Giving and Getting

I have always been involved with helping charities all of my life. I knew that I would make charitable giving a part of my massage business. I have found that it is also a great way to do some of my marketing - since the best way to get a new client is to get your hands on them. Here are some of the things we do at Melrose Muscle Therapy:

1. We give gift certificates for raffles (30 min treatment for free and the client is able to upgrade to one hour for a small fee).
   
2. We volunteer our time to give free massages at charity events such as Relay for Life (each person that gets a massage, is given a promotional item with a coupon)
   
3. We also get hired to help raise money for charities. We have a program where we give chair massage at a charitable event, and 70% of what we are given goes straight to the non-profit. The 30% that we keep usually is just enough to cover any costs associated with being at the event, paying my employees, and other materials. (each person that gets a massage, is given a promotional item with a coupon).
   
4. Every year on our anniversary, we hold a fundraiser. Our first year we did a fundraiser for the National MS Society - Greater Illinois Chapter complete with raffle, chair massage, and bake sale. All raffle prizes and baked goods were donated. This helped get the word out on other businesses as well as our own. Creating a community.
   
5. Just joined Hands for Heroes. We give Veterans free bodywork as a thank you for their service. I have Gift Certificates available for 30 minutes of our Signature Therapy which Veterans can use one every 6 months. I limited it so that we can give as many Vets a chance for free bodywork as possible. During the rest of the time, they are given 10% off all treatments.
   

I also limit what we support as a business. I listen to my clients as to what non-profits they support and see how I can support them, and also any fundraisers that may be happening in my community.
By doing this, we are not only doing good in our community, but we are also getting our name out there to people, creating a brand awareness that advertising dollars won't achieve. You feel good about giving back, and people will feel good about spending their hard earned dollars with you. Win – win.