Give people a free taste of what you do.  You and/or your instructors are your best sales tool.  Once people come in and take part in a class, your teaching skills will keep them coming back.   But what is the most effective way to get people in the door? 

A FREE Class/Session is the most powerful tool in the Yoga Marketing arsenal.  Promoting a free session in your print materials and on your website is the ultimate “lost leader”. 

Tips for your FREE Session

• Promote the freebie on your website and in all print materials
• Require that a student provides his or her email address or phone number to get the session.  This allows you to build a great database for future marketing efforts, and gives you a contact point when you try to retain the student who came in for the free session.
• Don’t be afraid.  Remember, the road is littered with failed Yoga businesses that tried to drain every last cent out of their students.  Giving away a class is spending money to make money!

And don’t stop there!  The Free class Philosophy can extend beyond the introductory gift.  Offer packages like “Buy 3 classes get 1 Free” or “Buy 11 months, get the 12^th Free”.  While it is true you will be giving away product, the added revenue may make it well worth your while (especially if you’re class attendance is lower than you would like it to be). 

Develop a Refer-A-Friend Program.  One of the most powerful, cost effective ways to generate sales is a referral program.  What’s great about a program like this is that you’re letting your satisfied customers do the marketing for you – with little or no marketing spend! 

Here are some tips for developing an outstanding referral program:

• Incentivize the referrer.  Give the customer who brings in more business for you something special such as free yoga classes, mats or apparel.  Or think outside the box and give them gift cards to their favorite neighborhood restaurants or movie tickets.   (These types of rewards can pay off doubly – they’ll think of your business positively when they get the reward AND when they use it!)  When you think about the cost of acquiring a new customer, these types of perks are a bargain.  Remember, when it comes to referral programs, the more you give – the more you get! 
• Educate your new “sales reps”.  Make it easy for the referrer to spread the word about your business.   Come up with a quick pitch – an elevator speech – that really sells the benefits of your business.  Next, make sure this phrase is EVERYWHERE – in your emails, on your flyers, coupons, and signs so that every existing customer will know it like the back of their hand.   The more your customers know how to sell your business – the better they will be at bringing in new people.
• Heavily promote your referral program.  For maximum success get the word out everywhere about your referral program.  Think outside the box, adding it to all your various outgoing media and telling everyone who will listen about the benefits of the program.  For web-based or email referral programs, work with a professional to develop a web page that lets the customer enter their friend’s email addresses — then, with the click of the mouse send out a pre-formed message promoting your business.   

Be creative with your online refer-a-friend program!   Web and Email marketing professionals can help you develop outstanding referral emails that really get results – as well as web pages that look great AND function flawlessly.