How to Keep Students Coming Back to Your Hot Yoga Studio This Summer
The sun is out, the flowers are in full bloom, and the sky is oh so blue! Summertime for the northern hemisphere dwellers is coming up very soon. This is great news for some, but as a hot yoga studio owner you might see a drop in attendance rates and rarely any interest from new leads.
This is because many people may not be so excited to escape the heat by taking yoga classes in a heated room! This is a natural reaction for some, but being a part of the industry, you know different. Spread the knowledge you have by promoting your hot yoga studio during the summer lull. Consider different approaches to keep students engaged and make them excited about visiting your facility, especially during the summer.
We’ve compiled a list of creative ways to help your classes reach maximum attendance rates throughout the entire season. Flow through our methods and make your studio the hottest place to be!
Student Retention Tips and Tricks
The following six tips and tricks are ones that you can use to increase your student retention rates. From the classic to the more innovative, these tactics will make your business a popular summer destination spot!
1. Educate Existing and Prospective Students
One of the best ways to attract new customers and keep existing ones, is to keep them in the loop of the fact that hot yoga may have more benefits during this season than at any other point of the year.
Hot yoga, also known as Bikram yoga, is an extremely positive activity for several reasons. First, it can help increase your flexibility ten-fold. This is because the increase in temperature helps to loosen up your muscles. Second, hot yoga increases the number of calories you burn. Because classes are up to 60 minutes in length, you can burn up to 500 calories in one class! Not to mention the fact that this can help you tone your body and increase your energy. Lastly, Bikram yoga can help you adjust to the summer heat faster. This is due to the fact that the temperatures in your classes may not be far off from the temperature outside. Though this may seem daunting to your students, this can actually help your customers acclimate faster to the hotter weather and be able to cope with it easier than most.
Promote these ideas to your yogis and watch them flock to your hot yoga studio to reap the benefits!
2. Promote Exclusive Summer Sessions
Another great tactic to increase your student retention rates is to offer exclusive lessons and workshops that are only available during the summer. If students have to wait an entire year for such sessions, then your hot yoga studio will be packed with clients eager to attend your classes.
Think of the summer as the prime season to really let your hot yoga studio shine! Invite well-known Bikram instructors to teach classes, allowing your students to learn from the masters of the craft. And don’t just limit your choices to your community; think internationally! Several famous Bikram teachers travel during the summer to educate others around the world, so use this to your advantage and invite them to teach a class at your hot yoga studio. Your yogis would be so excited to get the chance to learn from the wisdom of such incredible teachers.
These special guests can also stay a bit longer and teach a summer workshop or hold a question and answer session. This will help students learn all they can from this unique instructor over the span of a few days. Make these workshops exclusive events by marketing the name and background of the famous instructor who will lead it. Start promoting it now and watch your sign-up rates raise the roof!
3. Host Fun Outdoor Events
What comes to mind when you think of summertime? The beach? Ice cream? Relaxation? What if you could offer your yogis all the things people love about the season?
Imagine hosting an exciting event at the beach over the summer! Open this event to the public, allowing everyone to benefit from the weather and get some sun in the process. Make loyal students from your hot yoga studio pay a reduced fee, while new clients pay full price. This change in scenery is a fun way to get your students to interact in a different setting and attract newcomers to the practice. Include a complementary ice cream or a cold beverage with each ticket, for students to enjoy after the class. This and the cool beach waters will give them more of an incentive to participate in the event!
You can also encourage your yogis to embrace the heat in an outdoor setting such as a nearby park or on the shore of a lake with meditation sessions. Under the guide of an experienced instructor, allow students to strengthen their mind and teach their bodies to adjust to any type of weather. With this life skill, your students will be able to handle anything that may come their way!
4. Advertise Summer Discounts
Summer is the perfect season to advertise unique offers and deals. Because they’re only available for a limited time, more will covet the chance to benefit from them. Attract new clients and keep existing ones with discounts that the public just can’t refuse!
Promote special summer packages where students pay a reduced fee to participate in some of your hot yoga studio lessons. For instance, offer 40% off for a one to three-month membership where students get access to a number of different classes. You can also give great deals for those who refer friends to your studio during the summer. For every friend they refer during the season, they can attend a hot yoga class for free!
5. Sell Summer Merchandise
Another great way to keep your students from leaving you is to wait till the summer to release your new merchandise for the season. People will be waiting in line to be the first to try out the hottest gear in the industry!
If you don’t already sell your own merchandise, consider it as it can help take your hot yoga studio to the next level! During the summer, reveal your latest workout gear such as leggings, crop tops, and sports bras that could be worn in class. Make your clothing unique to attract attention. For instance, use bamboo to make your active wear. Bamboo is a fantastic material for hot yoga because it’s breathable and quickly gets rid of moisture. Plus, it’s environmentally friendly!
Use bright colors and fun patterns, so all eyes will be on your merchandise. And with your hot yoga studio’s name on all your workout clothes, people will know where to find the hippest place in the industry.
One of the most annoying things while practicing yoga is slipping on a sweaty mat. Why not solve this problem for your customers and make non-slip yoga mats? This is another idea that will attract students to your business. Every summer, you can release new mats with unique designs and features that will make your yogis eager to check out your studio.
6. Offer a Rewards Program
Our final tip for making your hot yoga studio a desirable summer destination spot is to offer a rewards program. This will keep your students loyal and will entice new members to join.
This is something we can help you with, as WellnessLiving has its own rewards program feature! Allow your students to earn points with our exclusive software and keep them engaged. You can customize what you want your yogis to earn points for and how much each action is worth. For instance, to entice your students to stay over the summer, offer them twice as many points as they would have normally received for attending a class. In fact, all points they receive over the summer can be doubled! This way, they’ll be motivated to accumulate as many points as they can during the season. Allow them to redeem these points and get new merchandise, a free class, and the list goes on!
If you let your customers know you value their time and effort, they’ll stay with you the whole year long.
What We’re Trying to Say is…
There are so many ways you can get your students to keep coming back to your hot yoga studio throughout the summer. From educating your customers to hosting exclusive events, your business will quickly be a coveted summer spot!
WellnessLiving would love to help make your dreams a reality. Not only do we have a rewards program, but we can also offer you client retention options, automated marketing, and a huge list of other exclusive features. Book a free, no-commitment demo with us today and explore the possibilities!
