who finds a boutique studio via newspaper? (or) Friends In Cold Places
I have been in Reykjavik, Iceland for about the past week, visiting a dear friend, Jess, who lives here & recently became a homeowner.
(& if you follow me on Instagram, my account was temporarily an Aurora Borealis fansite, given we had 3 consecutive clear-nights with stunning Northern Lights, including last Thursday's solar storm when friends & colleagues who normally don't, were able to see the lights in southern Europe & North America!)
Jess was a rider, actually, back in Singapore 2014-15 at our early-days-of-boutique-fitness-in-Southeast-Asia studio 7Cycle. We met & forged a friendship on a bike-to-nowhere-in-a-dark-room. Jess avidly attended both cycle class offerings (music+metrics & music+choreo, which I program-designed) + off/on bike bootcamps in the membership she purchased after first checking out the studio.
Tonight I asked her to please remind me how she found 7Cycle & she remembered it was via traditional print-media rather than on Instagram (2014 & all) or Facebook.
I asked, specifically, was it The Business Times ….and yes, it was (!!!).
10 years ago. Next week.
Come via the newspaper article…stay for the people.
Prior to considering trying a class, Jess, an expat from the US in Singapore:
practiced a lot of yoga
had completed a 200 hour YTT
wanted to find a space in the city to (hopefully) meet more people to become friends with, which wasn't a dating app or a bar happy hour ✔️
would do outdoor runs, but had never taken an indoor cycling class before
was concerned the class wouldn't be fun or engaging & the teachers would be “meh” & she'd be in a dark room by herself feeling lonely
hoped that people would be nice to her & welcoming ✔️
hoped the music would be fun & motivating ✔️
hoped the staff might remember her name & greet her kindly if she returned; didn't want to feel like a stranger every time she walked in for class as she could do just that if she joined Fitness First gym ✔️
That was it, Really.
So I pose to you; have you recently asked why your clients stay patronizing your facilities? And what can be accomplished to ensure the above list of negatives don't happen & instead, all the check-marks & then some?
“When done very well, boutique fitness can change lives” – Jess
I agree. ✔️😊
As always, I love to hear whatever you're working on; let me know how you are.
I hope you have a great rest of your week!