Marketing Magic: 3 Hacks for Boutique Fitness Studios

In this episode of the Pilates Business Podcast , I'm going to share three marketing hacks that could be exactly what you need to re-energize your marketing efforts . 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 .

Hey there , welcome back to the Pilates Business Podcast . I'm Saren Glanfield and I'm so thrilled that you're here with me again . This week . I just finished up a really wonderful coaching call with a couple of studio owners who had been talking about , or talking with me about , their marketing efforts .

Now probably not a surprise I'm talking about marketing with my studio owners that I work with .

It is often one of the you know , it's probably one of the most discussed topics that we do discuss in my groups and in my one-on-one sessions that I offer them , and I think the reason why is that you is that , when it comes to building a business , you are the expert in what you do , you know how to teach , and the rest of it is all a numbers game ,

and in order to drive those numbers , we need to have some fuel , and that fuel is your marketing , and so marketing is a big part of what your role as the leader in your business includes , and I know that many of you kind of came into this world of studio ownership without necessarily having a degree in boutique fitness studio marketing .

But that doesn't mean that we can't get to a place where we are able to implement strategies that are really in alignment with our brand and that will lead you towards your goals . Right Now , when it comes to marketing , it is so broad , right ? It covers so many different elements within just our industry .

There is so much to it , so it's not surprising that when we start talking about this , we can go in a lot of different directions , and maybe that's why it's something that kind of keeps you up at night .

Right , you started your business because you probably wanted other people to experience the incredible impact that movement can have on their lives Something maybe like what you have experienced in your life and you probably wanted to create a community of people who love it as much as you do .

But maybe , when it comes to marketing , you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed , maybe a little bit unsure of where to start within that big , broad marketing umbrella , and sometimes I'm pretty sure , and the feedback I hear is that , oh my gosh , it takes so much time .

Right Now , what I want you all to know when you're listening into this is that there are things you can do to make your marketing more effective , and for me , it's not about just putting more time into it .

It's about making sure that the time you are putting in is actually delivering a return on your business , that you are not doing these things or implementing these strategies or taking these actions just for the sake of it , that you're actually getting the results that you are looking for , because your business needs marketing .

Like I mentioned already , that is the fuel for your business , and without effective marketing , your amazing , beautiful studio will remain a secret , and you will be working a lot of hours for a handful of clients and possibly not able to completely fill your classes or add as many classes to the schedule as you'd like or grow as quickly as you'd like either , and

that can leave you feeling frustrated , but likely also a little bit burnt out . And so I want to dive in to how you can use marketing in your business as effectively as possible . I want to help you to get clients in the door organically , without chasing , without pleading right or without perhaps discounting your pricing .

Because you are so talented , you have incredible gifts to give to the world , and your studio is exactly what people need and want more of in this world right now .

So I want to share with you today three powerful hacks that could be what you need , perhaps , to change the way that you think about marketing and incorporate marketing into your role as a business leader .

Now , when we work together inside of my marketing intensive program , I follow a very specific process with my studio owners inside that inform them and educate them on all elements of marketing within their studio , and one of the things that we do inside of that program is to take some time to really really understand our ideal client , the people who are in our

business and that we want to attract into our business . And this is a powerful exercise for so many reasons . But before we even get to that , it's really important to get clear with yourself and to perhaps get comfortable with this whole concept of having one or two or three kind of types of clients that you want in your business .

And the reason why I encourage you to think about who it is you want to attract into your business is because too often we are trying to reach so many different types of people . We want everybody to be a part of our studio .

We want everyone to feel welcome in our studio , no matter what they're looking for or what their goals are or what their experiences are or any of it . We want everyone to feel like they're a part of our business and a part of our studio .

And it can be very hard to perhaps narrow in on sort of being a little bit more selective about who you would like to work most with , because often that can feel like , oh my goodness , I'm going to have my potential profit or I'm not going to be able to grow if I don't speak to everybody , right , and there is obviously a balance , and we're not trying to

just segment down into like two people , right , but we do want to get clear on the types of people who we want to attract into our business , and this is often when people do this exercise . The biggest mistake that people make is that they think about just a debt .

They're thinking about age and gender and perhaps , maybe , disposable income , but they're not thinking about the things that truly matter to those people , to the people that you most want to work with , and the things that truly matter to those people are outcomes and results and benefits and what it is that people are seeking and what is motivating them in the first

place to seek out a service like yours .

So we want to take time to think about who it is that we most want to bring into our studio , because the problem with trying to reach everybody is that we actually end up attracting nobody , because what is going to matter to one person , it will not be of interest to someone else who is not , perhaps is not similar to that first person , and so we want to

make sure that we're reaching people , that what we are saying is resonating with people , and for that we do need to get a little bit more specific . In order to be more specific , we need to know and understand what it is those people that we most want to work with , want to hear about from us in our marketing .

So , first of all , we need to truly understand that ideal client and also recognize that when we do that for our business , our business will actually bloom . We're not actually constricting the possibility or opportunity within our business . Okay , now this leads so nicely into the second hack I want to share with you .

So , once you know your ideal client and not just , like I said , the age or where they live or what neighborhood they live in , but truly what is motivating them

Okay , and I have a whole process that I take my , my , my marketing intensive members through to to really really get deep into this Once you have all of that information at your fingertips , you are then in a really good spot to be able to create content and to share information and inspiration and education about why your studio is the best place for them .

But you can't do that if you don't know who you're trying to reach right . So when it comes to , for example , thinking about what should I post on social media ?

Okay , we want to know that when we take the time to create that reel or to when we're trying to get the perfect picture of our studio when it's in action and energized and filled with clients , we want to make sure that when that gets put out there , that other people are going to see it , that folks are going to follow , who follow you are going to see

it gets put out there , that other people are going to see it , that folks who follow you are going to see it and who are going to engage with that picture or perhaps interact with your studio in some way as a result .

And so the content that you're putting out there cannot just be something you are putting out there for the sake of it , where there is no intention behind it . When you know who you want to talk to , you can get so creative with putting together content that truly resonates with the people that you most want to serve inside of your business .

So you want to create content that is valuable and engaging and that really resonates with people , that really touches something inside of them that says , hey , this is the best place for you .

And sometimes , within that content , you're talking to your existing clients , and so the purpose of that piece of content is really to connect with your current community , with the people who are already active in your business , and keep them active in your business and make sure they feel like they're part of your community .

And then there is another element to that , another intention behind some of your other content , which is that you want to be able to attract new folks into your business , and so when you know what is interesting to your ideal client , then you can craft content and messaging that meets them exactly where they are and engages them and gets them excited about being

a part of your community . If you're trying to reach everybody , you're going to create content that's trying to reach everybody and it's going to be very , very generic . And right now , in the industry that we're in , the way this industry is growing , the amount of investment that is coming into the industry , you do not want to be the same as everybody else .

You need to stand out and you need to create that very deep connection with folks within your town , within your city , within your community , to make sure that they stay sticky in your business .

That is what we care about most , because the folks who are going to stay loyal to you are going to be the people who you are going to most want to continue to see more of , and they're going to be sharing their friends with you and it's going to be this great , amazing , energizing studio .

So you want to create content for your social media , but also for all the other places that people see your business articles on your site , in the emails that you are sending , but also in other things that you are . Other touch points that you have throughout your customer journey .

Wherever you are engaging with clients is an opportunity to drive the perception that people have of your business and to make an impact with information or insight or education or inspiration that is going to help guide those folks forward .

So you want to make sure that you're creating engaging content that resonates and I will say you certainly want to be consistent with your content . It helps to create and build trust . It also helps you to stay top of mind with those people . Okay , so content really is key . So we know we need to know your ideal client .

It's really important you take the time to understand them and their motivations , and then we want to craft content that is directly speaking to what they're looking for . Okay , now we also want to make sure that we are developing a really amazing beautiful community within your studio .

I mentioned community a lot on this podcast and we talk about it a tremendous amount inside of my marketing intensive and my Thrive program , because most of the studio owners that I work with really intentionally create this very wonderful sense of belonging and community in the studio .

And this is so powerful because , as human beings , we really want to be a part of something and we like to be a part of something with other people who are like-minded and have similar kind of energies to us , right ?

And so if you can take some time to think about how you want that experience within your studio to feel for your clients , what you want that atmosphere to look like and how you want them to feel when they're walking through the door , and what sort of experience you want them to have , and what you can do to make that experience , your idea of that experience ,

to become a reality , there is so much research that shows that the more engaged someone is in the community , the happier they are , that the more engaged they are in a community , the more they are likely to bring other people into that community . There is so much power here I need to do another podcast on this power here .

I need to do another podcast on this but it's so important to really sort of cultivate that within your studio , and it goes beyond the physical space as well . It's about being the host of that community , perhaps to some degree , and making sure that everyone feels like they belong there and everyone is familiar with each other .

And there's a lot of different things that you can do to encourage that .

And I encourage you to encourage your community to come together in lots of different ways so they may show up and chit chat ahead of class you know , every day of the week but when you host an event outside of the studio , it creates a whole different level of relationship amongst your clients .

And when everyone's friends work out together and people have friendships within your studio , you'll find that that really helps to support that really amazing feeling and energy in your studio that you probably have always dreamed of . So host events , so invite people into those events , create clubs , book clubs and so on .

That sort of helps to cultivate that sense of community . Fostering a sense of connection and belonging truly can only be a very , very positive thing for your business . So these are very organic . Okay , so these are very organic , simple ways that you can be more mindful and intentional when it comes to your marketing and what I would sort of .

And then , if you are not speaking to them with your marketing messaging , and then , once they come in , if you are able to cultivate that sense of community and draw people in , you'll find that they stay . And that is what we're all about with our marketing we want to bring people in and then we want them to stay .

Our marketing doesn't stop when they walk in the door , and that's , I think , one of those big misconceptions when it comes to marketing . In the boutique fitness world , the marketing doesn't actually ever stop , right . We are constantly trying to deepen that relationship and make sure that that connection with your clients is always there and always growing .

Now , one quick bonus tip that I think is always worthwhile reminding you of is the power of using testimonials in your business , and these can be sprinkled in all sorts of different places throughout the customer journey , from your website to emails to even conversations that you might be having with current and new clients .

Testimonials are social proof that what you do works , and we rely on them everywhere . We rely on them whenever we're buying pretty much anything online . We're seeing those , how many reviews that thing has gotten Amazon , how , what the ratings are , and we sometimes even will go and read those reviews right To see if it's something that we also want .

They are powerful , okay , and they help kind of reinforce the idea that you are a really good place to be , that your studio is a good place to be . So don't underestimate the power of social proof .

And you want to make sure that you're getting testimonials from your most loyal and brand champions , their most loyal and satisfied clients , and you want to showcase them in places where they have the most impact Okay . So don't overlook the power of a testimonial and let your clients be your biggest cheerleader . So there you have it .

Three , actually four simple but very powerful marketing hacks that really will help to shift the way that you see marketing in your business and how you use marketing to drive your business growth . This is how you go from chasing people to attracting people into your business .

This is how you go from chasing people to attracting people into your business If you don't have a profile or an ideal client profile that you are thinking about when you're writing your marketing messaging or creating your marketing plan . It will be so generic that it will sound like you are chasing people , right ?

So when you start to talk to people who feel like you're talking directly to them about the specific thing that they care about , they will be drawn towards you and it will be more like a magnet effect , right , and it feels a lot more effortless for you . When it comes to marketing in our industry , it is all about building genuine connections .

It's about delivering an exceptional service to your clients and an exceptional experience , and it's about showing the world the magic that happens inside of your studio .

And when you incorporate what I've shared with you today , you will find that shifts start to happen in your business and the way that you approach marketing will also shift , and you'll find that people show up excited to get started and excited to be a part of your community .

Now , if you want to know a bit more about how you can integrate these specific strategies into your business , then please don't hesitate to reach out or check out my programs , that is , the Marketing Intensive or Thrive . Head on over to the website and check those out . I'll link to the show notes as well .

So until next time , remember you are the expert , you have so much to share with the world and you have so much talent and expertise that folks are looking for right now , so let's make sure that your studio is front and center with marketing that really does stand out .

I hope that this was helpful to you as you go about building your boutique fitness studio business . If you enjoyed this episode , please go to wherever you're listening and rate and review the podcast .

It would mean so much to me and it would help to get this out into the universe so that more folks just like you who are looking to build and grow their studios will get access to all of this information and feel encouraged and supported on their journey in our industry . 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 .