4 Ways Your Studio Should Prepare for the New Year’s Rush

Did you know that “Get Healthy” was the most popular New Year’s resolution in 2017? And its popularity increased by over 13% from 2016. So, it’s fair to assume even more people will aim to get healthy in 2018. And your studio can help them.

It’s no secret that New Year’s is a popular (and important!) time for wellness businesses. Which begs the question — how can your studio be prepared to put your best foot forward come December 31st? Start by asking yourself a couple of questions:

#1: Have you set goals?

If a member came into your gym saying they wanted to lose weight, what would you tell them? You’d probably ask them to set a specific goal. How much weight do you want to lose, you’d ask. When do you want to lose it by? And what plan of action can we build to get you there?

Go through those same steps for your business. Set revenue and membership goals that are measurable and time-sensitive — e.g. you want to get 100 new memberships by the end of January.

To set aggressive but achievable goals, start by looking at your business’s past performance. Know your average revenue and growth each month, and see how your studio performed last January. Can you beat that this year? (And please, don’t do that math by hand! You can easily pull detailed revenue reports for your business with WellnessLiving.)

#2: Do you have a plan?

Now that you’ve set goals for your business, the next question is — how can you hit them? Work with your team to develop strategies for getting the word out and getting clients in the door. You should be thinking about:

• SEO: Is your business easy to find? Are you listed on the most trusted local directories? (All WellnessLiving clients are!)
• Marketing: What platforms are you using? Get in front of your prospects by communicating via text, social media, email and in-person at community events.
• Referrals: Your current clients can be the best resource when reaching prospects. If you haven’t built out a referral program that incentivizes your current members to spread the word, now’s the time.

 

Be thinking about lead generation from multiple angles, and get creative! With an all-in-one business management software like WellnessLiving, we can take care of the technical work so you can focus on selling your wellness lifestyle.

#3: Is your studio prepared if you hit those goals?

If you do hit your goals for growth and revenue, can you studio handle the new business? Most importantly, you should know your numbers. Are you appropriately staffed? What’s your average class attendance? Which classes are the most popular? Automated and easily sortable reports — like WellnessLiving’s — allow you to see where you might need to increase staff or number of classes, and where you could focus on building out attendance or appointments.

Now’s the time to take care of any important repairs or updates, as well. Is there anything that could keep members from getting excited about your business? That could mean a fresh coat of paint, or it could mean updating your POS system to a more efficient and cost effective technology. (With WellnessLiving, for example, your rates could be as low as 1.49%.)

#4: How will you get new clients to stay?

In the short term, be focused on getting “New Year’s resolution-ers” in the door. But, don’t lose sight of the long-term goals: getting clients to stick around. Beyond creating an atmosphere that clients love, there are a couple things you should keep in mind when understanding how to get them to stay:

• Listen to feedback: Take the time to ask for reviews from your members, and actually read them. You can even automate review requests so clients are consistently prompted to share their thoughts. From these reviews, you can understand what your clients love and what you could be doing better.
• Reward them: Have you set up a rewards program for your business? Now’s the time to start! Turn working out or taking care of yourself into an exciting game by offering points and prizes in exchange for things your members already love doing.
• Make it easy to engage: Do your clients have to jump through hoops to book an appointment? Is it easy for them to renew their membership or purchase more classes? Not only should all of these functionalities be available on your website, but you should also consider building out an app for your studio. Put your business on the device your clients use every day.

As you brainstorm ways to get prospects in the door, be sure you’re always thinking about ways you can convince them to stick around.

Asking yourself these crucial questions is a great first step to preparing your business for the New Year’s Rush. But, there’s an even more important step you need to take: partnering with the right business management software.

If you’re not taking advantage of WellnessLiving’s all-in-one business management software, you could be throwing money down the drain. Schedule a demo today to see how WellnessLiving could revolutionize your business.