How Dynamic Pricing Helps Manage Class Attendance

When Doug Riccio opened dr pilates, he struggled with attracting new customers to the Los Angeles-based Pilates studio. He turned to numerous marketing tools to help him attract and gain new customers, including the Mindbody app and a dr pilates-branded app.

Now, three years after first opening his doors, Doug has the opposite problem—classes are booked up weeks in advance, and the studio is popular enough to open a second location in February 2018.

This presented Doug with a new challenge: how could he reward his permanent members by giving them spots in the busiest classes, while still welcoming new students to his business?

“We are being more selective and cutting back the number of people that can book, especially for our more popular classes,” Doug explained.

To solve this problem, Doug turned to dynamic pricing, a feature offered to Mindbody customers. Dynamic pricing allows businesses to set a range of drop-in prices for their most popular classes. With this tool, Doug can set a premium for non-members who want to attend his frequently filled classes, and Mindbody automatically adjusts the price based on real-time factors like available spots and how soon the class is starting.

Since using dynamic pricing, Doug has seen revenue come to dr pilates that he wouldn’t have otherwise earned, leading him to consider how he converts members who drop in via dynamic pricing to fully paying customers.

“I want people to come in on Mindbody dynamic pricing, and switch over to full membership,” Doug said.

Because Doug can prioritize how many spots are available in his classes for people purchasing dynamically priced spaces, it’s an advantage to be a member, rather than continuing to drop into class.