In this episode, we're diving deep into a topic that's crucial for studio owners like you - how to tap into the next generation of movement practitioners!
Millennials and Gen-z’ers are reshaping consumer interactions!
In this episode, I’ll explore
Join me as I unlock the secrets to attracting Gen Z’s and Millenials and building a thriving fitness community in your studio!
GRAB YOUR FREE RESOURCE:
The Studio Owner's Guide to MASTERING REELS
📲 Follow Seran on Instagram @seran_spring_three
❤️ Loved this episode? Leave a review - your review helps spread the word about the show and I read each and every one!
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Work with Seran:
🌟 Join the Thrive Membership and get the support and accountability you need as you grow your business
🌟Enroll in the Marketing Intensive and get everything you need to master your marketing and finally build a thriving studio business
Join my FREE FB group - and ask me your biz questions!
🤳 Join the Growing A Studio Business Facebook Community
In this episode, we're diving deep into a topic that's crucial for studio owners like you - how to tap into the next generation of movement practitioners!
Millennials and Gen-z’ers are reshaping consumer interactions!
In this episode, I’ll explore
Join me as I unlock the secrets to attracting Gen Z’s and Millenials and building a thriving fitness community in your studio!
GRAB YOUR FREE RESOURCE:
The Studio Owner's Guide to MASTERING REELS
📲 Follow Seran on Instagram @seran_spring_three
❤️ Loved this episode? Leave a review - your review helps spread the word about the show and I read each and every one!
🎧 Never miss a new episode! Be sure to follow or subscribe to stay up to date
Work with Seran:
🌟 Join the Thrive Membership and get the support and accountability you need as you grow your business
🌟Enroll in the Marketing Intensive and get everything you need to master your marketing and finally build a thriving studio business
Join my FREE FB group - and ask me your biz questions!
🤳 Join the Growing A Studio Business Facebook Community
Is your fitness studio craving the zest and energy of a younger generation. Maybe you'd like to fill some of those spots in your classes with some of that Gen Z and Millennial crowd that you know is excited and motivated to be moving. So the question is how do you bring them into your studio? Well, today I'm going to be giving you the inside scoop on how you can make your studio irresistible to the Millennial and Gen Z crowd. Well, hi there, I'm Sarah in Glanfield. I'm a business and marketing strategist just for boutique fitness studio owners like you. If you're ready to be inspired and make a bigger impact, you're in the right place. All you need are a few key strategies, the right mindset and some support along the way. Join me as I share the real life insights that will help you grow a sustainable and profitable studio. This is the Pilates Business Podcast. Welcome back to the Pilates Business Podcast. I'm Sarah and I'm so happy that you're here with me today.
Speaker 1:I have been drinking a lot of green juice recently and spending a lot of time in a few different studios and enjoying the different types of classes and the different types of atmospheres that every studio has. It's been a really lovely opportunity for me to get into your businesses and to see what's happening on the ground. What's really fascinating for me is to see things from this perspective. Is that what I see and you might not see it being in your shoes, but what I see being in the shoes that I am in is that every studio has its very unique value. With that very unique value and set of core values and their mission and brand promise, you tend to attract a certain client into your business. This often happens very organically and very naturally. Now, often what I get asked from studio owners is how can I fill my classes, how can I fill my sessions with more people, but not just more people, people who are excited about fitness, people who perhaps I know would be excited about this class, but perhaps I can't quite reach. Often, that group of people are the younger generation. We often think about those millennials I get this a lot, too, from many different business owners those millennials, those tech savvy, avocado toast loving people who are now entering into the stage of life where they are perhaps settling down a little bit more and a little bit taking a little bit more time to think about their health and well-being. They're also the generation that is really redefining how businesses interact with consumers. Behind the millennials, the younger generation beyond that, are the Gen Z crowd, who are more active than any other generation at this age, and so if you're wondering how your business can grow and where there might be opportunities for growth in terms of growing your client base, then don't overlook these two demographics, because, truly, this is where we are seeing huge growth opportunities if you know how to tap into those markets. So, before you start Googling, how do I make memes for marketing for millennials?
Speaker 1:Let's just talk a minute about who exactly we're talking about. If you are not aware, millennials are those folks who were born between 1981 and 1996. So they're aged somewhere between like below around 40, 42. That's kind of the upper end, but often when we think of millennials, we think of those who are a little bit younger. But actually, when we're thinking about those folks, the people we're actually talking about are often the Gen Z crowd. These are people who are often known as the Zoomers, and they are the demographic cohort that comes after millennials and precedes Generation Alpha. We're not going to talk about those guys today, but members of the Gen Z crowd, they were born between 1997 and 2012. So they are aged somewhere between 11 to 26.
Speaker 1:So obviously those teens would might not be targeting quite as much, but those folks who are in their early 20s are definitely a demographic that are excited about movement, and these are folks who've grown up with smartphones. These are folks who are spending a lot of time on their phones. Those Gen Zers actually spend up to five hours a day on their phone. But what's really fascinating about this demographic is, while they are spending a lot of time on their screens, they are actually more active than many other prior generations at this age, which is really interesting, and so what we know about this market is that they are very interested in fitness and movement. They are already around 36, 35,. 36% of them are already very, very actively working out at least once per week, and they are doing this already at this point in their life.
Speaker 1:Now, of those people who are working out regularly, about 44% of them are using apps to do that. That's where all that phone time, that screen time, comes from. Partially, a lot of their life is on their phones, so it's no surprise that they are using some of the apps fitness apps out there to supplement, perhaps, what they're doing in person as well. They also like to mix it up with in-studio, outside of studio classes, as well as those apps as well. Now, they are actually already spending a decent amount of money on their fitness. Gen Zers are spending, on average, around $95 a month on fitness, which is pretty significant when you think about that as an average number, obviously, that means that some people are spending far more and obviously some are spending far less. That is a pretty significant amount of money that is sitting out there as a potential for your business. Now, the other thing to know about this crowd, as I've already mentioned, is that they do spend a lot of time on their screen and they are probably not on Facebook. They are more than likely using TikTok, actually, as their primary search engine. So right now I am here bearing still, I guess I'll do a complete review of Slack. Take care Bye.
Speaker 1:What this means for you is that this is a new generation, that we, if you want to tap into this audience, we need to understand them a little bit. We need to understand a bit about where they are, where they're at, where we can find them, and then how we can position your studio to attract them into your studio as the studio that they most want to be a part of, alright, alright. So here's what we need to know about millennials and Gen Z is, when it comes to marketing, authenticity is everything. These guys can smell inauthenticity a mile away. Remember, they grew up on their screens, interacting with their friends. This way, they can spot something that is inauthentic a mile away, alright. So they and they do not respond well to a pushy, hard sell Alright At all. What they respond well to is engaging and captivating content that is value based, that is story based, that they can, they can that really resonates with them and makes them feel connected to you. So, instead of, perhaps, that pitch of here's my one promotion Selling via stories is where you'll find you get more traction with this group, and we're talking about how you can share the transformation your studio offers, the ambiance inside of your studio Right, and so it's not for them.
Speaker 1:It's not just about that class or even that price point or that promotion. It's about the lifestyle this group of people. They buy online a lot, a lot. Okay, so there's huge. They are not as skeptical, perhaps, as as prior generations may well be, about buying something online. They're comfortable buying online, but they will only buy from brands that they believe in, right, and so they have to really connect and trust you before they will buy from you, and they will only connect you and trust you if they understand you and you are able to connect with them in that way.
Speaker 1:Now, the other thing to note about this group of folks is that they are focused not just on the aesthetics of fitness. You know, I know that we talk about this a lot when I work with my studio owners. We talk about, you know, a lot of times. People are focused on that, and that's fine. What we find is that people keep coming back because they love how it makes them feel, and what we know about Gen Zers and Millennials is that they are fully aware of the improvement in mental health that they get from moving their bodies regularly. Right Again, it's perhaps slightly different mentality or attitude towards fitness and movement than prior generations, and so this is something that you can happily incorporate into your marketing to this demographic as much as you can, because this is the group of people who were graduating or through school and high school and college and continued education during the pandemic, and that period of time at that point in their life was hugely impactful and in a very negative way as it was for many folks outside obviously for all of us. But these folks are very aware of mental health as a concern and they're also very aware that movement and staying active is a way to help make sure that they are healthy and happy, not just in body but also in mind. So that's absolutely an area to focus on.
Speaker 1:Okay, now, we know they're on the screens a lot. We know that these folks are pretty sophisticated when it comes to social media and being online, and so if you are trying to tap into that market and you are not active on any social platforms, this is the time to make that change. Social platforms, when it comes to tapping into this market, they're the stage. You have to be there, you have to be active, you have to be engaging, and you know it's about making quality content. Again, they don't. It should be completely authentic. It should not represent anything other than exactly what you do. So there's no stock photos. There's less than perfect pictures.
Speaker 1:Ideally, the millennials and Gen Z is. They want more real content, they want to be able to connect with you and if you want to pull them into your business, then they need to feel safe and comfortable with that, which means that you can't be putting stock pictures in on your social media posts. They're looking for stories, and stories really are the goldmine for giving that sort of behind-the-scenes glimpses into what happens at the studio, perhaps into the lifestyle that all of your clients, helping them understand what they will get out of their sessions with you. So stories is what they want, and so that means videos. Yes, absolutely it means videos, and it means videos in place, so that they are. And so does that mean that you're going to be posting videos onto Facebook? I think probably you're unlikely to tap into this market there. I think that if you really want to tap into the millennial and Gen Z market, you certainly need to be on Instagram and absolutely, more importantly, need to be on TikTok.
Speaker 1:Okay, now, when it comes to the offers, what we know about this demographic is that they are not so good with big commitments. They are not as comfortable in long-term contracts. In fact, what we know is that they often crave that flexibility. They enjoy flexibility, so make sure that you have options in your pricing and packages that meet those needs. What we know is that, from all the data that we have seen millennials and Gen Zers really like to have choice. Choice really is the key word. They want to be able to work out at the hot yoga place and then the next day they want to be able to go and work out in that outdoor boot camp class. They love choice and they like to choose those different workouts. They like to choose new workouts and discover new workouts. What we know is almost 64% of those who actively engage in exercise are looking for choice and enjoy trying new things, so give them the opportunity to do that Now.
Speaker 1:What we also know is that this is a generation that is pretty comfortable sharing their experiences online, which means that once you are able to attract some of these folks into your classes, they're going to be the ones who are going to be posting about your studio and tagging you in it. The more opportunities you can give to this crew to be able to share their selfies in the studio with perhaps that unique hashtag that is associated with your studio, it is a win-win. This user-generated content is powerful social proof for your studio business, and you'll find that the more they post, the more of their friends will see you, and you'll find that this is sort of like this self-perpetuating situation where you'll get more of the same types of clientele coming in, and so they love to share about their life, and so the more opportunities you can give them to do that, the better. All right, so just to recap, I want to give you just a recap on these sort of key points to take away from this conversation today. Number one is this is a group of people who are incredibly active already and a huge opportunity for most studios if you're willing to tap into it.
Speaker 1:When you decide that's what you want to do, you want to make sure that you are 100% authentic with how you present what you do. They can smell in authenticity a mile away, so do not try to pretend to be something that you are not. You might need to brush up on your social media skills to be able to tap into this market. They are sophisticated and they are looking for you to also be that way. In order to reach them and connect with them online, you want to make sure that you have choices for your clients who are in this demographic, so membership models that are relatively flexible and that offer choice is something that they are looking for. And finally, don't overlook that opportunity to create and leverage user-generated content. All right, so there you have it.
Speaker 1:This demographic is not the puzzle. They're often made out to be. Millennials and Gen Zers do present an enormous opportunity for growth in this industry. I have no doubt that as they continue to age, they will only continue to spend more and more of their disposable income on movement and health and wellness and well-being, and they don't want to just attend classes to check the box of doing their 45 minutes of exercise. They are there because they also want to buy into that lifestyle, the vision that you have, and if you lean into some of the strategies that I shared with you today, you're not just optimizing for a particular demographic, but perhaps even for creating a richer and more engaging community for all of your members.
Speaker 1:So I hope this is a helpful, insightful episode for you today and if you enjoyed it, please let me know. And if you enjoyed what you were hearing and would like to hear more about this type of topic, I would love it if you could take a quick minute to rate and review the podcast wherever you're listening to this, so that you can share this with more folks just like you and get the support that they need and that you need to continue to grow in this industry that is ever evolving. Did you love this episode and want more? Head to Spring3.com and check out my free resources that will help you run a profitable and fulfilling studio business. And before you go, one last reminder there is no one way to do what you do, only your way. So whatever it is that you want to do, create or offer, you've got this. Thanks again for joining me today and have a wonderful rest of your day.