Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/142672
Everything you do must reinforce the brand you're trying to build for your business. This means using the same, consistent logo for your advertising and business cards. website, and so on. The more the public sees your logo, the more they'll learn to associate it with you and your services. This is called building name recognition, and it's an essential aspect of branding. The Consistency Concept For your branding efforts to be effective, it is imperative that you embrace the consistency concept. Every time your company makes a public appearance—whether in advertising, in person, in print, or on TV or radio—there must be a consistent image conveyed to the public. Everything you do must reinforce the brand you're trying to build for your business. This means using the same, consistent logo for your advertising and business cards. Remember, the more often the public sees your logo, the more likely it is to remember it. This means wearing logo-embroidered clothing when you teach a class or attend a wellness fair. And it means ensuring that products you offer with your company name and logo on it are of high quality, reflecting the type of business you want to be. Branding also extends to the Internet. From the color scheme you use to design your website to the links you allow, every bit of your online persona should reflect positively on your brand. From Start to Finish Branding can carry customers through the massage therapy experience. The first point of contact you have with a client may well come from a branding effort, such as seeing you speak at a community wellness fair, where you wore your company-identifying shirt and handed out brochures from your practice. The experience they have at your practice—from the tangible, physical aspects of your office to the nuances of the bodywork they receive at your hands—further reinforces the branding you've created. The follow-up component is particularly critical: any effort you make toward client retention or referral generation at this point will further cement the value of your brand in the client's mind. You never know what point will be of particular importance to clients or what will stick out in their minds as being exceptional. That's why you need to pay attention to branding all throughout the experience—from the beginning of the encounter to the follow-up email reminder. Branding takes a certain amount of time and energy and many massage therapists shy away from it, scared that it may detract from the time and energy they have to offer to their clients. However, the rewards of effective branding are so strong that the prudent massage therapist realizes the necessity and value of the effort. Start small, but do something. Your practice deserves it. SPH Yael Friedmann, MA, LMT, is a nationally certified massage therapist, entrepreneur, and marketing consultant.