visibility with new clients AND a way to raise 💰for a cause?
Hi First name / Friend,
This week, I caught up offline & outside of a studio, with an instructor colleague here in Seattle, where I am currently visiting. She shared that one of the studios where she teaches was participating in a community outreach event, the Seattle Sweat Crawl, which I wanted to share with you to (hopefully!) validate your own initiatives at your studio
OR
to spark creativity for a future event collaboration with other studio founders in your own community.
5 Seattle boutique fitness studios across diverse class modalities (Barry's, Cyclebar, HIIT Lab, [solidcore] & corepower yoga) offered purchase of a week-long ‘passport,’ which gave each passport-holder:
1 class at each studio
a passport pick-up party sponsored by complimentary wellness vendors
exclusive discounts at local brands (think IV drip, infrared sauna)
& a closing party with a DJ & a raffle with prizes to be won
Most importantly, all proceeds from the passport went to a local food bank.
I really love this idea for the obvious reason to support a local charity, but as well because it offers each studio the opportunity to capture new clients trying them for the first time who maybe wouldn't be compelled to try…without relying on ClassPass for visibility.
If you are planning a similar event in your town or city, amazing!
I highly suggest:
✅ Creating a way to capture each client's email address & reaching out to them within a day of their visit to your studio. It can be as simple as a lovely and branded thank you for attending, sharing the approximate total of money raised for a worthwhile charity due to their buying a passport, your price list and schedule for their next visit, etc
✅ Being sure instructors are aware of the dates of the event, using names in class in a positive way on the mic (something I suggest anyways, all the time, irrespective of special events!) & are alongside your front desk hospitality staff, are sure to be ready for an influx in each class, of new clients to orient on equipment
✅ Speaking with your accountant to ensure you have the correct processes in place for your tax write-off as being a part of a charitable event, if this is applicable where you live
✅ Having more present management on hand for class-check-ins to interface organically with folks visiting via the event; where are the opportunities to strike up conversations about which classes they've tried so far on the passport, where do they normally work out, do they have questions about what we offer at our studio…etc. The “turning over the rocks” to do that thing which, in boutique fitness, has turned into funny buzzwords “build community.” 😊
If your studio has participated in something similar, please hit reply & tell me more - I'd love to hear how it went.
Have a great rest of your week!