When looking to grow your kids activity business, there’s no doubt that trials are a great way to encourage new bookings and increase numbers. But if you find that trials don’t always lead to bookings, or cause you more work than they’re worth, there’s probably a better way of doing things.
So let’s dive in and think about how you can perfect your trials process so you can increase your class numbers.
To begin with, your customers are looking for a clear and attractive reason to be interested in sending their child to your class. They want a simple way to book there and then; with clear pricing for trial classes and the remaining term. Make it clear to your customers what you’re offering and why you stand out. This could be an incentive or freebie - and it’s something you should test and measure every new term.
Having booked a trial class, parents want a really clear breakdown of what to bring and what to expect. This could be anything from clothing to water bottles to any equipment they might need. And to offer that extra bit of service, why not send a little reminder?
Stop for a minute and ask yourself: What will really impress parents? The answer? Organised and fun classes. If you can make their child feel welcomed and enjoy themselves, you’re showing the value you offer from the get-go. In other words, make sure their child feels at home.
This step is crucial to make sure trial customers don't drop off. Having enjoyed your class, you want to follow up quickly - with a clear offer and call to action (CTA). This can often result in a lot of manual work, which is why a system like ClassForKids can save you a ton of time (and make sure that you don’t miss anyone out!).
So now you know how to offer a great customer experience - from first interest to follow up after class - it's time to think about what you could be doing behind the scenes to secure commitment.
The best place to start is your class content and thinking about what you could do differently. You want to set clear expectations of what your classes will be like, but there's no harm in offering something a little different. It could be as simple as a fun game at the end of a class, or you could bring in other kids to show advanced skills.
Doing this will give your trial classes an insight into what they could be doing with a little practice and commitment. If the children attending your trial classes are interested and having fun, that's all parents want to be sure they're signing their child up to something they'll love.
The age-old debate of whether you should charge for your trials or not is still one question clubs still ask themselves.
With the promise of ‘free trial’ or ‘try for 30 days’ across companies’ marketing, it’s no wonder businesses feel obliged to offer a reduced price or free trial. However, there is a big difference between multi-million dollar organisations like Amazon and Netflix and your kids activity business.
Margins are smaller, and child-organiser ratios are low, meaning every last space has a significant value to your club. Paid trials add value to your classes, reduce the chances of no-shows and deter those attending purely for a one-off freebie.
Yes, free trials are a great way to fill empty registers, but you might find that long-term there are better, much cheaper ways to encourage new bookings that don’t include giving your class and time away for free. Why not try both and see how it goes?
Pssst! Did you know we help 1000s of kids activity clubs just like yours with our genius class membership software?! 💡
At ClassForKids, we like to keep life simple. That’s why we’ve made it SUPER simple to keep track of who is on trial and who is ready to become a customer!
Got customers on trial who are ready to book into your term sessions? We can help!
Have customers who aren’t quite ready to sign up? Free up space for more trials at the touch of a button🙌!
We’ll help you make sure you never miss an opportunity to convert a trial to a customer again ✨