Strategy 1: End every interaction on a high note.
Strategy 1: End every interaction on a high note. What you may already be doing Standing at the door at the end of class to warmly wish members goodbye or answer any questions that arise. How to take it further Give personal studio tours to new clients after their first class End each class by announcing new offerings, upcoming events, or other positive feedback Consider reading a thoughtful quote or passage at the end of class to spur positive thinking through the rest of the day For fitness studios, this can be as straightforward as having someone stand at the door at the end of class to warmly wish members goodbye or answer questions. Whatever it may be, this seemingly simple exchange locks into the customer’s mind the feeling that the studio sees them as a person, not merely a revenue stream. High-quality customer service always matters. of consumers say it’s likely to make them a repeat customer call customer service an “important driver” of brand loyalty The psychology at work Why is it so important that the good customer service described above occurs at the end of a customer’s visit? It has to do with a concept known as the peak-end rule. Coined in 1993 by renowned psychology researcher Daniel Kahneman, the rule holds that an experience’s intense moments (the “peaks”) and final moments hold outsize importance in a person’s memory. This form of cognitive bias was demonstrated in a study in which one group of participants was asked to put a hand into unpleasantly cold water for one minute, while a second group was asked to keep their hands in the same water for the same amount of time, plus an additional thirty seconds during which the water warmed. When the participants were asked if they would like to repeat the experience, the second group was more willing to do so, because, Kahneman and his co-authors theorized, the subjects “liked the memory of it better” than the other group. Though the second group’s hands had been submerged for longer than their counterparts, they had the cozy feeling of their hands warming at the end—and thus happier memories of the experiment. More generally, research shows that customers tend to disproportionately recall the high and low aspects of their customer journey rather than every individual event—and how a company sequences those points can materially change the perception of the service received. It’s the reason that hotel chains, for instance, have all but eliminated the need to stop by the front desk to check out: hospitality executives have recognized that ending on an inconvenient note colors your memory of the brand.
Strategy 2: Delight clients not only with expected incentives, but un expected ones, too.
Strategy 2: Delight clients not only with expected incentives, but unexpected ones, too. What you may already be doing Offering clients a free class when they fill in their punch card, or giving them a shout-out on their birthday. In other words, offering customers the familiar benefits they love and expect to receive. How to take it further Add a note of surprise to your customers’ visit with perks and treats they never see coming A bring-a-friend-for-free offer bestowed unexpectedly when a member attends more often than usual A free class voucher distributed on a birthday An unadvertised free chair massage when someone buys a class package The key here is not to tell clients about perks in advance, but to serve them up as fun surprises. The psychology at work Research shows even small and inexpensive gestures make a lasting impact on customers. There are two reasons for this: First, when a customer is given a surprise reward based on participation, they feel seen, as though their presence has been both noted and appreciated. Second, the psychological event of a surprise is a serious shock to a person’s system—in a good way. increase in emotional intensity after a surprise. If the emotions we’re feeling are happiness and delight, you can imagine the power that moment has on a customer’s brand perception. Tania Luna, a researcher who specializes in the psychology of surprises, confirms this. “If I wasn’t expecting you to surprise me or give me a gift, and now I’ve just gotten this pleasant experience, I have to change the way I think about you and maybe even our whole relationship,” she said in a podcast. “It’s how you get people’s attention and delight them so you get them curious and excited about what you have to offer.”
Strategy 3: Advertise what’s great about your business—in your customers’ words.
Strategy 3: Advertise what’s great about your business—in your customers’ words. What you may already be doing Purchasing ads or airtime, maintaining a strong social media presence, and throwing community events to increase your awareness in the community. How to take it further Spotlight members who are particularly aligned with (and in love with) the studio Whether on social media or through in-studio displays, put their enthusiastic reviews into marketing materials and onto the studio website. Incentivize your most devoted clients to refer friends and loved ones to the business Offer a small perk, such as a discounted class pass, for those who review your business on Yelp or Google page The psychology at work The concept of social proof is at play here. It’s an unconscious way in which people validate that they’re in good company, and that they’re doing something they should be doing as proven by the presence of other people also doing that activity. Members exhibit this behavior informally all the time, simply by looking around the room during classes to make sure they’re nailing the moves, but you can amplify this behavior (and harness it to your advantage) by making it clear how much your most loyal customers are enjoying what you have to offer. An early study of social proof, conducted by researcher Solomon Asch in 1962, was executed via hidden camera. An elevator door opened, and inside were several people, all in on the experiment, facing the back of the elevator rather than the doors. Unusual behavior, certainly, and yet many of the people who entered the elevator did the same thing, though they were clearly confused. That’s the power of social proof, and statistics back it up. of customers read online testimonials before making a purchase of consumers say they trust what a fellow customer says about a business more than what the business says about itself By leveraging social proof, you not only foster a sense of community in your studio, but also build the trust that’s vital to establishing long-standing relationships.
Strategy 4: Make your regulars feel like they have a stake in the business.
Strategy 4: Make your regulars feel like they have a stake in the business. What you may already be doing Making your clients feel welcome and appreciated—but not necessarily personally invested in your studio’s success. How to take it further Invite members with a high probability of sticking around for the long haul—those who have purchased a long-term membership or signed up for numerous training sessions—to test out a new offering, piece of equipment, or class at the studio, and ask them to provide feedback or even participate in a focus group about the studio’s future. You might also consider creating a brand ambassador program, in which clients can help promote the studio on social media in exchange for discounts, classes, or other perks. The psychology at work Psychological research reveals that people who feel personally invested in a particular product or service are more likely to develop an emotional connection to it—and this connection can be surprisingly enduring. If we’re offered a privileged view into a business we frequent, that connection is reinforced even further, and the potential effects are significant. Feelings of ownership can result in what’s known as citizenship and stewardship behaviors, in which a person feels both a commitment and a responsibility to an entity, pledging (however unconsciously) to care for it, stick with it, and continue to invest time and energy into it. These feelings can—you guessed it—translate directly into long-term brand loyalty.
Strategy 5: Remind clients of what they have—and what they stand to lose.
Strategy 5: Remind clients of what they have—and what they stand to lose. What you may already be doing Making your top-notch offerings available to clients, but not being intentional about reminding them that their access to these classes and services may not last forever. How to take it further When offering, for example, a free trial membership at your studio, update the client via text or email at respectful but regular intervals, letting them know how much time remains before their trial period runs out. If you offer a punch-card incentive for a discount, free class, or free training session after a certain number of visits, remind clients after each one how many are left before they hit the magic number, and consider instituting an expiration date on the program—a deadline by which the visits must occur for the incentive to be granted. The psychology at work In 1979, Daniel Kahneman, along with fellow researcher Amos Tversky, identified what is known as loss aversion. This psychological concept—now a key principle in both economic and behavioral sciences—holds that for most of us, the pain of losing out on something is far more compelling than the joy of gaining something new, making our tolerance for risking what we already have low. This principle goes hand in hand with another known as the endowment effect, a cognitive bias that bestows greater value on the things we have, simply because we have them. Here’s how these concepts come together: If I’ve accepted a trial membership at your studio, I have it and I become accustomed to its presence in my life—I value it more highly than I did before I signed up. That’s the endowment effect. But once that trial nears its end, I feel the pain of its theoretical loss, fearing that I’ll miss out on the benefits it brought to my life once it’s gone. That’s loss aversion. By reminding your customers of both the good feelings associated with having access to your studio on a trial basis and the potential for it to be taken away from them if they don’t act soon, you activate the power of these potent psychological principles and spur clients to take action to keep what is theirs.
Strategy 6: Follow up ASAP.
Strategy 6: Follow up ASAP. What you may already be doing Sending thank-you messages for referrals and other high-value behaviors in batches, which go out at set times in a given week or month, or otherwise rewarding customer loyalty in ways that don’t always feel immediate. How to take it further When a client does your business a favor, it’s wise to quicken your response time. So rather than sending out thank-you notes to referring members at the end of each month or week, set a cadence of sending those thank-yous daily. If a customer purchases a block of classes or training sessions, have a small gift ready to be bestowed on the spot—a branded hat or water bottle, for example. If you get a follow on social media, quickly respond with a thank-you DM. The psychology at work People like to repeat behaviors that generate reactions—whatever the reaction may be. This is known as the mere-reaction effect, which illustrates the human desire for a sense of control. We like knowing that what we do has an impact, however small, and when we can see that impact, we continue the behavior. In one study, researchers asked two groups of participants to throw soybeans at targets positioned over a bucket. One bucket’s target was metal and made a sound each time a bean hit the mark. The other target was a sponge, which meant it made no noise when it hit. Both groups were given five minutes and told to throw as many or as few beans as they wanted. The group that got the satisfying ding each time their soybean hit the metal target threw 36 percent more beans than their sponge-hitting counterparts. Why? Because the reaction, the sound, was more enticing than hearing no sound at all. more actions taken after an immediate positive response Here’s the part that’s key to your business: The researchers who conducted this study noted that when it came to using reactions to encourage future behaviors, the timing of the reaction was incredibly important. In short, the closer the reaction was to the initial behavior, the better. That delightful ding of a soybean hitting its target happened instantaneously—and your gestures of customer appreciation should aim to be just as quick.