Data to Make Decisions
/Today in Office Hours I’m going to talk about data and numbers.
Don’t click away or pause the button because you are thinking boring who wants to look at data.
Data and numbers can be sexy:0
Well maybe sexy is an overstatement but when you learn to read data and can use that data to make decisions in your business you will feel empowered and more importantly like you are making informed decisions and as result progress rather than just hopping from one experiment to another not sure if it attracted new students or not.
So stick with me for today’s training where I am literally going to walk you through two different campaigns I ran to attract new clients to my studio and by looking at the data I could decide which was the most cost-effective way to attract new clients.
I will walk you through two different campaigns, how much I spent on advertising and how many students I attracted, but more importantly how much those students then went on to spend, because that’s what matters, having the students stick around, not just come for a free class and then disappear.
Campaign 1.
I did a Facebook ad offering new students to sign up for a free class at a specific time and date. This was important because it made the ad offer have some urgency for them to click on it because the class was within the week. When there is an end date or a specific date for your event, click rates will be higher than just offering a free class pass they can take any time. There needs to be some urgency in your offer.
Everyone who signed up for the free class was sent a reminder email the day before the class to remind them to attend it. It is one thing them clicking a button that they want to come to the class, it is another thing them actually getting off the couch and coming. You need to take all measures in the campaign to get them to take up your offer.
I taught the special class I had created on my timetable specific for these new students and then at the end of the class before they packed up their mats and left I offered them a special discounted pass they could not refuse.
You might think I can’t let them roll up and over from savasana and sell them something. Yes, you can, it is the best moment, they are feeling amazing from the class, they want to do it more and they need prompts every step in the campaign to take action.
There is a gentle and supportive way to sell a pass at the end of the class.
I spent $428 on FB advertising, I had 22 new students come to the studio (this does not include those who signed up but didn’t come to the class, which was quite a few) so from that, I determine it is costing me $19 in advertising / new student.
At the end of the class when I offer a month of unlimited class for $59 and everyone takes it, I have just made $40/student. Yes, the first month they are not paying for their classes essentially but we have them in the studio and have made a monthly commitment to the studio right. This is called a loss leader. What matters is the lifetime income from the student, not their first purchase.
What is important is to cover your advertising costs at a minimum.
Campaign 2.
I did a Facebook ad offering their first class free and they could try any class on the timetable that suited them. They just had to sign up, claim their free class pass and they could use it to attend any class anytime within 7 days.
Now with this group, they all get a reminder email to use the free class pass within 7 days before it expires.
My Ad spend for this campaign was $338, I attracted 28 new students to the studio so that is $12/student and you might think I’m doing better than the $19 for the previous campaign, however, there was virtually no further sales because after their first class they just walked out the door, my teachers are yoga teachers not sale and marketing staff and don’t think to follow up with the students after their first class.
If I were the teacher and noticed a new student I would ask them after the class if they enjoyed it and then proceed to offer them another pass.
Thankfully I have all their emails and can see who used the free pass who came again whose expired and I can send individual emails to each of those different groups to follow them up depending on where they got to.
Time-consuming, yes but I am not going to let them slip through the gaps, I paid for them to come to a class, so I want to make a few more opportunities for them to come back with emails offering them some specials.
As a result, I have not made my money back on my ad spend which is key to deciding which campaign is most effective or what needs to be tweaked with each method for better results.
I could choose to train my teachers to sell because having a campaign that hums in the background is great.
Or I can choose to keep running the first campaign with the extra work.
My point is one did better than another but I am not just going to abandon it. I’m going to make decisions moving forward that are informed by my numbers, results, workload, etc.
In all of this what is critical, is knowing my numbers.
I have done it myself and warn against trying something, thinking a few people sign up, it didn’t meet your expectations and you think it failed and then you just drop it and move on to the next fad.
NO, the data will tell you and give you the information you need to tweak and make better decisions depending on your results NOT what you think happened.
So my advice today is that for whatever you are doing to attract new students make sure you do an evaluation and look at the numbers and data and act from there.
Often it is just a tweak and touch-up, don’t throw the baby put with the bathwater because it failed, or rather didn’t meet your expectations.
If you liked what you heard and want more tips like this come and join my private Facebook group Yogandbusiness where yoga teachers from around the world are gathered to support each other in the business of yoga.