Sue Sheain, the owner and founder of Beach Barre Body, was looking for a way to connect with her members when “life gets in the way of their fitness” and they couldn’t make it to a physical class. So she partnered with BurnAlong to make her classes available online.
Here, she shares the many benefits of this move, including passive income, increased brand exposure, client retention and more.
CS: How were you introduced to BurnAlong and why did you decide to work with them?
SS: I was introduced to Daniel Freedman, BurnAlong’s co-founder, through one of my “guest barre-tenders” and training providers with whom I was discussing my interest in making my barre classes available online for my clients when they are out of town or otherwise unable to come to our studios for classes — when life gets in the way of their fitness. We immediately understood each other’s business goals and I recognized that BurnAlong met all my needs in creating an online presence quickly and affordably.
CS: How has your studio benefited from this partnership?
SS: I have benefitted from the BurnAlong site’s marketing exposure and have been able to keep my clients engaged in my barre class offerings to be able to workout with their favorite instructors when our studio class schedule doesn’t work for them. More importantly, I am able to reach a multitude of people who would never come to my studio because they are not proximate to either of my locations in Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I have in fact had a BurnAlong user come to my studio while vacationing because they found out about us on BurnAlong and cultivated an affinity for our instructors online to the point that they had to come in person.
I also intend to grow our barre brand into an affordable franchise model for aspiring barre studio owners to be able build out a fully-equipped barre studio within a reasonable budget for a quicker return on their investment, while providing a turnkey business model and system that takes away the often painful and expensive learning curve of starting a new fitness business. BurnAlong offers me national and international exposure of my barre brand for these purposes, as well as a platform to provide an interactive training system for my future franchisees.
CS: How have your members benefited from this partnership?
SS: My clients often travel, but want to keep up their barre practice while away. They also like being able to remotely workout with the people they normally workout with in the studio through the BurnAlong interactive feature that allows up to four people to virtually connect in real time and encourage each other to participate. There is a real accountability to that feature, if a user wants to use it, to invite friends and family to join them in their workout. My classes also reach a greater audience if my clients invite friends and family who don’t normally workout in the studio with them, but who they want to introduce our fitness offerings and share their enthusiasm for our methods and instructors.
CS: What type of ROI have you seen?
SS: Because I simply video existing classes on our studio schedules, my investment has been minimal. So in essence I get paid passively from my BurnAlong views that I already earned an income on in the studio. BurnAlong has clearly functioned to strengthen bonds with my existing clients in offering a virtual option to stay connected to our studio classes wherever life finds them. The platform has also lowered our churn rate by keeping seasonal clients connected to our fitness offerings, while attracting new clients by the fact they can check us out online first to determine if we are a good fit for their workout goals before they choose to come to our studio classes.
CS: How would you describe BurnAlong’s customer service?
SS: My personal experience has been excellent. From the CEO to the marketing people, I can send an email, text or make a call and I get a very timely response — as have my clients who are BurnAlong users. They just want to keep improving the platform so it’s a win-win for everyone. BurnAlong wants to hear what works best for their content providers and what additional technology can attract users to make the experience unique and full service from linking wearables, charting goals/challenges, along with creating a social media component to help the users select content that will meet their fitness goals.
CS: Why should other studio/club owners and operators consider working with BurnAlong?
SS: Increased marketing, a client base worldwide, brand exposure, a secondary source of income, to name a few benefits. I wanted to develop an online presence and they did all the technical work to make that happen. I don’t have to pay to be on the platform. I get paid to be there. I think it’s a no brainer.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
