11 Tips to Increase Your Yoga Business
Reading Time: 5 minutes 45 seconds
BY: ISSA
DATE: 2024-07-22
The Chamber of Commerce reports that 18% of small businesses close their doors before the end of their first year. This number grows to 50% by the five-year mark and 65% close within 10 years. (1) Finding ways to increase your yoga business can keep it from adding to these statistics. This begins with first understanding some of the challenges yoga studios face.
Challenges of Growing a Yoga Studio
Yoga businesses can struggle to thrive and grow for many reasons. One is the owner not understanding good business practices. Most people open a yoga studio because they want to share their passion for yoga with others. However, they don’t know how to build a fitness business, so it fails.
The University of California, Davis shares that good business practices include:
Promoting effective communication
Setting clear expectations
Making sure all personnel are adequately trained
Assigning duties and giving staff the authority to perform them
Regularly evaluating employee performance (2)
Another challenge for yoga studios is not knowing how to attract and retain potential students. Without a constant stream of people coming through your doors, your business won’t survive. This makes developing a yoga marketing plan critical to success.
The Importance of a Successful Yoga Studio Marketing Strategy
When starting a new business, taking the time to write out a business plan can help clarify your vision. It forces you to consider several aspects of building and operating a fitness studio, from the services you will provide to your financial needs. It also includes a comprehensive marketing plan.
Marketing is important for getting the word out about your yoga business. A marketing plan defines the actions you will take to increase your voice within the yoga industry. How do you create a successful yoga studio marketing campaign?
Here are a few marketing efforts to consider:
Social media marketing. Create a profile on social media sites your potential student is likely to use. Post regularly to get them excited about yoga in general and your studio in particular. Encourage them to interact with you and share your posts. Inspire them to come to your studio and check out your classes.
Content marketing. It’s also beneficial to write a yoga blog. Seek to entertain or educate your readers with a variety of yoga topics. Talk about the 7 chakras and how yoga can unblock them. Share poses that are good for certain conditions or ways to develop a regular yoga practice.
Email marketing. Keep in touch with new and potential students by asking them to sign up to receive emails. Use these emails to send special offers, make important announcements, or otherwise keep in touch.
Additional Tips to Increase Your Yoga Business
In addition to developing a robust marketing plan, here are a few more business tips to help you build and grow a strong yoga studio.
#1. Provide a Comfortable Yoga Space
Create an environment that makes a potential client want to come in and a current client return. You can do this with colors, music, and even certain scents. Providing a comfortable space also involves making your yoga classes inclusive. Make people from all walks of life feel welcome to walk in the door.
#2. Optimize Your Website
This is one of the best things you can do as a yoga studio owner. If your website is slow to respond or hard to navigate, a potential student will likely click away from your site. Go on your website yourself and look around. If you struggle with it, a potential client will likely struggle too. Also, make sure your contact information is easy to find on your site. Place your phone number or email address near the top of the page so a prospect doesn’t have to search for it if they want to reach out with questions.
#3. Claim Your Google Business Listing
This used to be called Google My Business. Now, it’s simply referred to as a Google Business Profile. Setting up a profile enables people to search for your studio and get to your location easily with Google Maps. You can also place special offers on your profile, making it even more appealing for a potential customer to check you out.
#4. Offer More Than One Yoga Style
A yoga enthusiast likely knows what style they prefer most. But someone new to yoga probably doesn’t. Offering several yoga styles, such as Hatha yoga and Power yoga, allows them to see which they like best. It can also help boost your client list by appealing to a wider audience. Don’t forget to consider types of yoga that may be more suitable for people with movement limitations. You might offer chair yoga, for example.
#5. Create Additional Yoga Events
The primary reason a client visits a yoga studio is typically to take a class. However, you can build your yoga business by offering additional events, such as a yoga retreat or workshop. This can help increase your revenue while also giving your clients more ways to interact with and enjoy a yoga practice.
To reach specific audiences, develop retreats or workshops around special themes. You might hold a workshop that shares how yoga benefits healthy aging, for instance. Or one that teaches attendees how to use yoga for anxiety and stress.
#6. Give New Students a No-Cost Introductory Yoga Session
Potential clients may want to try yoga but be afraid to invest money because they don’t know whether they’ll like it. Reduce their risk by offering a free intro session. Let them come in and try yoga out. If they don’t like it, at least they will know. But if they do, they’re likely to return to your studio because you gave them this gift.
#7: Reward Current Students for Referrals
The National Association of Sales Professionals indicates that referrals can be converted to clients 70% of the time. Additionally, more than half of businesses say that a majority of their clients come from referrals. (3) Encourage current students to refer their family and friends by “sweetening the deal.” Give them a free session or some free swag as a thanks. It doesn’t have to be much; just make sure they know that their referral is appreciated.
#8. Sell Yoga Products
You can also increase your revenue by selling products in your yoga studio. Brand these items (put your name and/or logo on them) to further promote your yoga business. Display them by the check-out counter so they’re easy to see. Products to consider selling include:
Your favorite yoga mat, for clients to use in class and at home
A water bottle to stay hydrated during their yoga practice
A yoga journal to record and track their progress
#9. Offer Online Yoga
If you currently only offer classes in person, consider providing them online too. Creating an online yoga business opens your client pool geographically. It also enables students to practice when it’s most convenient for them. Of course, this does require a few additional considerations. You’ll have to decide how you will collect payments from online students, for instance. But it’s worth setting up an online yoga option if it will help you grow your business.
#10. Develop a Yoga App
Nowadays, there’s an app for everything. People like apps because they make their favorite sites more accessible. They’re also easy to use on a mobile device. Consider developing an app for your yoga business. Have a yoga class section or a section with videos that teach proper form for certain poses. Charge a small annual fee to bring in additional cash. You may also give students free access as a membership perk.
#11. Mandate Yoga Teacher Training
Think like a yoga student. Which would you prefer: a yoga instructor who has completed teacher training or one who hasn’t? Training and certification can give prospective students a greater boost of confidence in their yoga teacher. This can make them feel more comfortable trying your yoga studio.
Making sure your instructors are properly trained can also give you better peace of mind as a studio owner. You won’t wonder if a new hire knows how to develop and lead a safe and effective yoga class. Their training speaks for them.
Do you or your staff still need teacher training? Check out our online Yoga Teacher Training Course. This course is approved by the Yoga Alliance. So, completing it prepares individuals to sit for the Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) certification exam.
References
Team, C. O. C. (2024, April 12). Small Business Statistics - Chamber of Commerce. Chamber of Commerce. https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/small-business-statistics/
Selected examples of good business practices. (2018, November 29). Finance & Business. https://financeandbusiness.ucdavis.edu/finance/controls-accountability/admin-handbook/example
Team, N., & Team, N. (2022, December 6). How asking for referrals can increase your sales effectiveness by 25%. NASP. https://www.nasp.com/blog/how-asking-for-referrals-can-increase-your-sales-effectiveness-by-25/