The
Toronto Star features local entrepreneur Dana Moore, co-owner of two bustling Toronto hot-yoga studios. Moore, who took over a struggling Queen East yoga studio four years ago, succeeded in doubling the studio's customer retention rate using a combination of clever promotions and personalized customer service. Moore has been so successful that she and new business partner Damien Smith, recently opened another location in Yorkville to keep up with demand.
"...Moore's studio on Queen St. E. has grown from just two to three classes of between five and 15 participants to today's busy schedule of five packed sessions each day with 30 to 40 people."
"We are averaging about 150 people a day, it's packed."
"At Moore's studio, the biggest business challenge is client turnover. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the high heat and novel physical positions the uninitiated must endure during each 90-minute session, the drop-out rate after that first class is extremely high. Most studios see just two out of 10 first-timers return for a second class, Moore says."
"Her big success has been a series of measures designed to double that retention rate."
"We follow up with an email and we call all of our new students the day after," explains Moore, who describes the immediate reaction of most first-timers as "they feel like they got hit by a yoga truck." Quick follow-up is the key to getting them back, she says."
"Usually, they are kind of light-hearted the next day. That's why we wait until the next day. Most often, people have had a really great night's sleep and are enthusiastic. Operating under the assumption that customers will be hooked if they can be convinced to suffer through those first few classes, Moore promotes discounted trial offers and gives regulars various ways to pay � from 10- and 20-class packages that never expire to unlimited year-long memberships. As a result, few customers pay the per-class rate of $18 for a single session."
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Toronto Star