Name of your website?The OCCASIONal Massage - Mobile Massage & Spa
Your name?
Kathy Heeter LMT
Your Location (city, etc)
Continental, Ohio
Please give us a short summary of your business?
The OCCASIONal Massage is a Mobile Massage & Spa company serving West Central Ohio as well as the Cleveland/Akron area in Ohio.
We specialize in Home Spa Parties for any occasion (or no specific occasion at all!). Our hostesses receive spa gifts and service discounts for inviting friends and family to share the spa experience in the comfort of their own home.
Our services include Swedish, Deep Tissue and Therapeutic Massage as well as Hand Treatments, Foot Treatments and Facials.
We also work with corporate clients to offer the healthful benefits of chair massage. Our corporate clients may choose from 3 different programs to meet their specific financial needs. Corporate clients earn discounts or valuable points toward gift certificates.
Why have you chosen the web as one of your marketing tools?
Using the internet to market my business helps me communicate the details of our services and pricing with a wider variety of clients. I can easily update monthly internet specials and advertise different publicly accessible events too.
Our website also helps us project a stronger, more professional public image. There are many massage therapists out there. It's my job to show prospective clients how my company is different from the competition. I can't sell a client on my therapeutic skills until I have had a chance to tell them about my business!
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is the first website I have ever launched. I was able to find a provider who offered a program that is easy to use at a very reasonable price. I know a little about software applications (enough to be dangerous, lol). So it was just a matter of getting use to the format and I was up and running in 24 hours!
How did you decide on a name for your company?
The name OCCASIONal Massage focuses on the idea that any occasion is a good excuse to share the healthful benefits of massage with friends and family!
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
I have some computer application training experience and this helped me to build a site that is easy for clients of all ages and computer experience levels to navigate. I mean, if someone is looking for a massage, I bet they don't need the added stress of dealing with a website that isn't easy to use!
What is your eventual goal?
I hope to gain enough business from this website to allow me to expand the number of pages and options available. I know I want to grow my business enough to franchise in other cities in Ohio. I hope the website will allow my company to build a statewide presence.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
So far, the site has allowed me to conduct business quickly and easily with all of my clients. A person can do a web search to locate me prior to calling. Once they review our menu of services, it's just a matter of consulting with them concerning their specific needs and expectations.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would like to be able to accept credit card payments directly through the site, for booking deposits and gift certificate sales. I currently use PayPal, which is great because I like the idea that I don't have to deal with security and privacy stuff. Soon I hope to have them linked with my site for my customer's convenience.
I might also like to offer spa gifts for sale through the site. It's too early for that though.
Final, when I am able to franchise, I would like a site that allows my contracted employees, franchises and clients to access a booking calendar in real time.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
I think so! It would mean I would have to hire additional contract workers, but that's a good thing! It would also mean I could reach my goals of franchising faster than I had anticipated. Basically, I say... bring it on!
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Ha! Since mine is a mobile massage and spa company... how about the increasingly high price of fuel!
What has been your biggest challenge?
Well, it's a slow process... building a new company. I need to remind myself every day that patience necessary.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
I have included it on every written marketing material, I add it to every email and I tell people about it all the time. I have also started offering sales discounts only available through the site. Right now, its all trial and error for me.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I have to update it regularly. I also have to remember that changing it is easy... but changing all the written material is more difficult. So I try not to make so many alterations on the web... it can get expensive replacing brochures and flyers!
What is your website address?
The OCCASIONal Massage - Mobile Massage & Spa
