Marketing your massage practice or day spa: First know your competitive advantage (part I)

Marketing your massage business first requires thought

In order to market your day spa or massage business, you must first understand your competitive advantages.  Competition among massage therapists and day spas can be as fierce as any business.  New massage therapists graduate everyday, and new discount chain clinics such as Massage Envy are opening all over the country.  In fact, regardless of what business you are in you likely have dozens, if not hundreds, of competitors vying for the same limited customer base.  It is not enough to be hard working and passionate about what you do – you must have some competitive advantage that will differentiate you from the business, or therapist, down the street and make customers  choose you.

Jack Welsh, former CEO of General Electric once said “If you don’t have a competitive advantage don’t compete.” These are words that to live by in the business world – words that must be kept at the front of your mind as you develop a business plan or plan a marketing campaign for your massage or day spa business.

The first step in finding or establishing your competitive advantage is to “Face reality as it is, not as you wish it were” – another quote from Jack Welsh.  Businesses can fail for a multitude of reasons including inadequate capital, poor management, poor location, bad economy, etc.  However, a business is doomed from the start and will fail if it has no competitive advantage.

You must take a hard look at your business or marketing plan.  Invite others to look at it and find weaknesses in it.  You need to face reality and accept that your initial vision of the greatest day spa, massage practice, or other business may be lacking in some manor.

Part II: How to identify the competitive advantages of your day spa or massage practice