Massage Pricing Strategy
Coming up with you massage pricing strategy isn't easy. You have to ask challenging questions like how much am I worth? But the strategy you deice on can make or break your new massage business.
Like any other type of service, setting the rates for massages is going to include a variety of different factors, and in the end you are going to have to use your own judgment to come up with the rates that you feel are fair to both you and your clients. Read how other massage therapists determine their pricing below.
What to Consider in your Massage Pricing Strategy
There are many factors that are important for you to consider when you are deciding on your massage pricing including:
1. Your Personal Needs - Many therapists tend to forget about all the needs that they have themselves. You need to make sure that you consider yourself and your personal needs when you are trying to set your massage rates. Come up with an idea of how much you would like to make this year and how many hours that you realistically want to work at your new business. For a few minutes forget the business side of this and think about what you want and need. And now that you have decided to charge $1000 for a massage, lets consider the effect on your business.
2. Making Your Business Successful - Setting your massage rates too high or too low is just bad for your business. You need to make sure that the prices you decide upon will be enough to make your business successful but also won't drive away your target customers. Remember that it will cost you to run your business, and you need to make enough to cover the costs of the business and you also need to be able to make a profit as well. For a good idea about what you will need to charge, take a look around at what other similar businesses are charging in your area.
3. Being Ethical is Important - Another factor you need to consider when deciding upon your massage pricing is the ethical factor. When you are in business you need to conduct yourself in an ethical manner, and this includes setting prices that are fair. Make sure you are comfortable with your rates and can confidently explain your pricing while looking your clients in the eye. This doesn't mean that you have to sell yourself short, you just need to believe in and be able to communicate the value that you are conveying.
How Important is Experience?
The debate about whether or not experience should be taken into consideration when setting massage rates is one that will probably never be totally resolved; however, it is important that you realize that whether you like it or not, experience is a factor in your pricing.
On the one hand some people are willing to pay a bit more for a skilled massage therapist that has a great deal of experience, but this does not mean that a newer therapist is necessarily worth any less. Some new therapists just have the gift and their clients keep coming back. If this is you, don't be afraid to charge more. Of course this is easy to do when you have a full schedule of client bookings. And sometimes therapists with years of experience struggle to charge rates that are higher because their service isn't exceptional.
If you are just starting out in your own business be sure that you set rates that show your work is valuable. However, you may want to charge at the lower end of the spectrum in order to attract customers until your bookings are consistently strong. As you gain more and more experience and the value you deliver with each massage increases, you can continue to raise your rates to reflect this.
Different Types of Massage
There are a variety of different types of massage, and each can command a different hourly massage rate. Some types of massage may require more in-depth techniques, while others may require that you drive to someone’s home to do a massage off-site. All of these things need to be taken into consideration when you are deciding on your massage pricing. Once again it is important that you figure out what you need to make to make your business successful. When you are doing massages at someplace other than your office, you need to factor in gas and the costs of car repairs as well into your price. If you are doing medical massage, this includes a bit more than general wellness massage, so you may want to charge a bit more.
Pros and Cons of Discount Pricing
When you are setting your massage rates, you may consider doing some discount pricing as a way to attract new clients to your business. There are both pros and cons to using discount massage pricing. On the positive side, you will be able to attract some new clients with the discount pricing which will help fill your schedule. On the negative side, you may find that once the discount is over that you lose some of those customers that you brought in with the discount prices. Or customers will expect that rate to continue indefinitely. You need to be firm when it is time to resume normal massage pricing.
If your clients just won't accept the new rates, then you need to decide if you should refer them on to somebody else. Many therapists discover that having fewer quality clients is often better than having many clients that come in merely to get a discounted deal on a massage.
The Final Word on Massage Pricing
As you can see, there are many things to consider when you are trying to decide on massage rates for your new business. This is definitely not a science. Remember to value yourself when setting up your prices. Helping others is a wonderful thing, but you have to make sure that you take care of yourself and your business and you need to make that the number one priority.
When deciding on your pricing, you may also want to push your limit a little bit. Take the price that you feel the most comfortable with and then raise it by just a few dollars. And then make sure you deliver more than that amount of value with each client session. If you do this consistently, both you are your clients will agree that you are a bargain!
How do you Set your Massage Price?
Determining your best massage pricing can be tricky. Do you offer deep discounts to attract new clients? How do you retain the clients you have? Share your pricing and discounting tips below.
Massage Pricing Tips
See how other massage therapists set their prices and offer discounts to clients. You can read each tip, rate them and submit your own comments.
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