I am a mobile therapist and am offering a very high quality of service.

I have professional business cards and price lists
I have a professional website
I have a professional skin care range Gerard's

I was thinking of ways I can better get the point across that my service is salon quality if not better and that the top treatments eg. having a chocolate body treatment which includes a scrub and massage at £60 instead of a FBMassage at £50 is really good value and worth the extra £10.

That a facial with added active anti-aging properties at £50 to £55 is better than the £40 prescriptive facial.

I think my problem with the facials may be that my basic prescriptive £40 facial was all I offered at the beginning and it is 1hr 30mins long and includes everything you would want in a facial: Double cleanse, exfoliation, face massage, neck and shoulder massage and head massage plus steam and extractions if needed. My more expensive facials have stronger anti-aging properties and are priced at £50 to £55 but with no other extras than the added ingredients and no one seems to go for them! I am busy all the time during my basic facial so short of adding on more time to do a little extra massage or something I can't think what to do!

I have invested in a lot of expensive professional products and although I do a lot of facials people don't seem to be stepping up to move onto the more expensive facials although they are much more reasonable by my lower prices than salon prices.

Ideas I have come up with so far to make my service seem more exclusive is to get a uniform printed with my business name.
To get my towels embroidered with my business name

I am quite busy but could manage a few more clients but want to encourage my present clients to upgrade and get the feeling that my business is improving all the time.

Any other brilliant geeky ideas please?

this may not be of much help - but here goes!

My local daily paper (lincolnshire echo) on a Friday has an article called beauty matters - this features benefits of certain treatments etc, usually accompanied by a local salon/therapist pics and blurb. So far in this article I have never seen a mobile therapist featured, it seems to be a bit of a 'cliquey' article and I for one cannot get featured in for love nor money.

But maybe your area has something similar and you could try to get featured?

sorry if its no use hun xx

Good idea. I would be up for a free editorial somewhere! I would not want to pay though-I'm not stingy but would be gutted if I paid and then got no business!

I suppose if I did this I could then put it on my website too. I think I might get my brother who is a journalist to make up a article and offer it to local magasines for free as it would be easy for them to just print it if they needed extra copy to fill their publications. You've inspired me.

Again this may be of no use but.....
Does your website have a news letter. You could push the benefits of the more exclusive facials that you do possibly with an introductory voucher. Do you also offer a reward card - clients get more points for the more they spend or one of your luxury facials. When I did mobile I worked with a client of mine to host an evening at her house and I demonstrated an electrical facial. There was wine and nibbles etc. You get the picture! You have to promote the benefits. The only thing is that you may have made your £40 facial too attractive. For example I would include some extras only for the more expensive facials as it may be about perception.

Just a thought.

Oh more good ideas thanks Essentia. I may put some of the editorials that Gerards sent me on to my website too. I think I definitely made my prescriptive facials too attractive.

do you have any leaflets on the facials or a description about them in your treatment menu? maybe you could make something up so that when you visit a client for a facial, you could give them some info about the different facials for different problems, or print it on the back of the aftercare sheets. Perhaps with new clients you could explain that the 40 pounds one is basic, and perhaps call your posh ones prescriptive instead?

I know you will prescribe only the best treatments and products for each individual clients anyway hun, but as the above poster says its all about perception, and I would think of re-wording my next batch of literature if I were you xxx

I would design an info leaflet detailling all the benefits of each facial and have some sort of try me voucher/introductory offer at the bottom....if you have 2 vouchers you can say on the vouchers that one is for them and the other is for a friend....i'm not feeling to great today otherwise i would've suggested some fancy wording (i'll get my thinking head on and get back to you!)

xx

ps - i think the towels and uniform are a great idea

Sodabubble I do need to make up a new addition to my prices anyway as I have to include the Gerards products that I got just before Christmas. Thanks for that, it's a big help

Yes I think it is probably client awareness that is missing. I sometimes forget to really tell clients about the benefits of treatments they don't have! I need to step it up a notch!

I tell you what I find hard to do is that if a client says they want me to do whatever is best for their skin I try to save them money by adapting a cheaper treatment. I'm such a plonker!

re: getting an editorial in local magazine.

most places pay a lot of money on advertising to get a spot like that. It is very rare that they feature someone out ofthe goodness of the heart.

wezzie, sounds like you are your worst enemy LOL. If they need extra work then they have to stump up the lolly!

I do understand this but it's worth a try though my only advertising as such was a free online editorial email! I was offered it by a kind client and it got me hundreds of inquiries on the first day!!!

I'm definitely my own worst enemy! I need to think big! I am too generous giving clients little extras like a free brow shape every now and then! But they are all very loyal clients and are my bread and butter at the end of the day. Clients always say with my skills I should be raking it in, one even told me to put my prices up!!!! I'm too CHICKEN!!! I know I will never be sucessful beyond a point because of this. I think it is the nature of my business though as it feels so personal as I am taking the money and doing the treatment rather than having a receptionist take it! Plus I love my clients so like doing nice things for them and they sometimes tip me in return.

I need to get some more guts! I've built up a strong business but would like to take it to the next level especially as I am getting Married next year so the money would really come in handy!

How are you in front of an audience.Womens institutes are great places to get yourself known.They are always looking for speakers.If you can you could do a talk,demo etc on the spa in your home and how you are able to give a great treatment as good as a spa in the comfort of someones home.
Or an anti aging beauty regime would go down well.
Pick your area and you can find a lot of women with disposable income.

congratulations weezie xx