5 Things to Do Differently in 2023

By Juliana Larochelle Posted on: 1/18/2023 4 minutes, 19 seconds read

2023 is the year to take your boutique fitness studio to new heights and surpass pre-pandemic revenue, even amidst economic uncertainty.

If you’ve been ‘throwing spaghetti at the wall’ hoping something will stick, here are five things you can do differently to level up your game in 2023:

1) Utilize text message marketing: In addition to email marketing, text message marketing can be an effective way to reach and engage with your students. Text messages have a higher open and response rate than emails (99% vs. ~30%) and most texts are opened and acted upon within minutes of receiving them.

Here are two ways to utilize texts:

A) Send inspirational texts to new students during their intro offer. This adds value to your new students’ experience, surprises, and delights, and is a great way to convey your studio’s values and represent your brand.

Here is a framework to send inspirational text messages during a 30-day intro offer:

Day 1: Establish texting as a communication tool

Example: “Hey it's Juliana from Holisticrats Yoga and Wellness. Congrats on taking your first step to relieving your stress and pain. We are excited to be using text as a way to connect with you. We will be sending you 30 days of guiding messages to bring a smile to your face. 🕉️ J”

Day 2-6: Send a short, personalized inspirational message.

Examples:

“Yoga isn’t about doing the perfect pose or getting the perfect pose. Yoga is about listening to your body and giving your body what it needs. What does your body need today? 🕉️ J”

“10-second stress-relief: Take 3 deep breaths. Focus ONLY on your breathing. 🕉️ J”

“The Universe only gives you what you can handle. You can do this. You are strong. You are resilient. You are a warrior. Stand in warrior pose and feel your warrior POWER. 🕉️ J”

Day 7: Congratulate them on finishing their first week on their intro offer and ask them how they are liking class.

Day 8-19: send more short inspirational text messages.

Day 20 ask them directly if they thought about what they are going to do once the intro offer ends. Example:

“Hey [%first_name | there%] have you thought about what you are going to do when your month of Yoga for Stress and Pain Relief ends? 🕉️ J”

Day 21-28: send more short inspirational text messages.

Day 29: directly ask if they want to sign up for membership. Example:

“Your first month of yoga is coming to an end. Did you want to sign up for our Holisticrats Unlimited Membership? Reply yes and we'll sign you up. This is your last day to get a special discount. 🕉️ J”

Day 30: congratulate them on completing a month of yoga and let them know you look forward to supporting them on their yoga journey. Example:

“Thanks for joining us this month for an incredible month of yoga, fun, pain relief, and stress management. We look forward to continuing this journey with you. 🕉️ J”

I did this at my studio and I’ve found students received the inspirational text at the exact moment they needed it. By the time my assistant manager would call them to have the sales conversation, they already knew they wanted to do the unlimited membership and the sales conversation was super easy!

I only ever had 1 person reply “STOP” and opt-out. I found most people wanted inspiration and loved receiving text messages.

B) Use text messaging to promote sales or special promotions. Do this maximum of once a quarter so your community members don’t get annoyed and unsubscribe.

2) Call new members on their intro offer: Adding a personal touch to your sales process can be highly effective. Make a call to new students after their first class to check in, learn their "why," and recommend other class styles for them to try. Make sure the person making the call leaves notes somewhere the whole team can see.

Make a second call on day 21 of their intro offer to inquire about their experience and make membership recommendations to them.

The combination of emails, text messages and personal calls to your new students makes for a highly effective sales funnel.

3) If you haven’t already, it’s time to hire front desk staff! It’s time to stop saying, “I can’t afford front desk staff” and instead use Nicole’s Desk Staff Analysis spreadsheet.

4) Strengthen your sales funnel. Take an honest look at your intro offer to the membership sales funnel and measure how effective it is.

Do you have a sales funnel?

Are you converting 80% of first-time visitors to purchase the Intro Offer?

Are 50% of people who purchase the intro offer converting to membership?

If your answer is no, it’s time to strengthen your sales funnel. It’s not that you need more bodies walking in your doors, it’s that you need a better strategy to convert those bodies into recurring members.

If your answer is yes, it’s time to focus on new ways to market.

5) Outsource. Be honest with yourself, if you prefer to focus on teaching yoga instead of learning how to market, hire a professional to do the things for you.

Spark Strategies now offers done-for-you services where we will create client attractions and retention campaigns for you. We want you to focus more on what you love and leave the rest to us.