Do Good and Grow Your Business with Cause Marketing

This article, authored by ClinicSense Co-Founder, Daniel Ruscigno, was originally published in Massage Today.

Cause marketing is truly one of the best ways that you can promote your services as a massage professional. Cause marketing refers to a type of marketing where a business partners with a non-profit organization to help bring awareness to a charitable cause.

The cooperative effort is mutually beneficial because it helps increase the reach and awareness of the cause for the non-profit, and for the partnering business it's a way to show customers that they stand for a cause and want to make the world a better place. This improves public relations, and serves as a platform to tell hundreds of potential new clients all about the business. There are plenty of different ways to get involved with a cause, but for massage therapists, we have found the following method can have a big impact.

First, pick the charity you'd like to support. You'll want to pick one that's close to your heart – a genuine interest in your cause is important for sincerity and because you'll really feel great about the work you're doing. In this example, you'll want to choose a charity that hosts a "walk to end," "run to end," or "bike to end" type of fundraiser.

Next, you will get in touch with the event organizers and propose that you set up an area for chair massage at the finish line. In these active types of fundraisers, you'll find plenty of people that are in need of a quick treatment to get them feeling good again after their event. Include a brief overview of the benefits of massage to participants as part of your proposal.

The second benefit comes in the form of your charitable donation. Your offer at these events is simple - you will provide a 10-minute chair massage for $10 and donate all proceeds to the charity. So from an investment standpoint, we're talking about a few hours of your time to promote your clinic to hundreds of people in your community. And remember, these are active people, so they are great candidates for long-term customers!

On the day of the event, make sure that your business name, contact information, location, and offer of $10 for a 10-minute treatment are clearly displayed to participants. You'll also want to display that all proceeds are donated to the charity. This will not only attract attention at the event, but will expose your business name to many potential new clients. And with a common interest in supporting the cause, many people will develop an emotional connection with you and your business and will feel good about booking appointments with you.

Finally, after each treatment, give the client a gift certificate for $10 off their next treatment at your usual location. Many people will stop for a treatment not only for their benefit, but also to show additional support to the charity since they know their payment to you will be donated to the charity. Offering them a gift certificate is a great way to turn an impulse purchase at the event into a long-term client. The offer should be for new clients only and it should expire in two weeks from the date of the fundraiser. The reason for the expiry is to create urgency – we want them to book now – and the longer people hold onto the gift certificate, the less likely they are to use it.

Cause marketing is a truly win-win situation for both you and the charity. The power of touch is one of the main reasons you chose massage therapy as your career, and this is a great hands-on way you can help out the charity of your choice and promote your business. Help others today and reap the benefits of your generosity at the same time.