The 5 Most Effective Ways to Communicate and Engage Clients with Walla

How, when, what, why—is what your studio communicating to your clients answer that? How will you send the message, when do you want them to open it, what do you want to say, why are you saying it? It’s not a revolutionary concept, but being strategic with your content and the method you use to contact your clients is. And you don’t want too many notifications to impact engagement and brand trust negatively. So how can you use different, fully integrated Walla features to reach out to your community, increase awareness, and influence the likelihood of taking action? 

With two-way text messaging, app announcements, push notifications, and marketing automations, Walla makes it easy to leverage different verticals to boost engagement while keeping your studio top of mind and your clients in the know. From a seasonal fitness challenge to an exclusive membership discount, retail sale, weather and schedule update, or new instructor introduction, Walla’s communication functionality allows you to contact your clients without bombarding or blowing up their phones (or inbox). Here’s how our five different messaging features can help you increase revenue, retention and share the right message at the right time—no matter what you want to say, promote and sell. 

Ding! Create a “dopamine loop” and inspire action with two-way texting*

Fact: 85% of smartphone users prefer texting, and yes, the sound when a text message pops up inherently boosts the feel-good chemical in our brains. Trust us; science has done the research. It’s all about the digital desire for instant information and gratification—and texting a client increases the likelihood of them engaging, so we built that functionality straight into the Walla platform. Here’s why it’s effective and fosters deeper relationships with your studio and brand: 

Convenience: Two-way texting allows for quick and convenient communication between your fitness studio and clients. People are often more likely to respond to text messages promptly than other communication methods like phone calls or emails. It offers a hassle-free way for clients to reach out to your studio and vice versa.

Individualized contact: Texting provides a more personal approach to communication. It enables you to address clients by name, making them feel valued and appreciated. You can tailor messages to individual clients, offer customized promotions and updates, or even send reminders for upcoming classes or appointments, enhancing the overall client experience.

Engagement: Text messages have a higher open and response rate than other forms of communication, building trust, strengthening the client-studio relationship, and providing a sense of urgency. People tend to check their messages promptly, making it easier to engage clients in real-time conversations—and allowing you to provide instant responses to inquiries, provide feedback, or address any concerns promptly.

Motivation: Two-way texting can be used as a tool to engage and motivate clients on their fitness journey. You can send encouraging messages, wellness tips, or even personalized workout plans directly to their phones. This regular interaction keeps clients engaged, reminds them of their fitness goals, and encourages them to stay committed to their fitness routines.

Feedback: Text messages provide a convenient way to collect feedback about a client's studio experience and access testimonials you can market. Try sending satisfaction surveys after classes or ask for suggestions for what they liked and would improve, helping you understand client preferences, identify areas you can optimize, and make informed decisions to enhance your overall studio brand (and even your schedule!).

Walla Team Tip: Want to keep track of a two-way conversation that needs an answer without the message falling down the list? Instantly pin any text message to the top of your inbox so it’s easily accessible and noticeable. Plus, you can also mark any text message as “unread” if it needs to be addressed by another team member, you need to ask a question, or you want to make sure it is seen. Now no text message can be missed, and you can make sure your clients get the answers (and exchange) they want and need.

Open, tap, go! Your clients love to book on the Walla app, so why not engage them there? 

The Walla app for iOS and Android is one of the easiest and most convenient ways for your clients to book classes, appointments, and experiences at your studio in the palm of their hands. It also is the best way to engage them by sharing current studio news, updates, and more on the home screen. You’ve got nothing to lose! And app announcements make your studio look more inviting and appealing and create a reliable source for your community to stay up-to-date on studio news. Here’s how app announcements can boost reliability and brand trust: 

Direct communication: No outside channels needed! App announcements provide a targeted communication channel between your studio and clients. From class cancellations to a schedule change, upcoming retreats, or new yoga mats in stock, by making announcements within the app, you can ensure that the message reaches the intended audience without relying on external factors like email filters or social media algorithms, allowing you to share important updates, news, promotions, or events directly to your clients' smartphones.

Interactive features, instant action: Walla’s app announcements are simple, quick to set up, and offer interactive features that can enhance client engagement. For example, you can include links to classes—even a new blog on your website—in your announcements, encouraging participation and action, even if it’s not an upsell opportunity.  

Exclusive content: The Walla app can serve as a platform to provide exclusive content, deals, and more to your clients via app announcements. You can offer special discounts or access to premium content within the app, creating s a sense of exclusivity and incentivizing clients to engage with the app regularly. By creating and publishing app announcements that are relevant and timely, you can strengthen client loyalty and differentiate your studio from your competitors.

Accessibility: App announcements empower your clients to access relevant and exciting studio information at their fingertips anytime and anywhere. This convenience fosters a seamless user experience and encourages clients to stay engaged with your fitness studio even when not physically present.

Walla Team Tip: You don’t need a link to direct a client somewhere to have an app announcement! App announcements can be anything studio-related, and if you’re unsure about what image to use, try free stock photo tools like Unsplash. App announcements keep your clients in the know and significantly increase engagement and the overall app experience, making it more colorful and inviting! 

The win-back game: Convert, upsell, and engage with the power of push notifications 

Push notifications: The informational pop-up that appears on our mobile devices. And whether we tap on them or constantly wish (or swipe) them away, push notifications have a seven times higher open rate than email. Plus, 40% of opted-in users at your studio will interact with your push notifications within an hour of receiving them. Creating, scheduling, and publishing a push notification in seconds is super seamless with Walla. Here’s why the power of push is, well, powerful: 

Instantaneous communication: Push notifications allow you to deliver messages instantly to your clients' mobile devices, and this real-time communication method ensures that essential updates, announcements, or promotions reach clients promptly. Whether it's a class reminder, a limited-time offer, or a special event, push notifications are built to capture attention and provide time-sensitive information, creating a sense of urgency. 

High visibility: Push notifications appear directly on clients' device screens, making them highly visible and difficult to ignore. Compared to other forms of communication like emails or social media posts, push notifications have a higher chance of being noticed and opened, increasing visibility. And that leads to a boost in engagement rates as clients are more likely to interact with the notification by tapping on it to view the entire message or take the desired action.

Targeted messaging: Push notifications can be personalized and targeted based on client preferences, behavior, or location. By leveraging data from Walla, you can send relevant and tailored messages to specific client segments. Personalization enhances the user experience, makes the notifications more relevant, and increases the chances of clients engaging with the content and continually booking at your studio.

Retention: Push notifications can be powerful retention tools by reminding clients about upcoming classes, appointments, or milestones in their fitness journey. These reminders help clients stay on track, reduce the chances of missed sessions, and encourage them to maintain their commitment to their fitness goals. By keeping your fitness studio top-of-mind, push notifications contribute to client retention and long-term engagement.

Promotions and incentives: Push notifications can deliver exclusive promotions, discounts, or incentives to clients. Sending targeted offers or rewards through push notifications creates time-sensitive exclusivity, motivating clients to take advantage of the opportunity, increasing bookings, driving purchases, or encouraging clients to refer their friends, impacting word-of-mouth marketing, client engagement, and loyalty.

Walla Team Tip: Take another look at your push notification strategy. Do the voice and tone fit your brand? Would you want to open the message you’re sending and take action? Remember to keep your content short and sweet—and get straight to the point. You want your clients to take a look and instantly grasp what you are trying to say, instigating action. Also, based on your client data in Walla, use push notifications to target clients who have disengaged with exclusive offers that speak to their personality type, booking behavior, and more. And once you get them in the door, be sure to nurture that relationship! 

Always connect: Continually stay in contact and drive revenue with automations 

Walla’s marketing automations and Journeys are a highly effective way to engage clients at your studio, so your message always lands and aligns with a client's journey and experience at your fitness business. Set and forget with our expertly curated campaigns in Walla’s all-new Marketing Suite and watch our platform do the work for you! By sending automations, you’re tapping into a customized message, and you can be more mindful with every message. Here’s why automations are a game changer, especially when they are built into the Walla platform: 

Personalization: Walla’s marketing automations allow you to hyper-personalize your communication with clients based on their preferences, behavior, demographics, and more. You can create targeted and relevant messages that resonate with individual clients by leveraging data and industry-first client insights- like personality typology. Personalization enhances the client experience, increasing their engagement with your studio.

Timely, consistent communication: Marketing automations ensure that your messages are delivered at the right time containing the right message and with consistency. You can set up automated campaigns to send scheduled emails based on predefined triggers or events, keeping clients informed, engaged, and connected with your fitness studio whenever they are on their fitness and wellness journey.

Nurture campaigns: The best way to accurately create nurture campaigns for new clients? You guessed it; marketing automation. These campaigns can include a series of automated messages that introduce clients to your studio, its services, and benefits—and include calls to action. You can establish a positive relationship with prospects and leads at your studio from the start by providing valuable information, tips, or guidance.

Upselling and cross-selling opportunities: With marketing automations, you can make informed decisions to identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling to existing clients. When you use Walla’s data to analyze client purchase history or engagement patterns, you can set up automated campaigns recommending complementary services, upgrades, or add-on packages. These targeted suggestions can help increase client spending and encourage them to explore different offerings within your fitness studio.

Re-engagement and win-back campaigns: Marketing automations are valuable for re-engaging clients who may have become inactive or lost touch with your studio. You can create automated campaigns that target clients who last visited a while ago or have shown a decline in engagement. By sending personalized offers, incentives, or reminders, you can reignite their interest, encourage them to return and win back their business.

Event promotion and reminders: If your fitness studio hosts events, workshops, retreats, or challenges, marketing automations can help promote and remind clients about these opportunities. You can create automated campaigns to send event announcements, registration confirmations, or event reminders to ensure maximum attendance and participation.

Walla Team Tip: Consider your audience and desired outcome when creating an automation. Do you want to encourage a new client from an intro offer to buy a membership? Do you want to re-engage members who have gone dormant? Maybe it’s a milestone trigger for all clients who create 50 Pilates classes. Whatever you want to say, send, outline your goal, ensuring your message will resonate with whoever you’re sending it to!

With Walla, we empower your studio to modernize how and when you communicate with the messages that matter most based on data and individual statistics. Blending personalization with consistency and targeted engagement, your studio can capitalize on every touch point—from mobile devices to laptop inboxes! 

*Two-way text messaging is an easy add-on to your current Walla package! Reach out to our team to learn more.