Attendance is the lifeblood of a pilates studio. If classes are unattended, businesses can’t make money and staff (in this case, coaches) can’t pay their bills. And if businesses can’t pay their bills, they’ll close their doors. So it’s important to build class attendances as a business and as coaches. In this article, we share some time tested tips that you can follow to improve pilates class attendance.
Tip 1
Have a clear, concise class description and make sure all students know what is expected of them. Be sure to include details such as whether the class is designed for beginners or advanced-level students and what you aim for students to achieve through your classes.
Tip 2
Hold your classes at times that work for your students: mornings, afternoons, evenings, and weekends. If you teach at an inconvenient time for your target market (e.g., early morning), consider switching it up to something more reasonable (e.g., late evening). If you think people won’t come because they don’t want to wake up early enough for a 6am class, give it a try anyway—you never know what they’ll say until they actually do it!
Tip 3
Make sure to include a warm-up, cool down, and stretching in every class so that it doesn’t feel like a workout. Warming up the body helps students get more out of the class, so they feel a sense of achievement and are likely to want to come back for more.
Tip 4
Be prepared! Have everything set up before the class starts so you don’t waste time during the session trying to find things or get distracted by other things happening around you (e.g. phone calls). A disorganized class is likely to leave a bad taste especially among serious fitness enthusiasts and they’d be more likely to drop classes.
Tip 5
Give out freebies at the door (like lip balm or water bottles) – this is a great strategy to get people to try your classes a couple of times. Fun freebies like key rings or fridge magnets dont have to be expensive but it adds an element of delight and creates a positive impression among your students.
Why you should improve class attendance? I know, You’re a Pilates pro and you can’t understand why 90% of the participants are not showing up to your class, making it hard for you to keep your schedule full and earn enough money to sustain your lifestyle.
In order to optimize class attendance we need to focus on reasons why people want to come to class and then encourage them. A pilates studio management software like My Best Studio can help you track attendance so you know if your classes are fully booked or if there’s room for improvement.