Massage Envy is a company that franchises massage clinics in many states throughout the nation. The first clinic opened in Phoenix in March, 2002. The owners hoped that the clinic could provide 400 massages that month, instead they provided 1,400. Clearly the founders had a good idea on their hands. The company opened another clinic on its own, and then licensed out the operating rights for the next two. Currently, all the Massage Envy clinics are franchises.
The Massage Envy Company puts one thing in front of anything else they do for their customers, and that is giving that customer the absolute best experience they could imagine while getting a massage. Almost everything the company does is involved with making the experience better for the customer. By doing this they are attracting new customers to their clinics while also bringing in new participants to the industry of massage therapy that would have normally not wanted to engage in that service. The most important part of the service is the way the experience that the customer has from the time that they enter the building until the time they leave.
The Massage Envy Company offers a quality massage at a reasonable price, and is a safe and classy environment. A one hour massage therapy session at Massage Envy consists of 5 minutes of therapist consultation, 50 minutes of hands-on massage, and 5 minutes of dressing. The company operates under a membership plan. This includes one massage per month at a set fee, depending on where the clinic is located. Additional massages can be purchased for a smaller fee. One of the key elements of the product of this company is the process a customer goes through, and quality of the service they receive throughout their experience as a guest.
After arriving at the Massage Envy clinic, the customer will be greeted by a receptionist and will begin to fill out some paper work. This paper work will include any past medical history, previous and current injuries, and anything else the customer feels the employees should know about them. Then the massage therapist will come and get the patient and discuss the forms they filled out and make sure that they understand it fully and address if the client would like anything worked on special on this particular visit. As with personal trainers at gyms, customers are generally assigned to a particular therapist. Next the massage therapist will take the client into the treatment room, which is a very relaxing room with a comfortable table for the massage (this table is even heated for the clients’ added comfort). The massage therapist will then leave the client to undress to whatever level the client is comfortable with. Then, when the client is undressed and comfortably under the top sheet and lying on the table the massage therapist will enter the room (knocking first to assure the client is ready to begin).
During the massage, if the client would like, relaxing music will be played, or not, if that is what the client would prefer. Also, while the massage is being giving only the part of the body that is directly being worked on will be uncovered to assure the comfort of the client. While the massage is being applied the client is encouraged beforehand to speak up if something is uncomfortable or the techniques being used is painful, to fully give the client the best experience possible. Once the massage is finished the massage therapist leaves the room and allows the client to re-dress and then returns them to the waiting room.
The market for massage therapy is booming currently, which is a trend Massage Envy is one of the top at capitalizing on. Currently is it reported that between five and seven billion dollars a year is spent on massage therapy, while the consumers visit clinics approximately 140 million times a year. Because of many doctors using massage therapy as part of the treatment process, the percentage of Americans using massage therapy has doubled since 1997. In addition to doctors using massage therapy as treatment many fortune 500 companies (15 % of them) offer massage therapy in their benefit package. Like many products and markets appealing to aging baby boomers, it is a key for future success, and the massage therapy industry is currently doing a good job at attracting these baby boomer consumers. With so much potential for growth for the massage therapy industry, it is not a large mystery why The Massage Envy Company is experiencing such rapid growth.
Massage Envy has also began to franchise rapidly. By franchising out its product it can experience rapid growth and profits without having to put as many resources into opening new clinics. By selling the resources and rights to a new owner, and then letting them run the business, Massage Envy saves a great deal of their managerial resources. Franchising this business in a growing industry will allow for wide name recognition and really allow Massage Envy to become the brand name of massage therapy throughout the country.
In 2006 the revenue for Massage Envy was estimated at around 15 million dollars, and in 2008 it is predicted that the company could see revenue around 225 million (based on owners expectations of 140 % growth). These financial growth numbers were the only numbers that were disclosed or available from any available sources. Based on the rapid franchising (the goal in the next years to come is 1200 clinics open) and the growing industry of massage therapy, it does not take too many numbers to see that Massage Envy is doing very well. The percentage of Americans using Massage Therapists has doubled since 1997. Doctors are increasingly including massage therapies as treatment for their patients as well.
Women between the ages of 30 and 60 constitute two-thirds of Massage Envy’s clients. This makes Massage Envy clinics good neighbors for female-oriented retailers such as Chico’s, JoAnn Stores, and Michaels. Health clubs, Pilates, and dance studios, and other membership-driven businesses also complement Massage Envy. Massage Envy’s clinics go well with convenience-oriented tenants, such as supermarkets, dry-cleaners and quick-serve restaurants. The size of the clinics, between 3,000 and 3,500 square feet, also makes the businesses attractive for landlords because they are easy to fit into many locations.Massage therapy customers also tend to get massages frequently. Those who seek therapeutic massage from trained professionals average 7 visits per year. The growing population of elderly and aging baby boomers continues to fuel an unprecedented demand for massage therapy.
Although not much information was readily available about the marketing strategy which Massage Envy uses in order to maintain some level of competitive advantage, there were some facts that could be found on the subject. Some elements of their marketing plan were not clearly stated, but through their practices some of their marketing strategy can be seen. Recently Massage Envy has outsourced its Public Relations operations to the Duke Marketing Company for its California operations. Although the plan that they put together was not available, the simple fact that Massage Envy outsourced this to another company can be used to see the growth that the company is undergoing, and this has created the necessity to outsource some marketing operations.
The marketing strategy that Massage Envy has taken is to appeal to a wide audience. On their website Massage Envy has referred to themselves as the “McDonalds of massage therapy”. This really tells the story of their marketing. They have positioned themselves in the market as the place to go to get what you know, and what you can expect, for a price that it is not only affordable but in many cases the cheapest. With this market positioning they have appealed to a wide range of customers (including but not exclusive to the target market). By creating an experience that is the same every time the customer comes into the clinic, regardless of how long it has been since their last visit, and which employee (new or old) is giving the massage the customer will feel comfortable going to this clinic. This is because it is not going to be new to them in any way. This also transcends locations. Even if a customer is on the road, the Massage Envy brand will be a familiar one, with which they will be comfortable going to at a new location, because the company is marketed to customers that enjoy the company’s familiarity and affordable massages.
In an interview with CG Funk, the VP of Industry Relations, one of the main focuses that was talked about was the growth of the company via franchising, and the seeking of new massage therapists to work in the clinics that are being opened up all over the country. When a clinic matures each clinic will employ around 30 massage therapists to satisfy the client’s needs. With so many clinics opening up the company is seeking employees from all over the country to come and join this growing company. This will allow it to keep growing and achieving the level of success that they have established already.
The interviews also covered why a massage therapist would benefit from working at a company like Massage Envy. The answer seemed to be that it was very simple for them. All the therapist needs to be concerned about is with showing up and working with the clients. This is because the company handles all the marketing and booking of clients. This can also allow the therapists to develop a relationship with many more clients than perhaps they would have access to if they were working alone out of their own clinic. This is beneficial because this can increase the amount of tips the therapists gain and also can influence the size of the tips they receive.
The company also is very flexible with the schedules and needs of the therapists. They offer full and part time positions, so if a therapist can only do 3 days a week or 15 hours a week the company is accommodating to those needs. Also the therapist has the option of telling the company that he or she cannot perform more than 6 massages a day at 3 in a row, or some sort of detail about them like that, and the company is again very accommodating to them.
This type of flexibility and the growing company name can help a young student who is looking for experience in the field of massage therapy, or perhaps a worker who has been in the industry a while who is looking to do other things and just maintain a part time employment opportunity. By really being an employee friendly place to work Massage Envy has done itself a great service because happy employees can really translate into happy customers, which can expand growth very rapidly. I know from my experiences that one of the focal points of that company is to have happy employees so that the customers are even more satisfied. This obviously works far beyond the world of retail also, and is working well in the world of Massage Therapy for the Massage Envy Company.
Regarding the future of Massage Envy, it is a promising future, for multiple reasons. Most of the success of the business comes from the fact that the company is franchising, and that is allowing them rapid growth which would most likely take a much longer time if the company stayed self-operated and opened clinics to be completely run internally. Almost all of the information that is available regarding Massage Envy in one way or another references the fast expansion due to the franchise model that they have executed.
Another element that will with no doubt add to the success the company is set to have in the future is the industry itself. Massage Envy is capitalizing on the expanding industry that is massage therapy. Some of the numbers listed earlier in this paper have clearly outlined the rapid growth in this industry. Things such as the fact that many companies are offering massage therapy in their benefits packages, and the growing number of the baby boomers that are using massage therapy services to help with everyday aches and pains suggest growth potential. Although the information given to the franchisees is unavailable, it can be assumed due to the success the company and the franchise have achieved that the operating model including the location is a very successful model for this type of business.
With some companies it is not always clear why they are as successful as they are, and often they eventually lose that success. Massage Envy is different because by making things comfortable, affordable, and convenient for their customers it shows why they are successful at what they do. For this reason, there is little doubt about their ability to maintain the happiness of their current customers while attracting new ones to their business. Every section about this company seems to be a successful way of doing business for other industries, and is working well for Massage Envy, so there is little reason to doubt this company’s future.
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