Use the “Mom Test” to help choose studio registration software & technology
Suggest finding someone who looks like this to help you evaluate your online registration system – or review the one you're using now.
Prospective Indoor Cycling Studio owners have hundreds of both challenging and easy decisions to make, long before they're ready to launch. Considering that your new studio will be a real business and the purpose of your business is to make money, the registration system you choose* to collect your money is pretty darn important… in fact it's crucial IMO. With multiple solution providers of online registration systems – how do you choose?)
I'd start by answering the: how easy/intuitive are the registration and collect the money process?
In the online world, marketers describe collecting the money as a conversion – I call it making a sale. Conversion percentages = what percentage of visitors who somehow end up on your registration page actually convert? Conversions don't always equate to sales. They can also be; create a user's profile, register for a class or even just join your email list.
Any difficulty the visitor experiences during the process can reduce the number of successful conversions (you don't get the money).
Now I don't need to tell you that different people, react to online “difficulties” or “frustrations” differently. You could throw any amount of digital confusion at either of my two girls and they'd still figure out how to register for your class. But there are potential customers who aren't comfortable with online anything.
Testing the registration and collect the money process
You're probably not the right person to test and compare online registration systems. The fact that you are here reading this tells me you are comfortable using a computer and are probably routinely using it to make purchases online.
I suggest finding someone in your life who's not all that comfortable with technology and ask them to help you evaluate the various systems. For some of you it could be your Mom (hence the Mom Test), a friend or family member that's similarly technophobic.
Here's how I would structure your “Mom Test”.[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
- Contact each company's representative and ask for a link to the home page of an actual studio that uses their system/software.
- Collect each studio's link
- Sit down with your evaluator and have them go through a complete registration process: Create a user's profile and then register and pay for an actual class. Yes, this will cost you a few dollars > what you learn will be invaluable.
- But please don't waste their time and ask the studio owner to refund these small purchases.
While your evaluator is going through the registration process, You Need To Sit On Your Hands and offer no direction or assistance. Just watch exactly what happens and how she/he responds.
- How quick was the process?
- Was there any place where they got stuck
- Did anything happen/change that caused them to question anything? Am I doing this right? Why was I taken here? etc…
With any luck you'll have a fun time doing this and learn a lot about what works and what doesn't, making your final choice easier. After all, you and your successful studio is going to be married to this software for years to come 🙂
[/wlm_private]*Of course this isn't the only reason you would decide on one registration vendor over another. If you have other questions you can ask me here.
Originally posted 2015-01-15 05:20:41.
