These days, nearly all new businesses need to establish an online presence. However, this is easier said than done. Whether a business operates online or not, potential customers and clients often research the business online. That is why it is important to have social proof of the health of a business, even if, like a massage therapy business, it is conduced solely in person.
When people research massage therapists to use, they tend to take a subjective look at the efficacy of the services. To do this, they will often turn to online reviews, especially those that are located on busines review platforms. If you are just learning how to start a massage business, it is extremely important to make sure that you have good online reviews that reflect the quality of your massage services.
Fortunately, there are several things that your massage therapy business can to garner positive online reviews. Most importantly, you’ll need to actually claim your profiles on the various online review platforms. It is particularly important to have both a Yelp and Google My Business page.
Setting up these pages allows users to leave reviews directly on these platforms. You’ll then need to review the terms of service on both platforms. This is particularly important in the case of Yelp, which is extremely strict with companies that directly incentivize reviews from customers. In fact, if they suspect this is happening, they will put filters on these reviews so that potential clients will not be able to see them.
However, that does not mean that you cannot ask happy customers to leave reviews. You don’t want your massage therapy business to have its online reputation solely in the hands of online customers. Instead, you should mention it at the end of a massage therapy appointment or even just solicit feedback with the idea that a client who is continually happy may feel compelled to leave an online review down the road.
Beyond trying to gain positive online reviews, you also want to make sure that negative review don’t impact the reputation of your massage therapy business. You should continually monitor your Yelp and Google My Business page, and individually respond to every review. If you see that a client has left a negative review, you will want to respond publicly with feedback. It is possible that a client is leaving an unjustified negative review and it is your right as a business owner to respond to it.
However, as a massage therapist is an intimate profession, it is important to meet the customers needs. An irate client who feels like they did not get the results they were seeking from massage therapy could do a lot to harm your online reputation.
As such, it is important to take in the criticism and suggestions and strive to improve, and then mention how you have sought to improve within the response to the negative review. If you know who the client is, you can even reach out to them personally and see what you can do to get them to alter their review not through intimidation, but through persuasion and superior massage therapy service. This will not only help you improve your relationship with your client, but it will also help to expand the online influence and reputation of your massage therapy business.
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