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.
By Jennifer Lintz, Registered Dietitian and ICI PRO Contributor
A few days ago, I attended one of my colleagues' classes. The ride was top notch from start to finish, but one drill in particular got me thinking.
Towards the middle of class, Lori (the instructor) told us we would be doing a climb. I can't remember exactly how long we were to be in hill mode – it was either 3 or 4 1/2 minutes – but I do remember her instructions for the drill. She told us to lift out of the saddle for 15 seconds three separate times during the climb. The catch? We could decide when. This was an interactive drill. As a participant, it forced me to be present, keep my eye on the clock, and take ownership of the task I had been given.
As an instructor, I immediately felt like I gained a new tool to enhance participant engagement. If one of our goals is to help our students stay present on the bike, why not give them some time in the driver's seat?
Certainly, it might be a bit much to do a class full of drills like the one I just described, but sprinkling in one or two could be a great way to keep students focused. Being in Lori's class got me thinking about other drills that might have a similar impact. Here are two I came up with:
– Flat: 5 minutes. The bulk of the flat should feel moderate in intensity. Work at a hard intensity at least twice for 30 seconds. If, in the last minute of the flat, there is time for one more push, challenge them to fit it in.
-Intervals: 3 minutes. Alternate between high and low intensities for the duration on the drill. The “work” period must be longer than the recovery. Time frames are left up to the students.
-Hill: 3 minutes. Each minute should be more challenging than the previous. The increased intensity can be created by a change in speed or resistance.
Do you have other drill ideas that give participants guidance, but ultimately put them in charge?
My experience as a student reinforced just how beneficial it can be to spend time on the other side of the cycle studio. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well.
Update from John: This post was originally published in June of last year, shortly before we lost Jim. I thought Jim's wisdom could add to our current conversation about SoulCycle, so I'm re-publishing this today.
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas
Why would anyone want to do it? It’s crazy. What about the bike? Connecting with it. Feeling the road. How can anyone NOT want to feel the road? Rhythm, timing, breathing. It’s in our DNA.
It won’t last. Silly trend. Dance parties on bikes with music videos can’t last. You can’t even call it training. It’s just physical movement, not sure it’s even considered exercise. It’s totally without direction.
There are some heavy hitters out there who will slam Non-Authentic Indoor Cycling and talk about it with contempt. Read the blogs and forums. It’s important to have beliefs — something you stand for that defines you as a professional.
Am I sure? Absolutely not. Is Non-Authentic Indoor Cycling bad for Indoor Cycling? That’s a good question and the topic of this post.
I teach Authentic Indoor Cycling. I ride bikes outdoors and always seek to bring to my students what the road and trail teach me. The bike has taught me many lessons that I’ll share with anyone who wants to attend my classes and has the patience to listen to my rhetoric.
Fitness reached a pinnacle with indoor cycling. Finally, we had a way to communicate fitness concepts that were not based on hype or adrenalin. Eclectic music. Quality training. Depth. Achievement. Millions of dollars in revenue!
It wasn’t only about the money, but do you really believe that indoor cycling would be here today if it didn’t make money? Fitness is a $12.5-billion industry, and indoor cycling helped it get there. Whatever makes money will drive fitness.
Zumba is a classic example and should be a lesson to everyone. It’s simple choreography, not unlike what I used to teach as an aerobics instructor back in the ‘80s, with the addition of a little Latin dance and hip-hop. The instructors don’t even cue. Yet Zumba is a half-billion-dollar-a-year company. Which shows you what dazzling branding, marketing, and a single-minded focus on building a culture can do for a fitness program.
Do you think Zumba is a fad? Not with those revenues.
What about non-authentic indoor cycling? How about SoulCycle? It hurts; it really does. But if you believe that SoulCycle is going to fade away because it’s not authentic, then I believe you’re misguided. The SoulCycle brand is strong, their marketing is incredibly strong, AND they now have strong financial support after having been purchased by Equinox.
Something else: they’re building one hell of a culture. Friends of mine who have never taken my class come up and say with wide-eyed enthusiasm, “Do you know that SoulCycle is coming to San Francisco?” I ask, “Why would you take a class there when you haven’t yet come to mine?” No response.
I believe that non-authentic indoor cycling will become a significant trend in the Fitness Industry. ICG® is an authentic indoor cycling company. We believe in proper training principles and we all ride bikes, yet we’re not blind.
If non-authentic IC is going to make a mark, why not embrace it for what it is — a way to train on the bike that makes (some) people fit and happy? Assuming it’s validated as safe and effective (ICG has already contacted the American Council on Exercise and proposed a study), then shouldn't every indoor cycling education body offer a program on how to teach non-authentic indoor cycling? Why shouldn’t any and every indoor cycling program be taught by those who are truly qualified to teach indoor cycling? That would be the likes of us. We know indoor cycling best. We could create a program — inauthentic fluff, if you will — that’s still authentic in its safety, structure and cardiovascular benefit. Why not?
It need not (and would not) diminish our authentic style of teaching, and it just might make all of us some money.
You can add Cycling Studio Owner Nairi Petrosian to the list of Smart & Talented people involved in Indoor Cycling – listen to this interview and you'll know why. Nairi and her business partner Kirsty Baldwin successfully raised $30,011.00 with an Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign that closed August 29th of this year. They're using the money to build out a new, larger Revolutions Cycling Studio and purchase an additional 10 Indoor Cycles to add to their original 13.
It looks really easy; you create a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign and wait a few days for the money to roll in.
Yeah, right… it doesn't work that way. It takes a lot of hard work and it sounds as if Nairi and Kristy earned every cent of it. Listen to my interview with Nairi to learn some of the challenges they faced and why they feel they were successful.
Here's their professional video – they felt it was instrumental in the success of their campaign.
Please respect Nairi's time and don't contact her with a bunch of questions unless you're willing to hire her and compensate her for her time.
The Star Trac Spinner® Blade Ion is the latest Indoor Cycle with power to hit the market. The Blade Ion boasts strain-gauge technology and a cool blue light emanating from the flywheel hub that doubles as a battery charger.
There are only of handful of studios riding Ions and we only had responses from 14 Instructors.
I'm sticking with the same format we're using with each of these Indoor Cycle surveys – click here for the list.
Satisfaction while riding your cycles.
Using the Power Meter in class.
Accuracy / consistency in power displayed.
Would you recommend this Indoor Cycle to others?
First up, how do instructors like riding the Star Trac Spinner® Blade Ion
How about using the power meter?
If your responses are included here, I'd be interested to know more about the Heart Rate strap issues. Is this a difficulty pairing (connecting) the HR strap? Or something different like cross talking or a loss of connection?
Every Instructor I know is interested in the accuracy of wattage displayed and consistency between cycles.
All though this was a very small sample – the lack of accuracy / consistency does square with private conversations I've had with with multiple Instructors and studio owners. I'm aware that Star Trac has been trying to sort this problem and hopefully they will have it corrected soon.
By Jennifer Lintz, Registered Dietitian and ICI PRO Contributor
