for a 3 p.m. so the client compromised.

Jane showed up for her appointment at 2 p.m. And the therapist did not.

YIKES!

Turns out the therapist heard 2 p.m. and wrote down 3 p.m. in her appointment book.

And Jane was really, really, angry. And I was the lucky soul who got to take her angry call!

First, I let Jane vent and tell me why she was so angry.

I told her I understood her perfectly and felt terrible that this had happened. Then I told her that we wanted to do the right thing and give her a free session since we had screwed up. Jane immediately got quiet on the phone and I heard a very quiet ' Thank You Michael. I need to check my schedule but I will have to call you tomorrow to set up my next appointment' in return.

The next day, we received two phone calls.

The first one was from Jane to schedule her free appointment. With the same therapist who wrote down the wrong time.

The second one was from a new client who told me, “My friend Jane recommended you.

She told me that you have great therapists who treat everyone the way they deserve and she would not go anywhere else!”

Here’s What We Recommend:

Yes, it hurts to lose the money by having to give a free session as your apology.

But what hurts more: Losing $70 once or $840 per year for the next three years?

The lifetime value of a client can be huge. That is, the amount of money they will spend with you, month after month, year after year, if you can keep them as your client.

In twelve years as a massage therapist and using this method, Michael has never lost a client and gained countless new referrals as a result!

That’s all for this month. On behalf of Eric, we'll look forward to talking with you next month.

Seize The Day,

Help Your Practice

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