Establish Credibility

Overview of establishing credibility: Being seen as a high quality massage therapist

Massage therapy can be tough in that so many illicit sex workers advertise themselves under the massage umbrella. Separating your high quality practice from theirs happens over time via word of mouth. However, there are some things that you can do immediately to share your legitimate credentials and separate yourself from sex workers and those without real training and experience in massage.

Showing a clean record, legitimate massage credentials/training, license, participation in professional organizations, reviews/referrals, and 3rd party verification are all means of highlighting a high-quality massage therapist.

Goals

Establish credibility and trust with prospective customers
1. Establish credibility quickly
2. Establish expertise

Toolkit

• Visibility: Display credentials prominently (License, Degree, Education, etc)
• Professionalism: Ensure storefront, web profile, advertisements, etc. display you in a professional manner
• Association: Avoid places where illicit providers operate. Become visible in places/groups populated by other trained professional
• Messaging: Use wording that targets or anticipates specific needs where you can show off your expertise
• Verification: Use 3rd party/ objective resources to show that others have already looked at your practice and given their approval (for example, Zagat for restaurants)

Example Resources

• Online profile: Prominently display professional licensing, degrees, and certificates. You’ve invested a lot in your training, share it with the public.
• Background check: Show you have nothing to hide by verifying your identity and sharing your legal track record
• Reviews/Endorsements: Capture customer comments and list them prominently. Strangely enough having a few that aren’t perfect may actually improve their credibility
• Brand affiliation: Work with high quality networks (like HealthShoppr) or prominent companies and organizations (e.g., ABMP) to take advantage of their good reputation