Why would we ask you what makes you a remarkable massage therapist? The word “remarkable” comes from France in the early 17th century: remarquable, from remarquer means to “take note of”. In other words, what makes you different from other massage therapists?

If you are not remarkable in some way, why should clients pay to have you massage them?

Have you given it a thought?

From a marketing standpoint, we need to know what makes us different from another massage therapist. If we don’t know how we stand out above the competition, we have no inclination of why people would prefer our services.

While many of us would prefer that people somehow just “know” in their brains what an amazing therapist we are when they meet us in person or see our website, it really doesn’t work that way. Sad news for some of us, I know.

How do you stand out from others in your town?

Anatomy Prowess

Maybe anatomy is your jam–you are always on a quest to learn more or study about how the body functions and the interrelationships of muscles and fascia. You read articles and blogs, attending courses or cadaver studies. You approach your client from a physiological perspective, examining how they walk or move.

Here are a couple of examples of our instructors who know how their knowledge makes them remarkable.

Throughout her career, Abigail has continued to deepen her knowledge of the body’s functionality and the mental and physical effects of movement. ↬partial bio of Abigail Savage, LMT, Chicago.

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The flavor of her sessions stem from Jeni’s years of experience applying orthopedic and medical massage techniques with her feet. Expect to feel an intuitive, slow flowing, deeper than deep tissue full body massage that incorporates joint manipulation and very specific work to chronic tissue issues anywhere in your body. ↬ partial bio of Jeni Spring, LMT, San Antonio

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We are NOT your typical frou-frou spa or massage studio. Our focus is deep relaxation, pain relief, rehabilitation from injuries, trauma and poor posture. ↬ “about” section of North Pointe Body Therapies in Durhman. Owner, Julie Marciniak

Understanding feelings

Perhaps you are empathetic–your clients mention how you connect with them and how you make them feel better just by being you. Once a client told me that he thought that a good massage therapist was based on skill alone. But having been my client for a while, he realized that it’s more about relationships.

Don’t sell relationships short–therapists in a large massage environment often don’t have the ability to develop rapport. Clients seem to want that.

While Dawn is fun-loving and totally down to earth, she is completely professional in her client/practitioner relationships. Dawn believes massage and bodywork to be both an art and a science and she has a great love of anatomy & movement. ↬ partial bio of Dawn Dotson

Listening

How impressive are your listening skills? Do you hear what the client has to say about their aches and pains and actually attend to them? Many clients have told me that they came in with, for example, a right forearm issue but the therapist just glossed over the arm with no special care or intention.

Massage therapy makes my clients feel better through not only due to my massage skills, but also because I listen. Sometimes, that helps people heal just by getting things off their chest. Add to that my awesome ninja barefoot massage skills, and people say it’s a winning combination.  ↬ partial bio of Mary-Claire Fredette 

Continuing education

Are you a CE junkie? Attending many different classes can give you a variety of ways to look at different issues. My own massage therapist, Tzuling Kuo, has taken so many classes that it makes my head spin.

After obtaining her license from the Ohio Medical Board in 2008, Tzuling took a slew of continued education to expand her skill sets. Before starting practice in 2009, Tzuling, or as most people call her, Sue, was already well trained in Pregnancy Massage, Ashiatsu, and Bamboo Massage.

She has continued in the past 9 years to attend an impressive number of classes, and I never know what kind of massage I’ll receive. I give her my laundry list of complaints, and she’ll skillfully apply a variety of styles for the next 2 hours until I’m golden.

Passion for your modality

Speaking of skills, is there a service that you are so passionate about that you have honed your craft? All of our FasciAshi instructors are geeked about barefoot massage, so of course, we work and tweak and ask for feedback, continually working to make ourselves more extraordinary.

Her passion for barefoot massage helped to secure her spot as an Ashiatsu Training Instructor. ↬ partial bio of one of our past instructors

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And each of our licensed, specially trained therapists is practicing her craft to the fullest, continually learning and growing, and passing that knowledge on to you to provide the ultimate healing experience with every massage. ↬ “about” section of Sole Shine. Owner, Sara Newberry

When I started writing this post, I had no idea what our instructors’ bios said on their personal websites. It’s exciting to discover that we all know what makes us remarkable, and we say it (without saying, “Hey you! I’m awesomely talented! Get a massage!”)

Knowing what makes you different and noteworthy as a massage therapist is THE BEST WAY to market yourself.

Massage therapy is about making people feel better, healing or “heeling” them, as we like to say here. But it’s more than that. We are not doctors who get 7 minutes per co-pay with our patients.

If you’ve been hesitant to say,

I AM REMARKABLE BECAUSE I…

examine what makes you unique.

Pro tip: have no idea? Ask your clients why they keep coming back to you!

Blog about your solid skills, your empathetic ear, your anatomical accomplishments. Change your “about” section on your website. People do read them!

Massage therapy is powerful in many ways, and your ability to market your remarkable-ness should bring new clients to you.

What makes you special as a massage therapist? How do you stand out from others? Leave a comment below!