4 Ways Fitness Businesses Can Attract New Clients

As a fitness business owner, you realize one of the hardest things about running your business is attracting new clients. Naturally, you’re constantly looking for ways to grow your customer base because you know that it's the ticket to success at your business.   

Now is the time to come up with a solid marketing strategy to help draw in new clients that are ready to conquer their fitness goals. Why? No matter what time of year it is, class attendance can vary throughout the day and week—which means certain classes can suffer attendance-wise. Maybe you have a late morning class that’s attendance is suffering because most people are working during that time. Or maybe your 4 pm class takes a hit every now and then because some of your clients get stuck in that late-afternoon meeting.   

These are all scenarios that you as a fitness business owner can’t always control. However, what if I told you that your Mindbody software has an arsenal of features that help you bring in new clients and combat all these factors affecting demand to keep your classes full? Let’s dive in.  

1. Partner network 

With so many digital marketing options available, it can be hard to know where to invest your advertising budget to attract the right new customers. We’ve partnered with FitOn Health and Google to put your business in front of consumers near you who are interested in fitness and health.

With the partner network acquisition tool, marketing your business to new clients has never been easier. Because of our partnership with FitOn Health and Google, your business is directly at the fingertips of health-focused members of your community—which makes booking at your studio more convenient than ever before. 

2. Take advantage of ClassPass

Want to get your studio in front of even more fitness fanatics who are actively seeking out workout classes and experiences? Look no further than ClassPass. By listing your business on ClassPass (for free), you’ll reach an untapped audience that’s perfect to supplement your existing client base. Our data has proven that ClassPass helps businesses drive incremental value by filling up unused class spaces and exposing studios to customers who may not have otherwise tried a class.

We know that a lot of myths swirl around ClassPass and, as a business owner, it can be nerve wracking to try something new. But with our ClassPass guarantee, there’s no better time than the new year to make it part of your business resolutions. We’re promising Mindbody customers who add on ClassPass for three months that they’ll see a revenue boost—if you lose more than you gain, we’ll write you a check for two times the difference.

3. Surge pricing—a new way to use Dynamic Pricing 

When it comes to filling spots in your studio's classes, providing the right price at the right time will have paying customers knocking at your door. While Dynamic Pricing helps in periods of low demand (by filling spots you wouldn't have filled otherwise), you can use the feature to make more money with highly sought-after classes. When there is a high demand for a class, you can use surge pricing to charge more. Think of it like Uber's surge pricing. The higher the demand of your class, the more it will cost for someone to purchase a drop-in. According to our research, we have seen an upward trend when it comes to fitness-minded folks taking advantage of surge pricing to find classes that they love.   

Here’s how it works:  

Let’s say you turn Dynamic Pricing on in your software for twenty class spots—reserving ten spots for members. You can set your minimum price at $10 and your maximum at $30—keeping $20 as your mid-range drop-in price. A week before class, when demand is low, your class is offered at $10. Five people sign up early, which means you have already earned $50 for that class. Then, two days before the class takes place, when demand is moderate, your class is offered at $20. Five more people sign up, and you earn another $100. On the day of class, when demand is highest, your class is offered at $30. Two more people sign up, and you earn another $60.  

Many fitness studios are seeing their most popular class getting fully booked a week out with a waitlist. With such high demand, you could charge a higher price as the class fills up—encouraging people to book earlier when demand is low and earning more from people who book last-minute. 

Ready to get started with Dynamic Pricing? Here’s an article that shows you how to set it up in your Mindbody software.  

4. Promoted intro offers 

An introductory offer is any kind of promotion given to new clients the first time they purchase a class and is often used as an acquisition tactic. These offers encourage new clients to step foot in your studio by helping them get over any fears of committing to a long-term membership—they can also provide great value to a current client who may be on the fence about trying a new type of class at your studio.  

Learn more about creating effective intro offers. 

Mindbody is here to help you create unbeatable fitness and wellness experiences for your clients with technology that helps you foster the loyalty you work so hard to achieve. We want to enable your clients and prospects to easily book classes at your fitness business, so you can focus on providing an exceptional experience when they show up for their class. But with so much competition out there, getting the right kind of new clients to actually visit your studio can be challenging.  

This is precisely why now is the perfect time to list your fitness business in the Mindbody app and start promoting your classes with Promoted Intro Offers. Promoting your intro offers can help your business attract new clients by displaying your offers in the “Intro Deals” section of the Mindbody app home screen to advertise your special packages to new customers and turn them into repeat clients.  

Here’s how it works: 

Any new or existing pricing options that you sell online and mark as an introductory offer will be promoted and featured front and center on the app at the top of the screen. The best parts about Promoted Intro Offers are that it’s easy and free to opt-in—you’ll only pay if a client books a class at your business. The fees are performance-based, which means it will cost you nothing if it doesn't produce results.   

Here’s how to get started: 

To start promoting your intro offers, be sure to opt into "Promoted Intro Offers" through the Marketing screen in your fitness software. To learn more about how to get started with Mindbody Promote, here’s a support article where you can find more information. 

Bottom line—we know it’s never a simple task to get new clients to check out your fitness business. But, if you incorporate the tips outlined above, you’ll likely see an influx of fitness-minded folks eager to join your fitness community in no time.