Creating a powerful client experience is what differentiates you in the marketplace. It’s the one thing that can keep your clients coming back, ensuring you retain your yogis for as long as possible.
It also makes fans out of your clients. If they are singing your praises to their friends and family, they are unconsciously giving your business referrals – which is ultimately what you need to expand and grow your business.
As a Yogapreneur, what you are selling is a yoga experience, rather than a yoga class. In the digital era, yogis can consume the ‘product’ of a yoga class pretty much anywhere at any time with its easy availability online. So the yoga experience is what becomes important at your yoga studio.
Creating an SOP (standard operating procedure) for client experience
Most studios don’t have a defined SOP or strategy for their client experience. This happens when a Yogapreneur forgets what it’s like to be a new yoga student.
When you have a standard procedure written out, you can refine it and change it as you realize certain aspects of it aren’t working as well as you’d hoped. It also allows you to train your team and yoga instructors more easily as they know exactly what procedure they’re expected to adhere to.
A lack of definition in the experience leaves the team confused and unmotivated, it also underwhelms your clients. If you as the Yogapreneur are not actively curating the experience you want your clients to have, it will curate itself – and it might not be the experience you intended it to be.
What should be included in your experience SOP?
Your SOP should include the experience people are having IRL, online, as well as on VOD. You’re no longer just trying to create a good experience in the studio, but every touchpoint in the client journey.
Best practices for curating your client experience (in-studio, live stream, and VOD classes)
- Look for any inconsistencies across all class platforms (is there an element to your experience that is in-studio, but not on VOD, etc.)
- Check to see if teachers are consistent in their teaching practices across all class platforms (make sure that teachers are engaging with clients on the VOD platforms).
- Outline expectations of how classes should be run.
- Monitor whether or not teachers are following the protocols.
- Engaging with ALL clients.
- Treating all clients equally, not focusing on one type of client.
- Helping all clients get the best possible class experience.
- Is it congruent with current societal norms and events?
- Identify any potential “hot” buttons and make an action plan to fix them.
- Have someone from outside your organization take the class (in-studio, online, and VOD) and give feedback on their experience.
Review your physical space
Your physical space is an important aspect of the experience for both in-studio clients and ones online.
How does it look?
What is the first thing that people see when they walk into your studio or start watching the video online? Is it pleasing to them, and is it memorable? These things play an important role in whether or not clients come back.
How does it smell?
This one would only be important for your in-studio clients. How does the studio smell? Are there any strange odors drifting about? It’s important to be mindful of the scent of your studio. Use scents that are as natural as possible to avoid any kind of scent sensitivity. Creating a signature scent for your studio also makes it a more memorable experience.
What do you hear?
It’s important to match the sound to the vibe of the studio or the type of class being taught. This is just as important in the lobby as it is in the actual class. You want to set the ambiance from the moment your yoga clients step through the front door. If you haven’t already, it would be worth investing in a music license in order to play the music that REALLY suits your studio, as opposed to opting for free music, which might not be as suitable.
Identify any areas of improvement and make an action plan to fix them!
Analyze your studio. It sometimes helps to get someone to attend a class that isn’t a part of your organization to analyze the experience they have at your studio. Ask them to consider every point of touch they have with your business along the journey. From first connecting with you online, to taking a VOD class, and their in-studio experience.
Having this outsider’s perspective is absolutely invaluable as they will analyze aspects of your business that you may never have thought to do yourself. If you are wanting to retain customers over a long period of time, ensuring your client experience is faultless is the very first step.
Creating a memorable experience for your yogis is exactly what you need to be doing to keep them coming back for more! Book your free strategy session to get next-level advice on how you can curate an awesome client experience and improve retention in your studio.
