Massage Envy in your neck of the woods?

My company, SpaBoom, boasts over 2,000 spas and salons using our technology to sell Instant Gift Certificates on the Internet. What's cool about our business, is that our clients are making more money. There's no contract. The value proposition is compelling.

With this many clients, we've captured about 10% of the market. This is an impressive number, given we started offering this capability just 2 and a half years ago. However, my company has reached a chasm of sorts, and finding it harder to convince the remaining spas to jump on board and start selling their own Instant Gift Certificates on their websites, using SpaBoom technology.

So, what does this have to do with Massage Envy? Everything. I'm finding that the spas that haven't yet signed on to SpaBoom are generally too busy focused on the day-to-day of their own businesses. They are busy, overworked and sometimes have trouble keeping the bills paid. They are bombarded by vendors, and don't know who to trust.

We as human beings, generally refrain from change, especially when we can keep busy and keep the lights on. The problem is, the market is changing. Massage Envy is here to stay. Simply keeping the business going requires more than opening the doors and
providing services. It requires reacting to the marketplace, doing things smarter, maintaining market differentiators, and removing barriers to doing business with you.

If you have a Massage Envy in your neck of the woods, you must not ignore it. You must react. Not necessary by dropping prices, but by being more aggressive. Are you a day spa or medical spa, or are you a luxurious, romantic spa getaway? Reinforce your differentiators. Advertise. Create incentives for your existing clients to come back, as well as refer business to you.

Consider hiring a consultant to help you. Marketing is key. Cash flow is king. Here's a simple test for you: Are you selling SpaBoom Instant Gift Certificates? If not, you're not bringing in all the cash you can, and you're not making it as easy as possible for your clients to do business with you.

Larry Donahue is a registered patent attorney, a member of the Illinois and New Mexico bars, and specializes in Internet law, contracts and business law. His interest for the past eight years has been running, managing and selling Internet technology businesses.