There have been a lot of uncertainties over the past year in the fitness industry. You’ve probably had to close and open your fitness studio multiple times, and it’s been frustrating and even disheartening at times. Don’t worry—you’re not alone in this fight. And there are many steps you can take along the way to ensure that you retain your clients and keep them genuinely interested in coming back for more.
The most important thing to focus on is offering value to your members—the kind of holistic value that can’t be found at any other fitness studio. Any fitness studio can offer good classes. It’s up to you as a studio owner or manager to give something more to your members, whether it’s continued learning, a strong community, or ongoing goals to achieve, even when the doors are temporarily closed.
Here are 4 ways your studio software can help keep clients coming back through multiple reopenings:
Give Them Ongoing Goals to Achieve
You can’t expect your members to stay involved if you don’t give them anything to work towards. Whether your doors are open or temporarily closed, give them something tangible to work on. This can manifest in many different ways. You can create a virtual challenge or offer a prize/gift card for the members who participate in the most classes within a certain amount of time. This will motivate them to continue working out, even if it’s virtually. You can also do a virtual series focusing on a specific exercise that allows them to continue development and incentivizes them to come back when the studio doors open once again.
These kinds of events make your members feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves—and once they see the improvements in their workouts and health goals, they’ll be addicted to the growth and they’ll be thrilled to come back when you reopen.
Create a Strong Marketing Calendar
Now’s the time to utilize all the tools you have in your toolbox. The branded marketing features of zingfit can help you integrate a wide range of digital marketing tools and maintain your brand’s look and feel with every digital interaction. The stronger marketing campaign you have, the more likely you’ll keep engaging with your members on a regular basis, even when you have to go through a couple closings and reopenings. When you use these marketing tools from zingfit, you have a higher chance of retaining the clients you already have and bringing in new clients that might stick around long term.
Make Them Feel Connected to the Online Community
Your members have to feel like they’re a part of something if you expect them to keep coming back for more. Give them a chance to interact with other members, workout with the other members, and encourage the other members when you’re going through multiple reopenings. This can be accomplished through a private Facebook group, an Instagram page, an active blog, etc. Whatever you choose to do, give them a chance to communicate with each other, laugh together, and connect on all things related to health and fitness.
Offer Continued Learning Opportunities
Growth and development don’t only happen in your workout classes. In order to keep a strong community of members who keep coming back no matter what, offer them opportunities to grow mentally and emotionally. Give your members a workshop series (even virtual ones) that teaches them about different fitness and health topics. You can also focus on a different health topic in your social media profiles or in a private Facebook group. When your members feel like they’re getting useful information from you on a regular basis, along with consistent workouts, they’ll happily come back when your doors reopen because they know you offer something valuable.
Always find a way to stand out from your competitors. While other fitness studios may be hyper-focused on bringing in as many people as possible (regardless of their retention rate), you should focus on offering such a unique, useful experience that your members can’t imagine not going back when your doors reopen!
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