Grow Your Revenue by Getting out of the Box and onto the Mat

The benefits of offering classes at your facility and how to make the leap from the marketing to the technical.

I just finished a yoga teacher certification this summer, so imagine my surprise when I picked up the July issue of Funworld and saw the cover article was none other than Namaste! How Museums Are Attracting New Audiences with Creative Ways to Enhance Guests’ Well-Being. Talk about worlds colliding! I love their idea of using healthy-living classes to introduce new patrons to the art museum.

The article inspired me. How can entertainment and amusement facilities also capitalize on this idea and create a meaningful—and lucrative—set of complementary and alternative activities during off-peak times?

Whether offering yoga, youth camps, fitness classes or another activity altogether, it’s this kind of out-of-the-box thinking that could make a huge impact on your bottom line. Here are answers to a few questions you might be asking if you’re trying to figure out whether or not classes are right for your business.

What are some of the benefits?

If you’re a trampoline park that begins to offer high-impact fitness classes, you’ll naturally draw in like-minded guests who already like the idea of jumping for fitness. Perhaps you operate a waterpark and want to offer yoga next to your lazy river or an FEC and wish to offer a class like Zumba®. Complementary classes are a good way to capitalize on something you’re already known for, whether it’s fitness or fun or both.

Trendy events like sip and paint pottery or a women’s self-defense class could help you draw in new guests who come for a specific event and help strengthen your relationships with existing guests who now visit more often because of your offering.

Alternative events like CPR training and self-defense training, for example, can be great because they add another thread which ties you more closely with your community. People begin to see your facility as a place not just to have fun, but to help meet their community’s needs. This means you’ll likely start to get calls to book fundraising and corporate team events because you demonstrate that you’re a business who cares and you continue to be top of mind.

Where do we start?

You may want to start with one-time events like a specialty class or a fitness workshop so you can spend time working out the kinks and getting great at delivering them. Be sure to check with your insurance providers to learn any unique coverage requirements in your state. In terms of what to pay instructors, some organizations pay a flat fee while others pay per class attendee. Paying an instructor per class attendee can be a good way to get them committed to publicizing the class so that they can earn more revenue, giving you added publicity.

How do I set up a class to sell it?

The CenterEdge Classes Module allows you to set up and schedule your space to offer a one-time class, a controlled series or an ongoing course schedule. As with other capacity-controlled attractions, you can set a maximum number of participants for the space and sell entrance into the class with tickets, cards, wristbands or other access-control media.

Have specific instructors or multiple class offerings? Schedule classes and instructors together and customize class descriptions and instructor bios so that prospective guests can choose the class or session that works best for them.

When selling instore, cashiers can quickly sort classes by date, time or instructor to be able to offer the right classes to your guests.

What if I want to make classes a major offering?

Perhaps you wish to “go big or go home” or have a need for an ongoing class schedule that offers patrons a membership which includes multiple classes, locker rental, merchandise discounts or perks. No problem. Design and implement a membership option and use recurring billing to allow guests to pay monthly and receive all the benefits of your unique program.

How do I manage my class schedule and participants?

Once a class is designed and loaded into your system, communicating with class participants is easy. Send automatic class notifications or export your participant list and notify them about special offers or class updates through email. Selling is easy with historical classes and easy-to-copy schedules. Plus, classes that aren’t available don’t appear on the schedule, so you don’t have to worry about overbooking.

If done well, classes can be a great way to boost revenue and enrich the experiences of your guests. Keep thinking outside the box and you’ll be sure to maximize your space and your facility’s potential. Namaste!

For questions about the Classes Module, contact us at info@centeredgesoftware.com.