Pilates Business Podcast

The Hidden Reason Your Referral Program Isn’t Working (It’s Not What You Think)

• Seran Glanfield • Season 23 • Episode 221

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In this episode of The Pilates Business Podcast, host Seran Glanfield uncovers one of the biggest myths in boutique fitness marketing: that happy clients will naturally refer their friends. While word-of-mouth is the holy grail of marketing for Pilates and boutique fitness studios, relying on "hope" alone isn’t a strategy.

Seran breaks down the real reasons referral programs often flop — and exactly what you need to do to create a referral strategy that is clear, compelling, and consistent. From making referrals frictionless to building a culture of connection and belonging, Seran shares the powerful mindset and systems shifts that can turn your loyal members into your most valuable marketing asset.

Whether you’ve got a half-baked referral program or none at all, this episode will give you the framework you need to increase brand awareness, drive more leads, and grow your boutique fitness business with ease.


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Speaker 1:

Have you ever looked around the studio and seen all these happy, smiling faces and thought these clients just love it here, but why aren't they bringing more of their friends? I know you've got loyal members. I know you've got some raving fans. I know you've got clients that show up every single week, yet maybe referrals are inconsistent or even non-existent. And the truth is what I've seen, having coached for decades, is that happy clients doesn't necessarily equal growth, unless you have a little bit more to your referral program than hope. So in this episode we're unpacking why it is that many boutique fitness studios struggle to really generate very consistent leads from word of mouth marketing and how to create a strategy that really supports increasing brand awareness through referrals.

Speaker 2:

Well, hi there, I'm Saren Glanfield. I'm a business and marketing strategist just for boutique fitness studio owners like you. 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.

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the Pilates Business Podcast. I'm Saren Glanfield and I'm so thrilled that you're here with me today. I just hit end call on my weekly live call with my Thrive group and, as usual, we have a very healthy conversation about all sorts of different things. But I wanted to hop on here and talk to you about one thing that does come up really very, very regularly monthly at least and that is referral programs and referral strategies. And I know that you know as well as I know that we love word of mouth marketing. I think it is the best type of marketing. It means so much to you but also means that you're probably getting people in the door who are already ready to say yes, to sign up and to dive in and get going and commit, and we love that. They're the best kind of clients. They're enthusiastic, they are energized, they are ready to commit to one or two or even three classes or sessions a week, and that's because they've heard great things about you from their friend. That's because their friend has probably shared some insight with them about what happens in the studio or even some of the things that they have experienced as being your client, some of the things that they have enjoyed about being your client. That is probably rich with emotion and feeling and detail, right. And so one of the things that comes up often in our calls is okay, I know my clients love me and when I get referrals they're the best kind of people to get in the door. So how do I get more of them? And maybe the next kind of part of this is why aren't more of my clients referring their friends? Why aren't they bringing them in and I get it? It probably feels like it should be happening.

Speaker 1:

Naturally, you've created something wonderful and magical inside of your studio. You see it every day. You've got happy, loyal clients, and so you're probably wondering shouldn't that referral program just kind of take care of itself? And the reality is, is that? No, not without intention, and the truth is that you know this might sting a little, you guys.

Speaker 1:

So you know, sorry, but referrals just don't happen because people are happy. They don't just happen because people are happy. They happen because there's a clear process and clear intention behind that referral strategy that makes it easy and exciting and rewarding for your clients to share what they love about your studio with their friends. So I'm going to take you on a little bit of a journey today. I wanted to share with you a story about a studio owner that I have been working with recently. We're going to call her Claire, because I'm not actually working with any studio owners called Claire right now, and I wanted to share this story with you without revealing the studio owner themselves in case they're listening, because you probably are. But this studio owner, um, wonderful, amazing, ambitious, lovely human, so much passion for what they do, has a fantastic, solid business and they have a wait list for many of their classes, has a really solid community that is warm and just shows up right with the best of intentions, but there's not a steady stream of referrals. Those clients are sort of keeping the studio to themselves a little bit, and so you know, claire came into one of our sessions recently and said you know, I don't know why my clients aren't bringing me, their friends. No one's referring anyone to me right now and I know this is a good opportunity. There will be a good opportunity for growth for me if I could figure out how to make it work. And the reality is is that Claire did have a referral program, right, she had mentioned it here and there and she was wondering, you know really why that wasn't getting referrals, is the question. And what was happening was that she was doing something, but not consistently or strategically an email here and there, you know a little line in the newsletter, right, maybe she would mention every now and again and very sporadically, that you know that someone could bring a friend often to you know, perhaps a new client early on in their, you know, experience. And so it was a very sort of haphazard and program, or if you could even call it that, and without a lot of intention behind it and also perhaps a bit lacking some transparency about what that referral program really is. And this might feel familiar to many of you, because I find that this is very, very common, which is one of the reasons I wanted to talk about it today. But the reality is is is that there's a bit of a shift that happens when we kind of come to the realization that referrals don't happen because your clients are happy. They happen because you've created a system to make them happy. Okay, sorry, a system to make them happen. Okay, I just also recorded a podcast, you guys, about why you should build your schedule around your energy and the afternoons clearly are not the best time for me to record a podcast.

Speaker 1:

But, coming back to full circle, referrals happen because you've built a system to make them happen. And the reality is your clients certainly want to refer to you, they love you, they do want to refer you to their friends, but if there's no plan, there's no prompting them and there's no encouragement, there's no reminder, it probably just won't happen. And it's not because there's anything you're doing wrong in their experience. It's just that when they leave your studio they're thinking about what else they have on their to-do list and you know referring their friends to your studio probably isn't that top of that list. So the question I have for you, as you're listening here today, is are you relying on hope to get referrals on just the TLC from your clients, or do you have a process in place? And the reality is is that hope is not a scalable solution. It's not a strategy, but having a system is, and so let's talk a little bit about what that looks like Now. When Claire worked a little bit on her referral program Initially, like I mentioned, it was not that successful and most programs fail.

Speaker 1:

Most referral programs fail because of three things they're not clear, in that they're not really clear about what the reward is, if there is one, what the incentive is if there is one, how a member should refer a friend. So there's just no clarity around what it is that your referral program actually is. The second reason is that they're not typically very compelling. So why should your member, why should a client care about making a referral to you? What is it? What is it that isn't is is encouraging them to do that.

Speaker 1:

And I think the final part of it, which is the most common, I will say, is that the program promotion, or the promotion of your referral program, is very inconsistent. There is not a lot of repetition around whether or not you have one, if it is open-ended, if it is fixed, is it just for this week? And so what happens is that these referral programs tend to just sort of sit in the background, very, very, very quietly right, and what I would, I encourage you to do, is to bring it to the forefront of your strategy, because that referral program is a promotion, just like perhaps your Black Friday promotion is, and just think about how much emphasis and attention you put on that Black Friday promotion. Right? And every promotion needs marketing, and that means a marketing message that is easy to understand and something that feels exciting and regular, repeated exposure that makes it memorable to your clients, right? So one of the very first things that Claire did differently was that she actually started talking about her referral program, right, like she talked about her newest teacher or her newest class or you know, that favorite smoothie that she started making recently. And with that energy and that intention and that confidence, guess what happened? People started paying attention and slowly but surely, she started to see a little bit of a shift happening with the types of and slowly but surely, she started to see a little bit of a shift happening with the types of clients, the new clients that were coming in the door. Okay, so it's about the energy A lot of it is about the energy that you put into this program.

Speaker 1:

Now, the second part of this that I get asked about is okay. So how much of a discount should I give or how much should I reward my clients? And you know, I think that there's a lot of there's an old school mentality around this and the old school way of doing things in that you know, I will give you my honest opinion about is was that, you know, if a client came, if a new client came in, and they mentioned a member's name and that new client went through the intro offer and then went on to buy, I say, a 10-pack of classes, only after that sort of second purchase, that 10-pack purchase, that larger purchase, did your member get any sort of a reward. And typically, typically, the approach was that if you promoted that your members get a reward of some sort maybe it's a free session or free class or a discount off of their next package that that would be enough for this referral program to be successful and to generate all these new leads. And the reality is is that you know that's not my favorite approach, can you tell? Because your members are not paid on commission to be your salespeople. And so, while that might feel like an easy, quick way to make sure your members are perhaps bringing you their clients, the reality is that because it's not that compelling, because it is not promoted frequently, because it just falls off of the radar of your clients, they're not even aware that that's even what your referral program may be.

Speaker 1:

But even beyond that, and if we sort of evolve that strategy and make it a little more sophisticated and build it into what should be a really thorough customer journey that leads people into your business, guides them into your business, pulls them into your business and then leads them towards a next sale, it is really on you as the business owner and the studio owner to create that experience such that it is high converting. And so if we cannot only reward our members for being so generous and thoughtful about bringing their clients in, if we are not also doing our bit to support that experience as well, right, and this is why the really big reason why traditional programs that look like that tend to fail is because it is down to the the. The reason they client will convert is not because their friend told them to come, it's because of the experience that they're going to have in your studio. So we want to make sure that we are giving an acknowledgement to your members for simply bringing someone to the door right, and anyone who comes to the door that is a referral is going to be a much warmer lead than someone who is not. And that means that we want to be perhaps a little bit more thoughtful about how we reward or and incentivize our members to bring their friends, because they're not just transactional for your clients. There's more to it than that they're making a recommendation. It than that they're making a recommendation. And so they want to make a recommendation because they not just love what you have done for them, but because they want. They want to share you with others, because they just think you guys are the best. Right. And you know, we see in some businesses that referral programs create incentive. But for the most part, your clients are going to refer because they feel they want to refer, because they want to feel like they're being helpful to their friends, they want to feel like they want to be generous to them with helping them to feel better and experience what they are experiencing as well.

Speaker 1:

So what we found is that referrals aren't just about the discounts for your members. It's also about that identity right. And so Claire also reframed her approach to tap into that sort of emotional part of it and she built out her client experience and she built out the culture of community within her studio so that she was able to reward her top referrers and she made them feel extra special in lots of different ways. Now Claire decided to give them sort of these special perks in her studio, right, she called them sort of like the insiders and they got early access to workshops and so on. But you can have lots of different. There are lots of different ways that you can show appreciation to your clients for bringing in a friend, and it doesn't just have to mean $20 off their next package. And what we find is that the more that you can show that appreciation to them in more than just a monetary discount, the better your the referrals will be, the stronger they will be as leads into your business and the deeper the relationship will be. The stronger they will be as leads into your business and the deeper the relationship will be with your clients.

Speaker 1:

Now, what we often find too is that these referral programs because there are these multiple purchases that might be required before your member gets paid and all this stuff gets really complicated. No one remembers, no one cares. We want to make it really simple for people to refer a friend. And this is where it all really clicked for Claire. She realized that even when clients wanted to refer, it was just too much work, right, and they didn't know what to say, how to explain the pricing. They weren't sure if they were getting a special discount or not, or even how they should book their friend in for a trial, and if they came with a guest pass or not. So clear, just made it simple.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and this is really, I think, depending on the way that you set up your business, your business model, what you offer in your studio, but also the software that you have available to you, there are lots of different ways that you can really simplify your referral program and you want it to be as transparent and as simple as possible, right, and so it can just be saying the name of another member on the intake form. It can be sharing a one-click, clickable, shareable link. It can perhaps a buddy pass or a guest pass that you give to your members to share with their, their friends. So there's a lot of different ways, but you do want to make it as simple as possible, because referrals should really be completely frictionless, right? Like you know, imagine you wanted to share, like the playlist, with your friends. You can just click that little button that says share. If you want to share that, you know that Amazon purchase that your friend said, hey, where'd you get that from? I need some of those. You go to Amazon and you click share. You want to make it as simple as that, because the world that we're living in today, that's kind of what's expected right Now.

Speaker 1:

What really makes the biggest difference in the studios like Clear Studio is that we stop seeing referrals like a one-off event and instead start making them part of the culture. So you integrate the idea of bringing in friends throughout the customer journey as part of perhaps a sort of a key pillar of your community. Maybe you start inviting your members in the early days of their journey in your studio to bring in their friends. Maybe you host events specifically for your members to bring their friends. Maybe you celebrate when your members bring in their friends just happen very sporadically, occasionally and just out of luck or hope. They happen because you are creating energy within your studio that supports that type of activity. Right, and you know what I see time and time again in the world that we are in today and how sort of our behavior we're seeing is shifting when it comes to movement and boutique fitness is that people like to move with their friends. This is an activity, a shared activity, a shared experience that people love to share with their friends, and so the more that you can create that culture where that is something that happens very organically, that you encourage in your studio, then the more you will see that happen. And so this isn't just a referral program that sits on a dusty shelf somewhere quietly waiting. This is something that you're being re-proactive about in your studio. And so what Claire found was, when she made these shifts and made these changes and invested in the community that she had, that they became her best marketing asset, right? And so what would it look like for you if you made some of these changes and your studio was a community of friends, of friends, of friends and friends who meet the friends of their other friends, who all come to your studio, and how wonderful that would be for the energy and the atmosphere within the four walls of your studio space. So just a quick recap Referrals don't happen just because people are happy.

Speaker 1:

They happen when there's a system in place. Truly, it is about having a system and the majority of the programs fail or don't work because they're inconsistent, they're vague, maybe they're a little bit complicated and maybe they're just not aware. Maybe people are just unaware that they even exist. And what I have found is that these referral strategies, the referrals that are really strong, especially in boutique fitness studios, that there are ones that are built around identity and emotion and collaboration and belonging, not just, you know, a quick $20 off the next class pack, right. And you want to make sure that that process for a member to refer a friend is completely frictionless. So you want to make it simple, always wins, and that you want to make sure that that process for a member to refer a friend is completely frictionless. So you want to make it simple, always wins, and that you want to make it as easy as possible for a client to make a referral, to bring a friend in, right, and finally, that growth happens, truly happens. Great clients will come in the door when those referrals and this referral activity becomes a part of your culture, not something that sort of sits behind the scenes, like I said, on that dusty shelf.

Speaker 1:

So maybe it's time to make some changes and if you want a little bit more help designing a high converting, heart-centered referral strategy that feels really aligned with your brand and the way that you have built your business. That's exactly what we dive into inside of Thrive. Like I said, each and every week we have conversations about topics just like this to help you to make these improvements to your business, and often they're simple but very effective changes that really make the biggest difference. So I hope this was helpful to you. If you are looking to build and grow a boutique fitness studio business, remember your happiest clients are already rooting for you. You just need to give them the tools and the encouragement to spread the word. Until next time, keep leading with purpose and growing your studio with intention, and perhaps a couple more referrals.

Speaker 2:

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.