SPIRAL PATH YOGA CENTER CASE STUDY
BUSINESS PROFILE
In a quiet suburb of Los Angeles, longtime practitioner Addie deHilster noticed that the majority of yoga studios in the area were more fitness based and geared towards a younger, fitter audience. With a deep background in therapeutic yoga and having worked with students with a wide range of special conditions and injuries, Addie realized that this market was not being served.
Addie helped open TheraYoga in 2012, and purchased the studio in January 2016. The studio reopened as Spiral Path Yoga Center with the mission to make yoga accessible to more people and highlight the healing aspects of yoga. Today, Spiral Path serves hundreds of students in the La Crescenta area.
CHALLENGE
As a small business owner, Addie found it difficult to keep the front desk staffed at all times. She had volunteers a working couple days a week, but found that she didn’t have a reliable way for students to check-in and purchase memberships and retail when someone wasn’t at the front desk.
“We were losing sales when someone wasn’t at the front desk to help students and we were losing money when students attended class but were not able to check-in,” says Addie. “This became frustrating for students too because they weren’t getting the quality service we were known for providing.”
Addie had been using MINDBODY® for years at TheraYoga, but decided to start exploring other options during her first year of owning Spiral Path. She knew she needed a simple, reliable software that provided the student self-service capabilities her studio so desperately needed. Having an easy-to-embed schedule and reporting capabilities were also very important to Addie. After researching several different software providers, she decided to go with Zen Planner.
SOLUTION
Making the switch to a new software provider can seem a bit overwhelming at times, but Zen Planner’s Onboarding Coaches made this process easier. “My Onboarding Coach helped me get everything configured properly, which was very important since I was moving over from MINDBODY®,” says Addie. “It was great having my Coach explain how to use the everything the software offered. It made it so much easier for me to then train my staff.”
From the start, Addie got the self-service features she was looking for. “I needed a simple way for students to check-in and purchase memberships and Zen Planner’s app was exactly what I was looking for,” says Addie. “These self-service features were a life saver.”
Addie noted that the self-service functionality has made her teachers’ lives a lot easier as well. “Our teachers are here to teach, not to check students in and sell class packages. Whenever they had to take the time to manually run credit cards in MINDBODY®, it was time-consuming and far beyond what they wanted to do. Our teachers are much happier now.”
Addie loves the fact that she didn’t lose capabilities with the switch. “I love the email automations within Zen Planner. You can do that in MINDBODY®, but it’s so much easier to setup, manage and track in Zen Planner. I just love how everything is integrated within Zen Planner’s software.”
Addie also likes the fact that Zen Planner’s pricing is all-inclusive. “I never liked that I had to pay extra for certain features like calendar embeds. I felt like I was getting nickeled and dimed when I had to pay for each and every feature.” To put it simply, Addie says, “I’m a lot less frustrated now that I’ve switched. I feel like I’m getting a lot more for my money.”
Addie also praises Zen Planner’s Customer Advocate team. “Zen Planner’s customer service is wonderful,” says Addie. She loves Zen Planner’s in-depth help website and instructional videos. When she can’t find her answer online, Addie says, “it’s so easy to get someone on the phone. They always hop in and help me figure out what I’m confused about.”
Addie’s new business has been open for 18 months, six of which she’s spent with Zen Planner. Addie credits Zen Planner in tracking her studio’s growth. She’s able to keep a constant pulse on how many students she has and how many students are attending class, both of which are vital metrics for growing studios to monitor. Best yet, she knows that despite someone not being at the front desk, she’s still going to make sales. “Now that we’re with Zen Planner, I know we’re no longer missing out on opportunities.”
BENEFITS
- Simple solution to have students check in and purchase memberships when no one is behind the front desk
- No longer losing out on revenue when the front desk is unoccupied
- Saves several hours each week in administrative time for teachers
- No longer paying additional money for features like embedding and email
