Create a firm structure for your program
The second key factor in creating a successful loyalty program is having a clear framework of what you will be offering members. What services does your yoga studio offer? If you do not clearly state these, then people will feel confused as to what they are receiving when it comes to membership benefits.
You may think that giving away free exercise clothes is an excellent way to win over new customers, but if people cannot find what they want under the “free” umbrella, then most will opt out of the service completely. This could hurt your business significantly.
There are many ways to organize and label the different membership perks that your yoga studio offers. For example, you can use categories such as “Prenatal Classes” or “Private Lessons”, etc. make sure to include enough detail so that users do not have to look up each perk separately!
Personalize it
This is one of the most important things you can do to win over current and potential members of your loyalty program. Make their experience meaningful by offering services or products they would be interested in, using targeted messaging and promotions.
The more personal your rewards are, the better your chances are of them staying engaged with your program.
You see, when people join organized groups (like membership clubs) they want to feel like what’s being offered personally benefits them. They don’t just go through the motions – they actively look forward to getting the reward every month! That’s why it’s so hard to keep someone as a member of your health club if there’s no one special waiting to meet them when they arrive at the gym. Or why some person joins a book group but never comes because nobody invited them to be part of it.
By adding value to other parts of your life, beyond fitness and reading, you’re creating an incentive for people to connect with you outside of your business.
This will make your loyalty program much more successful than simply trying to get people to sign up via pure marketing motivation.
Tell your clients about it
As mentioned before, creating a successful loyalty program for your yoga studio is more than just offering discounts online or in-store at your facility. It also means telling your students about it! When you tell your students that your practice will be rewarded with special savings, they’ll feel incentivized to come back. More people = more sales!
And while it may sound cliché, word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. By helping your students feel appreciated and recognized, they’ll naturally share their experiences with others. This can start a ripple effect where other students are drawn by the incentive offers and recognize the value of the service your business provides. Project these effects onto our hypothetical yoga studio and see how much influence each student has. Their peers might speak highly of the discount opportunities, encouraging others to visit or begin attending classes to enjoy them too. But what if some people don’t know about the rewards? What if certain individuals never learn about the benefits because they left your yoga class early? Or worse yet, what if someone comes along later and gets the same reward as everyone else?
As professionals who should be able to relate to the importance of relationships, why not use this opportunity to strengthen those connections? You could ask around town whether anyone knows of any good yoga studios, offer free sessions to try out the place.
Link your program with other marketing campaigns
Another way to boost engagement is by linking your loyalty program to others. This can be done through an app, website, or both!
Yoga studios use apps like Omada Health to offer student rewards. By linking their StudentZone account to Omada’s app, students get points towards reward purchases that are automatically deducted from their accounts.
A great way to begin incorporating linkable programs into yours is by offering free classes via another company’s online teaching platform. For example, if someone wants to learn yoga, they can go onto YouTube and search “yoga videos free.” You may even be able to input “student discount” into the description and reap the benefits of your hard work!
You can also create a contest or giveaway where participants have to join your club or earn entry tickets to an event. An easy way to do this is by having people subscribe to your newsletter or advertise for a product related to your business (like fitness equipment).
Be consistent
Consistency is your best friend when it comes to creating successful loyalty programs at your yoga studio. This could be with offering discounts, rewards, or both!
Consistency can be done either through constant reminders via social media, email, flyers, etc., or by having repeated events that offer the same reward.
For example, if you hold a free class for a certain number of people every Friday, then anyone who attends those classes will get a small token of gratitude – like getting a tasseled headband or receiving an “I attended a free yoga session” mug.
This way, they’ll know what they got out of it and will continue to come back so they can keep earning rewards. -Yoga Business Strategy Blog
Good luck being consistent though! If you need help keeping up momentum, try hosting a free class this week!
Offer rewards
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One of the biggest reasons people drop off membership cards is because there are no reward options available. If you don’t offer at least one prize per member, then they will not use your card.
It is very expensive to spend money online these days, so offering discounts or free services can be done through vendors or other websites and apps.
You could also organize group competitions or giveaways with products that members have mentioned buying before.
By adding prizes to your loyalty program, you will keep some members around and continue to generate revenue.
General word of advice – try giving away items that cost less than $10 if possible! (Some yoga studios do this as ‘practice’ materials.)
Another way to add value to the program is to host in-store events. This can be anything from having a speaker to come in and talk about health benefits of yoga to hosting a competition for local classes.
Running an event takes time and effort, but it is a good way to get more exposure for the business while generating new followers.
Make it clear what is in it for them
The second key component of any loyalty program is making sure that your members know what they get out of it! This feature sets up solid relationships, trust, and consistency.
As mentioned before, one of the biggest problems with membership rewards programs is that people do not stay enrolled because there is no incentive for them to do so.
If you offer monthly discounts at local restaurants or shops, then offering an additional reward such as free entry into a charity event is more meaningful. By adding this feature, you are creating a longer term relationship that can eventually lead to bigger things for your business.
This is also a great way to generate new students or keep current ones – by offering educational events, social gatherings, or even training courses, your studio will come together extended their health and wellness goals.
Making changes to these programs requires some time and energy, which most yoga studios don’t have readily available, so make sure to start off slow.
Once everything has been set up, you should evaluate whether or not it has paid off.
Appeal to your clients’ values
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As mentioned earlier, creating a successful loyalty program for your yoga studio is more than just offering discount codes or prizes. You can actually use rewards that appeal to your students’ personal values.
For example, if you offer $10 off classes of their choice every month, then they will be buying someplace specific each time! This adds prestige to the place and boosts self-confidence in the student.
Alternatively, if you offer a free massage per person every week, then your patients will feel special and relaxed. Both of these are valuable benefits for mental wellness.
By incorporating such rewards into your loyalty program, you can boost its effectiveness dramatically.
Encourage referrals
The best way to get more people to join your loyalty program is to encourage them! When you run a yoga studio, health and wellness are always popular products or services. You can use that to your advantage by offering discounts on related products or services or giving away free sessions with an experienced instructor.
By creating a loyalty program, you’ll be keeping tabs on what products and services your customers are trying and find out if there’s anything they’re looking for.
You can then add these things into your business ecommerce website or app to offer special deals and rewards. This will also help promote engagement as most people enjoy getting perks for being loyal.
Running a loyalty program isn’t very expensive of course, and it costs nothing but time to implement it. So, why not do it? Give yourself some compliments and set a goal to see how many new members you can bring in through the program
