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Massage Franchises: Taking the Discussion Further
First off, I would like to thank my wife, Ivy, for letting me hijack her blog post this week!
I recently read the Massage & Bodywork article, “Massage Franchises: The Impact on the Profession” (twice, in fact). Even though I felt the article was fairly slanted, I will withhold my feelings about massage franchises for the purposes of this discussion. As a marketer, I just feel there is so much more to say on how franchises will affect the market of massage therapy, and what individual practitioners can do to market themselves in this new environment.
The opinions I am about to lay out are heavily influenced by the works of Al Ries and Jack Trout, titans in the marketing community. In all, I will reference ideas from four books:
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Marketing Warfare by Al Ries and Jack Trout
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin
To understand how massage franchises will impact our place in the massage market, we must first understand how the market will mature. While massage has been around for thousands of years, the massage industry is still pretty young. The Law of Duality states that “in the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.” Coke and Pepsi is probably the most prominent example of this. In the massage industry, this will likely mean the franchise players will be sorted down to Massage Envy, and one other company.
However, this obviously does not mean other massage businesses will cease to exist. The market will be made up of a leader, Massage Envy; a primary competitor, we’ll say Elements Therapeutic Massage for this exercise; a solid # 3 company, we’ll say Hand and Stone Massage; and then everybody else. If you’re an independent practitioner, you fall into the “everybody else” category. Based on the concepts in Ries and Trout’s Marketing Warfare, each of these positions should employ a different market strategy.
A market leader should defend their position against their strongest competitor. The # 2 company should employ an offensive strategy, with the goal of taking market share from the leader. The # 3 company will not be able to compete directly with # 1 and # 2, and should therefore develop a flanking strategy; targeting a segment of the market where the leader does not hold a strong position. Everyone else should focus on a niche strategy; filling a hole in the market that is large enough to sustain survival, but small enough to not attract attention from the larger competitors. Since the majority of you will need to implement a niche strategy, we will further explore that area.
So what is a “niche strategy” anyway? A niche strategy sacrifices its appeal to the masses in favor of focusing on a very specific unfulfilled need in the market. In massage, that may mean focusing on a unique modality, or offering mobile massage services. To employ a profitable niche strategy, you will need to differentiate your business from those around you. Obviously, you will not be able to compete on price or availability, as the franchises will have more labor hours at cheaper rates than you can offer. Differentiating yourself on quality becomes the next logical assumption. If your only competitors are massage franchises, this is the obvious strategy, as you will be able to give a higher quality massage and greater individual attention to your clients. But what if you’re surrounded by other practitioners in a competitive market? How do you measure quality, and how do you communicate to potential clients that your hour long massage from an experienced practitioner is better than that of another?
Take an honest assessment of your current business and the unique talents you hold. Take an honest assessment of your market. Is there something unique you provide that is valuable to potential clients? (I repeat, must be valuable to clients!) If so, you’ve found your niche. Market yourself on that unique talent or service, and work to ensure you are the market leader for the niche you’ve chosen.
To prevent myself from writing endlessly, I will end the discussion there. If you are struggling to find your niche or struggling to market yourself, I beg of you to read Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson. It truly should be required reading for any small business owner.
If you can stomach the thought of discussing marketing, I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!
Aaron Hultquist
Director of Marketing
Advanced Massage Techniques, Massage Continuing Education
I recently read the Massage & Bodywork article, “Massage Franchises: The Impact on the Profession” (twice, in fact). Even though I felt the article was fairly slanted, I will withhold my feelings about massage franchises for the purposes of this discussion. As a marketer, I just feel there is so much more to say on how franchises will affect the market of massage therapy, and what individual practitioners can do to market themselves in this new environment.
The opinions I am about to lay out are heavily influenced by the works of Al Ries and Jack Trout, titans in the marketing community. In all, I will reference ideas from four books:
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Marketing Warfare by Al Ries and Jack Trout
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin
To understand how massage franchises will impact our place in the massage market, we must first understand how the market will mature. While massage has been around for thousands of years, the massage industry is still pretty young. The Law of Duality states that “in the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.” Coke and Pepsi is probably the most prominent example of this. In the massage industry, this will likely mean the franchise players will be sorted down to Massage Envy, and one other company.
However, this obviously does not mean other massage businesses will cease to exist. The market will be made up of a leader, Massage Envy; a primary competitor, we’ll say Elements Therapeutic Massage for this exercise; a solid # 3 company, we’ll say Hand and Stone Massage; and then everybody else. If you’re an independent practitioner, you fall into the “everybody else” category. Based on the concepts in Ries and Trout’s Marketing Warfare, each of these positions should employ a different market strategy.
A market leader should defend their position against their strongest competitor. The # 2 company should employ an offensive strategy, with the goal of taking market share from the leader. The # 3 company will not be able to compete directly with # 1 and # 2, and should therefore develop a flanking strategy; targeting a segment of the market where the leader does not hold a strong position. Everyone else should focus on a niche strategy; filling a hole in the market that is large enough to sustain survival, but small enough to not attract attention from the larger competitors. Since the majority of you will need to implement a niche strategy, we will further explore that area.
So what is a “niche strategy” anyway? A niche strategy sacrifices its appeal to the masses in favor of focusing on a very specific unfulfilled need in the market. In massage, that may mean focusing on a unique modality, or offering mobile massage services. To employ a profitable niche strategy, you will need to differentiate your business from those around you. Obviously, you will not be able to compete on price or availability, as the franchises will have more labor hours at cheaper rates than you can offer. Differentiating yourself on quality becomes the next logical assumption. If your only competitors are massage franchises, this is the obvious strategy, as you will be able to give a higher quality massage and greater individual attention to your clients. But what if you’re surrounded by other practitioners in a competitive market? How do you measure quality, and how do you communicate to potential clients that your hour long massage from an experienced practitioner is better than that of another?
Take an honest assessment of your current business and the unique talents you hold. Take an honest assessment of your market. Is there something unique you provide that is valuable to potential clients? (I repeat, must be valuable to clients!) If so, you’ve found your niche. Market yourself on that unique talent or service, and work to ensure you are the market leader for the niche you’ve chosen.
To prevent myself from writing endlessly, I will end the discussion there. If you are struggling to find your niche or struggling to market yourself, I beg of you to read Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson. It truly should be required reading for any small business owner.
If you can stomach the thought of discussing marketing, I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!
Aaron Hultquist
Director of Marketing
Advanced Massage Techniques, Massage Continuing Education
Views: 394
Comment
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Comment by Rob Buckley on March 21, 2010 at 4:47am
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Aaron,
Thanks for the thoughts, it seems we are simply talking past each other, rather than having a meaningful dialogue. C'est la vie.
You suggested that I might be a "contrarian", which would be way, way off the mark.
I am, however, a fan of logic.
The questions I have presented are valid, and as a massage therapy professional represent my point of view from that experience, rather than a marketing professional defining my profession for me.
You used the "Law of Duality" to state your belief that massage franchises will dominate the market soon, and I simply clarified a reply to your own logic. Yes?
Let's simplify: Why is there not a national chain of psychotherapists or counselors? Because it is a profession that requires a specific skill-set, among a variety of specialized skill-sets, combined with the professionals personality or style, and it's applicability to each individual client. One counselor and their approach will work wonders for many people, however, will also be off the mark for many others.
Same goes for massage therapy. This is a profession with a specific skill-set, among a variety of skill-sets, combined with their personality or style, and it's applicability to each client and the client's shifting needs.
I would suggest that this is in fact the forest you mentioned in your prior posting. :)
Simply a fan of logic, and passionate about massage therapy as a deeply personal, non-commodified, quantified marketing scheme.
Wishing everyone a healthy, positive, peacefully engaging day,
Rob
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Comment by J'nai L. Porter on March 20, 2010 at 11:42am
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I am at a point where all I can think about is expansion expansion expansion........local, regional, national, international,,,my vision and its potential application will not be moved by Massage Envy or any other groups or individuals that establish before I do, LOL
Skills, Strategy, Application, creative advertising, and cont. education will help anyone advance in the wake of any changing business environment..Stay focused and positive..
J. Porter CMT
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Comment by Ivy Hultquist on March 19, 2010 at 5:27pm
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Rob-
Of course you are free to nitpick at my examples, but I get the feeling you either cannot see the forest for the trees, or you are merely a contrarian.
I used the examples of religious and political affiliation to point out the Law of Duality exists outside mass consumer markets, countering your thought that only mass consumption markets applied. Religion and spirituality are not mutually exclusive, and at no point did I contend they were.
I did not compare a $6 haircut to massage therapy, but provided an example of how a small business can leverage a franchises' marketing position against said franchise.
Your wine example actually supports the Law of Duality, and argues against a point I have not made. I think you are confusing '#1' with 'best'. When someone is asked "What is the best restaurant in town?", how often does that person respond with the #1 restaurant brand in America (McDonald's)? Never.
And finally, your Colorado Massage Envy franchise example does not challenge the Law of Duality. I happen to live in a state where Pepsi has a 60% market share, and Coke is actually in 3rd place, behind Dr. Pepper/7UP. Does this challenge the Law of Duality? No. Coke and Pepsi are still #1 and #2 nationally, with a large gap between them and 3rd place Dr. Pepper/7Up.
Aaron
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Comment by Emmanuel Bistas on March 19, 2010 at 4:21pm
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Some great insights here, thank you!
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Comment by Deborah Herriage on March 19, 2010 at 12:58pm
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Yeah, these discussions were never meant to be wars, but opinions are wide-ranged, so it may seem there is a war. I think the war has already been won, so what is the next step for independent therapists, really?
My original post was to point out how ABMP supported franchises in a slightly slanted write up. I worked there, so I have a different opinion in some respects. While I might continue to point out some other angle on someone's else's opinion, I don't intend to engage in any war, of any kind, at any time. Carry on . . .
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Comment by Las Vegas Massage In Summerlin on March 19, 2010 at 9:33am
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Hey Rick!
Feel free to begin a discussion as you mention below in Massage Marketing Solutions or here. I'm currently really busy with some big projects and haven't the time to moderate a discussion on 'Franchise Wars'. ;)
Have a great day all!
Kris
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Aaron,
In reading your post further, I would also suggest that while yes, there do exist percentages of differing religious orientations, religion and spirituality are most definitely NOT the same thing. Considering them the same would be similar to considering a $6 haircut business and a place of healing (via yoga, massage therapy, whatever) as the same thing.
I'm wondering what the point of view on massage franchises versus individual therapeutic approaches might follow along the same lines of the amount of experience the person has had in massage? Might there be a correlation I'm wondering?
Health, Happiness, and Peace,
Rob
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I can see the logic for the "Law of Duality" when applied to certain goods. That being said, I have to say that massage therapy is such a deeply personal, healing, and often spiritual experience, that the "Law of Duality" is just not going to apply here. When we order a coffee we want the coffee, we want the same experience, consistently. When we receive a massage our body shifts each time from varying needs or growths, as does the therapist. I would propose that if this weren't true, that computer programmable machines would be giving massages rather than people. Similar to the comparison of a drum machine to a human.
At any rate, I'll see your Starbucks example and I'll raise you the example of wine. Yes, there are probably 2 dominant players in the world of "wine" in terms of mass market domination. Let's say those 2 just might be Boonesfarm and Thunderbird. While they might have the nationwide mass sales, any one who truly appreciates wine would either be offended or laugh if you suggested that was the future of wine, or really, if that was even wine at all. Same for massage therapy.
There may be Boonesfarm on every shelf of every liquor store in every town, and people who truly love wine will not even look. They'll have shifting tastes for shifting expectations, starting from the expectation of quality and authenticity rather than mass market consumption.
Here in Colorado Massage Envy has had major marketing problems in the mountain towns, while local therapists seem to be thriving. I wonder if there is some marketing term of "Law" that might describe this, and thus make it a "fact"? :)
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Oops, sorry for the weird grammar in my post. So much for bi-focal contact lenses at night. I meant to say, "I get my monthly massage at (enter favorite massage franchise) because . . . (whatever the reason might be, whether its a good one, healthy, or not).
So, again, I don't intend to be negative, but I just don't think we will survive if we don't take part in shaping the world of massage for the times, regardless of how ancient it might be. I see this in yoga too. Its an ancient practice and quite sophisticated in its simplicity, but in its present mass acceptance, its undergone significant changes for the worse. I've practiced it for 30 years. No longer is there any breathwork taught, very little meditation, and an hour of 30 fast potentially harmful poses, without the breath work is not only wrong, its dangerous. People will buy the classes because they are quick and inexpensive and a bit different from their regular aerobics classes, even though yoga, while cardiovascularly effective when there is breathwork present, is not aerobic.
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I'm not entirely convinced of the Starbuck's comparison either. They have better coffee for sure, better than I can make at home, more choices, better combos, etc. They also charge $4 average per cup. I don't know about you, but my once a week, same place, same time caramel macchiato is different depending on the barista who is making it, but I still pay $4. Also, coffee has caffeine and dehydrates the body, ultimately creating poor spinal disc health, urinary tract health, and a host of other problems. And, if that doesn't depress you much, many people think of coffee as a commodity. Addiction, yes, food, no, but coffee will fall under the "I need it because . . . " rationalization, just as "I get my monthly massage at because . . .", whether or not the reason is healthy or not. So, are we in healthcare or not? That factor might change the landscape a little bit . . .
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