If you’re the owner of a yoga or fitness studio, a chiropractor’s office, holistic healing practice, or another wellness business, you’re probably well aware of the constant struggle to find and bring in new clients.
New clients are the life-force behind your business.
But, finding those new clients can be difficult.
I asked seven top yoga and wellness business owners what they do to consistently bring in new clients.
Here’s what they had to say.
Christine Burke, Liberation Yoga
Christine Burke is the co-owner/director of Liberation Yoga in Los Angeles, which was named one of the top 25 yoga studios in Travel + Leisure.
“Our greatest experiment in finding just the right students, who will really benefit from what we have to offer, has always been good old fashioned word of mouth,” Christine said.
She continued, “We have thrived for 14 years by offering an authentic and joyful yoga experience and encouraging our community to share the powerful healing benefits of yoga and the sacred oasis of Liberation, with those they care about.”
Finding your dream customers, providing amazing service to them, and then having those customers share your business with people they know — people who are probably very similar to them — is how many businesses in the yoga and wellness space get new clients.
Providing outstanding service to your existing clients is the first way to encourage that word-of-mouth marketing.
If your clients love you and the service you provide to them, they won’t be able to help but tell their friends about you, and word will spread.
You can also encourage customers to review your business on your website, Facebook, Google, Yelp, and other platforms.
Many people rely on reviews to choose the businesses that they frequent, and if someone sees that a friend of theirs likes your business Facebook page, or has left a positive review for you, that will encourage them to check out your business.
Seema Sondhi, The Yoga Studio
Seema Sondhi’s The Yoga Studio in New Delhi, India, was also named one of the top 25 yoga studios around the world by Travel + Leisure — the only studio on the list from India, the birthplace of yoga.
“I have always let my students talk about my classes. The students that I get are usually by word of mouth. And also through my website,” said Seema.
A business’s website is an important piece of the puzzle. If your dream clients can’t find you online, they may not find you at all.
When is the last time your wellness business website has been updated?
Do you post new content there regularly to show your potential clients who you are and what you do?
One way to consistently provide new content to your audience is through a blog on your website.
Seema also said, “I have been teaching for almost 20 years and I can say that be true to the subject and knowledge of yoga [is what brings new clients in consistently].”
Being true to yoga.
Being true to the service you provide. Helping first. Provide value. Be service-oriented.
Having a passion for the service, the offering, that you are providing to your clients is an important piece of the puzzle.
It shows. People can tell if you love what you’re doing.
Seema continued, “I have always tried to make the classes interesting and challenging for the students, yet keeping the essence of yoga. I try and not make the practise monotonous, incorporating and always trying to build their interest in the practise to the point that I make them independent so that they can have their own self practise.”
Think about what your clients need, what they are looking for, and provide that to them.
Seema believes that when a student signs up for her classes, she has a few months to teach that student the basics of yoga so they can continue their own self-practice without her.
She’s trying to give her students the foundations they’ll need to continue on even without her.
She’s learned what her students are looking for, so that’s what she provides.
Tim Feldman, Miami Life Center
Miami Life Center was another yoga studio listed on the Travel + Leisure top 25 in the world.
Tim Feldman and Kino MacGregor founded the center in 2006.
When asked what they do bring new clients in, Tim said, “[Provide] quality of service.”
He continued:
“In this case, having yoga knowledgeable and educated teachers who are thoroughly steeped in the tradition of both yoga asana and the underlying philosophy. Our teachers walk the walk. In this way any new student is met with kindness and taught with a solid understanding and wholesome approach to physical, mental and emotional well-being.”
Miami Life Center is committed to its practice, its philosophy, and tradition of yoga.
But, they also make sure that new students are met with kindness and knowledge from the very beginning, starting at the front desk.
“We see it as cardinal that the yoga journey starts at first contact when a new student walks in,” Tim said.
“That means that our front desk staff practice yoga daily too, that they themselves are students who have found benefit and trust in the yoga method and therefore are able to enthusiastically and accurately describe and guide any person into a class right for her/him, offer advice, and help with whatever questions might be present for the new practitioner.”
A wholehearted commitment to the experience that your students or your clients get from you from beginning to end is critical to bringing in, and keeping, customers.
Kia Miller, Radiant Body Yoga
Named one of the 10 inspiring yoga teachers you should know on DoYouYoga, Kia Miller, said:
“Everywhere I go I share my deep love of yoga.”
Kia taught yoga at a studio, Yogaworks in LA, for 15 years, but now offers immersive trainings and retreats through her business Radiant Body Yoga.
She said she continues to get clients for her business by:
“Being authentic in all my communications. Creating personal connections with people.”
These are both critical pieces to reaching new clients. Be authentic. Be real. Provide real value.
And create personal connections — both in person, but you can also do this online.
Kia added, “I enjoy creating promotional materials both visually and content wise that reflect what I teach. I love reaching out to inspire people on social media.”
Create amazing content that helps people.
Continue your messages that you teach in class or use to help people with your business in your communications online — on your website and your social media sites.
Help people in an authentic and personal way, in whatever method you are using to communicate.
Melissa Kleehammer, Beyond Center for Yoga
“Word-of-mouth hands down,” said Melissa Kleehammer, studio owner and certified instructor at Beyond Center for Yoga in New York.
She continued:
“When I put effort into my training and bringing more into my classes, my students notice and tell their friends.”
When you provide a valuable service that helps people, your clients will notice.
When they see the amazing things you’re doing for them, they can’t help but share your service with others — they want other people to experience the same things that they are and to get the benefits.
Melissa also said, “My close second is sending personal newsletters with a nice message, instead of just promoting events and classes.”
This is a great point as well — Serve First, Sell Later.
Sending email newsletters is the same — make sure that they are not just selling, or promoting your services.
If you are using an email newsletter to communicate with your customers, it should include valuable information that they can learn from and get something out of, not just a promotion.
Meagan Mae, Wellness Entrepreneurs United
“Build community,” is how Meagan Mae, founder of Wellness Entrepreneurs United responded to the question of how she gets new clients.
She said, “As a career and small business coach for inspiring leaders, I build digital communities to bring people together around common interests.”
To build community for her business, Meagan uses Facebook Groups.
“Facebook Groups are a powerful tool to manage a community approach,” she said.
Meagan’s group, the Wellness Entrepreneurs United Facebook Group, has more than 1,000 wellness professionals collaborating to share wellness with the world together.
She said:
“The idea is to connect professionals together to help one another and give them the tools and resources they need to succeed through quality content, connection, and collaboration.”
Depending on the type of business you are running, a Facebook group may also be a good way for you to create community with your audience.
Bre Nourse, Yoga Teacher, Writer, Photographer
“I have found the best way to bring clients in to my business is through responsiveness,” said Bre Nourse, who is a yoga teacher, writer, and photographer.
She said:
“For every email, DM, comment, subscriber, etc., I reach out immediately to personally communicate my gratitude for their message/comment. This practice has led me to a major growth in not only clients but in authentic community engagement.”
This is an amazing practice to get into and continue, even when your wellness business might grow beyond just you.
You or a team member in your business needs to respond to every message you get from a customer or potential customer.
People buy from people.
Your customers or clients want to see that you are a person, someone who can help them, someone who cares about them.
So, respond to their messages, see how you can help them, thank them for joining your email list or Facebook page.
Authentic community engagement can go a long way to grow any business, but especially a business that is trying to help people be well.
Key Takeaways
Bringing new clients in to your wellness business does not need to be difficult or take a lot of extra effort, as these seven wellness business owners showed in their responses.
Here are the six client-getting recommendations these experts recommended:
- Word of Mouth: Be good to your existing clients. Give them an amazing, valuable service, and they won’t be able to help but talk to people about you.
Of course, you can always encourage your customers to share, or even use my Omnipresence Content Marketing technique to help spread the word to the friends of your audience without them having to actually tell their friends. - Be Authentic and True: Especially in the wellness business world. Be authentic with your customers. Provide a great service that you believe in and that will shine through everything that you do.
- Quality Content: A website (even better with regular blog posts), a social media presence, an email newsletter. Several owners mentioned their content as a way to bring in new clients, but providing quality, helpful, valuable content on these platforms is important. Serve first, sell later.
- Share Your Knowledge & Passion: These business owners know the value of the service they provide is in their knowledge and passion they have for the service they’re providing. They make sure that their staff — even front desk staff — are educated and knowledgeable, so they can give their clients the very best service.
They are also passionate about what they do, and they share that passion and love wherever they go. That shines through their businesses and attracts clients.
- Create Personal Connections & Be Responsive: I loved Bre’s response about being responsive to the people that get in touch with her about her business. Respond to questions and comments promptly. Engage in conversations. Make personal connections with your customers. This is good customer service, but also shows people that you are interested in working with them and can help them.
- Build Community: In the yoga and wellness world, community is important. Build community through your social media sites, maybe with a Facebook group, or just on your business page. You can also do this in person with trainings and workshops, and then continue the conversation online with your community after the events. When you have a community, they can help each other, but you also have a built-in audience for your services.
What strategies do you use to bring new clients consistently into your wellness business?
Do you need help finding and attracting more of your dream customers to your wellness business?
I help health and wellness businesses consistently bring in new clients every month using Omnipresence Content Marketing, and I’d love to talk to you about how I can help you reach those dream customers.
Let’s schedule a call to talk about your business.
