12 Ways to Welcome New Clients to Your Studio
Having a fitness studio means having to deal with new clients regularly. People have this sudden urge to get fit and lead a healthy lifestyle almost anytime, whether it be a late new year’s resolution, peer pressure, or pure determination. To fulfill this urge, they will quickly visit the nearest fitness studio.
But taking on new clients and welcoming them can be a rocky road for both the parties involved in the process- the client and the studio. The reason for that, you ask? Intimidation.
People who have not been to a fitness studio ever in their life will take one look at your studio and begin to have second thoughts about it. Welcome new members in this scenario become complicated, especially with the reluctance of these new clients to indulge in group activities. The doubts will keep growing in their minds until some visual effort from your side makes them feel welcome in the studio.
This effort could be anything ranging from a private introduction to giveaways to parties and a lot more. Read on to learn 12 welcoming ideas you can leverage to welcome new customers to your fitness studio:
1. Offer a 7-Day Gym Pass.
Many new clients will be hesitant to purchase a full-on membership to your gym. It could be because they are unsure if this is something they would enjoy for longer. Or maybe they want to try your studio out and get the feel of it before committing to a membership.
You can resolve this issue by providing a 7-day gym pass to potential clients. These passes can be free or paid based on your requirements. It gives the customer a limited 7-day trial period of your studio before they decide to become a member [or not].
2. Offer Intro Classes and Intro Packages for New Clients
People who have not been to a gym will most likely not know about half of the equipment or how it is used. Thus, an introductory session- a one-on-one or a group session- should be conducted to make the customers aware of the equipment and machines.
A newbie in a gym would likely not engage with the heavier machines and gear, so instead of having the same membership package for everyone, you should create a special intro package for beginners, which would make them feel included and appreciated.
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One of the best ways to welcome new clients into your gym is by hosting giveaways and contests. Nothing sparks interest and excitement more than competition and freebies.
These giveaways could be anything related to fitness, like shakers, headphones, exercise mats, and much more. These items will boost the clients' morale and make them want to hit the gym regularly.
Other than giveaways, contests are a great way of making clients feel welcomed. Some of the contests you can organize at your gym are squat challenges, push-up challenges, pull-up challenges, etc. You are good if the competition is healthy and fair and there is a little something for the winner [it does not have to be a material thing].
4. Run a Transformation Photo Contest
It is an excellent way to make the hesitant new client feel welcome and motivate them. We all have seen transformation pictures on social media about people going from unfit to fit and have admired the people in the photos for their hard work.
You could make a contest out of it with your new clients. The person who achieves the best, healthy results in the shortest time wins. They will work harder to compete if they know it is a contest. Remember, this contest is just for fun, and you should always make your clients feel that even the slightest progress is a step in the right direction.
5. Provide Free Nutritional Planning or a Meal Plan
As we discussed, people love freebies more than anything. The free thing they are given often makes them feel guilty about not using them. The same goes here.
If you provide freebies with free nutritional planning or a basic meal plan, they will want to implement that diet into their lives because of their determination or guilt. This will also make them feel welcome in the studio. You can send this plan to them as a new client welcome email.
6. Go for Quality Over Quantity
Most studio runners forget that having everything all at once does not portray that they are the best studio. Just because they have a lot of equipment does not guarantee their spot on the top list. At best, it only shows that they are trying too hard to get noticed.
Instead, studio owners should focus more on the quality of the equipment instead of the quantity. Running after quantity would only affect the quality negatively.
Plus, having a lot of equipment will intimidate a new fitness enthusiast. So focus on quality, fine-tune your equipment regularly, and provide your new clients with quality gear.
7. Create a Course
Most new clients will feel excluded and unwelcome in your already established client circle. This will, in turn, make them reluctant to draw any attention to themselves, and unless you do something about it, it will stay the same.
From your side, you can extend your support by creating a course specifically for beginners. This course should start with an introduction and then move ahead at a gradual pace adapting to the needs and limits of the clients.
8. Throw studio anniversary parties
Get-togethers and parties are the best way to connect for a reason. They provide a space outside of the normal routine with food and drinks. It's the best way; since everyone is in a great mood to party and have fun.
You could do the same for your studio by throwing studio anniversary parties to give everyone a fair chance to get along with the rest of the members. The new clients will feel welcomed into the club once they get the invitation to the party. And the old ones will get a way to celebrate all their hard work.
9. Free Training Day
Another great way of welcoming new clients if you are not down for offering free 7-day gym passes to all potential clients is by giving them one free training day.
This way, the clients will feel more comfortable getting the membership once they know what they are getting into and what they will get out of it. If they trust you, it means they already feel welcome. You can also use this marketing strategy to lure clients into joining your gym.
10. Weight loss Challenge
These challenges last longer than a day, which is more like a process. You need to inform the clients about this challenge and accept voluntary participation. Set a time limit of a week or a month, and then watch them work. In the end, measure the weight and determine who lost the most by implementing restorative measures.
You can post about this challenge on social media platforms after consent from the participating members. You can tag, share, and reshare to promote your fitness studio.
Ensure that the challenge remains fair, and you've kept a small prize for the winner to motivate other participants.
11. Gym Sneakers Giveaway
For your welcome new members' message, you can host a gym sneakers giveaway exclusively for your active members. This is the perfect boost if your new clients are still unenthusiastic about your studio.
Keep the rules simple, like attending the gym at least three days a week or whatever suits your studio the best. Also, since the price is something they can use in the gym, they would be inclined to participate in the giveaway, which would indirectly increase their participation in the studio, giving them plenty of chances to familiarize themselves with the place and the people, giving them the ultimate welcome feeling.
12. Referral Program
A referral program, as the name suggests, is based on referrals. You must inform your clients that you have this scheme and leave the rest to them. A referral program includes word-of-mouth marketing where your existing clients bring in new customers and get an incentive, which is generally a discount on the membership price or anything similar.
Your new clients will bring in more clients with the hopes of getting those discounts, which also works as an excellent marketing strategy. Many fitness studios have this implemented, so stop waiting and try it for yourself today!
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