In the year, many of my friends specially girls have made up their new year resolution to join a yoga class to stay fit. But I am a bit slow mover or say take things as they come because if I have a resolution like them which is hard as a rock in mind, I seldom crossed the month of January and fail in that resolution. So new year resolutions are not my cup of tea.

I researched a bit of finding that does really those who keep resolutions succeed? Here’s what I found:

• The top New Year’s resolutions was to eat healthier, get more exercise, and save more money.
• The top New Year’s resolutions was to exercise more, lose weight,  focus on self-care, make new friends, eat healthily and save money.
• The top New Year’s resolutions are to diet or eat healthier,  exercise more, lose weight, save more and spend less and learn a new skill or hobby.

Click here to find the top  New Year’s Resolutions For Leaders

According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, by US clinical psychologist Joseph Luciani, just 8 percent of people achieve their New Year’s goals, while around 80 percent fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions.

Roughly 55 percent of New Year’s resolutions were health-related, such as exercising more, eating healthier and getting out of financial debt, according to the science journal The Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Research conducted by Strava, the social network for athletes, discovered that Jan. 12, is the fateful day of New Year’s resolutions.

What yoga studio or fitness owners or health businesses must know?

A survey conducted by NPR and The Marist Poll showed that 44% of American adults were likely to make a new year’s resolution. Of those, a staggering 13% set out with the intention of exercising, making it the most popular resolution in the United States.

Also, the third and fourth most common new year’s resolutions were weight loss and healthier eating. That means that one in three resolution-makers hoped to achieve a health-related goal.

This means yoga studio owners or fitness industry or health-related entrepreneurs must prepare themselves to start out to help such resolute to reach their new fitness goals.

1. Prepare ahead to meet the new year resolute

As a studio owner, you must prepare with a certain strategy to meet your business goals as well as help others for a healthier life.

According to a study, 80% of your new students will quit within 5 months and group fitness can slash your churn rate by 50%.

You must get ready therefore to take in those ambitious new members and keep them motivated in the long-run to meet their and your goal.  You need to thus have a well-designed onboarding strategy that can supercharge your retention rates.

According to the retention expert, Dr. Paul Bedford as little as four sessions spread over the first few weeks of membership can boost retention rates by as much as 17% at the 6-month mark.

In the IHRSA’s report just two interactions between staff and members each month increased attendance in the following month and caused a 33% reduction in the risk of members cancelling their membership.

That’s an incredibly significant statistic when you also consider the research from Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company, who found that increasing member retention rates by 5% increased profits by between 25% and 95%.

2. Prepare your yoga studio and your yoga team

So as the yoga enthusiasts or fitness freaks in the minds of people for their new year to be healthy you need to be ready for an influx of customers. All yoga mats, machines you use if you own a Pilates studio should be clean, running and well-positioned.

All studio computer systems at studio reception should have the updates of booking software if you use and be ready with new tools to provide fast and smooth service to your clients.

3. Do your marketing efforts early

You can offer a free trial to attract new members, but also important is to value your business correctly. Avoid giving coupons or discounts as the new year is a time when people want to exercise and if they are committed they don’t need your 10% off.

This you can save and offer them when they start losing interest in the later months of the year. But if you want to give because your neighbor studio is giving then don’t negotiate in price and devalue your brand.

Always apply a second and third marketing strategy. Like focusing on retention of your yoga student in February and March months as the early stages to stem the flow of people who want to quit their fitness resolution. You can take extra initiative aimed at encouraging students to stick with their resolutions as a fitness challenge.

You can organize free events, classes, and bring in guest speakers at your studios to keep newbies mind focused in continuation of their yoga class. Offer small prizes as a token of appreciation.

4. Prepare a welcome plan for new students

The welcome plan for a yoga studio is just like a lesson plan to teach a class. You can include the type of yoga sequence from the basic introduction.

For Pilates studio you can introduce them to the machines and tell them which machine needs how many minutes workouts and what will they gain from those workouts. Hand over then day by day graphical pamphlets to help them learn and understand better and find interest in carrying on the class.

5. Make them feel at home and offer 7-day free orientation

As a newbie always offer them orientation, that can be done with audio-visual aid or on a blackboard. Here they will find themselves happy to join your class. You can ask them their convenient time in coming to classes and make a few adjustments so that they feel at home.

6. Introduce them to a  group fitness class

This is a powerful tactic that reduces the chances of them canceling their membership. In one study conducted at Penn State University, researchers started people who hadn’t trained before on a 30-week group fitness program. During the study, the intensity and frequency of workouts increased each week gradually. 

In a study, it was found that if people train on their own, the increasing difficulty of the program usually causes about 40% of participants to drop-out. But in group exercise study, an incredible 98.8% of participants completed the program – an adherence rate that had been virtually unheard of in other fitness studies.

To further enhance the point, another key finding of IHRSA’s report was that class attendees are 56% less likely to cancel their membership than those who go it alone on free weights or other training equipment.

Social support and increased accountability of group fitness can be just the move to motivating your new clients to push through the pain and stick to their resolutions. Consider promoting and incentivizing new members to sign-up to group fitness and watch your attrition rate take a welcome dive.

7. Take up a Booking software or System

If you are still going on with your traditional booking classes on the phone, then switch to the best yoga studio booking software.

–> Request a demo of KRIYA Booking Software

There are many booking software that caters to the yoga studio business. You can take up their free trial and find which suits best you need and is in your budget. Also, the best booking software will help you in your planning, marketing and enrolling your new students fast online and even with their mobile app.

8. Create a website and be active online

Many local studios and fitness centers near me or small yoga and Pilate studios don’t have a website of their own. Studios are hard to find be students or customers who want to take up their fitness goals this new year. Merely listing yourself at free online advertisement sites like gumtree cannot help you in running your business. Act smart and professionally and to do so make your online presence.

Squarespace is a great and easy way to get started and have your website ready in 10 mins. Click for more information.

Similarly, keep active on your social media channels because many of your future clients will be using their phones over this new year period. It’s the perfect opportunity to remind them on Facebook, through Instagram, and by tweet why they need to stay fit and healthy.

If you’re interested in exploring paid advertising strategies, it may also be worth dropping a little cash in Google Ads to capture the lion’s share of the traffic in your area.

Finally, remember that your business runs because of your customers and it’s you to see that they follow and achieve their fitness new year resolution. You need to do hard work to retain them and motivate them at every step so that they keep working towards their goals. 

They want health and you want wealth profit. Its thus symbiosis. If you are depending on them they depend on you. Sincerely you will benefit in your business if you help them genuinely to achieve their fitness goals. Are you ready to take in the challenge?