Author: Amber Wojcek

The average person has about 40 apps on their phone, comprising everything from banking to video games. More and more, people expect to be able to manage their days using self-service functions of phone apps. Providing a mobile app for your members is not only convenient for them, but provides a crucial avenue to build client retention for your fitness business.

Why Apps Work

In the tech world, companies try to make their products more “sticky;” in other words, how do you make a customer keep using your product and make it so integral to their life that they won’t want to cancel? Apps are often one of the top ways product teams try to engage customers and extend their time as customers.

There are a few different ways that apps achieve company growth and retention goals:

1.     Apps help you stay connected

It’s harder and harder to get in front of your customers – whether it’s through email, mail, or social media. But apps can help you stay connected by sending relevant push notifications. Consider using pushes to remind members that they have an upcoming class or to prompt them to sign up for a personal training session.

2.     Apps help people save time

Think about the times when you get an email which tells you to go to a website, where you need to remember a password and then verify your identity on another app. It makes you want to never log in again, right? Compare that to the experience of opening an app you know well – a couple of taps later, and you’re able to do what you need to.

In addition to the simplicity, apps also offer a level of convenience you won’t get elsewhere. You give members the ability to check gym hours while waiting in the line at the grocery store. By making client engagement quick and easy, you’re more likely to have those clients engage!

3.     Apps give you more opportunities

When you implement an app, you also get access to a wealth of data about your members. You’ll be able to see who is using the app and who is making purchases. You can use this information to fuel your outreach and try to engage people who haven’t been visiting or ask common gym-goers for referrals.

How to Stand Out

One report found that there are over 70,000 fitness apps worldwide. That makes launching your own branded mobile app really overwhelming. But, good news: you aren’t trying to compete with FitBit or any other app in the app store.

The key is to remember that your app is a helpful tool in your client management toolkit. Your goal is to get existing and new members to adopt and use the app, and not to have people find your app and then join the gym.

Publicise your app on social media, on your website, and in your emails. When you link to your apps, don’t forget to include the specific link to the Google Play Store; don’t assume everyone’s on Apple. And when you’re onboarding a new member, guide them through the process and help them to download the app while they’re with you. It’ll be worth it to keep your members coming back.

How to Get Custom a Branded App

It’s clear that implementing an app for your business can not only aid in growing your business but also improve client satisfaction. So, what’s next? Your gym membership software may provide custom branded apps that integrate seamlessly with your other gym management tools. When they all speak to each other, it makes it easy to schedule classes, manage members, and handle purchases and billing.

There’s nothing more important to the success of your gym business than your members. Not only do their dues keep the lights on, but active memberships help you to have predictable income from month to month. However, with more fitness options than ever–from online training to at-home equipment–it may feel more difficult to close sales.

That’s why we’re sharing a few sales techniques you can implement to sell more gym memberships. The key is to provide potential members with a smooth buying experience without putting pressure on them to make a decision before they’re ready.

1.    Keep Your Social Media Up to Date

Most members didn’t just walk into your facility without knowing some background information about you. That’s why updating your social media with new equipment, class times, and trainer bios is so important. For people who haven’t been in a gym in a long time (or ever), gyms are extremely intimidating. By sharing the ins and outs of what to expect and highlighting your features, you’ll make someone more comfortable with taking the next step of reaching out.

Additionally, if you get permission, share photos of different types of members. While you of course want to share results, if you only share people in peak shape, it can be very alienating. You want to show how welcoming you are to people of different body types, abilities, ages and genders.

2.    Digitize the Buying Experience

Many fitness business owners are hesitant to update their sales tactics. They may rely on a high-pressure sales team driven to get contracts signed, no matter what. The result is that prospective members fear that they’re walking into a used car dealership, where they’ll be pushed to sign something they don’t want and be stuck with something not right for them.

While the personal relationship is extremely important to integrating a new member with the gym and wanting to come back, allow them to move at their pace. Add a chat module to your website to allow people to ask questions – and answer them directly without pushing them to get on the phone. Focus on customer service so that they feel comfortable coming in when they’re ready.

Finally, set your facility up with management software that allows people to schedule a tour of the facility or to come in for a free class. Giving people more control over the experience will help ease the anxiety of entering a new gym for the first time.

3.    Update the Sales Process

You know that membership sales are far from the only way to increase revenue for your facility. But too many sales leads focus on driving that revenue from the moment someone has joined your gym, which can leave a sour taste in the new member’s mouth. When you close the sale for the membership, you should once again give buying power back to the member.

Tell your new member that they can browse your self-service app when they’re ready, allowing them to choose a time and trainer for a free session, join classes, buy merchandise or do anything else they need to do. If they have questions, they’ll find you – but not if they fear a sales pitch every time they ask a question. By updating your sales strategy to allow email marketing to push offers while the employees are there to be helpful, people will be much more comfortable coming to your team.

Conclusion

The fitness industry faces a lot of challenges when trying to balance member experience with revenue growth. By letting the team working at your fitness studio to be advocates for your brand and letting the members make purchases on their own terms, you can actually drive gym sales and customer satisfaction.

If your New Year’s resolution is to get healthier, you’re not alone. About half of the people who made a resolution going into 2021 are planning on exercising more, losing weight, and eating healthier. For people who are looking to focus on their health for their 2021 resolution, we want to offer some tips to help you stick to your goals and feel great all year long.

1. Prepare for Success

Before you enroll in that weight loss program or splurge on pricey exercise equipment, do some homework to determine where you’re currently at, what your goals could look like, and how you’re going to work towards them.

First, talk to your doctor about what you want to achieve. They’ll be able to recommend where to start based on where you are physically and mentally. They may also refer you to a dietician to help you develop healthy eating habits and a diet plan you can stick to.

Next, consider talking to a personal trainer to develop a workout routine. With your trainer, you can set realistic goals to work towards and break down smaller benchmarks for success along the way.

2. Create a Plan

Based on what you’ve discussed with your doctor, dietician, and trainer, you’ll be able to schedule your activities to integrate wellness into your life, rather than treating it as an afterthought. This will make it more likely that you’ll treat health and fitness as part of your lifestyle, and you’ll be more successful at staying on track.

Dedicate a time every week to meal plan, grocery shop, and prep your meals for the week. Set your schedule with your trainer and block time off for your activities. Whether it’s an hour-long yoga class or a fifteen-minute lunchtime walk, treat these appointments as non-negotiable. If you’re starting out with shorter exercise blocks, getting in the habit of blocking this time for yourself will help you in the future as they get longer.

3. Involve a Friend

It can be intimidating to tell a friend about your goals, especially when they’re around weight loss. But involving another person in your journey can be the best way to improve accountability and provide support when you need it most. Whether you have someone who wants to play tennis with you once a week or someone who you can just text for some encouragement when you’re feeling down, leaning on your social circle is one of the best ways to achieve success. 

4. Don’t Overdo It

When you’re starting out, it’s common to feel motivated to go all-out. But just because you’re focused on your fitness goals doesn’t mean you should lose sight of the process. After all, you want to be building better habits that result in a healthier lifestyle—not to run a 5k once and never run again. Pushing too hard or making too many big changes at once are a surefire way to cause burnout and a return to your old ways. Plus, over-exercising before you’ve set the foundation can lead to serious injury. Remember to practice mindful self-care, and keep in touch with how you’re feeling to build up to where you want to be.

5. Be Realistic

The best way to reach your goals is by making them achievable. After all, if you reach your goal, you can always set new ones! But setting an unattainable initial goal can result in discouragement and lead you to give up too soon. Again, work with professionals to decide what goals can look like for you. Maybe it’s to run a 5k, lift a certain amount of weight, or bike a certain trail by the end of the year. Whatever your goals are, it’s important to avoid injury and prioritize how you feel—both mentally and physically.

Group classes are back in session! But does that mean that the gym owners, trainers, and employees are ready to be back?

Here are a few ways that you can protect and support your staff and gym members during this time.

1. Help People Ease Back In

Although there were more at-home workout options than ever this past year, people likely weren’t doing as much vigorous activity as before. Consider offering members with consultations to provide activities recommendations and physical activity guidelines to help prevent injury and see results. Plus, offer more classes and workouts at a moderate intensity and check in more with your members who are working at a high intensity.

Additionally, some people may not want to return due to a certain health condition or other reason. No matter how much you tell people to wash your hands, this won’t change. For these members, make it easy for them to leave. They’ll be much more likely to come back when they do feel safe than if you try to argue the point with them.

2. Offer Outdoor Activities

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people re-discovered a love of the great outdoors. Consider offering member activities outside of the facility, like guided hikes, yoga in a park, and group runs. Since people breathe more heavily during aerobic activities, moving them outside can help slow the spread of airborne illnesses. And, by having fewer members in the studio, you’ll be able to maintain physical distancing more easily.

3. Support Mental Health

Although many people are ready to “get back to normal,” 2020 was nothing but normal. Remember that you don’t know everything that everyone is dealing with, whether the loss of loved ones, stress of managing at-home schooling and remote work, or feelings of isolation from spending so much time alone. People joked about gaining the “quarantine fifteen,” but there are more serious cases of anxiety and depression as a result of a year inside.

Keep in mind that being healthy is both physical and mental. Consider offering mental health benefits as part of your employee health insurance and including classes on mindfulness and meditation for your members.

Conclusion

Just like how none of us were prepared for COVID-19, none of us know what to expect next as the world starts reopening. As a gym owner, you’re responsible for the health and well-being of your employees, your members, and by extension, your community. Be empathetic and kind as you help everyone ease back into their fitness routines to help do your part to keep people happy and healthy.

When most people think of getting or staying healthy, they probably picture a line of treadmills at the gym or bulky weight equipment. However, it’s easier than ever to stay fit and track results from your home. You don’t even need a ton of extra space to develop a full-body wellness routine and monitor your success. Best of all, as technology develops it’s more accessible than ever. Here are a few fitness technology essentials to build your wellness routine.

Tech to Monitor Progress and Track Results

It can be difficult to understand just how much progress you’ve made if you never measured where you started. Here are a few items to replace the tracking you would get with a personal trainer or the gym:

Smart Scale

A smart scale does more than just monitor weight. They can also determine body composition, including muscle and body fat percentages as well as bone mass and water percentage. For those who are looking to gain muscle and not just lose fat, or are worried about a weight plateau, a smart scale is a vital upgrade from the traditional bathroom scale.

Additionally, smart scales use bluetooth to sync results to your phone so you can track progress over time. They’re even smart enough to track multiple people, so one scale can help the whole family stay on track. And many smart scales can sync directly to your other fitness devices for a holistic view of your health and fitness.

Fitness Trackers

Combine the smart scale with a wearable fitness tracker to see the whole picture of your fitness journey. Some of the most popular wearables are the Apple Watch and Fitbit Charge, which each include a heart rate monitor and automatically track workouts. Newer versions of each are also waterproof. However, the two high tech watches have key differences to keep in mind when deciding between them.

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is first and foremost a smartphone companion, which works primarily with Apple devices. It comes with the Nike+ app, Apple Activity app, and can work with a number of additional fitness apps on the app store. The newest iteration also includes an ECG application in addition to the standard heart rate monitor, heart rate sensor, and step counters.

However, its best features are not fitness related, like Apple Pay, Siri, and a number of touch screen apps available through your iPhone. The Apple Watch is a great pick if you’re looking for an everyday wearable that also happens to track fitness – and if you don’t mind spending a bit more.

Fitbit Charge

Meanwhile, the Fitbit Charge puts smart fitness first, with its incredible 7-day battery life, built-in sleep tracker, and 20+ goal-based exercise modes. The newest version includes GPS to automatically track workouts, and the Active Zone Minutes feature monitors your heart rate and alerts you when you’ve reached your target heart rate zone during a workout.

The Fitbit Charge isn’t a fully-fledged smart watch, however. While you’ll get call and text alerts to your synced device, you can’t access any apps that do not come with the device. The display is smaller and monochrome, as it puts function above form; the screen shape fits the wrist beautifully while the LED screen is easy to read even in direct outdoor light.

Whichever fitness tech you choose, you’ll be glad to have your activity tracked in real time and remove the extra work logging your next workout.

Build Out Your Home Gym

Now that you’re ready to track your workouts and results, let’s dive into how you can turn your living room into a full-body home gym. Most virtual classes don’t require any equipment, but you may want to invest in some resistance bands, dumbbells, and a yoga mat that you can stash away when not in use.

Fitness Classes

There are more online fitness classes than ever and for a fraction of the cost of in-person fitness classes. When choosing your digital training sessions, try to choose ones from a reputable source and not just what pops into your YouTube feed. You want to know that who is building the routines knows how to avoid injury and properly demonstrate activities

Here are a few popular choices that you can stream or cast to devices like Roku and smart TVs:

• The OrangeTheory YouTube channel (Free): When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down studios, OrangeTheory rose to the challenge and began publishing daily full-body workouts for their members. Today, there are dozens of daily workouts plus extra challenges. However, there is a chance that they could remove these videos once restrictions are lifted and gyms return to full capacity.
• The Peloton App ($12.99/month): You don’t have to own the pricey home bicycle to access Peloton’s comprehensive app. You’ll get access to thousands of live and on-demand classes, including outdoor running, strength training, bootcamp, yoga, and meditation. Non-peloton stationary bike owners often use a tablet to ride with the classes; however, without a Peloton you won’t be able to participate in challenges or the leaderboard.
• Daily Burn ($14.95-$19.95/month): Daily Burn offers a wide range of fitness videos, from beginner classes and dance workouts up to HIIT and advanced strength training. Its live Daily 365 videos are like joining in on a group workout class, which pump up the motivation and keep your daily workouts fresh.

Meet with a Personal Trainer

Just because you’re not going to a gym doesn’t mean you can’t work with a personal trainer to achieve your goals. With personal training, you’ll have an expert by your side to monitor your metrics and help develop a targeted workout routine and even an eating plan. You’ll be able to make the most out of all the fitness technology above while focusing on the results you want to see.

For personal trainers looking for the best tech to improve their business operations including scheduling, billing, and client management including fitness assessments, try the EZFacility app for Personal Trainers. You’ll save time and be able to spend more energy focusing on your clients.

As you look ahead to the new year, it’s the perfect time to make a plan for success. Setting goals and finding ways to measure the business impact of your marketing will help you to find out what is and isn’t working for your studio. You’ll be able to optimize your efforts to get the most out of your time and money investments.

In this post, we’ll share ideas on what to include in your yoga marketing strategy to attract new students and keep your current students engaged.

Choose Your Marketing Strategies

You’ll find that there are dozens of avenues you can take to market your yoga studio. So where do you start? It’s important to mix both digital marketing and offline marketing to reach the widest possible audience. You’ll find that it’s easier to track ROI and reach your target audience with digital, but offline marketing provides the opportunity to build deeper bonds within your local community which can lead to lasting relationships.

Offline Marketing Strategies

If you haven’t already, consider joining your local chamber of commerce and connecting with other small business owners. When you go to networking events and present your business, offer special chamber-only discounts to try out your classes. Collaborate with like-minded local businesses (health food stores, nutritionists, massage therapists) to create wellness packages. Brainstorm ways to reach the employees of a business, such as by offering a short seminar of yoga poses to do throughout the workday.

Digital Marketing Strategies

Digital marketing allows you to launch a marketing campaign more quickly with much more nuanced tracking—whether you’re looking at email opens and clicks or social media follows. The most common digital marketing strategies for small businesses include:

• Website and blog posts
• Social media marketing
• Email marketing

Managing all these channels and spending time to create content for each will be a huge time investment, which is why it’s so important to make a plan around how you’ll handle each one. The first step to success is to find a system to manage all your accounts in one place, making it easier to handle posting and updates.

For instance, with EZFacility for yoga studios, your website and marketing tools are in the same system that manages your studio, so it’s easy to jump from one task to the next. Plus, the simple email builder includes pre-designed templates, so you spend less time focused on the details and more time reaping the rewards. And, EZFacility websites are fully responsive and search engine optimized so you’ll be found online.

Once you have your social media, email, and website accounts in one place, you can create your marketing plan. Here’s how to get started for each channel:

• Website and Blog: Create a content calendar outlining which topics you want to cover on your blog and when you want them to go out. Consider promotions you may run around holidays and special events and work backwards to plan when you need each article to be written and edited in order to be published before you need the content for email campaigns and social media posts.
• Social Media Marketing: Similar to your blog calendar, you’ll want to plan exactly when you’re posting different kinds of content on social media to keep your feed fresh and interesting. Talk to your yoga teachers to see if they would be open to creating a post a week for the business. And think of a unique hashtag for your students and members to use to share content that you can re-post from your brand account. Finally, make your content work harder for you. Don’t be afraid to post the same content to both Instagram and Facebook—they’ll reach different audiences depending on where your customers spend more time.
• Email Marketing: Whenever someone comes to a yoga class at your studio, be sure to collect their contact information so you can reach out and stay top-of-mind. Share special promotions, referral deals, and class schedules and updates to keep new and old members alike abreast of what’s happening at the studio. To keep your updates interesting, consider also developing a monthly newsletter including member spotlights, trainer interviews, and links to your blog.

Focus on What’s Working

When you’re running a small business, it’s vital to make the most out of the time and money you invest into the business. While it’s important to diversify your marketing efforts to reach people both online and offline, you also should spend the most time on the areas that are providing you with the most value.

Maybe sharing yoga poses on Instagram is driving engagement among existing students but isn’t driving new people to practice yoga at the studio as much as your website. You’ll want to keep up your Instagram presence, but maybe pull back on the time you spend interacting with other accounts and put that time towards building your SEO.

With EZFacility, not only will you be able to manage the day-to-day operations of your studio including membership, payment processing, and teacher scheduling, but you’ll also be able to see promotion engagement, lead conversion rates, and referral reports. Find exactly what is working for your individual business and hone your efforts where they count. With these tools, you’ll be able to build the perfect yoga studio marketing plan for your business.

If your New Year’s resolution is to get healthier, you’re not alone. About half of the people who made a resolution going into 2021 are planning on exercising more, losing weight, and eating healthier. For people who are looking to focus on their health for their 2021 resolution, we want to offer some tips to help you stick to your goals and feel great all year long.

1. Prepare for Success

Before you enroll in that weight loss program or splurge on pricey exercise equipment, do some homework to determine where you’re currently at, what your goals could look like, and how you’re going to work towards them.

First, talk to your doctor about what you want to achieve. They’ll be able to recommend where to start based on where you are physically and mentally. They may also refer you to a dietician to help you develop healthy eating habits and a diet plan you can stick to.

Next, consider talking to a personal trainer to develop a workout routine. With your trainer, you can set realistic goals to work towards and break down smaller benchmarks for success along the way.

2. Create a Plan

Based on what you’ve discussed with your doctor, dietician, and trainer, you’ll be able to schedule your activities to integrate wellness into your life, rather than treating it as an afterthought. This will make it more likely that you’ll treat health and fitness as part of your lifestyle, and you’ll be more successful at staying on track.

Dedicate a time every week to meal plan, grocery shop, and prep your meals for the week. Set your schedule with your trainer and block time off for your activities. Whether it’s an hour-long yoga class or a fifteen-minute lunchtime walk, treat these appointments as non-negotiable. If you’re starting out with shorter exercise blocks, getting in the habit of blocking this time for yourself will help you in the future as they get longer.

3. Involve a Friend

It can be intimidating to tell a friend about your goals, especially when they’re around weight loss. But involving another person in your journey can be the best way to improve accountability and provide support when you need it most. Whether you have someone who wants to play tennis with you once a week or someone who you can just text for some encouragement when you’re feeling down, leaning on your social circle is one of the best ways to achieve success. 

4. Don’t Overdo It

When you’re starting out, it’s common to feel motivated to go all-out. But just because you’re focused on your fitness goals doesn’t mean you should lose sight of the process. After all, you want to be building better habits that result in a healthier lifestyle—not to run a 5k once and never run again. Pushing too hard or making too many big changes at once are a surefire way to cause burnout and a return to your old ways. Plus, over-exercising before you’ve set the foundation can lead to serious injury. Keep in touch with how you’re feeling to build up to where you want to be.

5. Be Realistic

The best way to reach your goals is by making them achievable. After all, if you reach your goal, you can always set new ones! But setting an unattainable initial goal can result in discouragement and lead you to give up too soon. Again, work with professionals to decide what goals can look like for you. Maybe it’s to run a 5k, lift a certain amount of weight, or bike a certain trail by the end of the year. Whatever your goals are, it’s important to avoid injury and prioritize how you feel—both mentally and physically.

You probably started teaching yoga because of a passion for yoga. But, any small business owner knows that profitability is the key to be able to continue doing what you enjoy. In this article, we’ll help you to find ways to become a successful yoga entrepreneur so you can get back to focusing on your students and your practice.

More than Teaching Yoga

Running a yoga studio is more than scheduling classes. A yoga studio owner also acts as a hiring manager, finance department, and customer service manager. You also need to focus on student satisfaction to keep loyal students coming back while also reaching new clients.

At the end of the day, students come to classes that are conveniently located, fit within their schedule, and that have teachers they enjoy. While you may not be able to control the location – unless you own multiple yoga studios – you can cater to other needs.

Hiring Yoga Teachers

When hiring your team, choose yoga instructors from different backgrounds and practice areas. Then, vary the class schedules so that your clients can try different yoga teachers on different days. When a yoga teacher is a good fit for a student, you have a great chance of building loyalty and keeping that student coming back week after week. By hiring different types of instructors, you’re more likely to find a great fit for more students across your schedule.

Developing Yoga Instructors

As you know, in yoga there’s always room for improvement – and not just for your students. Be sure to offer your instructors the time and flexibility to attend teacher training and development classes. Not only will you help improve your instructors’ capabilities, but you will also become a more prestigious organisation. With a focus on quality, you can even eventually increase class prices without facing a decrease in membership.

Diversifying Revenue Streams

Many people who love teaching yoga may cringe at the business speak around revenue streams. But, offering products and services aside from only yoga classes is a great way to help your bottom line.

Carry necessities that new students may need like yoga mats, yoga blocks, towels, and water bottles. Offer branded yoga apparel so your clients can share your business name wherever they go. You can use a service like Bonfire that prints shirts when they get ordered so that you don’t have to invest in carrying inventory. And don’t forget to publicise gift certificates to make it easy for your students to gift classes to their friends.

Consider launching an online pay-to-access library of class videos to let members practice even when they aren’t in the studio. Or, offer private workshops and one-on-one training to let students take practicing yoga to the next level.

Finally, partner with other small business owners to offer packages. Sell bundles with local nutritionists, life coaches, masseuses, and other health service providers. Creating a referral network is a great way to share like-minded customers and grow your business.

Focus on Building a Successful Yoga Business

To take the stress out of managing your yoga studio, running a successful business focused on profitability is key. That means you need to keep the back office running smoothly, including class scheduling, collecting membership dues, and managing payroll and staff.

With our yoga studio software, managing the business side of your studio is a breeze. You’ll even get a branded mobile app to let students book classes, text the studio, and update payment information. You’ll finally get to step back from manually managing admin tasks and get back to doing what you love.