Pilates Business Podcast

Retention is the Real Growth Strategy (Here’s How to Master It)

• Seran Glanfield • Season 21 • Episode 205

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Are you focused on bringing in new clients but struggling to see real growth in your studio? The secret to long-term success isn’t just about attracting new clients—it’s about keeping the ones you already have.

In this episode of The Pilates Business Podcast, host Seran Glanfield dives deep into client retention and shares simple, effective strategies to turn first-time visitors into loyal, long-term members.

🔹 Why clients leave (and you may not even realize it!)
🔹 The “leaky bucket” problem that’s costing you $$$
🔹 How to create an unforgettable first impression that keeps clients coming back
🔹 The #1 most overlooked retention strategy that can transform your business
🔹 How to build connection, community, and long-term commitment in your studio

If you’re tired of the endless cycle of chasing new clients and want a profitable, sustainable studio where retention is effortless, this episode is a must-listen!

💡 Want more hands-on support? Inside Thrive, I give you step-by-step systems to optimize retention, grow your revenue, and streamline your studio. Let’s make your business thrive—DM me to learn more!

🎧 Listen now!


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Work with Seran:

🌟 Join the Thrive Business Coaching Program and get smart strategies that drive growth (and profit) in your boutique fitness studio

🌟Enroll in the Marketing Intensive and get everything you need to finally master your marketing and stand out from the competition


Speaker 1:

What if I told you that the key to growing your studio isn't just about getting new clients, but actually keeping the ones you already have coming back again and again? The problem I often see is that many studios are losing clients, often without even realizing it, and it's probably costing you way more than you think. So in today's episode, I'm going to be diving into why clients leave, how to keep them engaged and simple strategies to turn them into repeat clients. And if you're wondering how to make this happen without adding more to your already packed schedule, don't worry, I've got you covered.

Speaker 2:

Well, hi there, I'm Saren Glanfield. I'm a business and marketing strategist just for boutique fitness studio owners like you. If you're ready to be inspired and make a bigger impact, you're in the right place. All you need are a few key strategies, the right mindset and some support along the way. Join me as I share the real-life insights that will help you grow a sustainable and profitable studio. This is the Pilates Business Podcast.

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the Pilates Business Podcast. I'm Saren Glanfield, and if you are new here or new-ish, then know that this is the place to be, where we talk about strategies and systems and mindset shifts that help you to grow a thriving and profitable boutique fitness studio business. I've been at this for a long time almost well well over a decade now supporting studio owners all over the world Studio owners, often, who have founded their businesses and who have built their businesses from nothing, many of them who have been able to grow in ways they never imagined possible. And they've done it because they have often invested in their own skills and talents, not just as a teacher, but also as a leader and as the sort of head of growth of their business. And for those studio owners who have invested in their skills, they will tell you that one of the biggest I think one of the biggest sort of breakthroughs that they have made when it has come to business growth has been around figuring out how to keep clients really sticky, because we know that retaining clients is super important for your business and, yes, you know, getting clients is also super important but we have to focus on both if we truly want to see your studio grow, and that's why that's what we focus on inside of Thrive those two elements combined in your marketing efforts. And we are talking all about retention today. This is actually one of my biggest, one of my favorite topics, because whenever we do any deep dives into data analysis and we have conversations around how to grow a business, we can't really do that without first addressing perhaps some issues on the retention side. And so when I do an evaluation of a customer journey for one of my studio owners, instead of Thrive, we look at every step of that client experience, from start to finish or hopefully it never does end, but from start to finish we always uncover these opportunities in your business for not just a deeper and more fruitful relationship for your clients and yourselves, but also often, and perhaps just, or if not more importantly more revenue and profit too.

Speaker 1:

So we know I think there's always a lot of noise and froth when it comes to marketing in the boutique fitness world, and I know that. You know lead generation really does get a lot of attention. New clients, new clients, new clients, how to get new clients and how many new clients in two days? Right, and yes, we know that new clients are really really important, especially as we're growing and filling perhaps additional capacity in your business. But what we also know is that keeping an existing client is actually way more cost effective than chasing new clients. In fact, we know that studies show that it costs five to seven times more to attract a new client than it does to retain an existing one. We know that and that might not look like it on your business. Like in your business. You might not actually see those dollar numbers. However, when we look at the time, energy, effort and sometimes discounts that have to be placed or in place to be able to get new clients in the door, that's what that cost really looks like.

Speaker 1:

So if your studio has a steady flow of new clients but your revenue is not growing, this is usually to me a big red flag that there's perhaps opportunities on the retention side, because it's possible that you have what I call the leaky bucket problem, right. So what do I mean by that? Well, you know, imagine you have a bucket full of water, right, that's your studio. Now imagine that bucket has a few teeny tiny holes and water is constantly dripping out and those represent your clients sort of slipping away. So before we focus on perhaps filling that bucket with more water, aka spending more time, more money and more energy to bring new clients in. We want to focus on plugging those holes, and that means that we want to make sure that, when a client walks through the door of your studio, they stay, they fall in love with your studio, go they stay, they fall in love with your studio and they keep coming back.

Speaker 1:

And the best part of all of this is and we focus on retention it isn't about working harder. It's actually just about being much smarter and more sophisticated with the way that you're already doing things. It's usually these very small tweaks, not these huge, big, sweeping changes that you might expect. It's often the small changes, these small tweaks, that actually have the biggest impact, because when we're thinking about retention, what we're doing is we're thinking about compounding our efforts, and so they actually build and grow over and over and over again. So let's talk a little bit more about what retention looks like and how we can keep clients Now. Before we do that, though, we do need to think about and understand why it is that clients leave our studios right, because unless we know what it is that perhaps is not keeping them sticky, then we can actually address that in our retention efforts.

Speaker 1:

So I think one of the things that is massively overlooked is that people don't often come to a class or a session because they're looking just for a 55-minute exercise class. I think that that is a very sort of 80s 90s mentality. I think in the world that we're in today or I know that the world we're in today movement is a way of life for most people that are within sort of your ideal target audience. We're no longer convincing people that exercise is necessary. We now know. Most people now know it is necessary, and then they know that they have options. So they're not just coming because they're the only studio in town. They're coming because they want something else. And what is that thing they're looking for? Well, they can go for a run. They can do pushups at home. There's a bazillion free YouTube videos they could be doing. They can take a walk with their weighted vests. They can do all sorts of other movement practices. So why should they choose you? And we first of all need to know that, as a boutique fitness studio, we are not just offering fitness, we're offering an experience. They come for the experience. They come for the environment, the energy in the studio and for the people inside. And if they don't feel connected to your studio, your instructors or the community inside, they're far less likely to stick around.

Speaker 1:

So the number one reason that people leave a studio or don't keep coming back is because there's just a lack of connection or community with that new client. And I think closely following that is sort of an inconsistent communication that I see many studios that's the way that they interact with their clients is very inconsistently so. If you've ever had a client come in for an intro offer and then disappear, it's often that they don't come back just because no one actually reached out to them to invite them to come back in. And so if your clients feel like A just another number in the system and B there's no follow-up, then there's not enough of a strong enough pull for them to keep coming back. So the top two reasons that people leave studios is because they didn't connect with anyone or with your studio in a meaningful way or that there was not enough follow-up or communication in their overall initial experience.

Speaker 1:

Now, in addition to that, I think depending on the way that you structure that first visit or the first series of visits, then there's also often a mismatch in expectations, and so clients are often unaware of what they should expect from their first session and what they should expect from perhaps visiting a number of times. And what we know is that most exercise classes, no matter how amazing they are, do not give you results immediately, right. And although people are coming for the experience itself, they're also coming because they want something else as well. They want to feel stronger, they want to get something in return as well, and so we often are mismatched in their expectations. They're often expecting something that is perhaps impossible, or they're unsure of how or when they should expect to see results, and people love to feel progress. People love to know what they should expect, and if you're not being clear about that from day one, then they're sort of feeling their way in the dark and they're going to go to somewhere else where perhaps there is a bit more of clarity around what they should expect in terms of outcomes.

Speaker 1:

And so you know, a lot of this comes really down to the way that you articulate the value of what you do, the way that you communicate with your clients and the way that you engage with your clients very early on in that customer journey and this moment of that customer journey is just so incredibly pivotal, which is why, inside of my marketing intensive and my Thrive program, we spend a lot of time designing this stage of the customer journey so that it feels exactly how it should feel to your clients.

Speaker 1:

So you're very intentional about the way that you want to present that to your clients and I take you through a process, step-by-step, inside of those programs where you can design it for your very, very unique studio that you have. So remember that leaky bucket? Well, we want to fix those holes first and these are what we want to fix first before we focus on bringing in new clients. So now that we know why clients leave, let's talk about how to make them stay, and we have to start with that first experience, that first impression. We know how important a strong first impression is. It can be often very, very challenging to undo a bad first impression. I'm sure that we can all think of times in our lives where we've perhaps had a terrible first impression of something, a bad experience at a restaurant or a store or meeting someone for the first time, and it's really hard to undo that first impression.

Speaker 1:

And so we know this is a critical moment in their customer journey, in their experience that they have and the relationship they have with your studio, which is why you want to be really intentional about creating a very memorable welcoming onboarding experience for any new client, and this really sets the stage for the rest of the relationship that you have with your client. And so you want to make sure that this first impression, this first visit especially, and the way that you set that up, the way that that kind of goes during that session and how you follow up, is exactly how you want it to be and the most optimized it can be, and because this can have a dramatic increase in the chances of the new client sticking around. Not only that, but they can often be better matched to your business with improved communication around this very point in the customer journey. So you certainly want to make sure that you are thoughtful about that first impression, you're thoughtful about what you want them to get out of that first impression and you are taking steps within your business and systems to make sure that they are getting that experience. So you definitely want to make sure you're using certain tools in your business, that welcomes them in certain processes and checklists. Perhaps you are informing and training your team on this effort as well, and you're making sure that you're following up with them also.

Speaker 1:

Now, inside of the Marketing Intensive and Thrive, I give you step-by-step exactly how you can optimize this experience, exactly what to say during that first session to really multiply your attention and conversion into a long-term membership, so that you don't have to go and figure this out on your own, because, let me tell you, that will take you a lot longer than it needs to, and I don't think you've got time for that. So we want to make sure that you have set up this part of the customer journey and optimized it as much as possible. And not only that, but you're continuing to refine your onboarding as well, because if you set this up once, maybe two or three years ago, it's likely that today you might need to go back and revisit just because, well, our client base are more sophisticated, informed and educated about health and wellness than ever before. So we need to keep up with the market and what it demands. I'm going to give you a little quick tip here, because I think that it's kind of an important one, and that is that that first session or that first series of sessions shouldn't be sort of a little extra special. So you want to make sure that your clients feel that you are seeing them where they are, that they feel special and that you are making that extra effort for them. If they are treated like every rate you know that they're just treated like a number in the back of the class, they're not getting any extra TLC then you're going to give them a very mediocre experience. So this is your opportunity to really step up and to make a big impact. Now the key here really is that you want to have consistency in this experience, because you want to make sure that every single new client gets that same welcoming experience, no matter how busy you are. And so this is where those systems and processes and structure really comes into play. And instead of Thrive, I give you the standard operating procedures for how you can design that welcome experience. So go check those out if you're a Thrive member.

Speaker 1:

Now what's next? Well, once clients feel welcome, the next step really is to build connection, and really what I mean by that is you want to deepen the connection because if you've done what I share with you and encourage you to do throughout the customer journey, you will already have a connection with your brand because of the way that you've perhaps shared and engaged with them, shared with them about your business and what you do. But now you're looking to deepen the relationship. You're on the same page, you know where you're heading, you kind of know the way that it all works and what we know is that people don't stay just for the workout. People stay because they enjoy the energy, the atmosphere and the connections and the relationships that they build inside the four walls of your studio. Now, if you are a business that has classes and other people often around, then you'll find that encouraging friendships by hosting perhaps small community building events and introducing clients to each other or give them an opportunity to chit-chat before and after class as much as you might want to avoid this because you might be wanting to move on to the next, this is really how you can create that sense of community and make your studio that hub as the place to be the go-to.

Speaker 1:

You also want to make sure you're recognizing your clients. You're seeing them, you know their name, you know what their goals are, you know how long they've been coming, and so people aren't just showing up and not getting recognized. People show up and they get seen and they feel like they are a very important part of your community. Your studio truly feels like their second home, a place where they can come to move their bodies, and probably for many of you also. A goal is to make your clients enjoy that movement practice, and what better way to enjoy that movement practice than by meeting friends and being around people that you like also. So we know that people stay for the relationships in that community. We know that that first impression is absolutely critical and we know that people stay for the relationships in that community. We know that that first impression is absolutely critical and we know that clients leave when they don't have those things.

Speaker 1:

So how do we keep clients coming back over and over and over again? Well, we need to make sure that the way that you structure your ongoing engagement and communication not just during the first few sessions, but perhaps after your clients have been coming for, say, six months or 12 months even that you recognize their commitment and that you are encouraging them to keep coming back with those incentives, those challenges and other events that you are hosting that brings them in on an ongoing basis. You might also want to give back a little bit and recognize people for their milestones and accomplishments and achievements and commitments, and I encourage you to think about fun and exciting ways to gamify retention. There's so many different ways to do this. Inside of Thrive, I give my studio owners some really fun ways to keep their clients active and engaged, and the feedback I get is that it makes it just so much more fun because your clients come out of themselves a little bit more in these events and they get to know each other a bit more and you get to really enjoy each other's time and energy a little bit more, and it's not just about teaching a class or instructing a class. And so we want to make sure that we are encouraging this ongoing engagement, that we are actively participating and implementing strategies to encourage commitment and retention.

Speaker 1:

Now I would also recommend that you find your best clients and regularly ask them for perhaps a little bit of insight into what they want more of, and sometimes you'll be given answers that are surprising, and sometimes you'll be given answers that are insightful. I recommend that you select those people carefully and thoughtfully, based on whose opinions you genuinely want to hear. But I do encourage you to ask for feedback from your clients regularly or just even have casual conversations. It doesn't have to be a formal survey, but encourage you know, chit-chatting and asking your clients on a regular basis what are they enjoying most about the studio, what else would they like to see that would be helpful to them is a great way to really make sure that you are sort of on the pulse of what your ideal clients really, really want. And then, if you know, many clients suggest the same improvement or change, then make that change, but also let them know you've implemented it based on their feedback.

Speaker 1:

So I think one of the things I want you to take away from this short episode today which is just, I think, one of the most sort of fundamental to building a boutique fitness business where you are growing sustainably and consistently year after year is that client retention isn't just about sort of chasing people. It's actually about nurturing relationships and we have to look at the entire customer journey to make sure that we are optimizing it for that deep connection with our clients over the long term and not just looking for that quick win in terms of getting one new client in the door. So quick recap First, I talked about why clients leave and how to fix those leaky bucket issues, something that I would say most, or if not all, studios have and so the more that you can do to fill in those leaky bucket issues that'll fill in the plug in those plug those holes, the better your business will be. Then we talked a little bit about how to wow new clients from day one and that most pivotal moment in the customer journey. I also talked about things that you can do to encourage your client to stay active, encourage repeat visits and different ways that you can interact and engage with your clients. And finally, we talked about the power of feedback.

Speaker 1:

Now, this is the type of thing that we talk about every single week inside of Thrive, where I share with you not only playbooks and resources and templates and scripts, but also next level training on best practices around retention. So if you want help putting these types of retention strategies into action in your business, then that's exactly what we do inside of Thrive. So let me know if you're interested in learning a bit more and I'll give you all the juicy details. So thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you found this topic helpful. It is one of my favorite topics to talk about, so I could keep going, but I won't because I know you've got places to be and I try to keep these episodes short and sweet, although I fail often my goal.

Speaker 2:

If you did enjoy this, though, please take a moment to subscribe and perhaps even share it with a fellow friend, studio owner, who might also benefit from listening in. I'll see you next time on the Pilates Business Podcast. Did you love this episode and want more? Head to spring3.com and check out my free resources that will help you run a profitable and fulfilling studio business. And, before you go, one last reminder there is no one way to do what you do, only your way. So whatever it is that you want to do, create or offer, you've got this. Thanks again for joining me today and have a wonderful rest of your day.