Why Random Marketing Won’t Grow Your Pilates Studio (and What to Do Instead)

 In this episode of The Pilates Business Podcast, host Seran Glanfield shares how to move from scattered, last-minute marketing efforts to a streamlined system that works on autopilot. If you’ve ever felt like your social posts, emails, and promotions were random acts of marketing — taking your time but not bringing in consistent clients — this conversation is your wake-up call.

Seran breaks down the essential structure of a marketing engine that consistently attracts, nurtures, and converts clients while giving you back your time and sanity. Discover how to build systems that run smoothly behind the scenes so your Pilates studio or boutique fitness business grows sustainably — even when you’re not online 24/7.

Learn more about Thrive at www.springthree.com/thrive

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Chapters

• 0:57 The Problem: Random Acts of Marketing
• 3:16 Defining the Chaos and Its Costs
• 7:23 From One-Offs to Ongoing Systems
• 9:46 The Three Pillars: Attract, Nurture, Convert
• 13:16 What “Autopilot” Really Means
• 16:52 Planning Ahead and Measuring Impact
• 19:59 Stepping Into the CEO Role

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Have you ever felt like your marketing is a series of random experiments, a social post here, a last-minute email there, and sometimes you're just hoping it adds up to more clients and more revenue, more profit. Well, let me tell you, you are not alone. So many business owners are relying on perhaps what I call random acts of marketing, those very well-intentioned, but mostly one-off efforts that take time and energy, but maybe don't produce the results that you really want. So in today's episode, I'm talking all about how to move from that perhaps scattered approach to building a marketing system that runs almost on autopilot, bringing in new amazing clients, nurturing the relationships you have with your existing clients, and consistently filling your schedule and your classes without you constantly pushing and pushing. So if you've ever wished that marketing could just feel a little bit easier, then this episode is for you. Well, hi there, I'm Sarah 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. Well, hey there and welcome back to the Pilates Business Podcast. I'm Sarah Glamfield and I help studio owners all over the world just like you to build and grow thriving and profitable studio businesses without burning out. Now, I've worked with hundreds of studio owners, all of them passionate about their movement practice that they teach in their studios, whether that's Pilates or bar or yoga, but they're also equally as passionate about not spending every waking minute on their business and their marketing. And the truth is that most of the studio owners that I meet aren't actually doing less marketing than successful studios. They're often doing it without a system. It feels chaotic, it feels exhausting, they're posting sporadically on social media, sending the occasional email when they have time, or maybe just running promotions when things are desperate, when things feel slow. But when you don't have that clear strategy, those efforts uh never compound. So it's like watering your plants only when you remember. And I am a hundred percent guilty of that, right? And in that case, they stay alive, but they do look a little bit tired.

unknown: 3:01

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 3:01

So I want to shift the way that you think about marketing in your business because it's not always about doing more. Sometimes maybe, and it's sometimes about just doing it right, right? Taking that hour or two hours that you might dedicate to marketing and using it in a very strategic way. So I'm gonna talk a little bit about why these sort of and racks and random acts, what did I just say, random acts of marketing are costing you. Um, I want to talk a little bit about some of the mindset shifts that we have to make in order to step into that role of becoming the chief marketer of our business and doing it in a way that is extremely efficient and effective. And then what it looks like to have a marketing engine that runs, perhaps quite literally, on autopilot. So let's start with the what we what I mean by when I say random acts of marketing. And this is, I would say, probably what most people are doing. I'll be honest, if you're in this, in this, in this feeling this is sort of somewhat what you do, it is totally normal to be in this situation. Um, you know, you don't start a business perhaps with that marketing plan, all of your campaigns and all of your assets and all of your promotions completely dialed in, right? And so to some degree, we're all moving forward and adjusting and adapting. But for those of you who feel like all you do is react and all you do is perhaps post very randomly, then I want to invite you into perhaps a bit of a different way of doing things. And so if you're feeling like you are reacting and not feeling like you're in control, you're not planning, or perhaps you post just because you haven't done it in a while and you're like feeling like it's time, or you send an email because you saw that you had a gap in your schedule and it's kind of been on your to-do list for a few weeks, or maybe you throw together that promotion because maybe your studio has been feeling a little bit slow. The problem with running your marketing in that way is that there's no rhythm to it, there's no system to it, there's no predictability to it. And it probably feels like you're always marketing, but never really getting traction. And the worst part is that this sort of inconsistency doesn't just make your life harder, it actually doesn't help you to build a strong and solid relationship between your brand and your clients, right? Imagine if you're you walked into a studio that changed its class schedule every single week, right? It would be really hard to build a routine around going there about knowing what to expect from them, right? And so you probably would find over time that you'd sort of be wonder what's going on, right? And your clients might feel the same way about some of your marketing efforts is if there is an extreme lack of consistency. Now, I very rarely see that happen, but it might be the case. And if it is, when you are in that, when you are in that kind of state of of doing things, um, your clients can't really predict how or when they will hear from you. They don't really understand your methods of communication, and they might even end up tuning out altogether. And so marketing isn't, well, I would invite you to think about it as not a series of one-off activities, right? So if you're thinking about, or I should say, what happens often is that I'll we'll speak to studio owners and we'll talk about their marketing and I'll ask them, you know, what they're doing right now or how they're promoting something in their studio, and they'll tell me, oh, well, I sent an email about that last week or three weeks ago, you know. And to me, that is that is sort of an example of sort of the one-off approach where you send an email, you said it once, you feel like you've checked the box and you've moved on to the next thing. And unfortunately, in the world that we're in today, where we are bombarded with information, but we also expect to be served information. Um, we don't rely, we we rely on the uh those outbound activities from businesses to keep us engaged almost, um, that we need to be more repetitive and uh consistent with our marketing and our messaging. And so it should not be about that one-off email. It should be um there should be a system in place for leveraging all the different ways that we can uh showcase our businesses, whether that's the class that we are adding to the schedule or opening a new location. We want a system in place for building those relationships, for driving the perception of our brand. And once we start to see marketing as less of that one-off sort of communication and more of an ongoing conversation or versus a list of tasks, then things really start to shift, right? And so we want to think of marketing as a system, not as an event. Okay. So what does that system look like? Well, you want to think of it as a little bit like the way that you program your classes or your sessions with your clients, right? You don't just show up and teach random stuff, right? And and and just then leave, right? You you think about the flow of a class, you think about the way that the different movements build on each other, the patterns, um, you know, and that whole process and at a very basic level, you know, without getting into the details, you know, it starts up usually with some sort of you're moving to warm up the body first, right? You go through a flow of different exercises, and then towards the end, there is some ending that sort of wraps up the experience. Okay. Marketing works the same way. So instead of posting or emailing when you have time, okay, we want to implement more of a rhythm into the the this process. Um, and we want to think about um really on sort of three different levels. Number one is we want to think about consistent ways to attract new people into your business. This is your lead generation, okay? And we want this to be very consistent marketing efforts. Okay. We can't just do this when things get slow. We do need to be very consistent about our marketing efforts. This is honestly one of the challenges that most people have because you're wearing a lot of hats. And so when I work with my studio owners in Setter Thrive, we help you to implement that kind of pattern and what that looks like in your studio business for what you're trying to achieve and for your unique goals. So, first we need to have strategies and tactics in place on a very consistent basis to get new clients in. Then we want to develop those simple processes for nurturing your clients. There's a lot of different touch points that you have at your fingertips in your business today that can help you to deepen the relationships that you have with your clients. And we want to utilize all of those different touch points to make sure that our relationship with our clients is as robust and as strong as possible. What I find is that there is always opportunity here for studios to do to improve what they're already doing in a lot of different ways, which is always super exciting to dive into, for me at least. And then we also want to make sure that you have a very clear path to converting people from just looking into that long-term loyal clients. And this is your customer journey. I talk about it a lot. If you're inside of Thrive, you will have heard me talk about this. We do it, we cover it in our trainings on a very regular basis. And it is that step-by-step path to taking people from just looking, from that perhaps trial or introductory offer, or even preceding that and then before that, into becoming not just not just buying that first package, but actually becoming a very loyal long-term member. And we're looking at retention for over a year in an ideal scenario. So when we have a rhythm around those, these sort of these elements, then it allows your marketing to sort of compound. And we like compounding, right? Because then every post, every email, every event, they're not just random, they are connected. And it gets super exciting because when you connect these pieces together, right? Uh, that's when we start to see your marketing kind of efforts start to work even when you are not actively doing it. And that's when it starts to feel like it's running on autopilot. So the shift is from that sort of very reactive hustle. Oh my gosh, I have to get it done, check the box, move on, to a more perhaps a better energy around it that might feel more aligned with what you want your marketing to feel like, which is not what should I post this week and what should I say, but how does this fit into my bigger goals, my bigger story and where I'm heading in my business and what my I want my business to be able to do. So we really care about that. So the next part of this is let's talk a little bit about what marketing on autopilot really means. Because I do want to make sure that we are not perhaps not getting some some ideas that aren't quite accurate here, right? And I want to make sure I'm I'm just, you know, any misconceptions, I'm really clear about what that looks like. Because it does not mean that you never show up. Okay. Um, and I think a lot of people, um, when we delegate marketing or when we don't want to be doing our marketing all the time, that's the first thing we do is we just hand it off to somebody else thinking, okay, someone else can take care of it. I don't have to think about it. But the reality is, is that as the CEO of your business, you oversee all of these different components in your business. You oversee teaching quality. Absolutely, yes. You oversee what software you're using in your business. You oversee how you hire and train your team. You oversee what's on the schedule and you oversee your marketing efforts as well as all of the other things I know you have bouncing around in your head right now, the things that you or different hats that you're wearing. So it doesn't mean that you don't show up or care about your marketing or your teacher quality or how you're gonna get that next client or whether you're gonna participate in that local event. It means that you've built systems to help you handle the quantity of um activities that your business needs you to oversee and needs to happen in your business. Okay. So you've got systems and processes in place around all of these different elements in your business to do the heavy lifting for you. So, what that looks like when it comes to your marketing is perhaps you utilizing those fabulous automations that you have at your fingertips and not just clicking them on, but actually taking the time to fine-tune the messaging inside of them. Maybe it is up-leveling or upgrading your referral program that keeps people bringing their friends in without you needing to constantly chase and feel like you're being desperate about it. Or maybe it's having a plan for your marketing for the next quarter or maybe even the next year that gives your efforts some structure and some focus and some predictability so that you can plan ahead. And instead of being on the back foot, right, or a step behind or in reactive mode, you are looking forward, you're leaning into the next phase and you're excited for what's to come. And the beauty of a system like this, truly, is you are no longer guessing. You know exactly what is happening in your marketing, you know exactly what you're doing to get new clients, to build those relationships, to drive visibility and to retain your clients. And you can also measure its impact. So it's not about necessarily doing more. It is often about doing what is smart and doing what your business most needs most uniquely. Okay. Being more consistent, being able to plan ahead. And it's that consistency that really builds trust because it gives you the, as you said, the plan will give you the space to really get very, very intentional about what you want to do with all of your marketing efforts. So it doesn't feel like you're just slapping up a post because you have to or send an email because you have to, but you are actually using that tool to with a goal and a purpose that is meaningful to you. So when your marketing runs an autopilot like this, and this is what I helped studio owners to do in Sat of Thrive, what happens is you find you have breathing space, you get your time back, right? And you stop chasing and you stop comparing and you stop scrambling. And you can focus on the things that actually move your business forward. And it gets exciting. And what happens is I see that shift from feeling a little bit perhaps behind the ball, right? Um, uh behind where they want to be, to the place where you feel excited and you're kind of like, oh, that's fun. I could give that a shot, or I might try that, or I can see there's an opportunity in my business. And when you have that kind of energy and you show up and you see opportunities in your business for growth, whether that's revenue growth, whether that's improvement in your processes and streamline your operations, that energy really drives you forward and it trickles down across all parts of your business, which is so exciting for me to see and so exciting for my studio owners to be a part of, right? To be involved in, to be doing. So it's really exciting when you can focus on the things that you really want to focus on and you have a plan for how you're gonna do that. Okay. And the ultimate goal from that I would like to give to you, uh, if you're willing to take it on, is that you build a studio that doesn't depend on you doing everything to keep growing, right? We want you, I want you to um to have that ability to scale and to be able to step out and take a vacation and take time off. And especially perhaps this time of year, look forward to enjoying the holiday season, knowing that everything is running smoothly and all of these systems you have in place are bringing in new clients consistently and nurturing your clients consistently and creating those loyal members of your community that you really, really want, right? So you finally then can step into that role of CEO, right? And not just be an instructor in your business that is sort of working alongside other teachers, other instructors in your business in the weeds. You can step up into that role where you have that plan, you see opportunities, and you're able to truly experience that potential that exists in your business. So let's recap because I kind of went off on a little bit of a tangent there. I so love systems. Um, if your marketing feels inconsistent, right? If it's exhausting for you right now, or you feel like it's at kind of random, you're not really sure, it feels chaotic, it's not because you're bad at it. Okay. It's just because perhaps you don't have a plan and you don't have structure and you're trying to do it all without a system. Okay. And the sh the shift is simple, um, but it's really powerful. Instead of treating marketing like a set of one-off tasks, see it as a structured system that is designed to build relationships over time. And when you make that shift, truly your marketing starts working for you, even when you are not at the studio. And so if you'd like to stop spinning your wheels and finally build a marketing system that runs on autopilot, I would love to help you inside my business coaching program Thrive. In Thrive, I help Boutique Fitness Studio Owners design sustainable systems for marketing, operations, and leadership so you can grow a profitable business and reclaim your time. You can learn more at springthree.com forward slash thrive because I want to see you grow your business, your studio, more easily and not from a place of chaos. It's totally possible. All right, you guys, thank you so much for tuning in this week. I'm so excited to share this episode with you. I'll be back, same time, same place next week. Until then, have a fabulous rest of your week. 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.