Question sent in from a future Spinning® studio owner.
Hi John,
I was wondering in all your travels have you heard of an indoor cycling studio that has done research on what are the best marketing tools for a new studio? There are so many. I think my marketing list contains around 45 different ways to market a business. It would be cool and cost effective to know which marketing tool brings awareness to a fitness business as this. If I had an answer to that I would obviously strategize to put more capitol towards the tool that brings the business. We have different ideas on how to market initially using promotions/discounts/etc. We don't plan to open our studio until late summer and we just found out that another studio is going in the next town to us approximately 3.5 away.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thank you – Nancy
Nancy provided me some additional detail, explaining that she's waiting on some local permitting approvals. Once they're cleared she's purchasing a room full of Spinner® Blade Ions. She's installing Performance IQ and LiveEdit is building her website which will integrate with MindBody, provide the bike reservation system and deliver all of the performance metrics to each rider.
I passed Nancy's question on to our resident marketing expert, Courtney Lee for here thoughts. Here's her response:
While I haven't heard of any research on what is best these are some of my initial thoughts and things I would do if I were opening my studio. Social media is great but should be a complimentary tool to more brick and mortar approaches at first and then you can switch over to social media more when you're following is in place and actively engaging.
Try not to discount the actual price as that can discredit the value – instead word it such as “Bring a Friend and You RIDE FREE – a $30 value” or something like that. “Buy 10 Rides & We'll add a bonus Thank You Ride for FREE (a $30/value)”
Social media is excellent, HOWEVER, we can not count on Facebook to deliver our message to everyone without paying to play essentially. Think direct – is there a local bike shop, coffee shop etc where the target market hangs out? Get in there and connect, offering a SELECT few a VIP Ticket (again – stating the value on it) to the first ride. You're creating exclusivity by offering VIP tickets and making it feel like a big event (which of course it is!).
Highlight your “difference maker” from the competition. Do you have extra showers? A super easy booking system? Member perks at local businesses (where you swap discounts for say the employees of the coffee shop and they do the same for you etc).
Depending on the geographic area a direct mail post card may reach the most households for the most cost effective price. List your highlights here and also say something like only 40 VIP seats for the first ride event – CALL TODAY! Then talk about the VIP event and all the things you'll have. Spend some budget and have these professionally designed – it's your image, the first impression! Typically around $50-$120 for design depending on hours spent in proofing.
Create a big open house style event where you find the locals who are well connected in the community. Host a special pre-opening screening for these people and make it amazing. Let word of mouth do the best advertising for you. Create a swag bag for attendees where they could receive 5 complimentary guest passes – have their names on them so you can track the success.
If you don't already have them – invest in some large window signs and/or decals saying you're coming. Create the hype – be different – get noticed. I would also add that the signs include We're Hiring Instructors! John
Create strategic relationships with other small business in the area. Have them promote you and talk you up to their clients. Once you open you can return the favor.
Remember, go direct to the source. If you're target audience is moms, find a local moms group – sponsor one of their events, offer to give a presentation on fitness for moms. Then mention the daycare room that your facility has – and that it's FREE – your 930am, classes will be packed 😉
If you've got an awesome logo have some inexpensive car window decals made and hand them out to your friends, potential clients. Any promotion of your logo is a good thing at this point!
If I had to pick two things I would go with the direct mail post card and the partnerships with other surrounding business.
Hope that helps – I may get a few more as the coffee kicks in 😉
I would add that the key to any form of marketing is consistency – there's a reason you instantly recognise the Geico Gecko – you've seen multiple Gieco Insurance commercials featuring his humorous exploits. So I would consider who my target market will be (think focusing on small niches) as Courtney suggests, pick a few tools and them stick with them.
Are you going to be in Miami for WSSC? I'll be there all weekend and would love to meet you while I'm there.
There are a bunch of sessions that I'm excited to see:
On Friday our very own Barbara Hoots is giving a presentation: Studio Design: Empowering Emporiums to Increase Profits
Presented by Barbara Hoots Whether opening a new studio or renovating an existing one, this lecture will offer new trends in studio design. Evaluate common design flaws that lead to lawsuits and slow growth, and explore the latest in sound systems, lighting, wall treatments and marketing.
I'm really excited to take these Ugi classes – from what I can see, Ugi could be a great strength compliment to any boutique Indoor Cycling Studio
Ugi® Fit Presented by Sara Shears Undo your laces and strip off your socks! Join Ugi creator Sara Shears for the ultimate 30- minute barefoot workout. A series of 30 one-minute intervals combining strength, core and cardio are efficient enough to change your body completely. From warm-up to cool down Ugi is fun, challenging and makes U feel good about your body, energy and health.
U-SPIN Me Right Round Presented by Nadine Stewart “Combine the benefits of a high-cadence endurance ride with non-linear sculpting exercises using the Ugi® ball. This well-rounded workout will cover your cardio and cross-training needs and give you new ideas to change up your Spinning® and resistance training classes.
My main focus will be the Spin Power sessions and there's a lot of them on the schedule! Especially those that are including a specially designed Performance IQ display system, customized for the Spin Power Program.
Team Time Trial with Performance IQ Presented by Angie Sturtevant In team time trials, riders take turns either at the front or ‘sitting in’ behind, conserving enough team energy for an all-out pull toward the finish. In this workout you will compete as part of a team, as accumulated power output is displayed on the big screen using Performance IQ. This gives all teams the energy to chase and spectators something to cheer about!
Spinpowerâ„¢: Personal Spinning® Threshold Presented by Martin Timmerman The Personal Spinning Threshold (PST) is the key to Spinpower success–once PST is determined, you have a baseline threshold marker that can be used to create a unique training program and track student progress. This workshop will teach you the protocol of the Personal Spinning Threshold test and how to administer this test to your students. You will establish your own Spinpower Zones and then experience a ride which will criss-cross these zones. WS NEW
Spinpowerâ„¢ Race Day Winners Presented by Dino Pedras All athletes know that we must be efficient and well-organized to get the most out of our training, and a Race Day ride is how we see the results of that hard word. In this workshop, you will learn how to create a successful Race Day using Spinpower to help you determine what variables you should integrate into your training program and how to best periodize your time to reach your maximum potential and find the way to victory!
And that's just Friday's sessions – I'll be reporting more from WSSC as time permits. If you'll be there any of the three days, please text me so we can connect 612-868-0064!
John Manrique from Revolutions Cycling Studio in Jupiter, Florida joins me to explain how his riders have pedaled 200,000 miles. Along the way John and his wife Michelle have really forged a connection with their riders.
Since opening in December 2012, the folks at Revolutions Cycling Studio have been doing one thing: pedaling. A whole lot. As the only studio in Jupiter that exclusively offers indoor cycling (aka “spinning”) classes, Revolutions' founders Michelle and John Manrique estimate that the more than 11,000 individual rides completed over the last eighteen months will reach the 200,000 mile mark in May.
“We started Revolutions based on our shared passion for indoor cycling,” said Michelle, who along with husband John, moved to Jupiter in 2001. “Since there wasn't a ‘cycling only' place in town, we saw an opportunity to open a studio for people like us who like to ride hard and get a great workout in a fun, family environment.”
During our interview, John offers a number of great ideas you can implement to reward your riders – such as the special t-shirts shown above.
For those of you who aren't an “Excel Spreadsheet Geek” like John Manrique, there are simple options for collecting and disseminating rider data collected from these indoor cycles with power; Keiser M3i, FreeMotion S11.9, Schwinn AC and Spinner Blade Ions.
Performance IQ used in conjunction with Station/Bike Reservations and My Stats will connect riders with their data and send out an email at the conclusion of class automatically. Amy's an expert on how these systems intigrate and would love to show you a demo – feel free to call her 320-685-0183 or amy.macgowan@getliveedit.com
Constant improvement is the mark of a professional
Team ICG® Master Trainer Chuck Cali
It’s Friday afternoon, the end of a week cluttered with my own classes and subbing others. Many triples and quads. I’m tired. My unwillingness to fake it on the lead bike takes energy and catches up with me now. I reflect.
It’s been a good week. Jim Karanas said I was a great asset. The group exercise director at an upscale club said I was just what she needed for their new cycle studio.
I love writing, especially about indoor cycling. How did I get here, telling you my story? I wanted to improve my craft: indoor cycle instruction.
I sold my flying school in 2007. A fitness fanatic all my life, I decided cardio fitness was my next career. Since I loved Spinning, I got certified, determined to do it better than anyone.
But after my eight-hour certification, I realized I wasn’t prepared to teach cardio on a stationary bike.
Sure, I could go through the motions, but didn’t understand cardiovascular training or the biomechanics of riding. I could make people sweat and get their heart rates up, but needed more to be as good as I wanted to be.
In flying, we talk about experience in hours. The flying axiom: 10,000 hours in one’s log book means either 10,000 hours of experience or one hour’s experience 10,000 times. In flying, I was in the former category. My goal was to be there with indoor cycle instruction.
I needed to improve my craft.
I googled “indoor cycle instruction.” At the top of the list was ICI/PRO, talking about something they called “Indoor Cycling 2.0”.
There were other listings. Many. I spent hours on all of them. It became crystal clear that ICI/PRO was a strategic resource.
It came together for me right here and can for you, as well. How can you improve your craft?
1. START HERE. If you haven’t done so, I recommend buying the ICI/PRO premium membership.
Set your browser to open to ICI/PRO. First thing every day (yes, before email, the stock market, or sports), read the new posts and listen to the podcasts and audio profiles. If something piques your interest, print it. John always puts playlists in Spotify. If you don’t have Spotify, get it and buy the premium version. I’m inept at Spotify, but it has still saved my butt more than once. Just be sure your favorite playlists are “available offline” — that’s why you need the premium version.
I know, I’ve already got you spending $20 a month, but improving your craft is worth it. (I don’t get a penny.)
2. COMMUNICATE & GET INVOLVED. There’s not one person posting on ICI who wouldn’t love to hear from and help you. Comment on our posts. (Yes, we read them.) If you prefer privacy, John will know how to reach us. Then we can Skype, talk on the phone, whatever; but first you must get to us.
We’re all deeply invested in Indoor Cycling 2.0 and want to talk to you. Me too.
The contacts I’ve made through ICI/PRO have accelerated my understanding of cardiovascular training — exactly what I wanted when I started this craft-improving thing.
3. UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE TEACHING. Indoor cycling is a cardiovascular workout that mimics riding a bicycle on the road. My outdoor riding has added a valuable dimension to my teaching. The pages on ICI/PRO discuss everything outdoor cycling can do for indoor cycling. But you don’t have to ride outside to improve your craft.
The biomechanics of cycling are the key to getting your riders to perform better, hurt less and train harder. If that’s not enough, Jim Karanas, Gene Nacey and Tom Scotto can help.
4. TRY SOMETHING NEW. Break free of your comfort zone. You can start simply by taking another instructor’s class. What did you like? Not like? I’ve learned much watching other instructors.
How about changing your routine? Do you rush in a minute before class? Committing to a 15- to 30-minute early arrival changes you from flakey, flustered and hurried to reliable, ready, steady — and able to bring your riders to a much different state.
Select one of the audio profiles and do it.
My first break from my comfort zone was teaching power. I bought the wall charts, put together a training plan and playlists, printed cards for recording baseline numbers. I practiced.
The program flopped famously, they thanked me and replaced me, but what I learned was invaluable. (If you’re wondering why the program flopped, learning from failures is my next post.)
5. ADD A CERTIFICATION! ICG® offers free education on its web site. Much of it is complete with CECs and lots of interesting stuff, including teaching to Forward Motion Video.
Every major contributor to ICI offers new or add-on certifications.
6. CONNECT WITH YOUR RIDERS! Maybe this should be number one. It’s the single most important skill to hone. (See my earlier post on Connections.) Will it improve your craft? Your riders will like you so much they won’t care.
The best of the best connect every time.
This morning, in a very experienced instructor’s class, I saw again how important it is to find your own style of connecting. This guy had us captivated, used everything in the room (himself, the equipment) to his advantage, and taught a challenging cycle-specific class.
When I spoke with him after class, though, he had little regard for virtual rides, felt the studio needed mirrors, and didn’t care about setting up AV equipment for optimal virtual possibilities. As good as he was, he was still on hour one for the 10,000th time.
The “Heads Up Display” of student's performance data (watts, calories, cadence, HR, etc…) from Performance IQ looks like a fascinating addition to any club or studio. While not for everyone, the competitive element it introduces can make for a very exciting and motivating class experience.
But I had felt Performance IQ it was missing a few things:
The pre-class setup (entering all your students into the system) was a lot of work for the Instructor during the frenetic moments before class time.
There wasn't any option to collect or retain the each student's data.
The system only worked with the Keiser M3 Indoor Cycle.
All of that has changed now that Performance IQ is partnering with ZingFit who has a full-featured management system system for cycling studios. The beauty of this partnership is how well they compliment each other's service
Now…
Participants can reserve their bike online when they register for class using Zingfit's registration system. This in turn tells Performance IQ who's on which bike. No more need for the Instructor to do anything beyond starting their class and pressing the GO button.
Zingfit collects all the ride data from Performance IQ and displays it on a secure section of the Studio's website. Zingfit can even send an email to each of your students at the end of each class.
Performance IQ is now compatible with all Power bikes that use Ant+ (FreeMotion S11, Schwinn AC and CycleOps)
Listen to the Podcast below it hear all the details.
Are you going to be in Miami for WSSC? I'll be there all weekend and would love to meet you while I'm there.
