What is a good way to revive business when it is really slow?
I run a pole fitness and Boot Camp studio and am looking to grow my client base. Business has been really slow and I'm not sure what to do next to pick it up. I already have a website and Facebook page.
Expert Answers
Sort by Date
Sort by Votes
Oct 1, 2014
Here's an idea that has worked for many of my aesthetic med spa customers:
B2B referrals.
Do you know other fitness studios in your area? Your pole dancing classes are very different from Yoga, Spinning and other cardio programs. You should be able to work out an arrangement to send customers to each other at very little to no cost.
Sep 30, 2014
I can help you but I have few preliminary questions:
Why did you start loosing clients?
Did you have clients and now you have less? or you had the same amount of client and you want to increase them?
What make you different from all other fitness boot camp studio in your erea?
What is your competitive advantage?
Sep 29, 2014
Hi Shannon,
Some great ideas were already shared, so no use in repeating them.
You have a spectacular field of activity, I know this for I am currently helping someone opening a pole-fitness club in Bucharest. You should use this in all of your advertising materials in a very explicit way. A picture says a thousand words someone said and this is especially true in your case. Pole fitness is about fitness, but so much more, it makes one healthy, but also boosts self-confidence.
From your website I did not really get this message. Use more images, slideshows (instead of the dark banner with text, for example).
Furthermore, I took the time to see your location. It seems that your neighbourhood should support your business (houses, some of them with pools, a clean residential area, with a mall just minutes away). Try to use the mall in order to advertise your business, for normally there is crowd at the mall that is ready to spend for their well being.
The location also supports one of the best arguments already mentioned, that is explore the database of your existing clients: try to map their location on a local map of your city to try to understand where they come from. A good indicator would also be their age (you should know this already) and then, when the profile is complete (for example, your target is a woman that is 35, lives within 15 minutes of driving from your location) then you can target your campaign in an appropriate manner. All the other methods already mentioned would apply (promotions, benefits, etc).
Standing with your back to the entry of your business and moving to the right side, I see on the map that you have some kind of business offices on the Seven Ave. Maybe you could squeeze your business in the benefit plans of certain companies. It is worth a shot.
Anyway, best of luck.
Sep 29, 2014
Shannon...print out the answers by people prior to me because they have pretty well nailed it! Hat-tip to the MosaicHub community...Well done.
The quickest way for your industry and other service related industries to get some action happening is REFERRALS by past clients. Get them to physically bring along a friend to try for free in the first instance...and reward your referring party when the friend signs up because what gets rewarded gets repeated...just ask the monkey wanting the peanut!
JV'sfor reward are another source of quick result as is linking up with other non-compete businesses who are serving the very same client as you do. Think other "wellness professionals" and how they might introduce you to their clientele.
And testimonials and guarantees are standard "to be collected and used at all times" marketing weapons for you.
Sep 29, 2014
There are a lot of great answers already so I will keep mine brief, and more of an overview.
As @Mitch said - utilize your existing clients. Offer a client's only offer. Bring a friend and get so many months for xx. You have a number of followers on Facebook...how about your email list?
Contests - A great tool for running contests and getting more emails and people through the door is http://rafflecopter.com
Consider posting videos on Youtube and sharing through social channels. This gives existing clients a reason to stay (maybe a new move to strive for), and those curious might want to sign up. If it is a "WOW" kind of video, it will get shared.
I like your member of the month. Do you post them on social media as well? Things like this tend to get shared through the winner's social channels
Good luck, and as always...message me with any questions.
Sep 29, 2014
Hi Shannon
Your websites looks great - some suggestions that can help :
- Check your stats to identify the peak periods and see what happens there.
- Review your target market then research to see where these people hang around and go there and share your information.
- See who is liking your page - this can also help to identify your market.
- On your landing page show what problem your service is solving for your target market.
- Optimize your website and share with all your clients so that they can share with their friends - remember now everyone is using their smartphones. This is free advertising for you. I can provide access to this.
- Use textz alerts to stay in contact with your clients and increase your client base. Let me know if you have an interest in this.
- Now is also the time to review your discount or free offers and your costs e.g land line and cell phone. I can also help with this.
Hope this helps.
Sep 29, 2014
I love what Darren suggested except I would make those FB posts Dark Posts and really target into your area only as well as your ideal customers.
Next, is Facebook the platform your ideal customer would be on?
Next, run a contest on the site as well as the FB page, being sure to collect those emails
Does your FB page have a place where you can collect those emails, and what about your website? I would probably offer a discount, or maybe an" enroll now before prices go up". Your FB page has to have a variety of posts on it, related to your niche, maybe some humor. No one is engaging with you. Ask questions so people want to come back to your page. The majority of people will visit a page once and not come back. Social means just that, social. Watch Gary Vaynerchuk (You Tube video and .com site) and learn about giving and then asking. He did not land the big Fortune 500 companies by being passive. But he knows how to give and when to ask!
I believe with the current economy it may be that people cannot afford it. Your job is to find out what the problem is and then come up with a creative solution that will attract those customers. I do think the Groupon idea was fantastic
Good Luck
Sep 29, 2014
Right off the bat you can begin to advertise some free "trial" classes and ask people to sign up with their email so you can send them newsletters that will contain exercise tips and motivational articles. Darren mentioned the important aspect, your past and current clientele. Canvass them for re-joining a fitness regimen and encourage your current base to refer a friend for a discount on their own training regimen. Host events and offer to host classes for your local high school and college students. What about advertising with a bachelorette aspect to try the pole fitness as something for the ladies to do. Can you partner up with a self defense instructor for expanding your services?
Sep 29, 2014
form a JV with dance schools and fitness cetres/trainers, dietiicians, approach CEOs to implement a fitness strategy into their company as fitness increases alertness and productivity.
Sep 29, 2014
You need to examine your customer base and re-design your offering to make it more exciting. Talk to your customers and former customers and you will get an earful of what works and what does not about your place. If you have a referral that keep that referring person in the loop and let him or her know how you are grateful for the referral. You will find that honoring the referring person will get you more referrals from that person.
Sep 29, 2014
Sounds to me like your marketing is ineffective. Are you using the Marketing Equation to construct your message?
Have you identified your target market and ideal client?
Sep 29, 2014
I would do an integrated marketing campaign using direct mail, landing pages, and email. Send out a direct mail piece from a targeted mailing list offering them a discount if they go online and fill out a form. With that you have their email address for future correspondences. You can also add a re-marketing campaign for people who go to the landing page but who do not fill out your form. Along with the offer on the landing page, you can offer some sought of information newsletter for them to also download. I know most people have been giving you free or nearly free options but during the slow times sometimes you have to spend money to make money.
Sep 29, 2014
Simply put you should be networking when it's busy or when it's slow. You just increase the emphasis when it is "slower."
Building a business never stops and referrals mean everything. i use "Partners" and "People/Targeting," plus networking in the Nine P's of Marketing at http://nineps.com. hope that helps.
Sep 29, 2014
Shannon,
First, I would like to congratulate you on your 5th year anniversary. Super!
As far as reviving business when things are slow, I would suggest getting out there and doing some in-person networking if you aren't already. Often times, business owners spend a great deal of time at their business - which makes perfect sense.
However, if you are not out networking with other businesses and potential customers in-person, you may be affecting your visibility in your own community.
Consider pursuing digital methods for promoting your business as well, but don't overlook the power of face-to-face interaction.
Best of luck to you!
-Michael
Sep 29, 2014
Tap into messaging that will connect with your audience this time of year. With Christmas around the corner, consider launching a gift certificate program for the lower priced offerings (classes, etc). I can see those being great stocking-stuffers, and if you work it hard enough, they can be a nicely added revenue stream as the holidays get closer.
Perhaps explore the possibility of a "refer-a-friend" program where existing clients can get a discount for getting their friends to sign-up for classes. Put a deadline on it so there is extra incentive to take action.
Consider having an open house event where the public can come for no cost to see demonstrations and get their questions answered. Invite the local media so they can see what it's all about and possibly get some press out of it.
Good luck!
Sep 29, 2014
I loved the ideas Mitch has--especially the stocking-stuffer idea. Everyone wants to lose weight after the holidays. That would give them six weeks to get started on the classes before Valentine's Day. Thanksgiving is coming up as well--another pig-out holiday. This is perfect timing for you to rock a promotion.
Sep 29, 2014
I would run a social media campaign that contains some kind of contest where the winner gets one month free or something like that. Combine that with the launch of a refurbished look and feel, perhaps a new logo or something like that (if things are really bad) - heck, you might even offer a lifetime membership to the individual who creates you new logo. Yes, I said LIFETIME membership because remember, designing a logo is something people get paid a lot of money to do and you're essentially asking people to do it for free - so they need to be compensated. Do you have a twitter following? Twitter campaigns can be great for this kind of business bc you can hit people early in the morning and right when they get out of work - the 2 times people are most likely to work out - and encourage them to come and do so. Something like "I know you're tired and want to go home. But your heart needs the workout! Pole Fitness xxx-xxxx" (have no idea how many characters that is but it was for illustrative purposesonly.) Empathize with them, but tell them why they need to come anyway. I'm lukewarm on FB pages for businesses. What's your ROI? They can be helpful for running contests and such but maybe it's just me but I have NEVER visited a company's FB page.
Plan and launch a full scale multi-media blitz. EMPHASIS ON PLAN. Don't just start sending out a bunch of tweets.
1. Choose your target audience.
2. Choose your key messages
3. Plan your timeline
4. Integrate the various media available so they support one another - the tweets should point to the website where people can sign-up, ect
5. Stagger your message over a period of time.
6. Measure your ROI.
7. Rinse, repeat, doing what works, dropping/changing what doesn't/
Hope that helps!
Peace,
Leslie
Sep 29, 2014
A quick way can be working with sites like groupon and living social to offer deals.
You would be surprise by how much traffic this will generate.
Sep 29, 2014
This is a very common issue. Of course because you have a business, a website, and a FB page, it is not going to generate your income and traffic. You must always actively marketing through the busy and the slow times. I recommend networking, an incentive referral program for your existing clients, cross marketing with a salon or a biz in the health & beauty industry, of course bogging and content creation with calls to action, as well as getting as many positive reviews as possible. This is very important in the service industry and also for your google ranking. You also need a google plus page asap! I would also make sure someone is continuously working on SEO. Good Luck and message me if you need me to elaborate on any of this!
Sep 29, 2014
Often overlooked by many, have you tried your previous and existing customers? People who have lapsed in attending or came once but not again? How about asking your existing/previous customers for referrals? They could post a Facebook status and tag your page or they could bring along friends who if they sign up get a reward? Maybe a free session or discounted price on something specific to your service eg equipment or sports wear.
Look at your existing contacts.
What others have said also applies. Use facebook boost to increase your reach. Target your local area and target audience as best you can. Be sure to manage your budget sensibly. Start low and increase as you see success.
Sep 29, 2014
Hi Shannon, On your facebook page, you could use hashtags in your postings, so that people that are using hashtags such as #fitness #bootcamp #yoga etc. can find you. I would also boost your posts to the demographics of your target clientelle. at least once a week in the evenings around 8:00 pm in your local area to keep your studio top of mind. If you are trying to attract new clients, think about what kind of promotions you can offer for a one month trial to bring in more business. Also consider Twitter, again using hashtags for your local area and link your website specials to both Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you so much!