The Secret to Client Retention? 👉 Customer Journey Mapping

In this episode , you're going to learn about how you can map out your entire customer journey , which will transform your client's experience and , ultimately , your business too .

We're going to be breaking down every single step of the journey and I'm going to share some insider tips and examples that will really help you to keep your clients engaged and coming back for more . If you are ready to take your studio to the next level , this is the episode for you . Well , hi there , I'm Saren Glanfield .

I'm a business and marketing strategist just for boutique fitness studio owners like you . If you're ready to be inspired and make a bigger impact , you're in the right place . All you need are a few key strategies , the right mindset and some support along the way .

Join me as I share the real-life insights that will help you grow a sustainable and profitable studio . This is the Pilates Business Podcast . Welcome back to the Pilates Business Podcast . I'm Saran and I'm thrilled that you're here with me again today .

Now , I've been speaking with quite a few studio owners over the last couple of weeks and I'm hearing from sort of both extremes of the impact of summer right now .

For sure , there are some studios who are seeing record numbers for this time of year so despite it being August , and some of my studio owners really are getting a lot more clients than they've ever gotten before at this time of year in the studio , which is amazing to see . And then there are other studios who are hearing crickets .

Their owners are sweating a little bit about that revenue drop that they're feeling right now . Now , the good news , if you're in that position , is that you are likely to see an upswing in the next few weeks .

But if you want to make sure that you have an absolutely solid , strong end of the year , then you'll want to listen in to my free marketing bootcamp that is happening right now .

The first video dropped on Monday and so the link to get access to that is in the show notes and you'll want to get it right now because it's only happening for this week , and inside I'm sharing all of my best practices and top tips for what's working right now when it comes to marketing your studio business . So go grab that Now .

Today , on this episode , we're talking about one of my favorite topics and tackling something that , in my experience , really can change dramatically the way that you think about your studio and the way that your studio grows , and that is a customer journey mapping .

Now , as studio owners , I know that you pour your heart and soul into creating a really wonderful environment for your clients , but sometimes , even despite those best efforts , you might see some clients come and go and not come back .

And that's where the benefit of having an intentional , well-thought-out customer journey map comes into play , because when you understand and map out the various stages that a client goes through when they're interacting with their studio , then you can really put effort and time into enhancing the experience , which ultimately leads to better retention and higher satisfaction

amongst your clients , aka , you can turn them into raving fans . And this is really important when it comes to growing your business today , because this is a very competitive world and keeping your clients happy and loyal truly is critical to your studio's success . If you cannot retain your clients , your business will never grow .

So this is really , really important , and when you understand the journey they take , you can actually anticipate their needs and exceed expectations and truly build a community of wonderful , enthusiastic clients that keep coming back for more . So should we dive in and explore how you can use this tool in your studio business ? Well , first things first .

Let's just talk a little bit more about what the customer journey is all about . What is customer journey mapping anyway ?

Well , if you had an arrow going from left to right , it really is the movement of your client through your business , going from discovering you for the very first time to becoming that very , very loyal advocate of your business who is a very frequent visitor and recommends you to all of their friends .

And as they move from left to right , they're going to go through various stages and your customer journey map helps you to identify some of those key touch points where your clients interact with your studio , because some of those touch points are really really critical to get right .

And when you take your time , or the time to map out that customer journey , you will identify which touch points are most critical for your studio business . And , depending on your business model , the way that you engage with your clients , the services that you offer , your touch points might be different to the key touch points of another studio .

Okay , so when you do this for your business , it is very unique to you and the very specific experience that you want to deliver to your clients . When you map this out for your business , it will help you to really pinpoint those areas for improvement and opportunities to perhaps give your clients a slightly better experience .

And it's all about making these small tweaks along the way that , over time , over the entirety of the journey , really add up to developing that very deep connection and showcasing your business in the best possible light .

Now , when I do this with my studio owners inside of my eight-week marketing intensive program and we go through the entire customer journey together , every single studio owner that goes through this exercise immediately sees where there is opportunity to improve .

And when we say improve , usually it's not these huge sweeping changes that take a whole ton of time and effort and energy and money .

Usually these are small but very impactful tweaks and changes that make a big difference on your conversion numbers and on your retention numbers , and whether that is the way that you welcome a client into the studio to the way that you actually say goodbye at the end of that very first session .

All of these are small but very , very important opportunities for you to make a better impression or a bigger impression on your new clients and also on your current and existing clients , so that they keep coming back . And so this is a critical , I think , for any studio owner who truly wants to see long-term growth and success in their business .

This is something that I just don't think you can overlook . So what are the stages of the customer journey ? So if you've ever studied marketing , you might have seen this the customer journey funnel , the sales funnel .

There are various variations of this , but for the purpose of our business , I think there are five specific stages of the customer journey for the boutique fitness business , and that is number one is awareness right , and that is at the very top of the funnel , where someone is aware that you exist .

They've just seen your sign , they know that there is a Pilates studio down the street , there is a yoga studio down the street , but at that point they are not interested in being your client , they just know that you exist . The next stage is a stage which is consideration , and the consideration stage is where people often sit for a long time .

This is where they know you exist , maybe have in the back of their mind that idea of maybe they'll try one day or at some point they'll try , or you know , they'll say to their friend I've been dying to go there for a while , or I've been meaning to go for a while , and so you're floating around in their world , but they have yet to commit to booking a

session or coming in . Okay , and this is where I see there is tremendous opportunity typically for improvement amongst studio owners , but this is usually . You had a really large pool of people in this consideration stage . The next stage is when they actually engage with your studio .

So this is when they have booked a class , and that kind of stage goes from the kind of landing on your website to really coming into the studio for the first time , and there's a lot that happens in that initial interaction that obviously will translate into whether or not they continue on their journey in your studio .

Once they have come in for the first time , once they've experienced your studio , obviously your focus is on retaining them , keeping them coming back , and so that is that next stage , and this is all about the strategies that keep them coming back regularly . What are you doing to make sure that they are engaged , that they're active in your business ?

And the final stage is advocacy , and this is where you're taking someone who is a client , who is perhaps happy in your studio , and turning them into that brand champion , someone who is so enthusiastic about your business that they talk about you to everyone . They know they're sending clients your way all the time .

These are those amazing sort of influences in your community and when you think about your customer journey at these stages and you can break it down beyond that into sort of more , even more stages , sort of a branch off of each of these but it really helps to provide that very structured approach to really improving all of the different touch points in your

business and overall improving that customer experience in a very , very intentional way . It also really does help to build client satisfaction . We know the happier your clients are , the more likely they are to come back . We all know that the opposite is also true . So if people are very unhappy , they're not going to come back .

If people are a little bit unhappy , they're not going to come back . In fact , if you give anyone a reason not to come back , they probably won't come back .

So you really want to make sure that you are not letting anyone slip through the net just because you've overlooked a certain touch point in your business , and this is often where I see the opportunities that exist .

It's not because you're purposefully trying to not connect , but it's actually just because you haven't seen the opportunity that can come out of some of these very key touch points , the opportunity that can come out of some of these very key touch points .

And so all of these tiny little things really build up and add up to really building that very loyal and engaged client base .

And for those studios who have that in their community , who have a community of fans , who post about them on social media , who post pictures of themselves in the class , who tag their teachers , who are coming into class early , who are bringing friends with them , who are speaking to new clients , who truly are advocates of your business and love being in your

studio they have not just shown up like that , they have been encouraged in lots of different ways to be in that role , and so it's very intentional on the behalf of the studio owner to set up all of these touch points in this way .

So now we know what these stages are , let's start at the very beginning and just go back to the awareness stage , which is how clients really just become aware of your studio in the first place . So let's just talk really quickly about what these might look like for you .

Inner stage , which is how clients really just become aware of your studio in the first place . So let's just talk really quickly about what these might look like for you . Well , number one , social media is up there .

We know that oftentimes we get shown specific businesses because our friends follow specific businesses or we're around our friends who are following those specific businesses . Who already knows how the algorithm works ?

But you might get shown some social media posts from a local studio if you're a client or your friend is a client , and so you want to make sure you're very active there , right ? And you're constantly thinking about how you are engaging with both people who may be new to your world , as well as your current client base .

So you want to make sure you're constantly showcasing your studio's brand and unique vibe . You also want to make sure you're looking for lots of opportunities to connect with other businesses in your area . So local partnerships are really powerful to raise credibility . And then also local events , also super popular ways to increase visibility .

And then finally , obviously your Google ranking is critical . So if people are searching for Pilates near me or yoga in my town . Right , that's all going to be about how your search and optimization , your SEO , has been set up and how well that is working for you .

So you want to make sure that , in all of these different areas , that you have optimized all of those . Okay , and that is often how people find you these days .

Obviously , the other is word of mouth marketing , right , and but even if people find you by a word of mouth marketing , the next place they probably go is your website or your social media to find you .

Okay , okay , now , once people have found you , they're going to be thinking about how they can perhaps learn a bit more , and this is where , again , your website is critical . This is on your social media , too , but your website really is critical to showcasing your business . It's really important to have a very professional , engaging website .

I do website audits for my studio owners . You know there is always opportunities to improve what has been set up , because what I found is that you know the trends change quite quickly .

What your booking software offers in terms of how sleek and quickly someone can book in is often it's also often changed , and so you want to make sure that your website is as up to date as possible in terms of pictures , copy and calls to action .

The next thing you're definitely going to need is you're definitely going to need an introductory offer , a package that is designed specifically for those new clients , that is appealing and enticing , and it is that very obvious next step for your clients to reduce or lower that barrier to entry .

It's sort of like the way that they can try without massively committing . So you want to make sure you've got that great intro offer and then any communication you have with the client at this stage , you want to make sure it's personalized .

Your software has lots of bells and whistles these days that give you that opportunity and again , inside of my marketing intensive program , I show you exactly how to leverage all of that so that you're not doing it for every single client that walks in the door right , and the key here , very early on in this stage of the customer journey , is to make every

single client feel welcome in your space .

Now , obviously , you're also going to want to track the metrics of your marketing efforts .

So you're going to want to make sure you're tracking how well all of your marketing efforts are doing , and that is going to be tracking things like how many clients view your website , how many clients are opening those emails , how many clients are coming to you from various events , because you want to make sure whatever you are doing with your marketing is

actually having an impact , right ? So there's a lot that you don't want to miss out on opportunities because you haven't been able to gather all the data but also see whether there might be opportunity for more , perhaps less , even sometimes , in order to really streamline all of your marketing efforts .

So that's the top of the funnel , the awareness stage , and then , as people move into that consideration stage , it's about saying okay , let's make this really happen , and some of the things that we've already talked about really help to make that decision easy for your clients to say yes .

So that means you want to make sure that intro offer is super clear , is not complicated , is not complicated to buy . Your website needs to be easy to navigate , but also it needs to be easy for your client to purchase .

So we often say fewer clicks is always better , and the other kind of rule is you don't want to make them think too much , right , the quicker that you can get someone from landing on your website to booking a class , the better , generally speaking . So you want clear and compelling class descriptions .

You want a very simple and easy to navigate website and , again , this is usually an area where there is a lot of opportunity for improvement .

Now you also want to make sure that you're addressing common concerns or hesitations that a lot of folks might have , and this is where you want to lean into your brand and your brand messaging to help to guide your clients forward and help you to stand out from what other people might also be sharing when it comes to moving and working out and health , nutrition

, wellness and wellbeing . So make sure that you are not sounding generic , make sure that you are sharing what makes you unique and you're leaning into your own brand voice and your brand messaging .

Once you've moved your client in through that consideration stage and they are excited and they are probably at the end of that stage , booked their first session then it's all about engagement and this is a critical phase in the customer journey . Okay , the first few interactions a client has with your business are absolutely critical .

It's really important to make them count . So that welcoming environment when the client walks in is really important . So , when it comes to setting yourself up for success , there's a few things that you want to make sure you have been able to very quickly check off the list .

Number one is everyone in your studio needs to know how to work with a new client and needs to know what it is you want that new client to experience . So if you have never trained anyone on your team on how to welcome a new client in the studio , let this be the reminder to you .

Okay , training your team to provide that very exceptional customer service is not something to overlook all right . Training your team to provide that very exceptional customer service is not something to overlook all right . Then you want to make sure that that experience continues in their classes , but throughout their whole visit .

So , from the way that you welcome them into the studio , the way that they engage during class , and then how they end their session and leave the studio , there are some very specific things that you can say and do to set up your business for a long relationship with that client .

So it's really important to get intentional about that , especially this specific phase of the customer journey . And once they have come in to the studio , and then you move into retention , which is the final stage , and this is where we're talking about the return rate .

So we know that doing anything once when it comes to movement probably isn't going to do anything , and we also know that often it takes a few visits for anyone , even the most sort of experienced Pilates or yoga practitioner , to really feel comfortable in a new studio , and so we know that we want to encourage them to come back , and perhaps in that second or

third visit we're not even expecting them necessarily to be sort of fully on board yet . So it's all about moving them forward to the next step , to the next step and to the next step , and that rate of return is going to be something you're going to want to track . But this is also where we want to focus on the long-term retention .

So we're looking at this customer journey , this part of the customer journey , in a few different phases , which is you want to make sure you're pulling , you're retaining those newer clients and converting them into those long-term memberships .

We also want to make sure that we're retaining those clients for at how you can create opportunities to engage with your clients , to cultivate that sense of community and to really connect at a deeper level with your clients , which means that you want to make sure that you are matching what their needs are and that you're showing them regularly that you understand

what they're looking for , you're reflecting back to them , that you know where their goals are and that you still are the best place for them . And , of course , this is where your brand messaging continues to be really powerful . And that is often an area where I see an opportunity for improvement .

An opportunity for improvement because oftentimes , once you're through that sort of first part of the customer journey , clients have been coming back a few times . Oftentimes that's when we kind of just kind of let the clients just do their thing .

We kind of take the foot off the gas when it comes to building that relationship , and you know , truly that's not ideal . So you don't want to assume that your clients are going to always be your clients , even if they've been coming to you for three , four , five or six months .

Okay , continue to nurture that relationship and look for opportunities to connect and engage with exclusive workshops , events , challenges and so on .

You know that community element really comes into play in this part of the customer journey as well , and so sometimes those social events , retreats and workshops really can be a wonderful opportunity to foster a sense of belonging and community . So there you have it .

I took you very quickly through those phases of the customer journey and gave you a few ideas for where there might be some opportunities for you to develop your very own customer journey for your unique business .

And the reality is is that there are many touch points in your business that have the power to make or break the relationship that you have with your clients . So by optimizing each of them , you can create a very seamless experience for your clients .

And remember that every single touch point is truly an opportunity to exceed expectations and build a very , very loyal community of enthusiastic and energized clients . Now of the marketing intensive program .

I share with the students inside , step-by-step , how to develop each of those touch points and exactly what you can do to optimize it for your unique business model , leveraging your very unique brand messaging and the very specific set of resources that you have available Now .

Implementing these strategies for sure takes a little bit of effort right and a little bit of intention , but the payoff truly is a thriving studio . Your retention numbers improve , your conversion numbers improve and you can stop sweating and start enjoying and running your business because you have a studio filled with happy and engaged clients .

So until next time , please keep striving for the success that you want and don't forget honestly to celebrate every small win along the way . So I hope this is helpful to you as you go about building your boutique fitness studio business .

And if you enjoyed what you heard today , please go to wherever you're listening , take a quick minute and rate and review this podcast . It would mean a ton to me , but also help get this out there into our wonderful community of fellow teachers and studio owners owners . Did you love this episode and want more ?

Head to spring3.com and check out my free resources that will help you run a profitable and fulfilling studio business . And before you go , one last reminder there is no one way to do what you do , only your way . So whatever it is that you want to do , create or offer , you've got this .

Thanks again for joining me today and have a wonderful rest of your day .