5 ways to attract clients to your Pilates studio

Are you ready to set up your Pilates studio to attract many more clients? 🚀 Obviously you are, but we are going to tell you how to do it so that it works for sure. 

A few years ago there were no Pilates studios, but it was an activity that we found in gyms. Today there are many specialized Pilates centers and also a growing public that seeks this activity to improve their fitness, reduce back pain or simply to perform a low-impact physical activity. 

You already know all this, but I remind you for a very clear reason: there are many people who are not "educated" enough in this activity to decide to join a specialized center. 

To begin with, it is normal that people who have previously practiced Pilates or have seen a video have practiced Pilates floor Pilates, but not Pilates machines. What is the relevance of this? Well, if you offer Pilates machines in your center, for example, an important step would be that your potential customers know the benefits of this practice and the advantages over Pilates that can be found in a gym to use. 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, let's see step by step how you can attract clients to your Pilates studio and make it a success this season. 

1.Know your target audience 

🤔 Who are the people interested in your Pilates studio? 

Depending on the area where you are located and your business model this answer can vary a lot. However, in general there is usually a majority of women, the age is usually from 30 years and in many cases are people with back problems, pelvic floor or pre / postpartum.  

🤔 How does your Pilates studio help clients? 

If your potential clients do not know Pilates or have never practiced it, one of your main tasks is to find out how you can help them and tell them about it. For example, if your classes can help people with lower back problems improve their lives, then that is one of the messages you can convey.  

🤔 Who are your current customers? 

Your customers are the ones who will give you clues about what you have that others don't and why someone should sign up for your classes. Therefore you should observe them or even ask them why they have chosen you and based on that you can elaborate your strategy.  

🤔 Who are your competitors? 

Don't make the mistake of thinking that your competitors are Pilates (or yoga) studios near your center. So are all those centers that offer physical activities, so gyms or fitness studios can be your competitors. We recommend that if they are centers with a very different activity from yours, use them as "complementary" and position yourself as the physical activity that all athletes need to enjoy good back health.  

2. Define your goals

🤔 Have you set clear and specific objectives for your business? 

One of the problems many businesses have is that they don't know how many customers they need or when they need them. If you have clear (and realistic) numbers in your head, it will be much easier for you to work towards them.  

🤔 What do you want to achieve and what resources do you need? 

Now that you are clear about your objectives, you need to know what resources you have available to achieve them. Therefore, you should analyze key parameters such as what is the average life of a customer and how much is its LTV (Lifetime Value) or what is the same: how much money a customer spends in your business from the time he signs up until he unsubscribes? This figure is key because it allows you to analyze how much you can spend to acquire a customer. 

🤔 Are your goals measurable? 

 Another common mistake is that the objectives are "abstract". For example, if your goal is to get "more customers" or "many customers"... you will hardly be able to measure and achieve it. However, if your goal is to get "5 new customers every month" or "20 new customers at the beginning of the course" it is easy to analyze whether you have reached it or not.  

3. Create a unique selling proposal

A unique selling proposition is one factor that can differentiate your pilates studio from the competition. It usually promises a clearly articulated benefit to clients.  

We give you several examples of other Pilates studios that work with us and have done very well: 

👉 Pilates center specializing in seniors. Our population is very elderly but there are not too many centers specialized in physical activity for them, especially not of a public nature. Therefore, a Pilates center that has specific classes for people over 60 years old is a very interesting proposal in some urban centers. 

👉 Pilates center specialized in women. This would encompass both pregnancy classes and postpartum classes, as well as pelvic floor strengthening sessions.  
👉 Pilates center specializing in back injuries or pathologies. Not all back pathologies are the same and that is why the way to approach them should be different. A center of this kind will have highly qualified professionals, classes in very small groups and can collaborate with personal workouts or high performance centers.    

4.Tailor your strategy to the customer lifecycle

The customer lifecycle is a term used to describe the progression of stages you go through when considering, buying, using and maintaining loyalty to a product or service. 

Basically, you should know which are the months in which you tend to get the most new customers and which are the months in which the most customers churn. This way, you can anticipate and prepare effective customer acquisition strategies. 

5. Look for referrals

 One key to attracting clients to your Pilates studio is to look for referrals, especially if they are people who have already earned the trust of your potential clients.  

Which people are we talking about? 

👉 Personal trainers who can recommend sessions at your Pilates center for people who suffer from back problems. 
👉 Physiotherapists who treat people with back injuries or pathologies and who want to recommend some kind of activity to keep them in good shape. 
👉 Gynecologists/midwives who are working in your area and can recommend women pelvic floor work or staying in shape during and after pregnancy. 
👉 Your own clients: the best salespeople are usually your own clients, because if they are happy with your services, they will surely comment with their environment about the benefits of your business. So treat them with affection and offer them some kind of discount or advantage if they bring someone. 

Now you are super ready to get your Pilates studio off the ground.